RED Sends Creators List of Top 10 Sponsored Posts to Inspire Better Brand Collabs
You may not know this, but Chinese social media app Xiaohongshu (also known as RED) provides its verified influencers (referred to as Red Creators) free online training and educational content. Recently it began publishing a new content series highlighting some of its favorite influencer campaigns. By showcasing what the platform deems high quality content, RED hopes to educate content creators and help them improve their brand collaborations.
Yet while this content may be aimed at creators, it is also very useful for brands working with influencers on Xiaohongshu to understand what type of content resonates best with the platform’s users (as well as what type of content may perform well with the platform’s algorithm!)
About the ‘Top Influencer & Brand Collaborations’ List (品牌合作笔记红榜)
RED shared that selection was based on brand marketing value and user feedback. The brands featured on the list came from a wide variety of industries including Quaker oatmeal, YSL Beauty lipsticks, Erno Laszlo classic skincare gift box, Armani Beauty foundation and lipsticks, Clinique sunscreen, APM Monaco jewelry accessories, Toshiba toast oven, SOOCAS toothbrush, and Friso milk powder.
It also featured KOLs from many different categories such as fashion, beauty, mommy/baby, etc.
RED not only announced the winners, but shared key takeaways from each of the chosen campaigns, here are our top three:
1. The advertisement must fit perfectly with the influencer’s everyday content
A good sponsored post usually combines both the influencer’s own characteristics and the brand’s values, and it’s important that it blends in with the influencer’s everyday, non-sponsored content.
When selecting an influencer, brands should consider:
- the influencer’s usual content format
- what brands the influencers normally use and mention in their contents
- what brands the influencers have worked with in the past
Example:
The couple @AriaAndBrandon have over 1.3 million followers on RED, and their content focuses on daily vlogs of their life as a couple. For their 520 collaboration with YSL Beauty Aria is presenting and reviewing the lipsticks, while her boyfriend Brandon is sitting right next to her and making some funny actions and comments about the lipstick swatches. The post got over 4.5k likes and over 400 comments, and it just looks the same as their everyday contents, lovely and funny.
2. Influencers must use the product and share their actual thoughts on their experience with the products
RED users want to see that the influencers are actually using the products, especially when it comes to skincare. For this type of product, video tends to do better because the influencer can demonstrate their skincare process.
Example:
For her collaboration with Erno Laszlo, influencer @Shgiook takes the audience through her nighttime skincare routine, applying the toner, eye mask and lotion step by step, and sharing her thoughts on the products. The post got nearly 3K Likes, over 1.5K Collects and over 300 comments.
3. Highly-produced, ‘ad-like’ content can do very well if the storyline and visuals are creative.
While more casual, relatable content tends to perform very well on Xiaohongshu, some influencers choose to use professional cameras, and create highly-produced, scripted, artistic content. When done right, even though users know for sure that the video is an ad, the high quality makes them enjoy watching it.
Example:
@因为我是tyt collaboration with SOOCAS toothbrush. A toothbrush is a daily necessity which people don’t really pay much attention to, but @因为我是tyt presents the toothbrush as a piece of art, and the vintage filter gives the video a romantic and appealing touch. The collaboration content received even more likes and comments than the influencer’s unsponsored content.
Remember – Content Really is King on Xiaohongshu
On RED, quality content is more important than an influencer’s follower numbers. Why’s that? The amount of people that are shown a post in their home page feed is based on how well that post performs. The more people engage with the content, the more people the platform’s recommendation system will show it to. Therefore content is always the most important thing that brands and influencers should spend most of their time on.
