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March 25, 2022
We want to make sure the time people spend on our platform is well spent and that the content they consume is meaningful and satisfying. For video content in particular, we aim to foster a healthy ecosystem of high quality content and publishers.
We see the use of “watchbait” in our video ecosystem, which includes using tactics like withholding key information, sensationalizing content, or misleading viewers about the true nature of the video. These tactics can be deployed in any part of the post or video, including the text, thumbnail, or content of the video, and ultimately are used to lure or bait people into watching the full video.
People have expressed negative attitudes towards these tactics and tell us they often feel let down and deceived after engaging with watchbait. People prefer to see clearly written, accurate video posts where the title and text, thumbnail, and video content set appropriate expectations and show relevant information about the video.
Given users’ preferences and the baity nature of watchbait videos, we use a system that detects watchbait holistically across a video post and, if detected, reduces its distribution. Videos that are considered watchbait may not be recommended to viewers and/or may receive limited ranking. And repeatedly posting watchbait may result in that Page’s overall distribution being reduced.
We encourage publishers to avoid watchbait tactics and instead generate distribution with original, authentic behavior and high quality videos.
Your video distribution strategy should not rely on baity tactics
If you rely on watchbait tactics to lure people into watching your videos, your video distribution will ultimately decline::
- Withholding: omitting key information to create an arbitrary curiosity gap to entice users to watch the video to understand the full context
- Sensationalizing: using exaggeration and extreme language to entice users to watch the video
- Misleading: creating misleading expectations or deceiving viewers about the video content or “payoff”
People expect the title, caption, text overlay and thumbnail of a video to convey relatively accurately what the video is about; this helps them decide if they want to spend time watching it. For example, these titles below withhold key information, making it hard for people to know what the video is about and bait them into viewing the video to find out:
- His Reaction Was Priceless!! 😂😂
- THIS IS THE WORST WAY TO WAKE UP!! 😂
- And then his GF did this!!!
Additionally, people have told us that exaggerated, sensationalized titles or captions result in feelings of disappointment or deception once the video is viewed. For example, these titles sensationalize the video content and leave viewers who engage with the post with a feeling of being let down:
- Absolutely mind-blowing details in the latest recipe from Kai!
- Your bestie just sent a crazy message to your girlfriend! 😰😰😰
- SHOCKING weather phenomenon could explode your plans!!!
Also, people have expressed frustration with misleading video posts wherein thumbnails, titles, descriptions or other parts of the video suggest something happens in the video that actually does not. Misleading videos can make viewers wait artificially long for some “payoff” and often include staged or scripted content that is portrayed as “reality” or “factual.”
You should make video posts that inform and set accurate expectations
Instead of relying on withholding information, sensationalizing, or misleading - use titles, captions and thumbnails that set appropriate expectations and accurately describe the video someone is about to watch.
- Use informative headlines and captions so people get a clear understanding of your video.
- Use thumbnails that are actual clips from the video content and not photoshopped or cropped images that don’t appear in the posted video.
- Add your own voice to help drive genuine conversation. This helps establish originality and authenticity in your content and enables people to decide how they want to spend their time with your post.
For more information on watchbait, please see our Watchbait Best Practices article in the Publisher Help Center.