A soldier is reunited with his service dog. Awesome click bait.
We've all done it. Sometimes late at night. Sometimes we do it during the day. But inevitably you will fall for these tactics too. It's called "click bait." Even PBS is doing these types of "bait" posts to lure you into clicking on an article, video or gallery. The worst result is when you are drawn in by the title and it has nothing to do with the actual content. The next disappointment is that it appears the article is written by a 9th grader with a 4th grade mentality. We can't help it. Our curious nature sometimes makes us gullible to click bait tactics. Here are some examples of click bait tactics that are very pervasive at the moment (2014):
Make money or lose weight or grow hair or (fill in the blank) by just doing this one weird trick!
This person did not see this coming - see what they do next!
Most people don't know they can pay off their debt with this little known tactic.
10 must-know facts about . . .
This amazing prodigy will . . .
Share if you agree . . .
. . . just made my day and I cried!!
You won't believe what . . . looks like with . . .
Shocking . . . secrets revealed by . . .
. . . and I can't stop laughing!
What are Click Bait Tactics?
Websites want traffic. Badly. They want you to come over to look at their information - even if it's bad information that has nothing to do with your interest. There are website owners that particularly write bad, useless content and then arrange their site with advertisements or affiliate links so that you are compelled to jump off their page and go somewhere else.
Websites are designed for that very purpose. The person who owns that site gets a commission for every person that clicks on a Google Ad or if you go to an affiliate area and buy or sign up for something - they get a kickback. In some cases, people write poorly and give you basic information on subjects and your nature to leave is so strong you click on their side ads and links to rest your eyes from the foolishness. This makes them very happy and money exchanges.
Now lately Google has come down on sites that are giving useless content and the thought is that sites like this will die out because their rankings will go down. Unfortunately, the traffic rankings are strong due to click bait tactics on aggressive social media sites. The problem is that we are led into a den of lions and we don't really know it, but we are uneasy - something is fishy. This is why social media is such a time waste for people. You have to be strong and avoid the typical luring traffic tactics in order to have a good experience on social media and not think it as hurting your eyeballs.
Hero soldier surprising kids - a heartwarming story (click bait tactic) = GOLDIf you have a soldier returning home from a long absence and they surprise their young son or daughter at school with lots of people in attendance and there are tears - wow - you've got a jackpot of clicks going to this youtube video. If you are optimizing the video and getting paid for clicks on the ads that pop up during the video - you will make a good pile of cash. Now, lately there is a twist on this activity were a solider that has been home for a while gets reunited with their service dog. It doesn't get better than this! Exuberant puppy jumping for joy and a soldier hugging or crying oh wow - lots of clicks.
You might assume I am missing the point of sharing these amazing experiences. They are very heartwarming pieces. You laugh, cry, get angry or express an emotion that tugs on your heart- it makes for a compelling video or picture that results in you taking some kind of action.
That's what marketers want you to do - take action.
Join their cause. Give up that email address.
Just right this way . . . Thank you for subscribing!
And lately websites are circling the Facebook button in red to make it stand out and encourage you to share it with your friends and family. Thus begins the viral nature of certain images and pictures. People do what they are told to do. Most people - ok, not you - you are wise to their antics. Right. Sure.
Well Crafted Click Bait Tactics
Great click bait tactics give websites high Google Analytics results for traffic. A few people stay and look at other content. Some content is interesting, other content is just horribly written and in poor taste. In the latter scenario you just click on something else and move on - rarely do people go back. Ever hear of the guy that won't turn around while driving when he has lost his way? "No, I'm not turning back around" that action admits defeat. He really does not know where he is going, but will try another way. So he takes a new "alternate route" to get to the place he wants to go. Women do this too, but I used men in the example because - well, you know. It does get comical at times and you may just find a new place to explore - all on the guise of - I meant to go here, seriously! Well, that's what happens online too.
Good Click Bait Tactics go after BIG FISH
You can literally think of this tactic of choosing to go the "catch and release" philosophy with fishing or you can grab all the fish in a commercial rig and use all that bait fish to catch lots of big fish (i.e., customers that buy from your site). Throw out the fishing line and reel it all in! That's what most marketers want to do to a targeted audience. Many companies find that by being too narrow in their fishing area, they end up catching few customers that end up released or unhook from your brand too easily (without leaving an email.)
So, the next time you want to click on something that looks uber-interesting and amazing, just hesitate. The chances that the interesting title will be followed up with a great article are slim. Frankly, I'm pleased you actually clicked on a link and visited this site. I'm even more impressed that you are reading the end of my article. After re-reading my article it's very clear that I have been sucked into the void of click bait tactics as I have way too many examples. I am wiser now and make sure I remove people I am following that send me off into stupid-land. More shocking secrets are revealed below for your perusal. Oh yeah, this is a real example too. Happy clicking! - Jan Rossi
