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TOP TEN REASONS ON HOW TO USE CLICKBAIT, YOU WON’T BELIEVE #9!

Abstract

Clickbait is everywhere in our social medias. We’re sick of it, so why is it still around? Surprisingly, it is very effective. To test how effective it is, it was tested to see how audiences would react to two different posts – one with clickbait and one without. The results showed that the one with clickbait responded better with audiences, leading us to the conclusion that clickbait is effective when used correctly. 

Introduction

In our modern world, life is fast. No one wants to risk their time reading an article or viewing a video which doesn’t instantly pop out or speak to them. In a perfect world we wouldn’t need to have clickbait or worry about titles and thumbnails in online media. In a perfect world, visuals wouldn’t affect the viewer’s interest in a topic. We do not live in a perfect world. If an article is written that could possibly lay the foundation to curing cancer and it’s been titled with science jargon and indecipherable lingo impossible to comprehend beyond the field of the author, that article will not be viewed. To maximize the impact an article or video could possibly have on the viewer and viewer count; titles and thumbnails need to be search and viewer optimized. In this case, everyone will judge a book by its cover. 

Because of this, it is extremely important to understand the power of clickbait, how to identify it, how to learn it, and how to harness it for your own personal gain. There’s a blurry line between dishonest and honest clickbait (Veritasium, 2021). Honest clickbait informs and entices the audience to view a piece of media, dishonest clickbait convinces the audience that the media they are about to consume is different than what is offered. As a social media intern, it is important to understand how to use clickbait and avoid falling into the dishonest type. Proper usage of the technique can boost viewers and ad revenue while dishonest use can drive away loyal viewers and cause frustration. 

To test this view of click bait, we will create two separate posts on a news social media account and test whether the article with clickbait will perform better than the one without. Performance will be determined by “likes”, follows, and website/ article visits. 

Materials and Methods

Preparation of Media

To begin, you first have to create the piece of media that you want to be seen. It can be a video or an article. You have to make sure the content of the media is engaging and pleasing to the audience otherwise you will not retain viewers.  

Choosing the Right Headline

Once your media has been created, brainstorm different themes and ideas about the video and combine them into interesting titles. Remember that a complex title will scare away the audience, so keep the title simple. Add key words into the title that will elicit a curious reaction from the audience. For example “NY States proposes new legislature to clean the Statue of Liberty” is wordy and boring. A more interesting title that would make the audience curious would be “New bill could possibly give the Statue of Liberty a makeover!”. Note that the tone has changed but the message is still somewhat similar. Do not create misleading titles that promise information you do not have. 

Creating the Thumbnail

Just like with the headlines, you will want to create an eye-catching thumbnail that elicits curiosity from the audience. They should want to click on the video/ article from seeing the graphics and the title. Avoid boring, uninteresting pictures in favor of provocative and interesting visuals. Again, avoid misleading the audience. 

Posting

Post your article or video on your preferred social media platform using the titles and thumbnails prepared in the previous steps. After this is done, post another media on the same account without using clickbait. 

Data Collection

Observe “like” counts and followers gained from each post through data trackers on your social media platform. Observe how many views the post got as well as the actions taken from it. 

Results

For this comparison, I posted about MTV VMA wins and Usain Bolt’s Album. The VMA post was intentionally made obscure and included popular musicians to entice viewership. The Usain Bolt post was straight forward with no distinct visuals to celebrate the Olympic runner.  

There was were no comments on both posts

The VMA post reached 57 viewers while the Usain Bolt post reached 13 viewers. 

The VMA post had one “like”. 

The VMA post got 16 views from home, 11 from hashtags, 3 from profile and 28 from other sources.

The Usain Bolt post got 11 views from home, 2 from profile, 1 from hashtag and 0 from other sources. 

Data concerning followership from posts was unable to be obtained. 

Discussion

Though both posts did gain many viewers, the VMA post certainly gained more attention than the Usain Bolt post. It gained one like and significantly more views compared to the other post. We were unable to determine what “other” sources were and deemed it a success in terms of engagement. It is important to mention that it is difficult to compare the two posts since they discuss different types of celebrities and content. However it would be impossible to post two different articles with the same topic and expect equal feedback on both posts. The audience could simply feel fatigue and ignore one or the other due to their similarity. 

Conclusion

From this data it can be inferred that clickbait did indeed increase viewership and audience reach, supporting the hypothesis. The findings of this report conclude that clickbait does affect viewership and audience engagement positively if used correctly. Though we were unable to gain massive increases in interaction, there was still significantly more interaction compared to the non-clickbait post. 

Clickbait is a necessary evil for smaller creators to be heard in a loud, crowded medium. It is important to improvise, adapt, and overcome odds when promoting oneself and their content. This is why clickbait is necessary and effective. 

Acknowledgements

Cynthia Horner – CEO Right On! Digital, YouTubers: Veritasium, Roberto Blake, Ben Hardy, Techquickie, ProZD. 

References