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4 minute read
Clickbait advertising, characterised by sensationalist headlines designed to attract clicks, can be a double-edged sword in digital marketing. While it may boost short-term engagement, it often undermines brand credibility and trust. For businesses aiming to build lasting relationships with their audience, it's crucial to employ ethical and effective advertising strategies.
You have probably seen many clickbait adverts throughout social media. The idea of 'clickbait' in itself is simply content that "draws in interest and drives visitors to click a link that leads to a particular web page", which in itself, is not at all a bad thing. In fact, it is what content marketers want viewers to do. The differentiating factor here is, a clickbait is typically low-quality and has a really bad reputation in the world of content marketing.
Here's an example of a clickbait post:
Ironically, like what the ad says, a clickbait post can be cute and seem harmless, but it offers zero value for the viewer. Let's look at some of the pitfalls of trying to bait your viewers with this style of advertising.
The Pitfalls of Clickbait Advertising
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Eroding Trust: Misleading headlines that fail to deliver on their promises can disappoint readers, leading to a loss of trust. For instance, Facebook has faced challenges with scam ads using celebrity images to lure users into fraudulent schemes, prompting the platform to implement facial recognition technology to combat such deceptive practices.
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Compromising Brand Reputation: Associating your brand with low-quality or deceptive content can tarnish its image. Users may perceive your business as untrustworthy, leading to decreased customer loyalty. And as we all know, once your brand is tarnished, it is an uphill climb to reestablish trust again. Read our blog to get tips to shape your brand.
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Negative User Experience: Clickbait often leads to content that doesn't meet user expectations, resulting in frustration and a negative perception of your brand. All you need is one single user to be put off enough to tell someone else about it. Before you know it, many more will already have the wrong idea about you even before they get to actually know you.
Some examples of clickbait language include:
"X things You Won't Believe About..."
"X Beauty Secrets That'll Change Your Life"
"Ultimate Guide to Ranking Your Article in a Week"
"Shocking Things You Didn't Know About X Celebrity"
"X Heartbreaking Stories About These Disney Stars You Should Know About"
"You'll Never Guess These Amazing Techniques for Getting Clearer Skin"
Famous People Get Targeted Too
This is probably no surprise, but celebrities have been increasingly frustrated at clickbait posts that use their images in fake advertisements. All illegally without their permission, of course. You may have seen ads with apparently Shark Tank stars endorsing anything from weight-loss products to even keto gummies. These are AI-generated images which scammers use and manipulate to sell bogus products.
You may have seen random images of famous people, like this one, which is one of the most popular images used for clickbait:
Don't be fooled. What you get is an artificial Mark Zuckerberg selling bogus products to innocent people, all without his knowledge. It is not just the celebrities who are victims of such scams. People who actually buy the products find their credit card gets charged repeatedly, and they have essentially purchased products that are fake, do not work and are certainly not even safe to use or consume. Find out more here and stay on the right side of the law.
The positive news is, Facebook is fighting back by using facial recognition technology to put a stop to celebrity clickbait scam ads. You have have seen well-known Australian celebrities such as Karl Stefanovic, Tracy Grimshaw or business people such as Andrew "Twiggy" Forrest become the 'face' for all kinds of ads. They are all scams that trick Australians into giving their money. Find out more about how Facebook is turning to technology to protect celebrities and their users from such scams.
Best Practices for Ethical Advertising
Craft Engaging Headlines
Create headlines that accurately reflect the content while still capturing interest. Use the power of curiosity to pique interest. Prompt readers to wonder about something, and their natural curiosity will make them click on your content to satisfy their need to know.
Provide Valuable Content
Ensure that your content delivers on the promises made in the headline. High-quality, relevant information fosters trust and encourages repeat engagement. This is clearly seen when you include numbers and lists in your headlines. The combination of precise numbers and information tickles the part of the brain that makes viewers want to click to learn more.
Use Emotional Appeal Responsibly
While tapping into emotions can be effective, avoid exploiting sensitive topics or using fear-based tactics. Aim to inspire and connect with your audience on a genuine level. Learn how to use emotions effectively in our blog on B2B Love Stories.
Maintain Transparency
Be clear about sponsored content and advertisements. Transparency builds credibility and aligns with ethical marketing standards.
Examples of Effective Advertising
Dove's Real Beauty Campaign: Dove's advertisements feature real women and focus on body positivity, aligning with their brand values and resonating authentically with their audience.
The Dove Real Beauty Pledge | Photo: dove.com
Airbnb's Storytelling Approach: Airbnb shares stories from hosts and guests, creating engaging content that highlights unique experiences without resorting to sensationalism.
Adorearth Witty Humour: Who doesn't like a bit of intelligent humour? You can't help but get curious about Adorearth's incredibly comfortable-sounding sheets when you see this ad.
Effective Advertising with Vermilion Pinstripes
At Vermilion Pinstripes, we specialise in crafting effective advertising strategies that resonate with your brand and target audience. Our Modern Marketing Framework is designed to build business confidence and help you sell without selling.
We help clients find and set up Ads, giving them the ability to reach more converting customers across Search, YouTube, Display, Discover, Gmail, and Maps to sell their product or service. We assist with everything—keywords, images, videos, text, and other assets—to optimise the performance of these ads, driving real results.
Our Fast Start Advertising package includes:
- Marketing audit and advanced SEO optimisation to boost search engine rankings and website traffic
- Strategic Google and Facebook advertising to maximise ROI and drive business growth
Radio, TV, print, and outdoor advertising options - Monthly check-in calls and detailed performance reporting
Ready to take your business to the next level? Reach out to us today to elevate your brand's advertising approach.
Book an Advertising Consultation
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