- As discussed in class, why do you feel Headlines are so important in web content? Please provide me with an example of a headline you clicked on recently (submit the exact headline including a screenshot) and outline in detail why you clicked it. In question #1, I asked why it resonated with you. For this question, I am asking why you actually clicked on it. This cannot be the same headline as question #1 (8 Marks)
Headlines are so important in web content because a user enters an article or piece of content solely based on a headline. If a headline does not capture the attention of someone scrolling, all the content that went into the article will simply go unread. As I learned in class, people on digital platforms are extremely fast-moving, impatient, and driven by curiosity. They want to discover, share, and consume information as quickly as possible, and if something doesn’t interest them, they will move on extremely fast.
A headline is the most essential deciding factor for whether people will view that content or not. According to the 3-second rule, users will decide almost instantly whether to engage with content based on the headline alone. This means a headline must be clear, direct, and promise something specific. It should also be super easily digestible and avoid unnecessary wording.
A good headline acts like bait in fishing. It needs to attract and hook the right audience, fighting through and standing out against all the other content on the internet. A weak or unclear headline results in content being ignored, no matter how valuable the material itself may be. That’s why headlines are not just important but essential in digital marketing and content strategy.
The headline I clicked on was on Buzzfeed: “Starbucks Is Cutting 13 Drinks From Its Menu Starting Next Week, And Here’s A List Of What Is Being Discontinued”
I clicked on this headline for many reasons that resonated with me. It created a sense of urgency. The phrase “Starting Next Week” gave me a reason to click right away instead of scrolling past because it gave a sense of real-time urgency that what they are talking about would be happening soon. There was an implied deadline that if I didn’t check now, I might miss important news.
Another factor that made me click is that it was highly specific. Instead of using vague statements like “Starbucks is changing its menu,” this headline clearly stated that 13 drinks were being taken away. Being that specific intrigued me to want to know what was being taken away enough for me to click on it. Alongside the urgency, it triggered my fear of missing out as an often Starbucks consumer—if I didn’t click the headline now, I would not find out what was getting taken away and might miss some of my last chances to get some of my favourite menu items. The fear of not knowing what exactly was being taken away made me want to find out, therefore having to click on the headline to get more information.
More factors that intrigued me to click and resonated with me include the clarity and ease of understanding exactly what the headline was saying. The text they used was straightforward and worked without context. Seeing this headline while randomly scrolling, I still understood what information it was going to provide me without any extra context. I knew that when I clicked this headline, it was going to provide me with 13 drinks that were getting cut from the Starbucks menu with no confusion at all.
Another factor that intrigued me is that instead of being broad, it included an exact number of how many drinks were getting cut from the menu. As I learned in class, using an odd number like 13 really gets attention. The fact that it said 13 drinks instead of just “some drinks” made it feel much more structured and that they were providing real information, really knowing what they were talking about. When things are broad, it makes the headlines feel much less trustworthy, and the information they are providing seems less credible. But since they used a specific number, I felt the information was legitimate, making me want to click. Along with that specific number, they were providing a key takeaway or promise that I would get out of clicking this headline. By stating, “Here’s a list,” it reassured me that I would get a full breakdown of each specific menu item that is getting discontinued.