‘Clickbait’ for Colleges: Online Media Appeals to Students

 

Millions of people share material like videos and news stories with their friends and family over the Internet every day.

They use social media websites like Facebook and Twitter to do so.

In 2016, the Pew Research Center reported about 62 percent of adults in the United States get their news from social media.

Now, some U.S. colleges and universities have decided¹ they want some of that internet action. And they are using a kind of web content known as ‘clickbait’ to get it.

Clickbait is content that is designed to attract web users² and persuade them to click on a link to a webpage.

Clickbait often uses shocking³ headlines that make users feel like they have to know more, like “What Famous Stars Look Like Without Makeup” or “Five Common Foods That Could Kill You.”

People are likely to want to learn what those foods are. So they click on the link. Often this leads to a page with an advertisement written as a news report. And the page is also usually filled with more clickbait.

The more clicks these websites get, the more advertisers pay the website owners.

Buzzfeed is one of the most popular websites in the U.S. For years, critics have viewed Buzzfeed as a major source for what they call clickbait.

Some Buzzfeed reports are based on lists, like “23 Things Parents Should Never Apologize For” or “50 Tweets That Show How Different America and Britain Are.”

The lists include lots of pictures and little written information.

Other Buzzfeed reports are advertisements, like “13 Things You Could Actually Buy If You Didn’t Have Student Loan⁴ Debt.” The University of Wyoming paid for that one. The ad promotes the school’s lower costs of education.

Temple University in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania was one of the first universities to partner with Buzzfeed in 2015. Shortly after, schools like Indiana University and the University of Wyoming began working with Buzzfeed, as well.

Chad Baldwin is the vice⁵ president of communications at the University of Wyoming. His school paid $100,000 for two pieces of material from Buzzfeed in 2016. He admits it was costly⁶. But he said the stories on Buzzfeed have received more than 100,000 views.

“There are a lot of the traditional things we still use,” Baldwin said. “[But] the social media element is huge and anyone who resists engaging in those [ways] is probably going to get left behind.”

Jay Baer is the creator of U.S.-based Convince⁷ & Convert⁸, a marketing⁹ company that deals mostly with social media. He is also a parent of a high school student currently¹⁰ choosing a college to attend.

Baer said there are many media companies that do this type of branded advertising¹¹ for businesses. This includes large newspapers like The New York Times. And he feels that universities should have considered this method of advertising much sooner.

But he also said he is concerned about the ethics¹² of universities using this kind of advertising and about news media sites that receive money from businesses.

“As a parent, I wondered whether this was actually informing potential students … and how [trustworthy it] is,” Baer said. “Does it concern me as a citizen that people who report the news are also making [material] for money? Yeah, of course. But I don’t know what the alternative is.”

Stephen Loguidice is the vice president of global brand development for Buzzfeed. He said Buzzfeed does not create clickbait and its content is not all paid advertising.

Loguidice said Buzzfeed understands how young people react to advertising. He said most do not trust or even see information on television or in print media. He said young people seek information from content shared on social media.

“It’s always been, ‘How do I get the message that I want to say in front of the people I need it in front of?’” Loguidice said.

“With social [media], now [companies] have to think about, ‘How do I say what they want to hear and not necessarily¹³ what I want to say?’ And at the end of the day, now [companies are] competing with friends and family and co-workers and trusted news sources and all these other things.”

In traditional advertising, a company tells an advertiser exactly the kind of message it wants to send. But Buzzfeed studies its most popular stories and uses that information to create copy.

Instead of forcing people to listen to a company’s message, Buzzfeed includes parts of that message in with other interesting material.

For example, the online music service Spotify paid Buzzfeed for a branded marketing campaign in 2014. Buzzfeed then created a story for them with the headline “15 Of The Best Bands To Come From College Campuses¹⁴.”

Jennifer Cronin is a professor of marketing and social media in the Mendoza School of Business at the University of Notre Dame¹⁵. She noted¹⁶ that Buzzfeed’s materials could be considered clickbait. But, she said there is also nothing wrong with that. And the website clearly shows what is and is not paid advertising, she said.

Yet she did warn that several companies have faced trouble recently for things they have said or shared themselves online. Companies can lose public favor easily if they are connected to online material considered offensive¹⁷ or untrustworthy.

She said, “Colleges are supposed to be very elite¹⁸ and [centered] on academics. … And so, when you use these other [methods], if you do it poorly then there is the chance that you could harm your reputation.”

Words in This Story

website(s) – n. a place on the internet that contains information about a person, organization or thing, and that usually consists of many websites joined by hyperlinks¹⁹

click – v. to press a button on a mouse or some other device²⁰ in order to make something happen on a computer

headline(s) – n. the title written in large letters over a story in a newspaper

branded – adj. having a well-known brand name, or name of a category of products that are all made by a given company and all have a given name

alternative – n. something that can be chosen instead of something else

global – adj. involving the entire world

band(s) – n. a usually small group of musicians who play popular music together

campus(es) – n. the area and buildings around a university, college, or school

elite – adj. seen as the most successful or powerful

academics – n. courses of study taken at a school or college

reputation – n. the common opinion that people have about someone or something

1 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

2 users   

用户，使用者( user的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The new software will prove a boon to Internet users. 这种新软件将会对互联网用户大有益处。
• Ramps should be provided for wheelchair users. 应该给轮椅使用者提供坡道。

3 shocking   

adj.令人气愤的；令人震惊的

参考例句：

• His attitude was shocking to her.他的态度令她感到震惊。
• Such behaviour is really shocking.这种行为真不像话。

4 loan   

n.贷款；借出的东西；借；vt.借出；贷予

参考例句：

• I asked the bank to help me with a loan.我请银行给我一笔贷款。
• Has the bank okayed your request for a loan?银行批准你的贷款要求了吗？

5 vice   

n.坏事；恶习；[pl.]台钳，老虎钳；adj.副的

参考例句：

• He guarded himself against vice.他避免染上坏习惯。
• They are sunk in the depth of vice.他们堕入了罪恶的深渊。

6 costly   

adj.昂贵的，价值高的，豪华的

参考例句：

• It must be very costly to keep up a house like this.维修这么一幢房子一定很昂贵。
• This dictionary is very useful,only it is a bit costly.这本词典很有用，左不过贵了些。

7 convince   

vt.使确认，使信服；使认识错误

参考例句：

• It requires a lot of talking to convince him.要说服他很费口舌。
• I have given over trying to convince him.我已经不再试图说服他了。

8 convert   

v.（在形式、状态、用途等方面）（使）改变

参考例句：

• I must convert sorrow into strength.我要化悲痛为力量。
• At what rate does the dollar convert into pounds?美元以什么汇率兑换成英镑？

9 marketing   

n.行销，在市场的买卖，买东西

参考例句：

• They are developing marketing network.他们正在发展销售网络。
• He often goes marketing.他经常去市场做生意。

10 currently   

adv.通常地，普遍地，当前

参考例句：

• Currently it is not possible to reconcile this conflicting evidence.当前还未有可能去解释这一矛盾的例证。
• Our contracts are currently under review.我们的合同正在复查。

11 advertising   

n.广告业；广告活动 a.广告的；广告业务的

参考例句：

• Can you give me any advice on getting into advertising? 你能指点我如何涉足广告业吗?
• The advertising campaign is aimed primarily at young people. 这个广告宣传运动主要是针对年轻人的。

12 ethics   

n.伦理学；伦理观，道德标准

参考例句：

• The ethics of his profession don't permit him to do that.他的职业道德不允许他那样做。
• Personal ethics and professional ethics sometimes conflict.个人道德和职业道德有时会相互抵触。

13 necessarily   

adv.必要地，必需地；必定地，必然地

参考例句：

• More work does not necessarily call for more men.增加工作量不一定就要增添人员。
• A voter must necessarily be no younger than eighteen.选民必须在18岁以上。

14 campuses   

n.（大学）校园（campus的复数形式）

参考例句：

• University campuses are often the bellwether of change. 大学校园往往引领变革的新潮。
• Sport looms much larger on US campuses than in China. 体育在美国大学比中国大学突出得多。 来自互联网

15 dame   

n.女士

参考例句：

• The dame tell of her experience as a wife and mother.这位年长妇女讲了她作妻子和母亲的经验。
• If you stick around,you'll have to marry that dame.如果再逗留多一会，你就要跟那个夫人结婚。

16 noted   

adj.著名的，知名的

参考例句：

• The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
• Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。

17 offensive   

adj.令人不快的，侮辱的，攻击用的；n.进攻

参考例句：

• His mode of doing business is offensive to me.他干事情的方式叫我很不喜欢。
• If all else fails,I will take the offensive.如果其他方法不行，我将采取攻势。

18 elite   

n.精英阶层；实力集团；adj.杰出的，卓越的

参考例句：

• The power elite inside the government is controlling foreign policy.政府内部的一群握有实权的精英控制着对外政策。
• We have a political elite in this country.我们国家有一群政治精英。

19 hyperlinks   

n.超链接( hyperlink的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Specifies if hyperlinks are displayed and function within the control. 指定是否显示超级链接以及它是否在控件中起作用。 来自互联网
• View, add, and change pages, documents, themes, and borders; recalculate hyperlinks. 查看、添加和更改网页、文档、主题和边框；重新计算超链接。 来自互联网

20 device   

n.器械，装置；计划，策略，诡计

参考例句：

• The device will be in production by the end of the year.该装置将于年底投入生产。
• The device will save much time and effort for us.这种装置会使我们节省大量时间和气力。