kb297015@ohio.edu
Did my headline make you want to read this article? If so,
then you’ve already been suckered into a form of click-baiting. I think it’s
safe to say that almost everyone who has scrolled through their Facebook on any
given day can easily say they’ve fallen “victim” to a click-bait link. It seems
that so many of these pop up every day that they’ve almost become a regular
extension of our newsfeeds.
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Writers use cleverly worded headlines that play on
your emotions in order to get you to click onto their page. Sometimes, the
article might be one that you find interesting, but more likely than not, it’s
something that either isn’t interesting or you already knew – this is when
you’ve become the “victim”. When writers use these headlines in order to draw
people in, they are generally doing so in order to drive up ad revenue to the
page. The longer a person stays on their site, navigating different pages, the
more money they are likely to receive because of the ads on the page. Accordingto this article written by Alex Shye, there are 8 secrets that
writers use to trick us into clicking -
1)
Explain Something – begin with why/how, tap into
emotions
2)
Ask a Question – create curiosity, tap into
fears of loss or missing out
3)
Add a Number – lists are easier to follow
4)
Overreach – guarantee something new or
interesting
5)
Be Negative – add swear words, play on negative
emotions
6)
Add Unnecessary Adjectives & Qualifiers –
Using words like smart, stupid, must, or secret
7)
Invoke Authority – name dropping, backed by
science or psychology
8)
Combine These Tricks Together
I’m sure as you were reading through that list, you were
able to recall instances where you had seen many, if not all, of the above
tactics being used in order to draw people in.
But is click-baiting really such a bad thing?
In this transcript of an interview on NPR, host Arun Rath begins his interview by stating “…I’m Arun
Rath with a story you do not want to miss.
Hang on for a shocking discovery that will rock your world, one little
secret that could lead to financial independence.” Upon hearing that lead in,
wouldn’t you want to stay tuned in to see what on earth he was talking about as
well? Arun continues by interviewing Steve Hind, who had recently
written in defense of click-baiting. He mentions that some articles are great
examples of how much an articles popularity can transform based on the amount
of thought and creativity you use labeling the content. Hind goes on to mention
how we shouldn’t necessarily view click bait as such a terrible thing. Sure,
it’s a different story when you click on an article and are met with a sub-par
article with other sub-par content on the site, but if used correctly, and
having a click-baited article lead to suggestions of other examples of strong
journalistic content, then this will continue to drive up those page views and
ad revenues, which could be extremely beneficial if an organization is truly
hurting financially.
I have to somewhat agree with Hind’s views. Yes, click-bait
can be annoying to see over and over again, but if I were to be consistently
led to an article with suggestions for stronger content at the end, it would
definitely keep me clicking through the website more than what a sub-par
article with sub-par content recommendations would.
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