As recently as last year in 2022, real estate companies and developers could still get their Little Red Book accounts verified on the Chinese social media platform.

However, Little Red Book has instilled a new regulation that overseas real estate companies, which basically includes companies outside of Mainland China, will not be able to apply for verification.

If you are in real estate and want to leverage Little Red Book to market your projects, how does this impact you?

1 | You are discouraged from posting about sales and promotions

Suppose you have the blue check mark as a verified account on Little Red Book. In that case, you can post promotions and more hard-sell content, but once you lose the check mark or if you cannot get verified, then posting this type of content could get your content flagged, the reach of your post limited, or in the worse case, your account frozen.

Accounts flagged or frozen by the platform do not appear in search results, and their content is not shown in keyword search results, making it extremely difficult to grow our following.

2 | Your account reach and engagement will be lower than if you had the coveted blue checkmark

When accounts lose their blue check mark, the reach and overall engagement on the account and content are much lower, dropping by as much as 30% to 50%. This is related to #3 below.

3 | If you had a verified account and the annual verification expired, your content does not (currently) appear in keyword search results

This has happened to several verified accounts where their annual verification period expired; once the account no longer had the check mark, the account's content no longer shows up in keyword search results, which is a major traffic driver for new followers and engagement. Losing this method to connect with prospective followers and users on the platform drags down performance.

So, what can you do if you don't want to abandon all the hard work you put into building the account?

*Make sure your wording and content are organic and authentic rather than trying to sell something.*

1 | Share content that focuses on the homebuyer's perspective and lifestyle

Here are some sample topics that are more lifestyle-oriented but still relate to key reasons why homebuyers make their purchasing decision:

Three neighbourhoods best for young families in Greater Vancouver with award-winning educational programs
Ten things to look out for when buying your first home
Five things to consider when upsizing from a condo to a townhome
Why do people in Canada prefer condos over single detached homes?
A video post in the format of a daily vlog to show how living in the neighbourhood would be like

In each of these topics, we don't mention the project name or use extravagant terms like 'the highest standard in Vancouver' or starting prices; instead, we focus on the homebuyer to address their concerns and share knowledge. This type of content would 1) get more engagement on the platform and 2) be more favoured by Little Red Book's content algorithm because it is seen as more authentic and original.

*If you would like to include such information, the above are emojis commonly used on Little Red Book to convey the message.*

2 | Do not include sales, promotions, QR codes or contact details in the post copy or even on the image

The Little Red Book algorithm is able to detect content that promotes sales or mentions starting prices, which is seen as pushy sales tactics on the platform. This type of behaviour is discouraged on Little Red Book, and your content will be limited for that select post including sales messaging. Your posts following this flagged post will also experience lower reach and engagement. In some cases if the community guidelines

infringement is severe, the account will be frozen/locked.

3 | Engage with your realtor network

Real estate developers usually have established relationships with realtors in their community. You could incentivize realtors to post about your project to drum up momentum and drive traffic to your Little Red Book account. Making the best use of your network on social media could get your content and project in front of more users on Little Red Book and attract more leads.

We hope this was helpful! If you need help with setting up, building, or maintaining your Little Red Book presence, get in touch with our Chinese marketing specialists today!

LITTLE RED BOOK UPDATE -- Verification Status for Overseas Real Estate Companies