
“You Won’t Believe What This Celebrity Did!”
“This Woman Shares Her Response to A Professor – Your Jaw Will Drop.”
“Here’s a Mindblowing Mistake in a Popular Movie That You Probably Missed.”
The expansive World Wide Web is riddled with these article titles known as clickbait. It’s nearly impossible to scroll through a social media feed or a Google search nowadays without seeing an eye-catching headline or image within the first minute of perusing. Though clickbait can sometimes be unwelcome, knowing how to use it for your business can be a great marketing tool. So let’s look at how to better understand the function of clickbait and how to use it to your advantage.
What is Clickbait?
Clickbait is usually a sentence, phrase, image, or combination that is meant to – quite literally – bait you into clicking. They employ eye-catching, sensational, or misleading tactics to appeal to people’s curiosity, thus leading them to follow a link to a website or go look at someone’s page. It is meant to attract internet users so websites and accounts get more traffic and views, thus increasing the range of exposure.

Psychology Behind It
It is deeply-wired in our human brains to want knowledge. We feel drawn to know a little more, have more experience, and learn something new. When we are motivated to learn something, it’s because of the dopamine in our brains. We see something that promises new and desirable information, dopamine is released, and we simply MUST click on the link to, essentially, scratch that itch.
Clickbait works by activating that dopamine through appealing to emotions, giving us “FOMO” (fear of missing out), or promising our lives will be better if we just watch this video, read this article, go to this website, buy this product, etc. The anticipation of something and curiosity incentivizes us to willingly be drawn along. Because of its knack to draw attention, clickbait can be an excellent tool for getting more exposure for your business, bringing people into your website.
How to Use Clickbait Effectively
Though it can be a bit of a wild horse at times, reigning it in to use it to your advantage can be a great business strategy. Here are some things to keep in mind of how to use it, not abuse it.
1. Use Engaging Headlines
Some common attention-grabbing strategies are including numbers, questions, and power words in your headlines. Including a number gives viewers a tangible and measurable amount of information that they can expect from your article. A question appeals to that anticipatory curiosity, making an audience want to discover the answer. Power words are evocative words or phrases included to make the title engaging. Some examples are: startling, insane, blow your mind, eye-opening, famous, astounding, quick, and unbelievable.
Using all of these strategies can turn a simple title into something click-worthy.
Ex. “Common Ways That a Business Can Market Better” vs “10 of the Best Marketing Strategies For Your Business”

2. Use Strong Visuals
People are drawn in by visuals, so including some imagery in your article gives people something to glance at and associate with the topic of your article. Think about it as sugar with your tea – the tea might be good by itself, but the sugar accentuates and enhances the flavor to make the tea-drinking experience more enjoyable.
Ensure that your images accurately reflect the subject of your article. Many of us have fallen victim to being drawn in by a clickbait image, just to find out that the picture is not even in the article or doesn’t relate to the content. Also consider the quality of your images; a well-lit, well-composed, and high quality image is much more effective at drawing in the eye than a blurry, dark, and unclear picture.
3. Keep to Your Promise
A common complaint with clickbait is its tendency to exaggerate, overdramatize, or fully twist the truth. You may pull up an article describing a heartwarming video of a dog saving a kitten from drowning… only to find that the video is just two clips of a cat and a dog swimming stitched together with emotional music. It’s important to not draw in an audience just to disappoint them. Sticking to the truth and fulfilling expectations will help viewers leave feeling satisfied: a positive association you’ll want with your business. If you promise a certain amount of main points or information to your audience, follow through.

If you need help writing engaging and informative content for your business, Performance Driven Marketing has got your back. Our company is able to consider SEO strategies and beneficial marketing tools to give your business the boost in visibility that you want. Our teams of web developers, graphic designers, SEO specialists, and content writers provide you with the services you want. Reach out to PDM today to get a free consultation.