A large number of foreigners are pouring into Xiaohongshu. How can we seize this wave of traffic?

I believe everyone must have seen a piece of news recently: a large number of foreigners have flocked to Xiaohongshu!

Recently, as the effective date of the US TikTok ban approaches, a large number of US TikTok users have begun to look for another alternative platform. But surprisingly, the source of this huge traffic is not Instagram and YouTube, but another popular Chinese app - RedNote (Xiaohongshu International Edition)!

This "enormous wealth" made Xiaohongshu a huge hit in the US market, and it won the top spot on the US App Store download list!

This phenomenon has attracted widespread attention, which also indicates that new opportunities for cross-border people have arrived. Hurry up and seize this traffic dividend!

For a time, the number of downloads of Xiaohongshu in the US App Store exploded!

According to data from the analysis platform Qimai, Xiaohongshu App was ranked 209th on the app list on January 12, but quickly rose to the second place on January 13 and topped the list on January 14. From the perspective of the US social app list, Xiaohongshu has been fluctuating within the top 100 in the past year, and previously ranked as high as 24th until it rose to the first place in the past two days.

Although Xiaohongshu has an international version that American users can directly download and register for, the data of the international version and the domestic version are interoperable. Therefore, domestic Xiaohongshu users were surprised to find that "Xiaohongshu was invaded by Americans when they woke up."

If you open Xiaohongshu now, the homepage has been occupied by a large number of users from the United States. They have also labeled themselves "TikTok refugees", and the popularity of related topics has also skyrocketed!

Relevant data shows that in just 24 hours, the number of notes under the topic "#TikTok Refugee" on Xiaohongshu surged from 2,000 to 84,000, with a total of more than 44 million views and more than 1.3 million discussions.

One American user wrote in a post: "TikTok may be banned, and I feel like I have lost an important social platform. But after coming to Xiaohongshu, I found that it is just as fun and allows me to continue to record my life."

In fact, for a long time, many creators have copied or borrowed fashion and beauty content from Xiaohongshu and posted it on TikTok, which has accumulated a certain degree of popularity for Xiaohongshu. Currently, there are more than 130,000 short videos with the #xiaohongshu (Xiaohongshu) tag on TikTok, most of which are copied by users.

Similar to Tik Tok, Xiaohongshu focuses on short videos and graphic content, and is positioned as a lifestyle sharing platform, but it pays more attention to content sharing in vertical fields such as lifestyle, fashion, and beauty, which is highly consistent with the interests of young American users.

In addition, Xiaohongshu has just been revamped, and the community atmosphere is very similar to the content of Instagram. In addition, the second tab "Popular" after the revamp is completely in line with the up and down sliding operation habits , which can make it easier for TikTok users to migrate and adapt. For overseas users, the migration, learning and use costs of Xiaohongshu are relatively low.

Another more important reason is that Xiaohongshu allows users from non-"+86" regions to register and use it. Compared with other platforms that require real-name registration with a Chinese mobile phone number and cannot be used, Xiaohongshu does not have these restrictions, allowing American users to register and use it smoothly.

First of all, it is definitely the opening of a new traffic pool: Xiaohongshu's user group was originally dominated by young Chinese women, but with the influx of a large number of foreign users, the platform's user structure is changing. This means that cross-border sellers can reach more overseas consumers through Xiaohongshu, especially young users who are interested in fashion, beauty, lifestyle and other fields.

Secondly, a good opportunity to build brand awareness: cross-border sellers can quickly increase brand awareness by cooperating with influencers on Xiaohongshu. Especially in the early stages , many international influencers who were previously difficult to reach have become more accessible due to platform conversion. These influencers usually have a loyal fan base and can help brands bring higher exposure and sales conversion rates.

However, it is not recommended for cross-border sellers to operate on the content side.

TK US has always been popular for its large-scale, culturally expressive, and aesthetically pleasing content, while the content on Xiaohongshu is strictly reviewed. On the one hand, it is sensitive topics. For example, some content on TK US that contains specific cultural stalks or is slightly bold cannot be displayed. On the other hand, it is cultural differences. TK's influencers are good at creating content that suits the tastes of US audiences, which may not be popular on Xiaohongshu, affecting the promotion effect of merchants' products.

1. Post widely and let foreigners help you choose products; post three or more likes to make the brand more familiar.

2. Expand the influencer database and collaborate with KOLs to increase exposure.

The massive influx of traffic on Xiaohongshu gives us the opportunity to connect with many influencers who were previously difficult to reach.

Because the first batch of foreign users entering Xiaohongshu are mostly TikTok content creators, and there are even many top and mid-level influencers, who have precise fans in niche areas. If there was no cooperation before, now with the popularity of Xiaohongshu, it may be possible to communicate with them about cooperation.

The fastest way to find them is to search for the tag "TikTok refugee" or the keywords "Chinese Americans" and "international students". This group of users has the opportunity to become your cooperative review users . You can go to their notes and click "like, comment, and follow" in one go.

Or you can post a help thread and directly ask, "What products do people buy as gifts in the United States? Do you have any better suggestions?" Consider your product selection direction after the New Year based on their answers.

You should know that Xiaohongshu's KOL ecosystem is very mature. Sellers can cooperate with overseas bloggers or bilingual bloggers on the platform, greatly broadening the influencer pool, which is equivalent to providing more possibilities for subsequent marketing and promotion businesses. Through their influence, brand exposure can be quickly improved.

In general, sellers can still take advantage of this wave of traffic dividends. Will Xiaohongshu become a new battlefield for cross-border sellers in the future? Let us wait and see.