Instagram influencers really want you to know how much they love Xiaomi

Alex Lee February 20, 2018

If New York Fashion Week is the place where celebs go to show off their hot new garb, then there’s one thing that we’ve all learned about fashion. The Xiaomi Mi Power Bank Pro is all the rage in the US, and if you don’t get one; oh boy, you’re missing out.

Instagram influencers really want you to know how much they love Xiaomi

Well, that’s according to multiple shots of high-profile fashion influencers lavishly holding their Xiaomi Mi Power Banks as if they were babies or bag-friendly chihuahuas. If there is any indicator that Xiaomi is looking to crack the US market, this is certainly it.

Scroll down through the feed of Xiaomi’s three-month old US-based Instagram account and you’ll see the likes of Paris Hilton, Crystal Bick, Demi-Leigh Nel-Peters, fashion blogger, Bryan Boy and countless more holding their Xiaomi power banks, with followers proclaiming that they will buy one.

“Such a life saver during #NYFW! My phone was always % charged & I never missed a #SelfieMoment朗 Love my #MiPowerBank #PoweredByMi,” Paris Hilton wrote in an Instagram post, in something which reads suspiciously like an advert. You’ll note, however, that there’s no #ad or #sponsored tag here which is something that could get Xiaomi in hot water – assuming this is an ad campaign, and not just a bunch of celebrities sharing a love of power banks and brand-friendly hashtags.

Back in 2016, US retailer, Lord & Taylor, were forced to cough up to the FTC after they paid Instagram influencers to wear the same dress, but failed to disclose it in the Instagram post with an #ad hashtag.

Regardless of whether this is paid or not, it does suggest that the Chinese company is seriously eyeing up the US market. While Xiaomi hasn’t yet released a Xiaomi smartphone in the States (or the UK for that matter,

nice as it would be) it could just be testing the waters with this campaign. Although cracking the US is tough as a Chinese manufacturer – just ask Huawei, which seems to be in the FBI’s bad books for no clear reason.

Xiaomi is still a relatively new name in the Western world, despite being a household name in China, but that could change very soon. According to a report by analyst Digitimes released earlier this month, Xiaomi is predicted to emerge as the world’s second largest Chinese smartphone manufacturer behind Huawei, by the second quarter of 2018. While its power bank doesn’t hit our list of the best power banks, we thought the Xiaomi Mi6 was an excellent phone.

Whether these Instagram posts will land the company in trouble, we’ll have to wait and see – but it sure looks like Xiaomi is about to take on the US market – if not the FTC.