Can we agree on something for a moment? Most online quizzes are pretty “dumb.” According to Google, “dumb” means “lacking intelligence or common sense.” There’s nothing wrong with dumb; I enjoy it, and based on quiz view stats, many others do too. Sometimes, the simplest things teach us the most, and that’s true for quizzes. We, as publishers, can learn a lot from them. Here are the top ten.
1. Be Nice: We like people and things that are nice to us. It turns out that being nice is actually good for your health, and when people are nice to us we actually experience a decrease in physical pain! Buzzfeed in particular figured this out with their quizzes, which display an overwhelmingly positive result whether they give you the result that you are superman or the Little Mermaid.
If I get this result, I’m not only stoked that someone feels like I’m awesome, but I’m also likely to share it. We do like to put our best foot forward on social media, so being overly nice in quiz results is never a bad idea.
2. Have fun: It’s 2014, I think we are all over formal talk. Besides, the internet wasn’t made to be serious anyways, it was made for cat gif’s and selfies (Okay, not true, but it seems that way). Quizzes are enormous fun because the writers don’t hold back from having a good time with their words. Each great quiz reflects the personality of its writer and has a unique way of endearing itself to you.
While having questions about bacon and poop might seem like just a goofy way to express yourself, there’s actually a scientific explanation for this style. You see, humans actually get a “high” when we engage in conversation, and when we feel like the quiz is speaking to us with its informal style, that high occurs.
3. Be Bold and Bright: Quizzes don’t hold back on images. The average Buzzfeed quiz has 32 of them. Quizzes also don’t hold back on colors, they are full of bright and enjoyable palates that encourage interaction. Colors are the design equivalent of fun wording.
4. Use faces. It’s scientifically proven that we like faces – particularly one face. As people, our brains are wired to find faces, which is probably why we see them everywhere – even in our toast. Use appropriate images (I.E. ones that make sense with your article topic) to get more clicks.
5. Titles really matter, like a lot. A full 80% of quiz-takers make a decision about whether not they want to take a quiz based off of its title. If you aren’t naming your content right, you risk sacrificing a full 4/5’s of your traffic – is that a risk you’re willing to take?
6. People actually have no attention span. The average quiz is only ten questions and takes less than two minutes to complete. Our attention span online is only sixty seconds, and the average internet user has three connected devices at their disposal at all times. That means you are competing with three screens with cute cat pictures on them at all times. Buzzfeed quizzes have done an amazing job of being just long enough to be believable, but short enough to not lose people.
A full 96% of people who start Buzzfeed quizzes finish them, an astonishing number.
7. We are all narcissists. Like it or not, quizzes have reached such a massive popularity level because they feed the narcissistic tendencies we all carry.
“Narcissism is the pursuit of gratification from vanity, or egotistic admiration of one’s own physical or mental attributes, that derive from arrogant pride”
That description is eerily similar to what quizzes do for us. With the way that quiz results are built to boost our egos and tell us how great we are, there’s no doubt we are all narcissists.
8. We like being categorized. Being categorized sounds a lot like being marginalized, but the two are completely different. You see, in a category we are with people we like. For example, if I get the result that I’m as nerdy as Natalie Portman, I’m not only in a category with Natalie Portman, but also with all my friends who got the same result. This makes us feel both cool (because we are like Natalie Portman), and safe (because we are with friends).
9. Follow the Shaq rule. Shaquille O’neal is a ridiculous human being, both in size and personality, but he’s also a genius at being fun. His rule is that 80% of all social media should be to entertain people, 15% should be to inform, and 5% should be to sell. Too often, we flip that formula upside down and try to sell first. Be fun first, then sell.
10. People are awesome. The overwhelming theme that carries through every single quiz is that they all put a positive spin on life. There’s enough negativity coming into our lives from the news, our lives, and the world in general. Quizzes bring in a breath of fresh air with their upbeat attitude and fun take on life – and for that we applaud them.
Quizzes are massive and they aren’t going anywhere. That’s why it’s high time you get involved. We can learn a lot from what quizzes have achieved, now it’s your turn to take that advice and apply it to all your content marketing efforts!