RedNote has recruited US influencers to promote the app amid uncertainty over the TikTok ban

Is the future of TikTok hangs in balanceXiaohonghshu, also known as RedNote in English, is trying to take advantage its new popularity by partnering with US influencers who can help promote the company and attract more Americans to its platform. The Chinese travel and lifestyle app, which has more than 300 million mostly monthly active users, rose to the top of the US app store rankings last week following the TikTok ban approach.

In a campaign summary obtained by WIRED, Solare Global, a marketing agency based in New York City, encouraged creators to create sponsored posts for RedNote, including videos of themselves told their followers about the sudden rise of Chinese apps in the US. The brief asked creators to describe “how fun and engaging the app is” and “emphasize its user-friendly design and international appeal.” It also instructed them to share their own RedNote accounts and encourage their followers to join them on the platform.

Xiaohongshu did not return a request for comment sent to its official WeChat account. Solare Global also did not respond to a request for comment asking how many influencers it had contacted or how much the company expected to pay per post.

The brief seen by WIRED calls for creators to shoot their videos on a 24-hour timeline to ensure they’re released by January 17, same day The Supreme Court will decide whether the TikTok ban will take effect two days later. It also stipulates that influencers must post their videos for a minimum of six months.

Xiaohongshu was founded in 2013 and has long focused primarily on attracting domestic audiences in China, especially young women living in big cities. Like TikTok, it revolves around a central algorithm that recommends users a multitude of posts based on their interests and behavior. But instead of showing people videos one at a time, Xiaohongshu shows photo slideshows, text posts, and videos in a grid format.

But perhaps the biggest difference between these two apps is how they handle content moderation. Because it is accessible in China, Xiaohongshu must comply with strict censorship regulations imposed by Beijing. (WIRED previously reported that Xiaohongshu is trying to hire English-speaking moderators to help manage the wave of content posted by Americans.) TikTok, on the other hand, is not available in China. Its parent company, ByteDance, operates a separate video application there name is Douyin.

The influx of Americans into Xiaohongshu has provided a rare opportunity for people in the US and China to connect on a shared social media platform. Some users spent hours asking new pen pals abroad questions about their respective countries and cultures, from school lunches in Wisconsin to a typical apartment in Chengdu What does it look like? Now it seems Xiaohongshu is trying to capitalize on those sentiments to promote itself as a global, positive platform.

“The warmth of ordinary people being kind and curious about each other is the core sentiment at the moment,” the influencer said. “And we think that’s a great thing.”