A Xiaohongshu marketing agency can only propose useful work when it understands the business, the customer and the materials available. “We want more Chinese customers” is a starting point, but it is not yet a brief that defines a project.
I would turn that request into a practical description of the offer, target market, customer questions and intended next step. The same brief helps when you are hiring an independent consultant for strategy and localization rather than a wider content operation.
Use the following approach to make proposals easier to compare and reduce assumptions after the project starts.
Explain the offer before requesting a content package
Describe what the business sells and where customers can buy or receive the service. Identify a priority product range or service rather than sending a provider the whole catalogue and asking them to choose without context.
Include the important buying conditions: availability, service coverage, pricing structure and the process after an enquiry. Explain which claims the business can substantiate and which information still needs approval.
For lead generation, define a suitable enquiry. For eCommerce, identify the commercial information the provider needs to understand the products, such as margins, stock priorities or delivery limitations. Confidential details should be shared only when necessary and through an appropriate process.
Describe the audience as a business problem
The brief should explain the customer’s needs in the market you serve. A person comparing a local service has different questions from someone researching an online purchase.
Record known language requirements and customer terminology. English, Simplified Chinese and Traditional Chinese may all appear in the research process, but the provider should explain how the proposed content uses them.
Avoid treating “Chinese audience” as a complete description. Geography, customer need, familiarity with the offer and the stage of the buying decision are useful planning details. Do not infer sensitive personal information to manufacture an audience profile.
Separate strategy, production and account operations
A proposal should identify which parts of the job are included:
- Audience and content planning.
- Chinese copy and creative localization.
- Photography, filming, design or editing.
- Publishing and account operations.
- Comment and enquiry handling.
- Creator collaboration or paid promotion, where separately agreed.
These tasks may be supplied by different people. Ask who does each one and what the provider requires from your business.
This distinction matters when comparing prices. A strategy and copywriting scope cannot be evaluated as though it also includes regular filming, community management and third-party creator fees.
Set up an approval process that protects accuracy
Identify one person who can confirm business facts and one person responsible for language feedback. They may be the same person, but the responsibilities should be clear.
Specify how the provider submits content for review, which materials need approval and how changes are recorded. The purpose is to prevent incorrect prices, unsupported claims or outdated availability from being published.
Creator partnerships require their own review arrangements. Xiaohongshu’s commercial collaboration guidance describes platform review requirements; a provider should check the current process rather than assume an informal collaboration is sufficient.[1]
Agree on how urgent factual corrections are handled. This is an operating detail to discuss, not a reason to invent a response-time guarantee in a proposal.
Clarify ownership and permission to use the materials
Ask who owns the account, which access method is appropriate and what happens at handover. Account access should follow the platform’s supported arrangements and the project’s actual needs.
For creative, confirm where the business may reuse images, video and copy. Rights for an account post may differ from rights to reuse a creator’s content in paid advertisements or on another platform.
Do not assume that a provider can publish customer images or private client information merely because those materials were supplied. Confirm permission and keep identifying details out of public examples unless explicitly approved.
Define a useful reporting question
Ask the provider to explain what the first review should teach you. It might identify which questions generate relevant interaction, whether customers understand the offer or where enquiries lose momentum.
Follower counts and engagement can describe account activity. They do not establish sales, lead quality or profitability. Request a reporting explanation that separates platform observations from business outcomes and attribution assumptions.
Your team should also know what feedback it must provide. A provider cannot evaluate enquiry relevance if every conversation remains outside the agreed review process.
Send a brief that supports a clear quote
Include your website, offer, target market, preferred written languages, existing account, available assets and main goal. Add who can approve content, supply new materials and handle customers.
My Xiaohongshu service focuses on strategy, content planning and localization within an agreed scope. Send me that brief and we can discuss the work I can cover and any additional resources the project needs.
Source
[1] Xiaohongshu Pugongying, commercial content review guidance, checked 15 October 2026: Official source