Andrew Selepak Comments on the Use of “Clickbait” Online
Andrew Selepak, University of Florida College of Journalism and Communications director of the online Master’s program with a specialization in social media, was quoted in “Shouldn’t Every Piece of Content Be Clickbait?” published on the Content Marketing Institute website on Dec. 4.
The article features a debate on “clickbait,” defined by The Oxford English Dictionary as “(on the internet) content whose main purpose is to attract attention and encourage visitors to click on a link to particular web page.” Clickbait can entice visitors to click on a headline, however some sites regard it as a practice to avoid.
“Clickbait isn’t necessarily bad,” says Selepak. “While we often view clickbait negatively because it is associated with fake news and online hucksters, if your company has a solid product that can actually help consumers, getting people to your site by hook or crook isn’t such a bad thing.”
According to Selepak, P.T. Barnum’s “Greatest Show on Earth” label is as an example of pre-internet clickbait.
“While it is debatable that P.T. Barnum truly had the greatest show on earth, his clickbait advertising did get people to come see his show, and what they saw was entertaining,” he said.
Posted: December 7, 2018
Category: Alumni News, College News
Tagged as: Andrew Selepak
