When surfing online, certain things come off as nearly impossible to ignore. An intriguing photo image with a corresponding link just begs you to click on it. Once you click on it, you are taken to an interesting text article or moving video. In addition to being pleased with or entertained by the content, you are left with a desire to purchase something. Welcome to the marketing world of clickbait.
Clickbait seems like a derogatory term, but it really isn’t. Clickbait name simply is an accurate term. Marketers put out bait on the internet hoping a would-be customer clicks on the link. From this point forward, the “clicker” can be pitched something for sale.
Clickbait and Revenue Generation
The goal of any marketing strategy involves increasing revenue for a business. Content marketing, in particular, serves as a traditionally effective way for to engage in internet marketing. A strong article about how to drive safely on the road could connect to a resource for immediate free insurance quotes. Purchasing a policy based on those quotes would generate money for the enterprise that initially published the safe driving article.
Driving traffic factors into the ability to make sales and generate revenue through a commercial website. Since not every visitor to the site becomes a paying customer, the volume of traffic must be maximized. You would be relying on a slim percentage of the visitors to convert to actual customers.
This is where clickbait comes into play. A unique and provocative enticement to click on a link assists with building up a great deal of traffic. Again, increased levels of traffic mean more potential paying customers.
Stimulating the Senses
Clickbait focuses heavily on making an appeal to the senses. On social media platforms, clickbait proliferates. The more appealing to the senses the clickbait is, the better its chances of working. The image of someone in a shirt and tie standing above the tagline “Make more money with your investments” gets a basic point across. Some might be interested enough to click on the image. However, compared to so many other things appearing in a social media platforms news feed, both the image and text come off as too boring to yield any great results.
Create an image of someone in a business suit swimming in the water surrounding by shark fins with circling around and you catch eyes. Add the tagline “Swim with the financial sharks and survive” and you get an intriguing cryptic message. The image appeals to the senses. There’s a mix of humor and horror combined with curiosity about the financial message behind the promotional image.
Clickbait presents a hook that makes people want to learn more. Even though they may realize the link reflects something promotional in nature, they still click. Reliable clickbait does generate a lot of traffic because people can’t pass it up. For any enterprise relying on online content marketing, clickbait could turn a weak marketing campaign into a successful one.
Good Clickbait Qualifies Traffic
Generating a significant amount of traffic doesn’t always mean high conversion rates. If the traffic to the site lacks any real interest in buying a product or service, the traffic won’t likely contribute any impact on revenue. Generic clickbait designed to cast a wide net isn’t necessarily the best. Clickbait designed to attract visitors most likely to purchase, however, can potentially increase revenue.
A clickbait marketing expert does understand how to target truly qualified traffic. Doing so requires the utilization of solid marketing psychology in the clickbait. Hiring professionals with this level of expertise and talent could prove beneficial for those wishing a marketing campaign to present a strong chance of upping revenue figures.
