The creativity of amateurs is limited. How to avoid homogeneity when expanding the market?

Amid the vast amount of content on Xiaohongshu, amateur creators face a huge challenge: how to avoid content homogeneity and achieve differentiation with limited creative capabilities? This article provides practical strategies and methods from three dimensions: topic selection, content, and personality.

When advertising on Xiaohongshu, you don’t have to invest in top brands, but amateurs are the ones that all brands need to cooperate with.

Amateur creators are the closest to real consumers and the most cost-effective choice in the ecosystem. Of course, they also face the severe challenge of content homogeneity. Users are gradually immune to "stereotyped" grass-roots content, and algorithms are becoming more sensitive to repeated content. How can amateur notes move from quantity to quality and achieve differentiation?

1. Topic selection: Narrow the topic

For amateur creators, it is difficult to create notes that are both authentic and high-quality when faced with a broad topic. We need to narrow the scope of the topic and try to narrow it to a user pain point, so that amateur creators can simulate a pain point of real consumers to create.

We can start optimizing Biref by narrowing down keywords and scenarios.

1) Reverse word search (avoiding popular products)

On Xiaohongshu, many amateur creators blindly pursue popular keywords in order to gain traffic, which ultimately leads to serious content homogeneity and a lack of user browsing and traffic distribution. To avoid this, you can use reverse keyword mining to avoid those popular keywords that have already flooded the market.

Search target keywords

Enter the keyword in the search bar of Xiaohongshu and enter the search results page. At this time, do not directly select the most popular note, but click "Latest" to sort. This way you can see the most recently posted notes, which may contain some high-quality content that has not yet been discovered by the public.

In this way, some new creative directions and inspirations can be discovered, avoiding direct competition with popular notes. At the same time, the latest sorted notes tend to better reflect the latest needs and interests of current users, helping creators to grasp the latest content trends.

Lock waist notes

Among the notes sorted by "latest", look for mid-tier notes with an interaction volume between 200-500. Although the interaction volume of these notes is not as high as that of popular notes, it shows that there is demand for them and the competition is relatively small. At the same time, mid-tier notes usually have a certain user base, but are not too popular, so they are a good reference.

By analyzing the content of these notes and user feedback, you can better understand the real needs and pain points of users, thereby providing valuable reference for your own creation.

Add precise qualifiers

Directly reuse the topic of the waist note, but add precise qualifiers to make it more unique and specific, and also attract users with specific needs, thus avoiding homogeneity. By adding precise qualifiers, you can better locate the target user group and improve the relevance and attractiveness of the content.

This specific topic is also more likely to stand out in search results, increasing the chances of being discovered by users

For example, change "snack recommendations" to sugar-free + low-calorie snack recommendations (for people with eye protection)"

2. Extreme scenes (creating memory hooks)

In the era of information explosion, how can you make your notes stand out from the massive content on Xiaohongshu? Scene extremism is a very effective strategy, which can provide users with a unique perspective and a deep memory point, thus effectively avoiding homogeneity.

Ordinary needs pushed to extreme environments

Putting common needs or scenarios in daily life into extreme environments for discussion can instantly catch the user's attention. This kind of content in extreme environments is not only very practical, but also can stimulate the user's curiosity and desire to explore.

For example, we put the common storage needs into extreme scenarios such as "commuting in heavy rain" to explore how to prevent the things in the bag from getting wet. Such content can not only provide users with practical solutions, but also trigger strong resonance and enhance the influence and dissemination of notes.

Use specific numbers to create contrast

The use of specific numbers can add intuitive impact and persuasiveness to the content. Creating contrast through specific numbers can further enhance the appeal of the content.

For example, "I spent 188 to renovate my 3 square meter balcony garden" creates a strong contrast through the two specific numbers "188" and "3", which attracts the user's interest and makes them want to know more about how to renovate the balcony at a low cost.

This contrast can not only stimulate users' curiosity, but also make them resonate with the content. The use of specific numbers can make users more intuitively feel the value and practicality of the content, thereby increasing the attractiveness and spread of the notes.

2. Content: Refine the content

1. Bury the conflict point: refuse to speak directly

In content creation, a straightforward approach often fails to attract users’ attention. By embedding conflict points in the content, you can stimulate users’ curiosity and interest in reading, making the content more attractive.

Create suspense in the title: The beginning is the key part to attract users to continue reading. By creating suspense, you can quickly grab users' attention and make them want to continue reading. The title should contain core long-tail words. While the suspense can resonate with readers, you should also avoid clickbait and ensure that the title is highly relevant to the content, otherwise it will affect user retention and interaction rate.

Repeated emphasis in the text: The first three lines repeat the keywords, and the core long-tail keywords are directly pointed out at the beginning to attract users to continue reading

Word count > 500 words: Xiaohongshu algorithm prefers long articles, and notes with more than 500 words are more likely to be recommended

Originality>60%: Avoid plagiarism or duplication of content. Notes with high originality are more likely to receive traffic.

Clear content structure: Use subheadings, paragraph breaks, and emojis to improve readability

2. Detail disassembly method (differentiated display)

In content creation, we deeply analyze the selling points and buying points of the products we display, and analyze them in combination with the content of related articles to determine whether they are suitable for graphic or video types, long articles or short narratives, and integrate and disassemble the details according to the relevant content.

Differentiated content strategy

1) Add personal stories to enhance the appeal of content through real experiences

2) Stand in the user's perspective and share usage experience and solutions from the user's perspective

3) Strengthen interactive design, embed interactive points in content, and guide users to comment or share

Visual Optimization Strategy

• Cover design: Create a high-definition cover to increase click-through rate (contrast image or add eye-catching title)
• Image layout: Use multiple images, label annotation and other methods to display the effects of multiple scenes and improve content readability
• Video content: Create short, high-quality videos (e.g., within 15 seconds) that demonstrate the effects of using the product.

3. Defective Marketing (Building Trust in Reverse Ways)

By being honest about the shortcomings of the product, clarifying the target audience, and informing the risks in advance, you can build user trust and increase the appeal of the content. At the same time, through visual coordination, such as marking defects with a red marker, you can further attract users' attention and enhance the effectiveness of the content.

This approach not only helps users make more informed decisions, but also improves the authenticity and credibility of the content, thereby effectively avoiding homogenization.

Upfront confession: At the beginning of the content, directly confess the shortcomings of the product to attract users' attention and build trust, making them more willing to continue reading.

Reverse screening: Clearly indicate the target audience of the product, helping users quickly determine whether the product is suitable for them. This not only accurately reaches the target users, but also improves the relevance and attractiveness of the content.

Mark the cover with a red marker: Use a striking red marker to mark the product's defects on the cover or title of the note to attract the user's attention. The user is more willing to continue reading and understand the product's advantages and applicable scenarios.

3. Character setting: enhancing the sense of reality

Xiaohongshu is a platform that focuses on real sharing. The reason why amateur notes attract real consumers is because of "realness". A real note needs to have a strong sense of reality. We can shape the sense of reality of amateur notes in the following ways:

1) Live picture output

Live pictures can show the product usage process in the form of short clips, avoiding the advertising feeling brought by over-editing. The more refined the pictures are, the further they are from real life. Amateur notes can sacrifice some refinement to create a sense of reality.

2) Sincere emotional expression

Avoid absolute language, never say the product is the best on the Internet, but rather say "suitable for dry skin, but oily skin may find it greasy." Share your true feelings after using the product, including shortcomings such as "this bag looks good, but it's a bit heavy" and unexpected discoveries such as "I didn't expect it can also be used as a storage box," etc.

3) Enhance the sense of origin

You can add some life elements to your notes, such as a messy desktop, pets in the photo, and natural movements of holding products. If it is a beauty product, you can enhance the contrast, such as a photo of a person without makeup under the same light. In short, through real scenes, detailed data and emotional resonance, let readers feel that "this is the real sharing of ordinary people", rather than deliberately creating a perfect persona, which is the core of enhancing the sense of reality.

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