The secret to operating Xiaohongshu and gaining traffic from popular articles!

In the new year, first of all, I wish you all a happy Year of the Tiger. This issue is a breakdown of the hottest articles on Xiaohongshu in January, covering 8 sections: fashion, makeup, food, home, skin care, cute pets, mother and baby, and medical beauty.

In the upcoming New Year, the platform will launch a series of topic activities. When making the placements, you can pay attention to some experts who are good at following hot topics.
Then let’s take a look at what inspiration the popular articles in January can give us.

01 |Beauty and Makeup|

Case 1: Makeup Diary | Can fat girls not wear makeup?

The title of a popular article on Xiaohongshu: This is a slightly plump beauty blogger with a very clear personality positioning. The "fat girls" population is accurately positioned. Generally, there are more negative topics associated with fat girls, which are controversial in themselves.

"Can't I put on makeup?" reflects a contradiction: fat = ugly = can't put on makeup, and the emotions of the crowd are affected.

The cover of the popular article on Xiaohongshu: the comparison pictures of the upper and lower covers before and after makeup will be very shocking. This echoes the original title "Can't I put on makeup?" Show that even fat girls can become beautiful through makeup.

Hot content on Xiaohongshu: In addition to sharing makeup tips, bloggers also output their own values, allowing users to learn tips while also receiving positive encouragement. This arouses empathy and triggers comments in the comment section, including some asking about the product.

|Copy homework|

Where there is controversy, there is traffic. There are generally two types of beauty product placement: one is to find someone who is particularly good-looking, and the other is to find someone who is particularly "ugly". The former brings beautiful enjoyment, while the latter brings reverse surprise.

When doing this kind of influencer advertising, in addition to choosing the blogger’s makeup skills, having positive values ​​can also increase fan stickiness and achieve better grass-planting effects.

Case 2: How to follow me from Figure 1 to Figure 2 in just 7 days - Day 1 Foundation

The title of the popular article on Xiaohongshu: "How to get from Picture 1️⃣ to Picture 2️⃣" echoes the cover, indicating that there may be a reversal in the next picture, and the attraction is captured; at the same time, note that the numbers are emojis, which have a more emphatic visual effect compared to pure numbers.

"It only takes 7 days to follow me", tutorial guide + numbers, indicating that this is a tutorial-style note, and it is a serialized one. If users learn something from the first article, they will want to continue learning.

The cover of the popular article on Xiaohongshu: In fact, the cover itself is not very attractive, but the title arouses curiosity, and with the reverse makeup in the second photo, the effect is obvious. This is actually very similar to Case 1 - comparing top and bottom or comparing Figure 1 and Figure 2, and the compared figures are impactful.

Hot content on Xiaohongshu: Detailed graphic tutorials with real-life demonstrations. It is not sophisticated, but very "down-to-earth", with very detailed text instructions for each step. A quick look at the comment section shows that it is full of questions about the product, and the blogger also provides interactive answers, which increases users' confidence in buying.

|Copy homework|

Users have judgment to a certain extent. They can feel which pictures are posed and which are real, so sometimes there is no need to be overly sophisticated. If you can express the tutorial content clearly, it will have a strong penetration. If a collection of products has little exposure, highlight the core selling points of the product in the brief, and then be active in the comment section to let the blogger answer questions.

02 │ Skin Care │

Case 1:

Rich 🌼Song Ji-ah actually uses skin care products that cost dozens of dollars?

The title of a popular article on Xiaohongshu: "Song Ji-ah" is a popular variety show star recently. Being a star means that her spending power is not low, but she actually also has "skin care products worth dozens of dollars." This creates a huge contrast, and people who are interested in this star will pay attention to it.

The cover of Xiaohongshu’s popular article: The same star is used on the cover, and the effect is in the form of a large-character poster. The cover cleverly uses emojis, making the overall look more three-dimensional.

Xiaohongshu's popular content: There are not many products in the video itself, the duration is very short, and the products introduced are all on point. The blogger's real presentation is assisted by the celebrity's original video presentation to show that her recommendation is well-founded, which can make users more convinced. The comment section discusses both the products and the celebrities themselves.

|Copy homework|

There is a celebrity effect in the explosive article capsule. That is to use the popularity of celebrities to implant products. When we choose bloggers, one dimension we consider is whether they can catch up with hot topics in time or produce explosive content.

At the same time, if you keep up with hot topics in a timely manner, there will always be a certain amount of traffic, which requires continuous improvement in the efficiency of content production.

Case 2:

Acne removal｜Average price 💰10r Easily solve the troubles of acne and acne marks❗️

The title of the popular article on Xiaohongshu: "Acne Removal" points out the content of the video, and the people attracted are those who need acne removal.

"Average price 10r" and "Easy to solve" point out the price and effect. People are most sensitive to price, so what they care about is how to spend the least money to solve the most troublesome problems.

Cover of a popular article on Xiaohongshu: When you click on the blogger’s homepage, you will find that his cover style is unified, directly displaying the product + the form of a large-character poster, which is very recognizable.

The popular content of Xiaohongshu: At the beginning of the video, the blogger mentioned that he does not recommend oral products and medicines, but the ointment appeared, which shows that he is confident enough and the product itself is good enough to recommend it, which will keep users reading. There are 5 products in total, which is considered a large number in the collection, so it is a small inventory. The explanation of the content also includes precautions and statements for use, which is enough to show the blogger's responsibility. In the comment section, the blogger will also answer the questions raised.

|Copy homework|

When recommending products, the blogger’s own experience of using the product and the solutions he or she provides can have a great impact on the user’s consumption decision. Especially for some special products, we must think comprehensively about the users and matters that need attention, and raise them in the video. Avoid piling up a lot of professional terms.

03 │ Outfits │

Case 1:

Do you really know how to copy the fashion blogger’s homework?

Hot article titles on Xiaohongshu: titles in the form of rhetorical questions. When it comes to dressing, the simplest thing is to copy it directly, but “Can you really copy it?” will trigger thinking.

Cover of the popular article on Xiaohongshu: The cover shows 3 outfits explained by the blogger. The overall style is simple but intuitive. “Respect Winter” points out that this is a dressing video related to winter.

Hot article content on Xiaohongshu: The beginning of the video is a thoughtful interview format. The blogger's interesting expression shows the theme of the video. After entering the central part, it is clearly divided into 5 modules, which are all issues that everyone cares about in daily life but doesn't know how to deal with.

The detailed explanation and presentation of each module, combined with the blogger’s own expression, increases the fun and practicality, and the essence of the content is to teach everyone how to avoid pitfalls.

|Copy homework|

I need to clarify here that this blogger is positioned as a beauty blogger, not a fashion blogger, but why are her fashion content so popular?

In addition to the highlights of the content itself, this is because whether it is beauty or fashion, the target audience behind them is the same. As long as the content is good enough, it is possible to produce popular articles across fields.

This is also what was mentioned in the previous article: when analyzing competitors, we can also analyze competitors across industries instead of limiting ourselves to the same industry.

Case 2:

Song Ji-ah's same style curly hair tutorial comes to Liaoning

The hot article title on Xiaohongshu is: "Same style as Song Ji-ah", the celebrity effect of catching up with the hot topics, this time it is in the makeup and hair, which shows the power of riding on the hot topics.

“Curling tutorial” points out the theme of the video.

Title naming format: XX (celebrity) same style XX (makeup/skin care/outfit) tutorial

The cover of the popular article on Xiaohongshu: The cover is simple and direct, showing the blogger’s own hairstyle and the same curly hair as celebrities. The greater the similarity, the more interested the user will be in the content of the tutorial. After all, which girl doesn’t want to have the same style as a celebrity?

Hot article on Xiaohongshu: The blogger explains in detail the steps to create the same hairstyle, which is highly practical and very easy to implement. Because many girls have the mentality that "only by using the same product can the same effect be achieved", they will ask. It can be seen that the blogger has a good interaction with users in the comment area.

|Copy homework|

As we can see from the two popular articles in January that both are related to celebrities, it is much more efficient to use the celebrity effect in a timely manner than to rack your brains to choose a topic.

So how can we take advantage of the celebrity effect?

In a positive way, we can copy their outfits, makeup, skin care, etc. In a negative way, we can "sing a different tune", such as "Don't learn from Song Ji-ah anymore" to express our own values ​​and opinions, so as to achieve differentiation.

04 │Cute Pets│

Case 1:

Don’t call me a country cat, call me a dark cloud covering the snow! !

The popular title of Xiaohongshu article: The anthropomorphic title written in the voice of a cat is more interesting than the descriptive science popularization. At the same time, "Local Cat" and "Dark Clouds Covering Snow" both tell the story of the same kind of cat, but the name has changed and the grade has been raised to a higher level. It's like the difference between a common name and a scientific name.

Cover of popular articles on Xiaohongshu: The cover layout of the blogger’s homepage is unified, and the content classification is also systematic, which makes it highly recognizable. The cover title "Stop calling Chinese rural cats 'country cats'" directly points out the theme of the video.

Hot content on Xiaohongshu: The content introduces several common types of rural cats, with ancient names. At the end of the video, users are guided to leave the ancient names of their cats, which not only allows users to learn knowledge points but also increases the popularity of the interactive area.

|Copy homework|

When common things in life are called by different names, users’ curiosity is captured and the effect is surprisingly good. On the other hand, when we are naming our product, in addition to having a "high-sounding" academic name, we can also give it a friendly "nickname", which is easy to remember and thus brings us closer to the users.

Case 2:

Decrypt! Hidden scent bombs for cats at home!

Xiaohongshu's popular article title: "Decryption!" "Hidden" revealing titles always attract people's curiosity.

The cover of the popular article on Xiaohongshu: At first glance, it is a very interesting picture of three cats coupled with the cover title "The joy of raising cats! I finally experience it~" and one will be curious about what kind of joy it is.

Xiaohongshu hot article content: This is a collaborative note, and it is not ruled out that there is a situation of burning information flow. To judge whether this note needs to burn information flow, compare it with the data of the notes usually released by the blogger. If the note performs well after release, you can invest appropriately.

Compared to directly recommending products from the beginning, starting with a story about a cute pet will not cause users to be disgusted. By pointing out in the notes "what is the most anxious part of raising a cat", the blogger expressed the distress of most cat owners and provided some evidence, which aroused resonance and then smoothly introduced the product to demonstrate the effect. Of course, the content itself is interesting and not too boring.

|Copy homework|

The logic of content composition: story beginning → raising questions → revealing content → providing solutions. From the emergence of the problem to its solution, it all revolves around the common troubles of users, and then introduces the product, becoming a living "instruction manual" for the product.

05 │Mother and baby products│

Case 1:

Heartbreaking summary: 10 things you regret most in the first month after having a newborn baby❗

The title of the popular article on Xiaohongshu: "Newborn" is targeted at new mothers, and "10 Things You Regret Most" is very impactful. Especially for new mothers, who lack experience themselves, they really need experienced people to pass on their experience to help them avoid pitfalls.

“10 Things” points out the richness of the amount of content and increases its practicality.

Cover of popular articles on Xiaohongshu: The cover layout of bloggers’ homepages is a unified large-character poster style, with red and black fonts, emoji, babies, and “Open quickly, you won’t regret it” to emphasize the importance of content.

Hot content on Xiaohongshu: The beginning of the video mentioned the pain points of new mothers and resonated with the crowd. The narration of matters is also well-organized, and you can see that there are very detailed descriptions in the text. It is a very carefully made note.

It is still easy to embed products into lightning-avoidance videos. Combined with the blogger’s own experience, their authenticity and reliability will increase.

|Copy homework|

Currently, content homogeneity in the maternal and infant field is quite serious, but this shows that you can stand out if you find a point of difference. Given the identity of a mother with elderly parents and young children to take care of, there are many directions to approach, whether it is getting along with the elderly or taking care of the young. It is recommended to output content with contradictions + lightning-avoiding practical information.

Case 2:

Steam baby food for 1 year old and above in one pot | 15 minutes to make it simple and delicious

The title of the popular article on Xiaohongshu: The target audience of "1 year old + baby" is new mothers, and "15 minutes to do it" highlights the effect, because new mothers actually do not have that much time to cook food, at this time they need a food tutorial that saves time and ensures nutrition.

Cover of the popular article on Xiaohongshu: When you open the blogger’s homepage, you will see pictures of delicious food with corresponding subtitles. The unified layout also gives a certain aesthetic feeling. After all, the main thing about food is whether it can arouse appetite and the desire to do something.

Hot content on Xiaohongshu: For tutorial content, it has high collection value because of its strong altruism. The products implanted during the production process will also be more convincing, after all, they are real products.

Secondly, the fields can overlap. You can say it is food, or you can say it is mother and baby, and the target audience is actually the same category, that is, new mothers.

|Copy homework|

This is a sub-category under the maternal and infant category - baby food. Compared with a large-scale layout, you can explore and layout less competitive and more segmented categories on Xiaohongshu, so as to quickly seize accurate search traffic on Xiaohongshu and influence consumer decisions.

06 │Home Furnishings│

Case 1:

My 11-square-meter room has everything. I don't go out all day.

The title of a popular article on Xiaohongshu: "A room of 11 square meters" but "has everything", which is very attractive. "Staying at home all day" indirectly shows the "sense of happiness" of living in a small house, and is a concrete expression of the yearning for a better life for people living in rental houses.

Cover of popular articles on Xiaohongshu: When you open the blogger’s homepage, you will find that they all have the same composition, or even very similar pictures, and the titles are also similar. This kind of use of cleverness will ensure that one of their articles will become popular.

The hot article on Xiaohongshu: When you open the notes, they are all pictures of living environments and products. The quality and look of the pictures are very healing, and they show beauty. It can be seen that in the comment section, in addition to asking for links to items, there are also people praising the blogger for his grasp of color.

|Copy homework|

Home graphic notes have high requirements on the quality of pictures. From the overall picture to the close-up, this kind of notes needs to give people a sense of healing as a whole and reflect the upward beauty. This can be smoothly implanted into many products. Even wherever you look, it may be a promotion. What you need is to learn and imitate.

Case 2:

400,000 yuan, but makes the family seem "out of place" in the small county town

The title of the popular article on Xiaohongshu: "400,000" is a direct impact, pointing out that it is the cost spent by the blogger on decoration, which is not a small amount, and the "small county town" and "out of place" show that the decorated house is far beyond the level of houses in small county towns.

Things that are beyond people's normal cognitive scope will arouse curiosity and make people want to see how "out of place" they are.

The cover of a popular article on Xiaohongshu: The decoration in the picture gives people a "high-end" feeling at first glance, but the title points out that it is a home in a small county town, which creates a great sense of contrast.

The content of the popular article on Xiaohongshu: The main article begins with a short story, introduces the situation of the house, and also shares some of the author's own decoration ideas and suggestions, which is very helpful for people who yearn for the same beautiful life.

The pictures of the blogger's home environment, from the living room to the room, fully demonstrate the simple high-end feeling and aesthetics. There will be questions about cleaning in the comments, and it is easy to embed cleaning and household brands.

|Copy homework|

The key points of home pictures include high-end feel and composition. The style can be simple and healing, or cozy and warm. The scenes created show an upward life from the overall to the details. Platforms and users will also prefer this type of content; paying more attention to the comment area is the most intuitive place to understand user needs.

07 │ Food │

Case 1:

The most authoritative list of Holiland substitutes on the entire web is here!

The titles of popular articles on Xiaohongshu are "the most popular on the entire network" and "the most authoritative". These extreme words are exaggerated, but it has to be said that the appeal to users will still be captured.

The cover of Xiaohongshu’s popular article: The puzzle combined with “the most complete in history” shows the diversity of quantity.

Hot content on Xiaohongshu: In the video, the blogger bought all the products and did research and evaluation, showing the process so that users can witness the results together, which increases credibility and authenticity; the products are displayed with comparison shots to further let users feel the comparison results. The comment section also displays information related to the product to further guide users.

|Copy homework|

"Substitutes for certain big brands" has always been a popular topic. Compared with other videos that purely display food, substitute videos can satisfy users' needs of saving money and enjoying similar tastes. When recommending delicious food, it is important to provide some evaluation process in the video and display data.

Case 2:

The dipping sauce recipe that the guy from the barbecue restaurant downstairs wrote down for me!

The title of the popular article on Xiaohongshu: For those who love barbecue, the soul of barbecue is the dipping sauce. However, it is still too "luxurious" to go to a barbecue restaurant specifically to consume it, so the identity of "BBQ restaurant boy" in the title adds professionalism and persuasiveness. After saving this recipe, you can also enjoy the joy of delicious food at home.

The cover of the popular article on Xiaohongshu: The cover directly displays a certain step of the production process, showing a peach pastry that people would never expect, which makes people feel a little surprised.

Hot article content on Xiaohongshu: The pictures show the process from material preparation to production, and each step is accompanied by text explanation. It is a practical article on gourmet food. In addition to recognition of the blogger, the comment section also includes discussions about the recipe.

|Copy homework|

Food-related notes use third-party characters to demonstrate the professionalism of the notes, such as "the owner of the barbecue restaurant downstairs" or "the chef of a five-star hotel." These notes will be more convincing and have higher collection value than those written by yourself.

08 |Medical Beauty|

Medical beauty is a content section that Xiaohongshu is going to rectify in the near future. By deconstructing the explosive articles, we can effectively “avoid the risks”.

Case 1:

Laser | Photorejuvenation | Hi-Body Panda Needle, painless beauty for beginners!

The popular title of Xiaohongshu: "Newbies" targets a large group of people, and "painless beauty" is exactly what this group of people needs.

Cover of a popular article on Xiaohongshu: The cover has the blogger’s personal style, showing 3 items and a big headline.

The content of the popular article on Xiaohongshu: The beginning shows the blogger's skin condition when she was 30 years old, and also points out the money she spent on medical beauty, which shows that it is not just empty talk. In the video, the main text, and the comment area, it is mentioned that there is no commercial promotion, and the blogger is responsible to the users and has a full desire to survive. The specific content is interspersed with the blogger's own comparison pictures.

|Copy homework|

When it comes to medical beauty, the most important thing is authenticity and credibility. The blogger you choose must have a foundation in medical beauty and have a certain ability to answer questions. Avoid targeting amateurs who have no real experience.

│Final Summary│

1. When you run out of topics to choose from, try following some hot topics. Especially the hot topics related to celebrities, which revolve around the stars' food, clothing, housing, transportation and beauty from both positive and negative perspectives.

If your approach is novel enough, you may be able to obtain better data, provided that it is output in a timely manner. As for the angle of entry, you need to study more popular articles, analyze where they enter from and what the central point is.

2. The core of cross-field explosive articles is that the target groups behind the fields are the same.

3. In product positioning, naming is also very important. Whether it can bring users closer and whether it can be accepted and remembered by users are points that need to be considered.

4. Pay more attention to the comment section, which is the most intuitive place to understand user needs.

5. The title should learn to "borrow identity" and leverage some third-party more professional roles to increase the professionalism and credibility of the notes.

By reading the analysis of the hot article and combining it with the following hot article capsule, I believe you will understand it more thoroughly.

Author: Zhuang Jun

Source: Zhuang Jun