Readers of news articles frequently click on stories not solely based on the subject matter but influenced by the actions of their fellow audience members, as per recent findings from the University of Georgia.

The manner in which news outlets categorize those articles may directly affect the level of engagement they garner, ultimately impacting their earnings.

Upon visiting a news organization’s homepage, they often tag articles that audiences are engaging with most actively. The researchers examined two prevalent labels: “most shared” and “most read.”

“These types of labels are here to stay. Popularity, even in news categorization, is a psychological phenomenon,” stated Tari Dagogo-Jack, the lead author of the research and an assistant professor of marketing at the UGA Terry College of Business. “Popularity labels on news sites capitalize on the notion that we follow the actions of others and that our choices are swayed by others’ behaviors.”

Labels in articles impact click rates

At first glance, one might think these labels, “most shared” and “most read,” convey the same message: Many individuals accessed the article. However, there is a distinct difference that audiences register.

“If an article is labeled as most shared, we may assume that implies many viewers found it interesting or significant enough to share,” Dagogo-Jack remarked. “Yet, conversely, many widely shared articles tend to be quite trivial, such as cat videos or amusing memes.”

Through nine surveys and experiments with hundreds of participants, the study revealed that respondents viewed “most read” stories as being more informative. In contrast, “most shared” articles were perceived as less serious and more focused on entertainment.

The main objective of reading news is to acquire information, and the label ‘most read’ serves as a stronger indicator of an article’s value in terms of information.” —Tari Dagogo-Jack, Terry College

“As readers, we have two main motives: to acquire knowledge or to seek entertainment — essentially, to find a pleasant distraction,” Dagogo-Jack shared. “At a foundational level, we were identifying that individuals selected ‘most read’ far more frequently than ‘most shared.’ The primary aim of reading news is to obtain information, and the label ‘most read’ signals an article’s informational worth more convincingly.”

This implies that if editors desire certain articles to gain more visibility, they should customize the label to align with the readers’ objectives.

Understanding your audience and content is essential for engagement

The same principle applied to articles promoted on social media. Posts from misleading news sources that described a more educational article as “most shared” attracted fewer clicks.

Conversely, this was not true for less serious and newsworthy articles. In such cases, the “most shared” label performed equivalently to the “most read” label.

This serves as a crucial insight for reporters, editors, and web developers: Understand your audience and your content.

Individuals should reflect: Why am I clicking on this? Is it merely because everyone else has read it?” —Tari Dagogo-Jack

“In sections covering pop culture, sports, or music — predominantly entertainment — it’s advisable to emphasize what is ‘most shared,’” Dagogo-Jack suggested. “However, in sections focusing on world news, politics, and science, opting for labels like ‘most read’ or ‘most viewed’ would be more suitable.”

Dagogo-Jack also advises careful consideration of labels. Vague options such as “trending” or “most popular” may confuse readers altogether, given the multitude of interpretations.

“Providing such lists assists in overcoming information overload or decision paralysis,” he commented. “While it’s a convenience that simplifies the decision-making process, I often question: At what cost?

“By clicking on something that many people favor and considering social proof valuable, you may not necessarily find what you seek, effectively abandoning your search. People should ponder: Why am I selecting this content? Is it solely because it is popular?”

This research was published in the Journal of Consumer Research and co-authored by New York University assistant professor Jared Watson.

The article Labels are everything: New study reveals role of popularity in news articles was originally posted on UGA Today.