As globalization and digitalization continue to intertwine, China’s massive consumer base and unique social ecosystem have made it a crucial battleground for global brands. Rednote, a content-driven consumption platform, is redefining how brands connect with Chinese consumers through a unique “seeding, trust, conversion” model. From capturing user awareness to building content assets, from localized operations to optimizing marketing performance, rednote offers an end-to-end system tailored for the Chinese market to solve the localization challenge for international brands. Below is a breakdown of rednote’s core value and implementation approach based on platform insights and marketing practices.
1.Capturing User Awareness: From Trust to Seeding, Let Great Products Naturally Integrate into Daily Life
On rednote, brand-user connections are not forged through hard-selling ads but through authentic, lifestyle-oriented content that blends seamlessly into users’ lives. The platform’s core philosophy: brands must first be “needed” to be “seen”, and users must first “trust” to be “influenced”.
Take Swisse for example. The brand has successfully integrated its supplements into scenarios like “daily wellness for working professionals” and “anti-aging routines for those in their 30s”, using user-generated notes rather than focusing on product ingredients. Discussions on “calcium misconceptions”, “mistakes 90% of people make”, and absorption comparisons between citrate and carbonate calcium demonstrate how authenticity builds credibility. Through this scenario-based and user-driven discussion model, rednote turns brands from “foreign names” into “daily essentials”. No self-praise is needed because authentic user stories become the best marketing.
2.Search Engagement: Capturing User Searches and Converting Interest into Trust
When users develop interest, their search behaviors become the most direct interaction signal. Rednote’s strength lies in enabling brands to “appear just in time” during user exploration in order to turn awareness into trust.
Swisse again offers a valuable reference: When users search keywords like “calcium myths” or “anti-glycation supplement recommendations”, Swisse’s brand account and influencer reviews respond directly, clarifying concerns like “calcium content alone isn’t enough” or “absorption is more important”. This “user search-brand response-content match” loop enhances credibility and drives confident decision-making. For overseas brands, search engagement is not passive. It’s about delivering answers at the user’s moment of decision.
3.Building Content Assets: Establishing a Brand Content Hub in China
Every brand post and influencer collaboration on rednote will become a reusable content asset. These assets attract new users while reinforcing trust with returning ones.
Swisse has built a clear content matrix: brand notes explain products like “women’s probiotics” and “dual anti-aging pills”, while influencers share supplement routines and anti-aging tips. Even user-initiated discussions on topics like “glycation prevention” contribute to a rich content moat. These are not one-time investments. High-quality notes from five years ago still influence users today, showcasing rednote’s long-term content value.
4.Localized Operations: RednoteService System for Overseas Brands
Localized support is essential for overseas brands entering rednote. YOYI TECH offers a full-service solution from content to media to help brands adapt quickly.
Brand Account & Content Management: From profile setup and cover design to daily content planning, ensuring alignment with local user expectations.
Influencer Partnerships & Content Creation: Identifying creators that match brand tone and guiding “native-style” content (e.g., Swisse’s collaboration with health KOLs on calcium testing).
Media + Search Advertising: Amplifying exposure through feeds and reaching high-intent users via search, ensuring quality content reaches the right audience.
The key is not to replicate overseas experience, but to reframe communication based on rednote’s unique social logic.
5.Localized Brand Expression: Translating Brand Language into Rednote Language
To succeed on rednote, overseas brands must “speak the user’s language”, translating professional terminology into familiar scenes and buzzwords.
FARFETCH exemplifies this well. It translated seasonal style descriptors like “caramel brown”, “oat gray”, and “minimalist design” into popular terms like “Merlotcore”, “Quiet luxury”, and “The first autumn coat”. These posts, a.k.a. notes on rednote, earned 1.53 billion, 110 million, and 13.38 million views respectively, entering trending user circles. During Valentine’s Day, Lancôme used casual tones like “@Zhang Linghe check your surprise” instead of pushy promos. Miu Miu’s Spring Festival campaign aligned products with “festive rituals” and “New Year vibes”. These strategies transformed global brand language into local emotional resonance.
6.Brand Asset Strategy: Business Account + KOL Activation to Drive Interest and Trust
The ideal rednote strategy combines “brand account foundation + influencer amplification + media/search precision”. Brand accounts publish official, trust-building content (e.g., Swisse’s product science notes); influencers add authenticity through “I tried this for 30 days” content; then paid media and search retarget interested users. This creates a conversion loop from trust to interest and action.
YOYI TECH’s DMP further supports this approach by analyzing user behavior and preferences to pinpoint high-potential segments, ensuring content is precisely delivered to the right audience.
7.Building a Brand Account
The brand account is the brand’s official rednote presence and should be structured around “clear positioning + user value”.
Profile Area: Cover image, background, and description must convey brand identity, with links to services like fan chat groups and store locations.
Content Area: Organize notes into topic groups, pin key notes for first-time visitors to understand brand value quickly.
Engagement Area: Actively reply to comments to reinforce a reliable brand image.
A strong brand account makes users feel the brand is “close by”, not some distant foreign name.
8.RednoteContent Creation Model
“Going viral” on rednote is no accident. It’s driven by “relevance+value+visual appeal”. Here’s a six-step formula for quality content.
Topic Selection: Combine industry keywords (e.g., “calcium”, “anti-glycation”) with user needs (e.g., “pitfall avoidance”, “how-to guides”).
Headline Writing: Use numbers (“90% make this mistake”), emotion (“3 must-haves at age 33”), or how-to hooks (“How to take Swisse dual anti-aging pills effectively”).
Visuals: Design-driven covers with problem-based captions (e.g., “calcium myths”); carousels show product details and usage scenes.
Copywriting: Follow intro-breakdown-conclusion structure. Start with user pain points, provide clear solutions, and end with value summary, embedding brand mentions seamlessly.
Comment Engagement: Reply to user questions (e.g., “Can I take this during menstruation?”) to spark discussion.
Timing: Post during peak activity hours (16:00–18:00 and 20:00–23:00) to boost visibility.
The core is thinking like a user. Give them what they need. Let content be a necessity, not a pitch.
Conclusion
For global brands, rednote is more than a marketing channel. It’s a gateway to building lasting relationships with Chinese consumers. From awareness to asset building, from local expression to strategic content, success requires commitment to authenticity, usefulness, and emotional resonance. When brands truly integrate with rednote’s ecosystem, they go from being “foreign guests” to part of the everyday, and unlock sustainable growth in China’s complex market.
If you’d like to learn more about how to build marketing strategies on rednote and how it connects with the broader omnichannel ecosystem in China, feel free to reach out: marketing@yoyi.com.cn. Our rednote marketing specialists are here to help.
