Okay, I might have fibbed
But no matter how good your content marketing is, getting people to read it can be tough.
As far back as 2011, a study carried out by AOL and Nielsen found that nearly 27,000,000 pieces of web content were shared every day.
That’s before the benefits of content marketing truly caught on with most marketing professionals. Today, that figure is even higher.
One tactic designed to help businesses make sure that their content generates those all-important clicks is Buzzfeed style headings.
The power of headings in content marketing
Headings are one of the most important pieces of copy you’ll write.
Before an individual reads one word of your article/report/whitepaper, you first have to make them want to click your link.
The heading is central to this decision.
It’s claimed that, while 80% of people will read your heading, only 20% will bother to read the rest of your carefully worded content. It’s up to you to provide the convincer.
Enter the click bait.
You know the type. Overly- emotional charged headings that promise to change your outlook on the world, FOREVER.
Headings that use hyperbole without a trace of shame and without any real explanation as to what you can expect to find at the other end of that verbal rainbow.
Examples of click-bait headlines that have received a phenomenal number of clicks include:
- Bullies Called Him Pork Chop. He Took That Pain With Him And Then Cooked It Into This
- 9 Out Of 10 Americans Are Completely Wrong About This Mind-Blowing Fact
- Watch The First 54 Seconds. That’s All I Ask. You’ll Be Hooked After That, I Swear
- If This Video Makes You Uncomfortable, Then You Make Me Uncomfortable
With these posts receiving millions of views each, there is little argument that click baiting works. Curiosity does indeed generate clicks.
Should you click bait?
The problem with click baiting is that, in the long run, such tactics could do your content more harm than good.
Sure, if you’re creating something truly extraordinary, then by all means, go-ahead and hook, line and sinker those web visitors. But don’t promise what you can’t deliver.
Headings that don’t accurately convey what the content is about are spammy. How many times do you think your target audience will let you overpromise and underdeliver before they switch off for good? How many chances do you think they’ll give you to treat them like fools? And what damage could this do to your reputation in the meantime?
There are, of course, lessons to be learned from the success of Buzzfeed. You do need to make sure your content marketing and copy stands out, and you do need to entice people to find out more.
What you don’t need is to lose them at hello.