A preview of the top five trends on Xiaohongshu during Double Eleven!

The closing ceremony of the Tokyo Olympics ended on August 8, but the tens of billions of traffic trend set off by Xiaohongshu's Olympic Life Season is still popular in the community.

01 Diversification trend strengthens, consumers widely recognize → precise reach → full-scenario coverage

Sports are not just a game, they are also everyone’s life. This is Xiaohongshu’s Olympic Life Season.

Qiangua (Xiaohongshu data) shows that during the period from July 1 to August 10, in addition to the events, the interaction volume of other industry notes related to the "Olympics" on Xiaohongshu accounted for about 41% . Education, audio-visual entertainment, food and beverages, fitness and weight loss, life experience, maternal and child care, and even cute pets are actively participating in the Olympic Life Season.

Picture｜Xiaohongshu Official

How does Xiaohongshu lead the Olympic Lifestyle Season?

On July 12, Xiaohongshu announced that it had become the special strategic partner of China Media Group’s top events, and also announced that it had become the official partner of the Chinese National Women’s Football Team. Xiaohongshu has gained widespread public recognition by virtue of its participation in the Olympics. Lay the foundation for subsequent precise reach.

Photo: Xiaohongshu Olympic Life Season

In addition, the Olympic Life Season special module "Watch and talk about Olympic events, share sports life" was launched in Xiaohongshu. "Olympic gold medal list, TA is also on Xiaohongshu, Shubao full record, Olympic new experience, Olympic imitation emperor, high energy knowledge bureau, Olympic artists" and other forms are used to attract Xiaohongshu users to participate in the interaction of Olympic related topics. And "1000 ways to participate in the Olympics" further expands the participation methods and industries of the Olympic events to all aspects of Xiaohongshu users' lives.

From widely promoting the Olympic Games to proactively providing more diverse and suitable ways for them to participate in the Olympics, we can accurately reach different groups and circles of users who care about the Olympic Games . Through the big theme of Olympic Life Season, multiple Olympic-related topic branches are aggregated together to form the Olympic trend of the Xiaohongshu platform.

The hot topic list shows that from July 23 to August 23, there were 17 Olympic-related topics with a total browsing and interaction volume of more than 10 million, and 5 topics with a total browsing and interaction volume of more than 100 million . The number of views and interactions on the notes under the Olympic topic alone exceeded 2 billion . About 23 million people participated in the topic note interaction.

The way of integrating the Olympics into daily life has fully stimulated the enthusiasm of Xiaohongshu users to participate . While most social media platforms are focusing on the Olympic events and discussions about the athletes themselves, Xiaohongshu users have already "participated"! You can personally participate in the Olympics by sharing your own sports life, watching the Olympics with your pets, showcasing the Olympics through food, and even imitating the athletes' wonderful moments.

From simple influencer targeting to precise reaching in multiple single scenarios, Xiaohongshu's brand further aims to use its brand advantages to reach more users through full-scenario marketing (i.e. one point, multiple aspects). Xiaohongshu’s Olympic Lifestyle Season is a textbook-level brand marketing case that vividly demonstrates the process from widespread awareness to precise promotion and then to full-scenario penetration .

In order to retain and aggregate Olympic traffic , Xiaohongshu chose the theme of the Olympic Life Season. Brand topics and high-quality content on the homepages of more private brand professional accounts will be more effective traffic aggregation carriers for brands.

02 Short videos are developing rapidly. Short videos are not only traffic, but also trend makers.

Since 2020, short videos and live broadcasts have become the hot spots for traffic.

Data shows that from July 1 to August 10, short videos accounted for 38.99% of all notes on Xiaohongshu, 46.95% of notes related to the "Olympic Games", and 97.96% of notes related to the "Olympic Imitation Emperor".

Short videos have become an important means of disseminating Olympic events, athletes’ wonderful moments and touching moments. Many people first see short videos of Quan Hongchan, Su Bingtian, or even the retired big devil Zhang Yining before going back to watch related videos.

In fact, for a long time in the past, the birth of many short videos was mainly based on the traffic during the short video bonus period, and the dissemination power of short videos was not fully utilized .

Gaining more user attention is the long-term pursuit of brand marketing. The powerful communication power of the short videos of the wonderful moments of the Olympics made us realize that high-quality short videos that can quickly capture the user's attention should be given higher attention.

For future hot brand marketing events, we can try to use short videos of similar exciting moments as the early traffic entrance. Brand concepts and new product advantages are spread quickly, providing more abundant traffic for the cold start of brand marketing.

These short videos need to play the role of quickly boosting social topics . Participants in popular events are the best communicators. 5 national star teams and 35 world champions have joined Xiaohongshu, from gold medal players to three-dimensional personalities. Athletes share the Olympic events on Xiaohongshu, as well as the B-side of life, including beauty, photography, and food, showcasing a diverse life.

Ping An Health Insurance signed a contract with Olympic weightlifting champion Chen Lijun , and Su Bingtian, who made history in Chinese track and field, signed four brand endorsements including Xiaomi, Septwolves, Kangaroo Mom and Combit within 13 days. The Olympics are over, but the battle for sports star endorsements continues.

Figure｜Data source-Qiangua (Xiaohongshu data)

Data shows that 72.55% of the video notes in the "Olympic" related brand cooperation notes from July 23 to August 8 were from mid-level influencers (with 50,000-500,000 fans). If you want to use short videos to drive topics, you need bloggers who are mid-level experts or above to better play the role of social momentum and drive topics .

The content of wonderful moments + high-quality short video talents can create short videos that provide powerful cold start traffic for brand marketing.

03 Male users account for 30%, and male content marketing is in a blue ocean

Women and beauty are the inherent impressions that users have of the Xiaohongshu platform. The fact that male users account for 30% of Xiaohongshu’s users reflects the optimization of its user structure.

Data shows: As of June 30, 2021, male users accounted for 30.59% of Xiaohongshu users, and the age distribution was mainly concentrated in 18-34 years old, accounting for 82.93%, and mainly in first-tier cities and economically developed provinces such as Guangdong, Shanghai, Beijing, and Zhejiang.

These Xiaohongshu users have strong consumption needs and strong economic capabilities . This is also one of the important reasons why domestic brands such as Perfect Diary and Huaxizi and international brands such as L'Oreal and Estee Lauder attach importance to Xiaohongshu: the user value of Xiaohongshu is higher than the market average.

On July 12, Xiaohongshu’s public data also showed that male users have reached 30% . However, during this Olympic life season, the activity level of male users of Xiaohongshu was generally low. During the Olympic Games (July 23-August 8), only 19.78% of male users posted notes, and 11.51% of male users participated in interactions (likes, favorites, and comments).

Promoting the participation enthusiasm of male users will be one of the marketing focuses of the Xiaohongshu platform and brands in the new era. (In the first half of 2020, Xiaohongshu supported male content creators through 2 billion traffic to enhance the stickiness of male users.)

The Xiaohongshu men's market, which has not yet been saturated, is undoubtedly a new blue ocean for men's brands, and they need to speed up the pace of entry. For female brands, developing male-oriented content is a good way to further expand market share. It is also possible to indirectly seed the product to male users through female users who have completed category education and have had their minds planted. For example, if a certain cosmetics product is very popular on Xiaohongshu, then male users who have little perception of cosmetics will naturally choose these products more likely when giving gifts to female relatives and friends. Although male users are the direct providers of GMV, they are not the direct users of the products. The brand's strengthening of its hold over women's minds is also equivalent to indirectly attracting male users.

04 Patriotic consciousness further awakens, and domestic brand consumption becomes popular

From the 2008 Beijing Olympics to the Tokyo Olympics, people's mentality has undergone major changes , and gold medals are no longer the only criterion for judgment. People are beginning to pay more attention to the emotional attributes behind the Olympics, such as national image, national mentality, and humanistic spirit . Su Bingtian finished sixth in the Olympic 100m final (9.98 seconds! A new Asian record), and was recognized by the audience and netizens, "You are the best even if you don't stand on the podium."

The rising spirit of patriotism has gained new momentum. It has become a new trend for people to express their patriotism by consuming products of domestic brands.

Data shows that during the Olympic Games, there were about 20,000 notes on "domestic products" on Xiaohongshu, with a total interaction of more than 6 million, a year-on-year increase of nearly 100% . Among them, the footwear, luggage, cosmetics and skin care industries have been more active in leveraging the Olympics and domestic products for marketing.

In Xiaohongshu’s “domestic products” reporting notes (brand cooperation notes), the skin care industry accounts for TOP1 . There are more than 1,000 notes on popular brands such as Anta, Ushio, and KISS ME .

Data shows that from July 23, 2021 to 2021, in the TOP100 comment word cloud of Ushiyan , in addition to the brand word "Ushiyan" and the category word "eye cream", most of the words are intention words such as "like", "plant grass", etc.

At the same time, users are not focusing only on domestic products. The key is whether the product can solve their own pain points. Ushiyan’s second-generation smiling eye cream focuses on effective ingredients that are constantly being innovated. In one of the brand cooperation notes, the problem was first analyzed : "The main problem of eye wrinkles for young girls is not the loss of collagen, but the main reason is that expression lines are converted into real wrinkles!" Then a solution was proposed : "Reduce the movement of muscles around the eyes." Finally, the important ingredient selling point of the second-generation eye cream was thrown out: "The method of reducing expression lines. Active ingredients: acetyl hexapeptide-8, schisandra extract, snake venom peptide."

Simply marketing domestic products cannot build a brand. The labels of domestic skin care brands serve more to provide public awareness. Whether effective new product exposure or brand image building can be achieved depends on whether the product itself is competitive and attractive. The trend of patriotism + high-quality products are the important reasons for the rise of emerging domestic brands.

05 Progressive marketing rhythm, 4 steps of Double 11 brand marketing

As the provider of award-winning clothing for the Chinese delegation at this Olympics and a contract holder for national teams such as the Chinese National Swimming Team , Anta is one of the biggest winners in brand marketing at this Olympics.

"Domestic products" and "Support domestic products" appeared prominently in the TOP 10 word cloud of Anta 's Xiaohongshu notes and comments from July 23 to August 8. Most domestic brands and brands that take advantage of the Olympic marketing have only received an opportunity to gain public recognition.

Obviously, Anta has a deep connection with domestic products . This is not something that can be accomplished through one or two marketing events. Public data shows that Anta has cooperated with the Chinese Olympic Committee for 16 consecutive years and has produced Olympic equipment for 29 national teams. Anta has reaped rich rewards for its long-term marketing efforts that have penetrated the Olympic scene.

What is also worth learning from for brands is Anta’s grasp of marketing rhythm. On April 29, May 18, and June 25 , marketing events such as announcing brand spokespersons, signing sponsorship contracts, and releasing award-winning clothing were held to gradually increase public awareness of ANTA and deepen its brand image, paving the way for the important 618 marketing node and Olympic marketing.

Data shows that during the Olympic Games, there were 1,296 Anta-related notes on Xiaohongshu , with the number of notes increasing by 130.60% and the amount of interaction increasing by 33.27%. The strategy of focusing on junior and mid-level influencers was used as the main target, forming a matrix-style communication and exposure on Xiaohongshu.

Figure｜Qiangua (Xiaohongshu data) - Note monitoring

The brand’s choice of delivery cycle is closely related to the high-quality long-tail traffic on the Xiaohongshu platform . This article, which monitored for 7 days, is "Easy to use! No! It is unforgivable! Please! Don't stop production! 》Notes, the number of interactions (likes, favorites, comments) on that day (August 3) was 4872 . Six days later (August 9), the number of interactions was 13,515 , an increase of 177%. According to industry insiders, the long-tail traffic of Xiaohongshu notes is generally more than 30 days , and even a small number of high-quality notes have long-tail traffic of up to 90 days.

It has become a consensus among mainstream brands to carry out progressive marketing promotions before major marketing events such as 618 and Double Eleven .

In 2020, Xiaohongshu summarized a universal Double Eleven "planting grass-pulling grass" delivery rhythm strategy , dividing the entire Double Eleven marketing into four stages : water storage period, sprint period, pulling grass period and return period .

The upcoming September will be the water storage period for the entire Double 11 marketing node. During the water storage period, the main method is to place grass-growing notes, supplemented by French fries. The main purpose is to test the quality of content and cultivate users' awareness and mentality of the product without advertising.

Figure｜Qiangua (Xiaohongshu data) - Commercial launch analysis report

Data from Lancôme's brand cooperation notes from September 1 to November 15, 2020 showed that there were three peaks in the water storage period in September , which enhanced Lancôme's brand and product exposure. In the sprint period in October, we further increased the delivery of brand cooperation notes, which also saw a temporary peak in delivery . During the weeding and return periods in November, performance advertising was the main focus, and the brand cooperation notes delivery returned to normal.

Taking Xiaohongshu's Double Eleven delivery rhythm strategy as a reference, combined with Anta's 618, Olympic's delivery rhythm and Lancome's Double Eleven 2020, we can conclude that the water storage period in September focuses on cultivating mind and brand awareness through grass-planting notes. However, the water storage period is not an average delivery strategy, but also uses marketing events, topics, activities and other periodic small peak bursts to attract user attention, constantly stimulate users, strengthen their impression of the brand, and lay a good foundation for subsequent grass-pulling.

06 Double 11 Brand Marketing Suggestions, 5 New Trends and New Ways to Play

The platform-level marketing cases of Xiaohongshu’s Olympic Lifestyle Season, as well as brand marketing cases such as Anta, Ushio and Lancome, can provide more references and references for the upcoming Double Eleven marketing water storage period . Xiaohongshu's content marketing suggestions are as follows:

• Through marketing events or a large number of promotions, we can form broad user awareness, concentrate our efforts on penetrating single scenarios and reaching users in a refined manner, and finally gather traffic through brand topics, brand professional accounts, etc. to penetrate the entire scenario.
• Short videos are at the forefront of traffic and can quickly attract user attention. By leveraging the influence and short video production capabilities of top and mid-level influencers, short videos can provide entry-level cold-start traffic for brand marketing.
• The proportion of male users on Xiaohongshu has reached 30%, but the community participation is relatively low, making it a blue ocean for male brands to enter Xiaohongshu and for female brands to promote male content.
• Xiaohongshu users generally have a high sense of patriotism, and leveraging the popularity of domestic consumption and high-quality products can help create popular products and shape the brand image.
• The rhythm of Xiaohongshu's Double Eleven marketing node delivery can be divided into four steps: water storage period, sprint period, weeding period and return period. Each stage creates a phased traffic peak, continuously attracts user attention, and precipitates accurate traffic.