A quick look into how article titles matter.
Last week, Max Woolf from minimaxir.com came up with this simple graph on 3-word phrases in BuzzFeed article titles FaceBook users shared the most often.
We’ve covered BuzzFeed’s title-creation system a few months back and needless to say, their process is a lot more involved than what many writers would be comfortable with. It should not be surprising that so much effort be spent on titles, given all the millions of things that might be competing for our attention at any given moment we spend online.
Here’s the 3-word phrases you’re most likely to see on a BuzzFeed article shared on Facebook.
8 Takeaways Only People Who Looked Up That Graph Will Understand
- We generally want to know more about themselves, or at least confirm things we believe in.
- We (or rather, people on Facebook) are usually up for a challenge – so long as it’s not too challenging. Survey makers take note.
- We all love to be part of a club, whether we admit it or not. The popularity of “[x] Things Only” titles and an all too obvious “us vs them” mentality we all too often see on and offline are evidence of this.
- We like being (pleasantly) surprised.
- We like our information to be broken down into easily digestible chucks. For better or worse.
- Pop culture tie-ins get you clicks. The quality of these visits however, all depends on your angle being actually relevant to your niche.
- People love cute animals. Whether or not this actually translates as a return for your enterprise is another thing entirely.
- For most users it seems Facebook is a diversion first and foremost. Using it as a venue for commerce isn’t a thing that actively crosses our minds when we use it. Which means you should quit hard-selling on Facebook.
How irrelevant is this to your business? How much do you hate us for even mentioning BuzzFeed?? Comment below!