It really seems to me that, nowadays, clicking on a simple link is becoming more and more tricky. So many promises of unrepeated experiences all cramped in a few word headline. “Your Mind Will Be Blown,” “You Won’t Believe What Happens Next,” “Your Life Will Stop Being Boring, Maybe You Will Find a Job and Quit The Couch Potato Club.” You get the idea. Well, apparently, there’s now a new way to convince people to click on content, whether content means a document, an audio book, a video or an eBook: you can try and convince users to earn their right to give a look by sharing the info they want to get.
So, let’s say you, jolly user of the internet, are dying to see that umpteenth video of kitties playing with a wool-ball: share it with your friends, via Facebook, Twitter or another social media and BAM! The video will appear before your eyes, in all of its awesomeness.
What does that mean exactly? It means that you will be sharing content with your friends and contacts before you’ve viewed it yourself!
This can be genius and insidious at the same time. What are the pros and cons of such a tool?
From a marketing stand point, making sure your content goes viral before it’s actually even enjoyed by anybody is something that makes perfect sense. After all, all you’re looking for is a “click” and the more your video or your eBook is shared, the more clicks you’re going to get. You’re looking for visibility, maybe money from your ads, and you can rest assured that you’re going to get all that fast. A good headline, a charming or provoking title, will push users everywhere and anywhere to share what you’re offering.
On the other hand though, when we willingly share content, we’re letting our contacts know that we have just seen or read something that we think is worthy of their attention, as well as ours. We saw something valuable in a certain content and we want everybody to know about it. We’re sharing knowledge, information and, in a way, emotions.
Depending on how much our contacts value our point of view and our interests (or, simply, our intelligence), they’re going to be pushed to click on what we shared.
What happens when we start sharing information that we don’t even know about yet? A quick consequence will be the devaluation of that information. Sure, the content will go viral, but its core value will dissolve. Could people stop clicking on content posted and shared by certain individuals all because what has been shared before wasn’t actually worthy of attention? Would you share something without having checked it out yourself?
Promoting your campaign with “Pay With a Tweet” brings moral and marketing issues on the table, but, if used in an intelligent manner, it can drastically increase views. All you have to do is ask yourself how much you’re willing to risk. If you’re looking to make a quick sensation out of your campaign, this is the right instrument. If you’re so confident about what you’re offering that you think word of mouth (or, in this case, word of “click”) will be enough to give it real attention, this is the instrument for you. If you, however, are looking to build a fan base that is truly passionate about your videos, articles or whatever suits your fancy, then I doubt “Pay With a Tweet” will do.
What do you think? Try and blow my mind away, I can’t wait to see what you comment next.