In the past year or two, sites like Buzzfeed and Upworthy have introduced a new type of content marketing to the public.
It's called clickbait, and it completely changed the way content is shared, so much so that there's rumors that Facebook is trying to ban it.
So why do people have such a love/hate relationship with these entertainment articles? What can marketers learn from point-and-click marketing?
Hopefully those made-up examples will have you rolling your eyes and realising just how full of clickbait your Facebook feed has become.
If you've not yet encountered one, consider yourself lucky and make the most of it!
Sites like Buzzfeed have turned clickbaiting into an art form. According to figures by Quantcast, Buzzfeed alone regularly attracts more than 10m unique users in a single day.
So as you can see, it looks like the art of clickbaiting is here to stay and I'm sure a lot of marketeers are now pondering "how can I get in on the action?"
So here is my list of things we can all learn from the success of click baiting. I can't promise it will make you sob, or cause your brain to explode, but hopefully it'll give you some tips you can follow in your own marketing, even if you don't have the clout of Buzzfeed!
Your title is everything
Frankly speaking, the content of most of the clickbait articles is the secondary content of the title. This fact makes more sense when you are aware of the use of clickbait.
Unlike more traditional forms of digital marketing, websites such as Buzzfeed aim not to promote products or services to you and promote ideas or perspectives. Their purpose is to generate page views and generate advertising revenue.
When you realize this, Buzzfeed and others' headlines suddenly become more meaningful. The traditional rules of headline writing are gone forever. These are not short, lively, witty or smart.
They tell you exactly what you are about to see. Just tweaking at the end can attract you to click.