One-Click Content: Engage Your Audience Where They Are

Have you noticed that you’re spending more time scrolling social media, consuming content right on the platform, rather than seeing a teaser and clicking through to the full article or video? If you hadn’t noticed, you will now!

A recent study from the Reuters Institute found that people are becoming less likely to trust news sources, which has led mainstream media publishers to experiment with a new strategy: one-click content. The LA Times, Washington Post and the New York Times are all putting more emphasis on creating content to engage readers directly on the social media platforms where they’re found.

While one-click content is new to journalism, it’s certainly nothing new. I’ve been watching as it becomes more and more popular amongst influencers and small business owners as platforms like Facebook decrease the reach of links to websites.

For years a social media strategy would focus on driving traffic to your website, and while this isn’t a bad thing and can still work, you might find a better return by adding one-click content to your social media strategy going forward.

What is One-Click Content?

One-click content is any piece of content that can be consumed entirely within a single click or tap. This can take many forms, such as a blog post that is displayed in its entirety on a social media platform, or a video that plays within a single frame on a website. The goal of one-click content is to remove barriers to engagement by providing users with the entirety of the piece of content within one click of seeing it.

Platforms like Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok are designed to present a continuous stream of one-click content to users, especially with the growing popularity of short-form video content.

Let’s say you’re scrolling through your newsfeed and you see a video post from a cooking channel that catches your eye. You’re interested in the recipe, and you want to watch the video to learn more. If your sound isn’t on, all you have to do is click the unmute button to consume the entire video, which likely gives you everything you need to recreate the recipe at home. There are no additional steps, or clicks, to get what you need. There may be OPTIONAL clicks to get a printed version or additional related content, but the main feature is self-contained on the platform.

If we’re looking at Instagram, many people are now telling their stories in the Instagram newsfeed, without trying to get people over to a blog. Think about all the long-form text posts you’re reading there lately. Origin stories, introductions, motivation, awkward moments, and more. It’s all self-contained right on Instagram.

And TikTok was always about one-click content. Heck, you don’t even need to click much of the time, you just swipe, swipe and swipe some more. You’re only clicking if you need more info, but on the business side of TikTok, much information is shared directly on the platform.

Benefits of One-Click Content

If you’ve spent the last few years of your business using social media to drive traffic to your website, this is going to be a huge shift for you, but there are myriad benefits to adding one-click content to your social media strategy.

• Increased engagement: One-click content is easy to consume and requires minimal effort on the part of the user. As a result, it is more likely to be engaged with than longer-form content that requires more time and attention, or a click away to a website that takes longer to load (and more data).
• Higher conversion rates: By removing barriers to engagement, one-click content can lead to higher conversion rates. Users who regularly consume your one-click content are more likely to take the desired action, such as signing up for a newsletter or making a purchase. Because you’re building trust and expertise with them right on their platform of choice, they’re more likely to look for additional content from you outside of that platform when they’re ready to buy.
• Improved mobile experience: With more and more people accessing content on mobile devices, one-click content provides a better user experience by eliminating the need for scrolling or clicking through multiple pages, link in bios, or searching on a website.
• Increased social media visibility: Social media platforms prioritize content that keeps users on their site, rather than directing them to external links. By providing one-click content that is displayed entirely within the platform, businesses can increase their visibility and reach on social media. Of course, the content has to attract and engage your audience to do this and there is an art to doing that.
• Increased Viral Potential: Content that can be consumed with a single click or tap is more likely to be shared on social media and go viral. If users can quickly and easily share your content with their followers, you can potentially reach a wider audience and increase your content’s exposure. Again, I stress, there is an art to making content that will go viral, but when was the last time you heard about someone’s blog post going viral? It’s been a hot minute.

Downsides of One-Click Content

Of course, it’s not all rainbows and unicorn farts. This could be a huge change in the way you think about your content strategy and there are some downsides to consider.

• Limited content: One-click content is typically limited in length and format, which can make it challenging to convey complex or detailed information. There can be a higher chance of misinformation due to oversimplification of the content.
• Lack of control: When content is displayed entirely within a social media platform or other third-party sites, you have limited control over the formatting or presentation of the content when it’s in text format. Video content is really only limited by your creativity and skills at using video editing software, and the time limits of your chosen platform.
• Potential for information overload: While one-click content can be a convenient way to consume information, it can also contribute to information overload if users are bombarded with too much content. How much of the content you consumed last night do you actually remember?
• Reduced Site Traffic: One-click content that is contained entirely within a social media platform can reduce the amount of traffic to your own website. If users can access all the content they need within the social media platform, they may be less likely to click through to your website. This is likely the biggest downside, but there are other metrics that will increase, so it could end up being a good balance. You’ll have to experiment and measure to decide what’s right for you.

What type of content works best for the one-click format?

It depends. Isn’t that always the answer you get from an expert? It’s true though.

The best type of one-click content depends on your target audience and your marketing goals. Generally speaking, video and photos tend to be more engaging than text alone. However, if you’re trying to convey complex information or technical details, you may need to use text to fully explain your message. And there are always exceptions. Facebook Ads expert Amanda Bond made a great post about it that I screen-captured for you below. She’s been experimenting with these very short, text-only posts, and look at her engagement! Ultimately, it’s important to experiment with different formats and see what works best for your audience.

How can I measure the effectiveness of my one-click content?

To measure the effectiveness of your one-click content, you can track metrics like

• engagement rates
• click-through rates
• conversion rates
• follower counts
• hides/mutes
• video play-throughs
• shares
• likes

Can I use one-click content to drive traffic to my website?

To use one-click content to drive traffic and conversions, you should focus on creating content that is valuable and informative to your target audience. Remember, there are different types of “value”, too. Your content needs to include clear calls-to-action that encourage users to take specific actions, such as downloading a freebie or signing up for a newsletter, or booking a call with you. Be sure to use tracking tools like UTM codes or conversion tracking pixels to measure the effectiveness of your content in driving traffic and conversions.

You can’t say “It didn’t work!” if you’re not measuring it and comparing it to the data of previous strategies! (Well, you can say it, I just might call you on it.)

How can I integrate one-click content into my overall social media strategy?

Start by identifying your overall goals for social media. Once you have a clear sense of your goals, you can move into tactics and develop a content strategy that includes one-click content to move you toward achieving those goals. There’s no point in simply starting to change up your content strategy until you know what your goals are.

Next, you’ll need to take a serious look at your capabilities, the format of your priority social network, and the preferences of your ideal audience. Short-form video is great, but it won’t move the needle toward your goals if your audience prefers to read, or if your main audience is on Reddit.

Pick one thing to experiment with:

• Long-form “blogs” on Instagram
• Educational Reels
• TikTok
• Answering questions on Quora
• Telling stories on Reddit
• Using a graphic design to share the main point and telling more in the text area.

Try ONE of these types of one-click content and see how it goes. Measure and compare to previous tactics. If it works, keep doing it. If it doesn’t work, try something new. Test, tweak, reiterate and revise. There’s a reason every marketing guru out there tells you about this cycle… BECAUSE IT WORKS!

One-click content is becoming more popular in many industries, like journalism, but it’s always been around in some form. It may not work for everything, but there are some great benefits to doing it well, such as higher engagement rates. As part of my own rejigging of my social media strategy for 2023, I’m leaning more into one-click content in the form of text-only updates and short-form videos. Will you be focusing on one-click content going forward?