In the world of social media, the term ‘clickbait’ has become a go-to descriptor for that is designed to grab your eye, garner your click, and deliver you elsewhere. It’s also got a bit of an aroma associated with it related to it’s propensity to over-promise, and under-deliver.
Clickbait can be a headline:
Amazing but true! Supermodel uses all-butter diet to make weight melt away!
A listicle:
What happened to them! 15 gorgeous stars who look terrible now!
Or a bait and switch come on:
I made six million with just one blog post! Find out how NOW!
Want a nearly infallible way to identify clickbait?
Just count the exclamation points!!!!!!!
Working in marketing and adverting, my professional Twitter feed is filled with clickbait. Every once and a while I go on a tear and unfollow the most egregious abusers (yeah, that’s why I unfollowed you), but they still find a way back in. But this is not about them. It’s about Scott Galloway, one of the very best sushi-masters in the marketing industry.
The Professor doesn’t make sushi. But he tweets it. If you don’t know Scott Galloway, founder of digital intel group L2 and clinical professor of marketing at NYU’s Stern School of Business, go to YouTube right now and search ‘scott galloway winners and losers’ and watch any of the videos there. The dude is a riot of information and deeply considered opinion, and IMHO, his ‘Winners & Losers’ video series is must-see social TV.
Run, don’t walk, to YouTube for Scott Galloway’s ‘Winners & Losers’ webseries. But it’s his Twitter feed I want to focus on. When I call Professor Galloway a sushi-master what I mean is that his 140-character tweets, which often link directly to his content elsewhere, are like bite-sized pieces of magnificently curated fish flesh. And if you’re like me, you can’t eat just one, and you’re in for the full meal.
Take a look at this tweet series re: the 2017 Cannes Lion Festival—
Not when you’re hungry for what’s being served.
I’m not saying you’re going to bite on any of the above—but I certainly did. Why? Because the topic, the tone, and even the tiny bit of substance offered is perfectly tuned to my taste. And the fact that I’m squarely in his target of marketing pros, let’s just say he knows his audience.
After years of watching, listening and learning from Professor Galloway’s work online, I know his personality and perspicuity. He’s got data I find enlightening, and an attitude I find entertaining. He serves me the sushi I love, so every time one of his creations shows up in feed, I bite
Clickbait = sizzle – steak.
Sushi = sizzle + steak…err…spicy tuna.
One man’s clickbait may be another man’s dinner, but my larger point is about the person in the kitchen. While I’m sure, based on volume produced alone, the Professor has some T.A.s working under his direction, the quality of the content and its tone and voice is clearly his. Watch just two ‘Winners & Losers’ videos and you’ll see, hear, and completely understand what I mean.
Sushi packs high quality content, curation, talent and expertise into a bite-sized delight. Clickbait is like cotton candy, more fluff and flash than food. The #1 way to keeping feeding your followers’ feeds? Serve ‘em sushi.
– D.P. Knudten > Chief Collaborator > COLLABORATOR creative
©2017 D.P. Knudten / COLLABORATOR creative – all rights reserved
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D.P. Knudten, the Chief Collaborator at COLLABORATOR creative, is a ~25-year veteran in advertising and marketing. Providing everything from freelance copywriting; content marketing strategy, creation, execution; and his NonFiction Branding™ system, D.P. collaborates creatively to identify, craft, and tell the true brand stories of complicated products, services, and companies throughout the United States.
