China Paradigm interviews Miro Li, co-founder of Double V. Consulting, a consulting firm helping foreign brands master e-commerce in China through XiaoHongShu, a popular e-commerce social media app in China. Miro Li shares how international brands enter China and how to leverage XiaoHongShu in China.
Miro Li experienced entrepreneur in China, recognized XiaoHongShu marketing specialist
After graduating from one of the TOP 3 Universities in Hong Kong (CUHK). Miro Li has been living in Hong Kong for almost a decade. Miro Li joined a startup specialized in e-commerce in China and was in charge of overseas business development.
In 2017, she co-founded Double V; a consulting company specialized in the most popular social media in China, the social commerce app XiaoHongShu. She is now in charge of China Channels, Solutions, and Operations.
Double V. Consulting, helping foreign brands to leverage XiaoHongShu
Double V consulting is one of the few agencies specialized in RED/XiaoHongShu. It also provides one-stop services for small to medium brands to enter China. They had more than 20 foreign brands in China as a client, mostly coming from Europe and the U.S. How to catch Chinese customers’ eyes and stand out among various competitors is the first thing need to be considered. Double V. Consulting uses an effective way of opening a Xiao Hong Shu account.
As one of the most prominent social media in China, XiaoHongShu supports cross border payment, allows foreign brands in China to open a shop, and also provides logistic support. XiaoHongShu has seven warehouses in different countries and continents, such as Hong Kong, Europe, the US, Australia, and so on. So the company can put stock in their warehouse, and they can do all the packaging, customs clearance, last mile delivery, etc.
“Xiahongshu is pretty easy for a small or medium brand. If you don’t have your own warehouse, you don’t have your own Chinese team; you can still start with XiaoHongShu.”
A clear and concise introduction given by Miro Li shows the operation system of cross border payment in XiaoHongShu. It is also one of the essential parts of selling products for foreign brands in China. Customers pay through WeChat or Alipay without any fixed costs on XiaoHongShu and then send company money after charging a 15% commission.
Combining social media and e-commerce in China, XiaoHongShu is a friendly platform for foreign brands
Two sections set up in XiaoHongShu, one is social media in China, one is e-commerce in China. Different from TMall and JD or Taobao, where customers choose to purchase when they usually already know, with XiaoHongShu, people go to the community and see other user’s posts. They are not looking for a specific product. They read users reviews on different brands and then choose one, click the product link and go to the brand store.
That’s why the e-commerce function is not so strong on XiaoHongShu and there are not lots of banners or advertisements on XiaoHongShu. When netizens are on Tmall, when they see a new brand they have never heard of it, they may go on Xiaohongshu to search the brand name and see other people’s comments.
Working with KOLS is a perfect way to leverage Xiaohongshu in China
To leverage Xiaohongshu in China, here are a few steps:
- Open a Xiao Hong Shu account
- Start posting via the official account
- Work with regular users and KOLs to create some noise
After launching the shop, the company also need to work with KOLs in China and the feedback can be pretty good because people see that a lot of KOLs are posting reviews about a product they want to buy but can’t yet. The traffic comes directly from the KOLs post (like almost 80%).
Young Chinese generation is a good target on Xiaohongshu
A new generation of consumers is an emerging force driving market trends in China. Chinese consumers born between 1980 and 2010, known as the “young generation.” This post 95 generation is quite rich and has a lot of time to read this kind of content.
According to Miro Li’s opinion,
“Young people do not mean people who don’t have purchasing power, because there are a lot of rich young people in China.”
They love Xiaohongshu, especially girls. Most of the time, they are in college, still students.
Listen to this episode here:
