Clickbait is Unreasonably Effective

This guy really just stood on a ladder and gave a power point presentation

Props to Derek for permanently letting a projector shine into his eyes for the whole record.

When I first came across Veritasium I looked at the titles and thought "That's garbage, can't be true, clearly clickbait" and moved on. Then some of the researchers I worked with were talking (actually arguing) about a particularly interesting idea on a Veritasium vid, which got me to watch it - and I realised while the titles were absolutely crazy and hard to believe, they were also true. The great thing about this channel is that the team finds interesting and wild ideas that sound like they can't be true, and yet are - they use clickbait language that still manages to not be true (unlike so many that misinform willingly/intentionally). Bring on the legitbait!

I hate clickbait titles and thumbnails. I actively avoid videos and articles with them out of spite. I hate that they're effective, because that means they're never going away, and I have to see them constantly.

"I'm terrible at making clickbait" says one of the people with the strongest title/thumbnail games on the platform. Seriously, the past two years of Veritasium has been a case study in how to make clickable videos while still respecting the intelligence of the audience.

I love anti-clickbait. It’s like “here’s the short answer, but we both know I made a video because the long answer is crazy interesting”, and like… fair.

You're genuine. I hate that anyone making click bait could hide behind this spectacular video, but you've exonerated yourself. Recently found and now love your videos.

Key takeaways:
- Clickbait titles should be split into 2 categories:
1. Innocent attempt at attracting attention. This isn’t bad. Veritasium calls them Legitbait.
2. Deliberately sensationalized/misleading efforts at making people curious and getting to click them on their video. This is bad. Veritasium calls them Clicktrap, Clicktrick, Linktrap, Dupechute.
- There is a way to make a video look interesting and appealing without the use of the 2nd type of Clickbait tactics. It helps people discover good content. This is good.
- If you make a video about the Collatz Conjecturet don’t call it “The Collatz Conjecture”
- Veritasium is an absolute boss for saying “I don’t want to make vlogs. I want to make science documentaries on KRplus that put broadcast to shame”
- Don’t use ‘Reaction Face’ on your thumbnail. Unless you’re Mr.Beast

Alternative title: "I CLICKBAITED My Audience And You WON'T BELIEVE What Happened Next 😨!!!"

Day 1: “We need to talk about clickbait”
Day 2: “Mr. Beast and I need to talk about clickbait”
Day 3: "Mr. Beast and I almost died when we talked about clickbait"

I love the transparency of this video!!! Not only is this super helpful for the average viewer to be aware of, and the budding content creator to be aware of-but you're also able to highlight the values of you and your channel! I applaud the hell out of you for this. Seriously. Thank you

I was to send Veritasium team a message exactly on this topic! I was getting your videos on my feed for sometime now, but avoiding them because the titles and thumbnails looked like clickbait.
Last week I finally gave up and decided to watch one. I was so happy I had finally found a channel about science that is serious rather than sensational (on a personal note, this what I miss most about science channels on television)... And was thinking to myself, now that I know about the channel, I'd watch any video, even if the title sounds more "classical" or "boring".
Now the reason is explained. Thanks for making the content that you make, see you around!

I remember back in 2009 KRplus had an option to report videos that had misleading titles or thumbnails. Nowadays if you do it they invite you to KRplus HQ and put you in a Rewind video.

I could not stop watching this video. You have opened my eyes to the very thing missing from my titles and thumbnails. As you have demonstrated in the video and with your thumbnail and title, it suddenly becomes clear to me. Very much appreciated, thank you.

Thank you for this channel and all the work you guys have put into these videos. Never stop learning and exploring!

"I'm terrible at making clickbait" I believe you, even though you had Mr.Beast in your video you didn't use him as a clickbait in the thumbnail. Great Video

Legitbait is a really cool term. Super interesting video! The reality is that you have to be interesting with your thumbnails and titles or people will not watch them so we always have used clickbait (hopefully closer to legitbait) in the hope that our videos then are actually filled with enough substance that people will leave satisfied. We never tried switching out thumbnails though, might experiment with that!

Thank you for just explaining that without teaching how to "mislead" your audience for more views only... but teaching the way that you can improve your boundaries to teach more people about great stuff! Content creators will be a lot happier with this, believe me

soooo omany great points in this. I really believe that leveling up our titles and thumbnails is indeed the secret sauce. We've heard it so much we re prolly numb to hearing it. But your points here clearly shows the effects are real! Bravo and *Thank You* for ALLLL you do. 🙏🏾

I think "The Secret of Synchronization" might outperform "The Surprising Secret of Synchronization" because the audience learned that "Surprising" often leads to Type II clickbaits.

Alternate Title: *KRplusr Overwhelmed by Clickbait Guilt, Nearly Dies Jumping From Ladder*

Thank you Veritasium, I appreciate how your videos are always well researched, well presented and done in a way making so that We are able to follow the things you talk about in all of your videos.😊

This is the best and most agreeable and believable explanation in favor of clickbait that I've ever heard. It's a shame most clickbait creators don't see it the same way though. For what it's worth, when used in this context, I approve

The key difference is that your videos actually deliver the satisfaction that the title and thumbnail teases us with.

The BEST non-clickbait clickbait video I've ever seen!

I love the humility in pointing out that titling a video "Strange Applications of the Magnus Effect" was not a great marketing strategy. That being said, you are killing it on the viewership front and this is one of my favourite channels!

I use “clickworthy”

17:10 I was feeling cynical and know-it-all-ish about the concepts you had brought up until this crucial little caveat at the end. Bravo, I really enjoyed this video. It feels easy to write off the value of marketing & social media, to view them as antagonistic towards the actual work - your reflection here helped remind me that all of these factors are somewhat important, especially in creative pursuits.

This is such an interesting topic for youtubers. How a super small change in the title/thumbnail could provide a drastic change in the results of the video, while still trying to stay true to the actual content

Veritasium is a man of his word.
Veritasium: I'm bad at clickbait
Also Veritasium: Doesn't say ft. Mr Beast

This is just an interesting bit abt titling in general. Media has always to an extent, lived or died off its title. Really great video!

I remember the salt lamps video! I was so happy to see the answer in the thumbnail that I clicked it immediately and watched the whole video 😆. Thank you Derek for your great work!

_"We need to talk about clickbait..."_
_"I spent 19 MINUTES on a ladder, and here's what happened."_
_"HOW HIGH DID I CLIMB??? feat. MrBeast"_
_"This secret is costing you millions of views"_

"Why is clickbait everywhere? Well... because it works."
*Reality is often disappointing.*

Almost forgot, and last one. I really do enjoy all your videos, the information in them, the education from them, and all the work you do. Thanks!

This channel doesn’t make Clickbait, it doesn’t constantly ask to like, subscribe and leave a comment. That’s why I’ve subscribed, always like, and leave comments 😊😊😊

I've always thought that Tom Scott has the perfect balance between clickbait ( or in this case legitbait) and interesting content that isn't misleading.

“The Strange Applications of the Magnus Affect” could’ve been “I threw a ball off a dam! You WONT believe what happens!!!”

Thanks for taking the time to walk through this. It’s not quite what I expected in terms of the title, as it’s more self-reflective and, perhaps, a measure of defensiveness against the way we, as audience, can react when we witness a change in behavior or the edging towards the outer envelope. I can only guess that it’s possible I got to see this video today because the title and thumbnail were refreshed, given that it’s two years old and most of the comments are a year old.
I had some observations occur to me as I listened:
This is called “marketing” in the parlance of KRplus and virtually all practitioners. But there’s another domain which has the exact same problem, and a lot of similar feelings about it, and that field is a lot older than KRplus, a lot older than video production of any kind. That would be journalism and the relationship between an article and its headline (and, optionally, a cover photo or sample video). There’s definitely both an art and a skill to it. An art, always, because it’s a moving target - audience moods and outside context do not remain the same, and even use of language changes. Given that the internet also causes effects where “overuse” of words or images or fonts occur at a much faster rate than previously, how language feels to an audience changes at a rate we’re not really used to thinking about. And, to emphasize it, what this channel does is science journalism. It doesn’t always immediately strike the audience as intuitively in that bucket, because rather than current developments and short-form journalism on a topic, the channel focuses on more “evergreen” topics and longer form videos. So, audiences come into witnessing how this channel uses what superficially feel are the same techniques as other content creators in entirely different categories and, because we’re collectively overburdened with spam via literally every media-channel that we pay attention to, a dozen more we likely intend to pay attention to but guiltily don’t, and another gross that we aren’t paying attention to, most of which we aren’t even aware of, and yet still someone views us as a viable target? Yes, there’s a heavy percentage that’re going to have a knee-jerk reaction when we see the same techniques being used by what we feel is spamming us from sources we expect not to be spamming us. It’s not at all fair, but it IS predictable. (Oh, and there’s an unintended consequence of being heavily spammed by media channels that we’re not regularly participating in. If we return after a time, or if we are encountering it for the first time, the typical presentation is mostly what’s hyper-popular yet somehow irrelevant, therefore spammy. Top that off with some media channels THEMSELVES being especially “needy” and sending daily emails if we don’t log in. [Looking at you, LinkedIn and TikTok. There are others, but you two are the ones in my inbox daily.]) Despite me being philosophical about it just now, I have one of the most intense aversions to advertising of any sort that I know of, even though I find the topic fascinating when I’m able to think about it in a removed way. I’m just not “loud” about it, I tend to only weigh in and comment when I’m feeling more thoughtful and empathetic. I just get that knee-jerk reaction all too well, it’s like yelling at a sudden bright beam of light that’s stabbed me in the eyes unexpectedly. Pointless. But the light DOES literally hurt the eyes for a bit until I either shield myself from it or look away.
Ultimately, I hope you just keep learning about it. Learning how to write a good headline that draws people in quickly can be just as much a lifelong practice as learning how to write good poetry. Very different feel, sure. But from the vantage of the brain gyrating through the linguistics, creativity, and mental associations that must be explored… Strikingly similar.
Thanks for everything you’re making. Much appreciate it. 😊

I get what you're saying about reaching more people. I would probably not have stumbled on this channel otherwise. I'm totally glad the algorithms lead me here. There is a lot that I don't know about in this world but I have a curious mind. Thank you for putting out this content and making my mind grind its gears a bit more!

"I don't want to make vlogs, I want to make science documentaries on KRplus that puts broadcast to shame." And for that, I love this channel

Veritasium basically exposing himself is the most truthful thing I've seen on KRplus.

I actually subscribed to the channel because I started with the Collatz Conjuncture, I was so interested that I developed a simulation without knowing that it actually is a 'type 1 clickbait - Easy math problem no one can solve'. But well, it kinda proofs that clickbaits and thumbnails are useful to provide information to everyone. Great stuff

your explanation for it was really straightforward! I really love your videos. Keep going, the world needs you. Thanks.

**The Clickbait Paradox**
**Here's how you're getting Dupechuted**
**Man stands on ladder for almost 20mins, here's why**

20 minutes of wondering "Why is he on a ladder" with no relief at the end in a video about clickbait. Meta game is strong in this one.

this is really great content, basically a free class on how to get more views on your youtube video without the 'clickbait' of all the other videos by youtubers that try to market the same idea of 'how to get more views'

Honestly, most of your video titles don't sound that interesting to me, but then I watch them and I'm fascinated
Great channel. Love it

Ironically, the original title was more similar to "lets have a talk about clickbait" and I chose not to click it since it was to vague. I only chose to click it after seeing the name change to "clickbait is unreasonably effective"

First title: We need to talk about clickbait
second title: Clickbait is Unreasonably Effective

love this projector and ladder stype of presenting

5:47 Props to whoever made this sick 3D animation here!

Best legitbait title ever: "The ingenious design of the aluminum beverage can"

I think Tom Scott is pretty good at this. While his titles are often clickbaity, he always delivers on the promise but not always as you would expect.

Great vid! The vid previously popped up with its old title “we need to talk about click bait” but I wasn’t interested. Have to agree that the new title and thumbnail definitely worked on me 😅

Derek, você é incrível!! Nunca vi tanto profissionalismo em um só vídeo!

"We need to talk about clickbait"
"Clickbait is unreasonably effective"
Trying to get me to watch the same video twice, huh, I see how it is.

As an astronomer, I fully approve of the division of clickbait into "Type I" and "Type II"

You are right with one exception! People recognize over time what the click bait people are doing. They get a reputation for doing it and people hesitate or avoid that channel.

I love the moral discussion about being misleading vs honest whist still getting the maximum viewers to click you your videos and i think you hit the spot:)

Would have never clicked for strange applications of Magnus Effect!!
But I click on every video of yours now, irrespective of thumbnail or title :)

The Og title was “We Need To Talk About Clickbait” it’s now “Clickbait is Unreasonably Effective”

I like anti-clickbait. It gives me the feeling that someone actually has a good explanation and is not just trying to get my attention for nothing

You've such high standards, I respect you a lot. Thank you, Derek. This is by far my favorite channel on KRplus.

I think Tom Scott does a great job with the title and thumbnail.
Not obnoxious, but genuinely interesting. CGP Grey is also pretty good. I like that overall style.

I love how openly self-conscious you are about not only whether or not you are making the best content you can, but doing the right thing in the process. People say it's bad to overthink these things, but the alternative is far worse.

The secret of synchronization sounds super succinct

Just found myself in love with this dude's presentation

This guy stared into a projector for 20 minutes for our education
Respect.

"We need to talk about clickbait"
> No red circles or arrows in clickbait thumbnail
Yes.

This was a trend I had been noticing on your channel as I made my way through your latest videos. Here, you have explained it so well that I have made a complete 180 on my original opinion of your clickbaity titles. This has made it quite clear to me.
Also, as a late-comer to the wonders that KRplus creators like yourself can offer, I was left up to my own interpretations of you based off of basically your most recent video. I never knew your intention for creating this content, just that you created very enjoyable and digestible content and that was enough for me. You reinstated here what your intent was, and that has cast a different light on what you’re doing here, to me anyway. My opinion of you holds no more weight than anyone else, but I would be amiss if I didn’t take the opportunity to tell you that you are, in every way, achieving your goal of making mini-docs that put broadcast to shame. I don’t know what sort of production team you have behind you, but I find myself hypnotized by every last one of your videos.
So, as if you needed me to tell you this, keep doing exactly what you’re doing. Your intuition has brought you this far, so I plead that you continue to believe in your abilities. You are a fantastic scientific communicator, and your contribution to satisfying our curiosities has been more than invaluable.
From one humble human to another, I want to thank you for dedicating your time to educating me. Informal or not, you are a teacher. And a fantastic one at that.
Thank you.
Austin, 27, Boise ID

Coming back to this video for a second time. Even though it came out 2 years ago. Thank you for this. Road to silver button

I love how he just narrates his videos from random places like a ladder

"I'm terrible at click bait"
Yet I'm here

I'm afraid you're going to scorch your retinas looking into that projector for so long, brother😮Thanks for the excellent videos and all your hard work

17:07
that's crazy, I saw that video and chose not to watch it because it gave me the answer in the thumbnail, but you reveling that people click on it anyway proves your whole point by itself plus explains a lot. Tbh you could of just said that and I would of been on board

I feel this is something AI will be terrifyingly good at.

“Surprising” is an overused clickbait that people are desensitised to; this means that people have developed an immune response to unconsciously ignore such bait.

KRplus should enable creators to A/B test titles and thumbnails (ie you can upload multiple versions at the same time, a random % of users see each one, you can see how each one performs and in real time switch to the best performing version, or even adjust the %s over time to keep the metrics up)

thank you for expanding on that, I was always on the hate side for that kind of thumbs/titles but you brought good points, thank you

Hey Derek, here's a new title: KRplusr Does Nothing Wrong. Gives Most Thoughtful Apology, Ever

The fact that I avoided this video for three days just to finally click it proves that clickbait always wins.

This video mad me realize why I click on less and less videos from Veritasium and its increasing clickbait title and thumbnails.
Building the curiosity gap takes time, so overall there is less and less to learn and the video length rises.

This was perhaps the best of your vids (that I have seen) so far. :)

Tom Scott: "Here's 2 hours of a piece of garlic bread flying to the edge of space."

"KRplusrs hate him !" watch this physicist reveal their secrets

Brilliant presentation and very insightful as always. Love this channel. Very professional and just fascinating.

You got my view with this title! And - love the shadow!

I have the perfect clickbait for this video: “A SCIENTIST discovers MARKETING. This is what happened!”

"I want to make science documentaries in youtube that puts broadcast to shame"
And to be honest, you have. It made me reflect on how have I got into interesting science topics in the last 8 years, and its been mostly through your videos. And thats a lot because I just graduated as a biologist! It is thanks to your videos and videos from others like Michael from Vsauce that I keep finding my passion about science.
So thank you. I always go back to some of your videos (What is not random and Our Greatest Delusion) because they are truly inspirational. You are the Carl Sagan of a generation!

I was just surfing through your videos for something to watch and thinking to my self “I really appreciate how he doesn’t use clickbait” then I landed on this video.

I love how at 5:40 Derek had to take a second to calm his laughter, you could see him smiling almost laughing when he started talking after he said “dupechute”.

"I'm just gonna make this video on a ladder"

"I'm terrible at making clickbait." Really? "Risking My Life To Settle A Physics Debate" was an immediately clickable title.
Edit: This is a compliment, not an accusation.

i love this channel. even the end ads have some use for me.

I find that the thing that gets me to click on videos the most is by highlighting something in the video that will grab people’s attention to an extreme without over promising and underperforming.
I’m planning on becoming a story time/art KRplusr sometime within the next few months to years and that’s going to be my plan.

I like how he has the high ground.

When I see stuff like "jaw drop", "mind blown", "shocking", my bs meter goes way up and I will likely ignore it

After this was posted I realized that your thumbnails are a perfect balance, in the title you state what the video is about, “the most misunderstood concept in physics”, but then to not withhold information, the thumbnail is one word “entropy” so the viewers get a taste on what the concept and video is about

15:46 I usually read the title of the thumbnail first, so no surprise that the one saying "There's no such thing" wasn't as effective. I personally like it when the thumbnail provokes curiosity and after looking at / reading it, I read the actual title of the video to know what the video is about and what I get myself into.