XHS Advertising Platform: Campaign Types, Targeting & Budgets Explained
Date Published
Table Of Contents
1. What Is the XHS Advertising Platform (Juguang/Aurora)?
2. XHS Ad Campaign Types: A Full Breakdown
• Shutiao: Content Amplification for Lighter Budgets
1. XHS Advertising Targeting Options
2. XHS Ad Budgets: What Does It Actually Cost?
3. The KFS Model: How to Structure Your XHS Campaign Strategy
4. Compliance Rules International Brands Must Know
5. How International Brands Access the Juguang Platform
6. Key Takeaways for International Brands
If you are an international brand looking to reach Chinese consumers in 2025 and beyond, the XHS advertising platform — formally known as Juguang (聚光), or Aurora internally — is where your paid media strategy lives. Xiaohongshu (also known as RedNote or Little Red Book) has grown into China's leading social commerce destination, with over 300 million monthly active users actively searching for product recommendations, lifestyle inspiration, and purchase guidance. Unlike most social platforms where ads feel like interruptions, XHS is engineered so that paid and organic content coexist — making it one of the most conversion-friendly advertising environments for brands in beauty, fashion, F&B, mother and baby, and beyond.
But the platform's ad ecosystem is more layered than a simple "boost post" button. From high-intent Search Ads to native In-Feed placements, from geo-radius targeting to competitor audience capture, the XHS advertising infrastructure has matured significantly. The challenge for international brands is navigating it without a map written in English.
This guide provides exactly that. We break down every major XHS campaign type, explain how targeting works at each level, share realistic budget benchmarks, and walk through the compliance rules that catch overseas brands off guard. Whether you are planning your first campaign or optimizing an existing one, here is everything you need to know about advertising on XHS.
What Is the XHS Advertising Platform (Juguang/Aurora)? {#juguang-aurora}
Juguang (聚光) is Xiaohongshu's official advertising and data analytics platform, designed to help brands create targeted ad campaigns, monitor performance, and gain insights into consumer behavior. The platform is also referred to internally as Aurora — a name meant to evoke the idea of discovery and illumination. Juguang is purpose-built for how XHS users actually behave: they browse a discovery feed like Instagram, but they also search with high purchase intent like a search engine. The platform bridges both behaviors, meaning advertisers can reach users at the top of the funnel and at the bottom within the same ecosystem.
Juguang supports multiple campaign objectives, including brand awareness, engagement, traffic generation, and conversions. Campaigns follow a three-tier hierarchy — Campaign, Ad Group, and individual Ad — a familiar structure for anyone who has run campaigns on Meta or Google. This organization allows brands to test audiences, creative formats, and bidding strategies in a structured, comparable way. For international brands, getting access to Juguang requires working through a Chinese entity or a certified partner agency, since the platform interface is Chinese-only and ad accounts must be opened under a mainland Chinese business entity.
Beyond Juguang itself, XHS offers a suite of interconnected marketing tools. Pugongying (蒲公英) is the official influencer collaboration platform, connecting brands with KOLs and KOCs across more than 100,000 creators in 30 categories. Shutiao (薯条) is a lightweight content amplification tool for boosting organic posts. Chengfeng (乘风) is the e-commerce marketing platform for brands with XHS stores, and Lingxi (灵犀) functions as the brand analytics center. Together, these tools support what XHS officially calls the KFS Marketing Model — which we cover in detail later in this guide.
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XHS Ad Campaign Types: A Full Breakdown {#campaign-types}
Xiaohongshu offers several distinct ad formats, each designed for a different stage of the customer journey. Understanding which format serves which objective is the first step to avoiding wasted spend.
In-Feed (Discovery) Ads {#in-feed-ads}
In-Feed Ads — sometimes called Discovery Ads or News Feed Ads — are XHS's most widely used paid format. They appear natively within the user's personalized discovery feed, blending seamlessly alongside organic posts from accounts users follow and content recommended by the platform algorithm. Because they mimic the look and feel of a regular user note, In-Feed Ads carry none of the visual friction of a traditional banner or display ad.
These ads support image, video, and multi-image carousel formats. They can link to a brand's XHS profile, a product page within the XHS store, or (for qualified advertisers) external destinations. In-Feed Ads work across multiple campaign objectives: awareness, engagement, and conversion. Importantly, the most effective In-Feed Ads on XHS are typically not freshly produced ad creatives — they are posts that have already demonstrated strong organic performance (high save rates, positive comments, genuine engagement) and are then amplified through paid distribution to broader audiences with similar characteristics. This is a defining principle of the XHS advertising philosophy.
Search Ads {#search-ads}
Search Ads appear at the top of results when a user actively types a keyword into the XHS search bar. This placement is significant because XHS has evolved into a primary search tool for Chinese consumers — with over 40% of users actively searching for product reviews and recommendations when they develop interest in a purchase. Search Ads therefore capture users at precisely the moment they are in active consideration or research mode.
Keyword targeting is central to Search Ads. Brands bid on relevant terms, and ads appear labeled alongside organic results. Because the intent behind these searches is high — users are often researching specific products or categories — Search Ads typically deliver stronger conversion rates than In-Feed placements, though they require careful keyword research and competitive bid management. For international brands, Search Ads are particularly powerful in categories like skincare (where users search by ingredient or concern), beauty tools, and imported food products.
Splash / Open-Screen Ads {#splash-ads}
Splash Ads (also called Open-Screen Ads) are full-screen placements that appear immediately when a user opens the XHS app. They offer maximum visibility and are designed for moments where raw brand exposure matters most — major product launches, seasonal campaigns, and key retail moments like 618 or Double 11. Splash Ads support both static images and animated video formats, and their full-screen presence commands attention before users have even begun browsing their feed.
Because of their premium placement and high production expectations, Splash Ads tend to carry the highest price points of any XHS ad format, with campaign budgets for splash and topic-style placements often starting at ¥50,000 RMB or higher. They are best suited for established brands with significant brand awareness goals rather than direct-conversion objectives.
Brand Zone Ads {#brand-zone-ads}
Brand Zone Ads create a dedicated, customizable space within the XHS app where users can explore a brand's products, campaigns, and curated content in one centralized hub. Think of it as a branded mini-website living inside XHS. A Brand Zone can include product catalogs, video content, curated posts, and consistent brand messaging — all under a single discoverable destination that reinforces brand identity. This format is particularly well-suited for brands with broad product ranges or those running multi-product campaigns who want to give curious users a richer browsing experience beyond a single ad unit.
Short Video Ads {#short-video-ads}
XHS has invested heavily in its video ecosystem, and Short Video Ads reflect that. These ads appear within the app's video feed and are optimized for mobile-first, vertical viewing. Short video formats excel at demonstrating product use in real-life scenarios, communicating brand personality, and telling compelling short-form stories that align with the platform's lifestyle-focused culture. For categories like beauty tutorials, food styling, fitness, and travel, short video ads consistently outperform static image placements in engagement metrics.
Shutiao: Content Amplification for Lighter Budgets {#shutiao}
Shutiao (薯条) is not a formal Juguang ad product, but it deserves mention here because it is often the entry point for brands new to XHS paid promotion. Shutiao is a self-serve content boosting tool available to all account types. It allows brands to amplify an existing organic post — pushing it to a wider audience beyond current followers — with a relatively low minimum spend. Goals available through Shutiao include increased post views, likes and saves, follower growth, and profile traffic.
Shutiao's targeting options are broader and less granular than Juguang, but its simplicity makes it useful for testing content resonance before committing to full Juguang campaigns. A common practice is to run a short three-day Shutiao campaign on two or three content variations to identify which creative direction generates the strongest saves and engagement, then use those learnings to inform a larger Juguang investment.
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XHS Advertising Targeting Options {#targeting-options}
One of the most significant competitive advantages of the XHS ad platform is its targeting depth. Because XHS users are highly expressive — they save content, search with specific intent, follow interest-based creators, and engage in purchase-driven behaviors — the platform has exceptionally rich first-party behavioral data to draw from.
Here is a breakdown of the primary targeting layers available through Juguang:
• Demographic Targeting: Refine your audience by age, gender, location, and life stage (for example, newly married users, new parents, or university students). This is particularly effective on XHS given that 70% of its users are women and approximately 80% are aged 18 to 34, predominantly from first- and second-tier cities with strong purchasing power.
• Interest Targeting: Connect with users based on their content consumption behavior — beauty, fashion, food, travel, fitness, mother and baby, and more. XHS's algorithm analyzes browsing patterns, content interactions, and search history to build accurate interest profiles.
• Keyword Targeting: Available primarily through Search Ads, keyword targeting lets brands appear in front of users actively searching for terms related to their products, ingredients, or category. This is the highest-intent targeting option on the platform.
• Behavioral Targeting: Re-engage users who have previously interacted with your brand's content, visited your profile, or shown interest in similar products. This nurtures warm audiences who are already partway through the consideration journey.
• Geo-Radius Targeting: A newer capability added to the Juguang platform, geo-radius targeting allows advertisers to target users within a defined radius around specific commercial districts or locations — selectable at 3km, 5km, or 10km. This is particularly valuable for brands with physical retail presence or event activations in China.
• Competitor Audience Targeting: The Juguang platform now allows advertisers to target audiences associated with competitor brand accounts. This enables brands to intercept high-intent users who are already in-market for similar products.
• Lookalike Audiences: Expand reach by targeting users who share characteristics with your existing customers or high-value engagers, leveraging XHS's behavioral data to identify new potential customers likely to convert.
• Custom Audiences: Upload first-party customer data to create highly targeted campaigns for CRM re-engagement or cross-sell initiatives.
For optimal performance, combining geo-targeting with behavioral or interest-based parameters tends to outperform single-dimension targeting alone, since Chinese consumer behavior does not always align neatly with demographic categories.
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XHS Ad Budgets: What Does It Actually Cost? {#ad-budgets}
Budget requirements on XHS vary widely depending on the ad format, campaign objective, industry vertical, and targeting parameters. Here is a practical overview of what international brands should expect:
Entry-Level Campaigns: Brands new to XHS paid advertising can begin testing with In-Feed campaigns starting around ¥10,000–20,000 RMB per month (approximately $1,400–$2,800 USD). This lower entry barrier makes XHS more accessible than Douyin, which typically requires ¥50,000 RMB or more to initiate a campaign meaningfully.
Splash and Brand Zone Campaigns: Premium placements like Splash Ads and topic-driven campaigns start at ¥50,000 RMB and can scale significantly depending on duration and targeting scope. These are reserved for brands with substantial brand-building budgets.
CPM Benchmarks by Industry:
• Beauty and luxury sectors: ¥80–120 RMB CPM
• Fashion and lifestyle: ¥50–80 RMB CPM
• Overall platform range: ¥15–40 RMB CPM depending on targeting and seasonality
Bidding Models: Juguang supports CPM (cost per thousand impressions), CPC (cost per click), CPV (cost per view for video), and CPA (cost per action for conversion-focused campaigns). For new advertisers without historical data on the platform, starting with CPM bidding to build initial performance benchmarks before transitioning to objective-specific models is generally advisable.
For brands scaling an active campaign, the recommended approach is to start with a defined 7-to-10-day runway at the initial budget level to allow the platform algorithm time to optimize delivery, then reallocate spend toward the highest-performing ad groups. Seasonal factors — particularly around Chinese retail peaks like 618, Double 11, and Chinese New Year — will push bid requirements higher, so factoring those windows into planning is essential.
Explore [industry-specific Xiaohongshu marketing strategies](https://www.allxhs.com/industries) to benchmark budgets and campaign approaches for your specific category.
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The KFS Model: How to Structure Your XHS Campaign Strategy {#kfs-model}
No discussion of XHS advertising is complete without covering the KFS model — Xiaohongshu's official recommended marketing framework, standing for KOL/KOC, Feed, and Search. Understanding this model transforms how you think about the relationship between influencer content, paid amplification, and search capture.
K (KOL/KOC): The first step is generating authentic, high-quality content through Key Opinion Leaders (KOLs) and Key Opinion Consumers (KOCs). KOLs build initial awareness and credibility, while KOCs — micro-creators who function more like trusted peers than professional influencers — tend to drive stronger conversion because their recommendations feel more like advice from a friend than a paid placement. The content created by these creators forms the foundation of what gets amplified in the next stages.
F (Feed): The Feed component refers to In-Feed Ads that take the best-performing KOL or KOC content and amplify it through paid distribution. Rather than producing new ad creatives from scratch, this approach selects organic content that has already proven resonance — high save rates, strong comment quality, genuine engagement — and uses paid media to extend its reach to broader audiences with similar interests and behaviors. This is why XHS advertising rewards brands that invest in their organic content ecosystem, not just their ad budgets.
S (Search): The Search component captures users at the highest-intent stage of their journey. As they develop interest in a product after seeing organic or boosted content, they turn to the XHS search bar to research further. Search Ads ensure that your brand appears prominently at that critical decision-making moment. Over 40% of XHS users actively search for reviews and related content when they develop interest in a product, making search placement a critical component of a full-funnel XHS strategy.
The KFS model works because it mirrors how XHS users actually behave: discover through content, validate through research, purchase through trust. Brands that align their paid strategy to this funnel consistently outperform those running isolated ad campaigns without organic content support.
Want to implement the KFS model with expert guidance? Explore [AllXHS's industry-specific strategies](https://www.allxhs.com/industries) or access our [free Xiaohongshu resources](https://www.allxhs.com/resources) to get started.
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Compliance Rules International Brands Must Know {#compliance}
XHS advertising operates within a layered regulatory environment that combines Xiaohongshu's own community guidelines with China's national advertising laws. International brands frequently run into compliance issues not because they intend to mislead, but because they apply Western content standards to a market with different rules.
A few non-negotiable compliance principles for XHS advertising:
• No superlative language: China's Advertising Law prohibits terms such as "the best," "number one," "most advanced," or similar absolute claims. Brands using language borrowed from global campaigns will often find ads rejected during review.
• Sponsored content disclosure: All paid influencer content must be clearly labeled. Xiaohongshu requires explicit disclosure language — (广告 or 商业合作) — placed prominently at the beginning of sponsored posts, not buried in captions.
• Industry restrictions: Certain product categories face additional approval requirements or are restricted entirely on the platform. Reviewing XHS's industry admission rules before beginning the application process prevents costly delays.
• Authenticity standards: XHS has a strong track record of removing misleading content — the platform has previously removed over 1.38 million paid promotional posts and 1.21 million biased reviews to maintain community trust. Ads that feel deceptive or exaggerated are not just rejected; repeated violations can result in account restrictions.
• Ad labeling in feed: All In-Feed Ads are marked with a small "广告" (Guanggao, meaning "advertisement") label, ensuring users are informed they are viewing paid content.
Building compliance review into your content and campaign approval workflow — rather than treating it as an afterthought — protects both your ad spend and your brand account standing.
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How International Brands Access the Juguang Platform {#access}
Accessing Juguang as an overseas brand requires navigating a few important steps. XHS allows overseas entities to register a Professional Account directly without establishing a Chinese subsidiary, using an overseas business license translated into Chinese by a certified agency, a trademark registration certificate, a responsible person's ID or passport, and a Chinese phone number for verification. The annual account verification fee is CNY 600 (waived for the first year for qualifying foreign SMEs as of 2025), and the review process typically takes 5 to 7 business days.
However, while the Professional Account can be registered under a foreign entity, a functioning Juguang advertising account currently must be opened under a Chinese entity. This means most international brands work with a certified local agency or operating partner to activate and manage their Juguang campaigns. The platform interface is Chinese-only, and bid management, creative compliance, and audience optimization all require in-market expertise.
For brands newer to XHS, starting with Shutiao for lightweight content amplification while simultaneously building out the Juguang account infrastructure is a practical path to market. It allows teams to generate early performance data and audience insights before committing to full-scale paid campaigns.
AllXHS connects international brands with [expert Xiaohongshu marketing services](https://www.allxhs.com/services) to navigate account setup, campaign management, and platform compliance — so you can focus on building your brand, not deciphering Chinese-only dashboards.
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Key Takeaways for International Brands {#key-takeaways}
The XHS advertising platform is not a simplified version of Meta Ads or Google Ads applied to a Chinese audience. It is a distinct ecosystem with its own logic, content culture, and technical requirements. Here is a concise summary of what to take away:
• Juguang (Aurora) is the core platform for professional, full-scale XHS advertising. Shutiao is the lighter alternative for content amplification without a full Juguang setup.
• There are five primary ad formats: In-Feed Ads, Search Ads, Splash Ads, Brand Zone Ads, and Short Video Ads — each suited to different objectives and budgets.
• Targeting is genuinely powerful, with demographic, behavioral, keyword, geo-radius, competitor audience, lookalike, and custom audience options available through Juguang.
• Entry-level campaign budgets start around ¥10,000–20,000 RMB, making XHS more accessible than Douyin for brands testing the Chinese market for the first time.
• The KFS model (KOL + Feed + Search) is the proven framework for full-funnel XHS campaign structure and should guide how you allocate across influencer seeding, paid amplification, and search capture.
• Compliance is non-negotiable. China's advertising laws and XHS community guidelines require explicit disclosure, no superlative claims, and category-specific approval — all before a single ad goes live.
• International brands typically need a local partner to activate Juguang, given the Chinese-only interface and the requirement for a Chinese entity to open an ad account.
Ready to Advertise on XHS the Right Way?
Xiaohongshu's advertising platform represents a genuinely differentiated opportunity for international brands. The combination of high-intent search behavior, community-driven discovery, and a user base that actively wants to find new products creates an environment where well-executed paid campaigns do not fight for attention — they earn it. But the platform's nuances, from Juguang access requirements to KFS strategy execution to compliance rules, mean that the gap between a campaign that works and one that drains budget without return is largely a knowledge gap.
That is exactly the gap AllXHS exists to close. Whether you are running your first XHS ad or rebuilding a campaign strategy that has underperformed, the right combination of platform knowledge, localized content, and expert execution makes all the difference.
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