Clickbait

‘Clickbait’ is a term used for attention-grabbing headlines, mostly hyperbolic in nature, that encourage readers to click on article links. Oftentimes, these articles will get revenue from advertisers based on the number of ‘clicks’ the article will receive. Clickbait works. It feeds into human psychology because people are drawn to things that have shock value. Bottom line - you should be using Clickbait as a strategy to gain a larger audience.

Notorious for preposterous headlines is the company, Buzzfeed. Here are a couple of examples from this week’s posts on Buzzfeed that are a perfect example of Clickbait.

I want my mind blown, I want to see if the interweb can prove to me that it can uncover one of my secrets, and I want my worldview challenged. Chances are, these articles will not satiate the claims that they are making in their headlines, but it does make me curious – they’ve done it, they’ve grabbed my attention.

If you want to successfully market on the Internet, then using Clickbait to grab the audience is a great way to gain exposure to your content. As long as you do not use over-sensationalism, or misrepresent the content in a misleading headline, you can use Clickbait as a valuable tool to make yourself or your company/brand stand out.

Why You Should Use It

• • Page views. People click on your link, people give your page a view, your page gets attention
• • Social shares. The more people view your content, the more likely it is to have it shared to a larger audience
• • Brand awareness. If clickbait results in more page views and social shares, then people will also be exposed to your brand, which is crucial in content marketing

How it works:

Content creators can be compensated for their work by the amount of clicks that they receive on their articles. For example, Slant article writers receive $5 for every 500 clicks they receive, and in writing three pieces a week, the amount of clicks can really add up. Additionally, on YouTube, a video creator will earn $2,000 for every million views, so the headline matters because that is what attracts viewers in the first place. The best part is, you can apply this to any social media site or medium, whether it be SoundCloud, Twitter, Instagram, or anything else.

Monday’s blog post discussed how psychology plays a role in our interaction with social media. Clickbait taps into our psyche because we click on these headlines that are so attention-grabbing that we believe it will satiate our curiosity – and humans are naturally curious beings. It’s funny, you are often aware of the manipulation that these headlines give, but you are helpless to resist it.

Studies show that a headline is more likely to receive clicks if the attitude towards the text will be extreme, whether positive or negative.

Use your resources and create a digital marketing strategy

Clickbait is an important aspect of marketing your brand on the Internet, and we at Somiibo understand that. Conveniently, Somiibo actually automates the marketing process, so users can spend more time creating their content. Clickbait paired with Somiibo will prove to be an effective digital marketing strategy that will help your brand or content get the exposure you desire.

what’s an outrageous click bait headline that you’ve come across recently? I would love to hear your thoughts!

We are continuously putting out relevant content. If you have any questions or suggestions, please contact us!

Follow us on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, YouTube