吸粉 (xīfěn): to attract followers (online)

Meanings

1 to attract followers (online)
2 to gain fans

Characters

吸

Examples

这位博主靠美食视频迅速吸粉。

Zhè wèi bózhǔ kào měishí shìpín xùnsù xīfěn.

This blogger rapidly gained followers thanks to her food videos.

新账号一个月吸粉十万。

Xīn zhànghào yī gè yuè xīfěn shí wàn.

The new account gained 100,000 followers in one month.

Tips

register

Internet/marketing slang. 粉 'fans' < transliterated from English 'fans' (粉丝 fěnsī = fans, the noodle pun). 吸 'suck/draw in' is what magnets do, so 吸粉 literally pictures pulling in fans. Sister terms: 涨粉 zhǎngfěn 'follower count grows,' 掉粉 diàofěn 'lose followers,' 变现 biànxiàn 'monetize.'

mistakes

Don't over-translate 粉 as 'powder' here — in social-media context it always means 'fans.' Same word, two senses (粉末 vs 粉丝).