It seems as though lately all we ever hear about in the media is bad news, bad news and more bad news. Have you ever wondered why? And is this really the case?
Before we continue, this article is also available as a podcast. You can click play to listen or continue reading.
[Podcast by: Carmen Chen | Music title: Ukulele | Royalty Free Music by Bensound]
This morning I woke up to a rather interesting read: Why do we pay more attention to negative news than to positive news?
We tend to prioritise negative news without even realising it. And even when we say we want more positive news, our consumption habits still favour negative information (source).
A research by Outbrain states,
“The average clickthrough rate of headlines with negative superlatives was 63% higher than positive ones.”
So why are we drawn to negative news? Because the possible costs we derive from negative information outweigh the possible benefits of its positive counterpart. What’s more, research shows negative news content tends to increase both arousal and attentiveness; unexpectedness and intrigue.
Related Article: When the Best Brings the Worst and the Worst Brings the Best
The main takeaway from all this: “Bad” is the new “good” – we human beings are driven by negativity. In saying so, brands might want to be more negative in their (content) marketing.
Read more about how brands can get their negativity on here.
Everyone is doing content marketing these days. Research shows, 77% of B2C marketers say they will produce more content in 2016 compared to 2015. But, as I mentioned in my previous post, “it’s not enough to just create good content. It’s worthless if no one sees it.” Considering this, injecting negativity into brands’ content or marketing might help in driving viewership, and in turn help brands get discovered.
Related Article: 8 Winning Headline Strategies and the Psychology Behind Them
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