{"id":7260,"date":"2022-07-25T22:24:05","date_gmt":"2022-07-26T05:24:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sparktoro.com\/blog\/?p=7260"},"modified":"2025-01-27T15:32:23","modified_gmt":"2025-01-27T23:32:23","slug":"zero-click-content-the-counterintuitive-way-to-succeed-in-a-platform-native-world","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sparktoro.com\/blog\/zero-click-content-the-counterintuitive-way-to-succeed-in-a-platform-native-world\/","title":{"rendered":"Zero-Click Content: The Counterintuitive Way to Succeed in a Platform-Native World"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Update: <\/strong>We hosted a SparkToro Office Hours webinar about Zero-Click content on August 23. Sign up free to watch the replay<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

It could be a chicken or egg situation: Maybe the platforms have made us lazy, or we\u2019ve trained their algorithms to reward platform-native content \u2014 as in, content that keeps people on the platforms\u2019 sites instead of sending them to yours. Zero-Click Content.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

No matter what you call it, one thing is certain: it\u2019s harder than ever to get audiences to click that call-to-action.<\/p>\n\n\n

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A chart of the major web and social platforms, that shows which ones link to content \u2014 and which ones benefit from a zero-click approach.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

In 2020, more than two-thirds of Google searches<\/a> ended without a click. Why? Google is continually updating the Search Engine Results Page (SERP) so that users don’t even need to click on a result in order to satisfy their query. Converting ounces to cups? There’s a calculator directly on the SERP. Curious about Paul Rudd\u2019s height? The snippet says he’s 5’10”. Want an overview of market research? Googling “what is market research” yields a knowledge graph with a definition, suggested market research firms, and relevant books \u2014 all without having to click through to a website.<\/p>\n\n\n

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Google SERP page and knowledge graph of “what is market research,” retrieved July 24, 2022.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

It’s not just Google. It’s social media channels, too<\/a>. Instagram still doesn’t allow you to place links in posts\u2019 captions. Facebook, Twitter, Reddit, Pinterest, and Quora favor in-platform content like linkless posts, threads, images, and videos. TikTok and Snapchat are linkless. YouTube cuts off video descriptions that include links. And any LinkedIn creator can tell you Zero-Click content always performs better, and that links belong in the comments instead of the posts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So\u2026 what are we supposed to do when the platforms reward Zero-Click behavior?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Make Zero-Click content.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Zero-Click content is content that offers valuable, standalone insights (or simply engaging material), with no need to click. Clicking might be additive, but it\u2019s not required.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This is content that\u2019s native to any platform \u2014 a Twitter thread, a LinkedIn post, a 60-second TikTok that immediately jumps into the \u201chow to\u201d demonstration. It\u2019s easily consumed by anyone scrolling their feed, yet still provides value to the creator.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But how can we get value if we can\u2019t get trackable visits? Just like our marketing forebears did: through hard-to-measure brand lift.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For marketers, writers or creators, it means optimizing impressions without the goal of earning that click. It\u2019s taking a leap of faith. Giving the juiciest information upfront, earning engagement so the algorithm rewards your post, and building enough goodwill that your audience remembers you next time, seeks you out later, follows you on the platform, or even clicks on your profile to go find your call-to-action.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For the audience, Zero-Click content means less time wasted. You\u2019re busy. You want the dopamine hit now<\/em>, and then<\/em> you\u2019ll decide if it\u2019s worthy of committing to reading a 2,000-word blog post, watching a 26-minute YouTube video, or listening to a 50-minute podcast. So if a creator is generous enough to give you the punchline or the three most salient takeaways, you know the long-form version of whatever it is they\u2019re promoting is going to be worth it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Goodbye, Clickbait. Hello, Zero-Click Content.<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Of course, it wasn\u2019t always this way.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Five years ago, a successful webinar promotion email might have said: \u201cThere are four major flaws with buyer personas. Think outside the box. Join our webinar where we\u2019ll walk you through the proven tactics for developing buyer personas that actually move the needle on your business.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But today? Pbfffftt.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Here at SparkToro, our most clicked-on webinar promotion email<\/a> this year brought the punchline front and center:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The Marketing ‘Manda buyer persona joke, front and center.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

My whole presentation \u2014 heck, even the blog post version<\/a> \u2014 built up to that fake template as the punchline to hammer home the pointlessness<\/a> of traditional buyer personas. And with 906 webinar registrants<\/a>, the Zero-Click gamble was worth it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Reverse-engineering my tactic, you could say I took a cue from the radio and streaming video worlds. Howard Stern has been doing this on his YouTube channel<\/a> for years \u2014 giving away the juiciest clips of his celebrity interviews when we all know we need to buy a Sirius subscription to listen to the entire show. Twitch streamers like Ninja<\/a>, Nickmercs<\/a>, Pokimane<\/a>, and many more all do this too. They stream for hours on Twitch, then share the best highlights on YouTube.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Does this mean you need to give away all the spoilers of your long-form content? No. But in a time when content saturation is higher than ever before, you need to be value-driven. You need to continually win over your audience\u2019s attention. Even if they staunchly refuse to click.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But giving away the punchline isn\u2019t the only way to create Zero-Click content. Here are three other frameworks:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Give one complete, compelling idea in 200 words, 2 minutes, or less.<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

I know you don\u2019t want to hear this. You already spent 6 hours writing that killer blog post, and now I\u2019m telling you to write a second, shorter version of that post. But we know it\u2019s not enough to entice folks with a clever headline in hopes that they read further.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

You need a defensible, short-form piece to use in your promotional channels. Think: <\/p>\n\n\n\n