In many communications, such as that of Facebook, we notice that there is interest in Watchbait. That is the tendency of video content producers to create experiences that aim to attract attention rather than to give something beneficial. In the past, click-baiting was often talked about. That is, articles shared on social networks with high-sounding click-catching titles – often with CAPS LOCK and excess punctuation – and image previews capable of acting as bait for the curious passing by.
The skillful use of winking headlines in the style of I say something. Everything is based on a clear logic: people share without reading and stop at the preview. Still, only some things (unleashed fan goes on Vasco Rossi’s stage, his reaction is incredible) and decontextualized image can give an essential boost to visits and an unjustified virality to the link. The same happens with Watchbait. Want to learn more?
What Is Watch Bait, Definition
By this term, we mean all the techniques and strategies put in place to increase the views, comments, and shares – in short, the engagement – of video content by exploiting all the elements that capture the attention even before viewing the content. We speak, in particular, of titles, descriptions, and thumbnails but also the video itself, especially in its initial phase, where the attention is excellent.
However, all this could be confused with a simple optimization activity: Watchbait has a negative decline because it intends a distorted use of persuasive techniques. Based on this paradigm, we try to (I use Facebook’s words ): “Withholding essential information, sensationalizing content, or misleading viewers about the true nature of the video. According to Mark Zuckerberg, watching batting videos can be defined as shared content that leaves no essential information about the content, points to unmotivated sensationalism, or is misleading for the nature of the video. In summary: we are mystifying reality.
Objective Of This Video Tactic
A practice that allows you to work on different levels. Firstly, that of brand awareness on the internet. The aim is to increase the views, the views of the content. The more ideas you get, the more circulation your name brings. If you have advertising goals, a higher number of video views can be a tool to improve your position in negotiations. So you can monetize your video marketing social media online business more.
Why Can Watch Bait Work?
The watch batting mechanism – taking video publication to extremes with click-catching previews to increase views – rewards those who publish short, impactful videos with a high discussion rate. If only because it is the Facebook algorithm itself that rewards this type of content. Facebook’s algorithm updates point towards entertaining as much audience as possible on the platform. This means prioritizing the most frequently searched content (therefore hot topic topics) that stimulate interactions and conversations between those who watch those videos.
In this condition, a sensationalist dynamic can become predominant among editors to the point of naturally pushing towards a watch bait that risks going over into spam. That is the publication of content which, to collect more visits, loses sight of the main objective: to inform in a timely and precise manner. That’s why Facebook has given some more indications.
What Should Publishers And Content Creators Do?
It is necessary to find and follow a good balance that lies halfway between extreme watch bait – shamelessly lying to get views – and aseptic publishing, devoid of care for ethical persuasive copywriting that can be done without losing sight of quality. The same goes for the choice of themes: the important thing is always to avoid these points:
- Omission: Information is omitted from the content to stimulate curiosity.
- Exaggeration: extremes are used to push people to watch the video.
- Misleading Content: Expectations are created that are not met.
Also, pay attention to thumbnails: video previews must reflect the content. The same goes for content titles and captions, where excessive emojis, punctuation, and capital letters should be avoided. Also, videos shouldn’t be artfully created, simulated, and passed off as real situations. Honesty first, that’s the rule on this front.