Xiaohongshu recently released a new book titled Zhongcao (Planting Grass), calling it the first comprehensive reveal of its signature marketing philosophy. But at its core, the book repackages familiar ideas about the consumer journey and social influence — old wine in a new little red bottle. Still, that doesn’t mean it’s not worth unpacking. Xiaohongshu has taken these fundamentals and turned them into one of the most effective content-commerce engines in China.
In this article, we break down how “people influencing people” works on Xiaohongshu — and what marketers can actually learn from it.
Xiaohongshu: AIDA on Steroids
At its core, Xiaohongshu’s magic is just the classic customer journey on steroids. The time-honored AIDA model – Awareness, Interest, Desire, Action – is perhaps the best-known marketing framework, and Xiaohongshu executes it in a uniquely social-media-driven way. Traditionally, AIDA describes how a consumer moves from first learning about a product to developing interest, then desire, and finally taking action to purchase. What’s changed in the Xiaohongshu era is who drives those stages. It’s no longer just brand ads pushing the consumer along; social media communities now inject each step with peer influence.
On Xiaohongshu, a random user’s post about a great niche lipstick or a hidden hiking trail can create Awareness among thousands. The detailed reviews and real-life photos in the post build Interest, as others start saving the post and thinking “maybe I should try this.” When enough people chime in with comments (“This looks so good!”) and the product or place gains trending status, it stokes Desire – the item goes on everyone’s wish list, the destination on everyone’s itinerary. Finally, Xiaohongshu makes Action easier by integrating e-commerce and links: users can often click straight to a purchase page or find the exact product in the app’s shopping feature.
In fact, with the launch of the RED Mall, users can discover a product in a post and immediately purchase it without leaving the app, then come back and share their own review – fully closing the loop within the community. In short, Xiaohongshu’s whole model takes the AIDA funnel and turbocharges it with user-generated content: awareness is organic, interest is communal, desire is stoked by social proof, and action is one tap away.
What Makes Influencer Marketing So Impactful on XHS?
Central to Xiaohongshu’s effectiveness is the leverage of influencer marketing and social proof at scale. As the book 《种草》 correctly identifies, “people influence people” is the driving force – a concept as old as marketing itself (think word-of-mouth), supercharged by today’s social networks. The theory behind influencer marketing is that consumers trust recommendations from other people more than messages directly from brands. This is not just theory – it’s backed by data. One survey found 61% of people trust recommendations from friends, family, or influencers on social platforms, versus only 38% who trust brand posts. In other words, a makeup tutorial from a friendly blogger or a travel vlog from a peer is more convincing than the slickest corporate ad. Xiaohongshu capitalizes on this trust gap. Approximately 90% of the content on RED is user-generated – real people sharing experiences – which creates an atmosphere of authenticity. Chinese consumers are up to 4× more likely to make a purchase based on social media recommendations and peer reviews than without them. This effect underpins phenomena like the “种草” craze – once enough people post about a cool find, it triggers a herd impulse of “I want it too.”
Rather than relying only on celebrity influencers with huge followings, brands have learned that micro-influencers and even ordinary users (KOCs – Key Opinion Consumers) can be just as, if not more, effective on this platform. Perfect Diary’s meteoric rise in China’s beauty market is a case in point. Instead of pouring budget into one mega-star endorsement, Perfect Diary collaborated with over 150 KOLs (Key Opinion Leaders) of varying sizes in a single campaign, from a few hundred followers to hundreds of thousands. This “pyramid of influencers” strategy blanketed Xiaohongshu with authentic content about their products. The result? By late 2018, Perfect Diary surpassed L’Oréal to become the #1 cosmetics brand on Tmall, even achieving ¥10 billion RMB in sales within 1 hour 28 minutes on Singles’ Day – a feat largely attributed to the buzz built through social platforms like RED.
From Community to Conversion: Case Studies Every Marketer Should Know
All these theories – funnels, loyalty loops, social proof – come together in what we can call community-driven commerce. Xiaohongshu exemplifies how a passionate user community can directly drive sales and business outcomes. It’s a model where content, conversation, and commerce blend. Let’s look at a couple of vivid case studies that show these dynamics in action
- Travel and Tourism – Hong Kong’s New Hotspots: It’s not only products that benefit from the Xiaohongshu effect – destinations and experiences do, too. A striking example is how Hong Kong tourism has been reshaped by community recommendations. Traditionally, Mainland Chinese tourists went to Hong Kong for luxury shopping and hit the major sights. But recently, Xiaohongshu posts have started a new trend of off-the-beaten-path exploration. On the app, hashtags like “Hong Kong in a Day” amassed over 54 million views as influencers and users share ultra-detailed itineraries for experiencing the city cheaply and uniquely. These posts include maps, hidden local eateries, transit tips – effectively travel guidebooks created by peers. As a result, spots that would never make a traditional guidebook have become viral attractions. One famous case is a mundane footbridge in Mong Kok overlooking a minibus terminus, next to some old neon signs. Hardly the Peak Tram or Disneyland – yet after being featured in numerous Xiaohongshu photos (for its gritty, retro Hong Kong vibe), this ordinary footbridge turned into a must-visit photo spot for young tourists. You could see Mainland visitors lining up to snap that exact shot they saw on RED. Similarly, entire neighborhood streets, obscure cafes, and hiking trails have found fame via Xiaohongshu “grass planting.” The Hong Kong Tourism Board even partnered with Xiaohongshu KOLs to promote new attractions, recognizing that a candid post on RED can have more impact on Gen-Z travelers than a traditional ad campaign.
- Global Travel Trends via RED: It’s not just Hong Kong. Across Southeast Asia, entrepreneurs have noticed a wave of Chinese tourists coming to places they discovered on Xiaohongshu. In one report, tour operators in Indonesia and Laos described how previously obscure locales suddenly saw influxes of Chinese visitors after going viral on Little Red Book. For example, the remote Ijen Volcano in East Java, which spews toxic sulfur smoke and required visitors to wear gas masks, was never on Chinese tour group agendas. Then Chinese travelers started posting dramatic sunrise photos from its crater on RED, dubbing it a bucket-list experience. By 2023, nearly 60% of one Indonesian guide’s clients were Chinese tourists who found him on Xiaohongshu, almost all insisting on visiting that volcano after seeing those posts. In effect, Xiaohongshu’s community turned an offbeat, even onerous journey (hiking at 4am in gas masks!) into a trendy adventure. This is community-driven commerce in tourism: no travel agency could have concocted that – it happened organically via peer-to-peer inspiration.
- Luxury and Lifestyle Brands: Even high-end brands are riding the community commerce wave, albeit carefully. Take Dior, the French luxury house. Dior ran a campaign on Xiaohongshu for its Prestige skincare, collaborating with a handful of travel and lifestyle influencers to create content around a new product launch in China. They allowed influencers creative freedom to present the product in authentic ways, trusting the community vibe. The result: over 3 million views on RED across just 5 influencers’ content, a positive brand image boost, and plenty of user discussion. For a luxury brand known for exclusivity, embracing community content might seem risky, but Dior saw that even affluent Chinese consumers are swayed by seeing peers talk about a product rather than just glossy ads.
In all these cases, Xiaohongshu’s role was not to overtly “sell” in the traditional sense; it provides the platform and fuel for consumers to sell to each other. This is community-driven commerce defined. Each user-contributed story or review becomes part of a larger narrative that influences what others buy, where they go, and which brands win their loyalty. It’s a reminder that in the digital age, the crowd in the community holds immense sway over commerce. Brands that understand this craft strategies to encourage and shape the community conversation (as Perfect Diary and others did), while those that ignore it risk missing out on where the real decision-making is happening.
Ready to Turn Xiaohongshu Buzz Into Brand Growth?
Community-driven platforms like Xiaohongshu are reshaping how brands connect with consumers — and navigating this space requires more than guesswork. Tocanan’s AI-powered consumer insights helps brands decode real-time trends from social and influencer communities, turning hundreds of thousands of “grass planting” posts into clear, actionable intelligence.
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