While TikTok’s future hangs in the balance, Xiaoonghshu, better known in English as RedNote, is trying to capitalize on its newfound popularity by partnering with U.S. influencers who can aid promote the company and attract more Americans to its platform. The Chinese lifestyle and travel app, which has more than 300 million mostly monthly dynamic users, topped the U.S. app store charts last week as a TikTok ban loomed.
In information about the campaign obtained by WIRED, Solare Global, a Novel York-based marketing agency, suggested that creators submit sponsored posts for RedNote, including videos of themselves telling their followers about the Chinese app’s sudden rise in popularity in the US. The brief asked developers to describe “how enjoyable and engaging the app is” and “highlight its user-friendly design and international appeal.” They were also instructed to share their own RedNote accounts and encourage their followers to join them on the platform.
Xiaohongshu did not respond to a request for comment sent to his official WeChat account. Solare Global also did not respond to a request for comment asking how many influencers they contacted or how much the company expects to pay for the post.
The brief seen by WIRED required creators to play their videos within 24 hours to ensure they would be made available by January 17, the same day the Supreme Court was scheduled to decide whether the TikTok ban would go into effect two days later. It also stipulated that influencers must leave their videos for at least six months.
Xiaohongshu was founded in 2013 and has long focused mainly on courting domestic audiences in China, especially juvenile women living in gigantic cities. Like TikTok, it relies on a central algorithm that recommends an endless stream of posts to users based on their interests and behavior. But instead of showing people one video at a time, Xiaohongshu presents photo slideshows, text posts, and videos in a grid format.
Perhaps the biggest difference between the two apps, however, is how they handle content moderation. Since it is available in China, Xiaohongshu must comply with strict censorship rules imposed by Beijing. (WIRED previously reported that Xiaohongshu was trying to hire English-speaking moderators to aid control the flood of content posted by Americans.) TikTok, on the other hand, is not available in China. Its parent company, ByteDance, operates a separate video app there called Douyin.
The influx of Americans to Xiaohongshu provided U.S. and Chinese residents with a infrequent opportunity to connect on a shared social media platform. Some users spent hours asking their up-to-date foreign pen pals questions about their countries and cultures, ranging from what a school lunch is like in Wisconsin to what a typical apartment is like in Chengdu. Currently, Xiaohongshu appears to be trying to capitalize on this sentiment to promote itself as a positive, global platform.
“The warmth of normal people who are kind and interesting to each other is the main mood right now,” we read in the influencer’s briefing. “And we think it’s a beautiful thing.”