How The Use Of Clickbait Headlines Impact Online Journalism

In a world saturated with all kinds of news and information online, publications have resorted to tactics to getting their articles noticed-- and an easy way to do is through clickbait.

So what exactly is clickbait and why do people use it?

Put simply, it is a headline that is often exaggerated in a fashion that uses that uses a anatomy of power words to tempt the reader to click.

These clickbait titles are often sensationalised to maximise on the number of clicks. In today’s digital age, monetising off social media has become a very powerful, if not effective tool, and publications want to capitalise on that. The algorithms that concern clickbait headlines are very simple: the more clicks you get and the higher the traffic, the more you earn for advertorials.

Therefore, it’s no surprise sites like Buzzfeed and Upworthy are riding on the clickbait wave. They capitalise on our natural human curiosity to draw in clicks (and are darn good at it, too) both sites draw in hundreds of millions of views every month.

BuzzFeed, on average, commands 5 billion content views per month. Upworthy, on the other hand, just crossed the 200 million-view mark on Facebook early this year.  

Clickbait headlines are also notorious for something alternative news publications try to steer away from-- delivering misleading information.

While not entirely fake, a deceptive headline can impact the reputation of a publication and discourage the reader from following their articles. It may initially grab people’s attention from the funny or smart headline at the top, but what they promise and what they deliver are two completely different messages.

"If you look at news websites, increasingly stories are being headlined 'You will not believe what you're going to read'. It's all very well to do that occasionally when you've got something to interest the reader, but if you overplay your hand, people will find out what you're offering will not match your headline," said Ken Smith, chairman of the Welsh executive council of the National Union of Journalists.

"This is a dangerous route to follow and sooner or later they're going to wake up to what you're offering them with these teasing headlines is not matched by the writing."

Clickbait stories are somewhat guilty of diminishing the value of news-- the audience’s choice of news stories say it all. Why would they rather read a life update on the pregnancy of Kim K, rather than the status of the US refugee ban by Trump?

Some of the most common examples of clickbait taking form is how they appeal to a specific audience and plays on the fears, stereotypes, realities, and challenges they face. A well-known favourite would be the Cliffhanger pattern. It teases just enough that you can’t help but click to find out more.

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Cliffhangers + Listicles? Now we’re definitely talking clickbait.

With this conundrum, one thing stands certain: While you do get a lot of curiosity clicks, it’s not the only thing that you want for your website. What is the point of thousands of curiosity clicks if all of them have very low time-on-site and high bounce rates?

Thankfully, this seems to be just a short term trend-- the wave is already ending with Facebook taking official action to weed out clickbaits from its news feed. It’s new algorithms now prioritise what users would like to see (rather than what is trending, went viral, or has been shared recently) via a survery asking them what kind of posts they prefer to see.

You can come up with the most technically refined way of delivering material, yet fail to get a good traffic response at the end of the day if you don’t deliver what you promise. Good journalism should delivers quality content in whatever medium that is available.

Ultimately, content wins. Capturing audience attention is merely winning half the battle, keeping them engaged and harnessing a loyal following is winning the war.

A good headline doesn’t just get clicks. It gets the right clicks.

REFERENCE:

FRAMPTON, B.

Is clickbait changing journalism?

In-text: (Frampton, 2015)

Your Bibliography: Frampton, B. (2015). Is clickbait changing journalism?. [online] BBC News. Available at: http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-wales-34213693 [Accessed 23 Nov. 2017].

SMITH, B.

Why Clickbait Works (And Why You Should Do More of It)

In-text: (Smith, 2017)

Your Bibliography: Smith, B. (2017). Why Clickbait Works (And Why You Should Do More of It). [online] Kissmetrics blog. Available at: https://blog.kissmetrics.com/why-clickbait-works/ [Accessed 23 Nov. 2017].

SEDRATI, R.

To Clickbait or Not to Clickbait: What You Need to Know About Headlines and Clickbaits | Marketing Insider Group

In-text: (Sedrati, 2016)

Your Bibliography: Sedrati, R. (2016). To Clickbait or Not to Clickbait: What You Need to Know About Headlines and Clickbaits | Marketing Insider Group. [online] Marketing Insider Group. Available at: https://marketinginsidergroup.com/content-marketing/what-you-need-to-know-headlines-clickbaits/ [Accessed 23 Nov. 2017].

MERCER, C.

Click Bait Headlines -- The Good, The Bad, And The Ugly

In-text: (Mercer, 2016)

Your Bibliography: Mercer, C. (2016). Click Bait Headlines -- The Good, The Bad, And The Ugly. [online] Seriously Simple Marketing. Available at: https://seriouslysimplemarketing.com/click-bait-headlines-the-good-the-bad-and-the-ugly/ [Accessed 23 Nov. 2017].