The Era of Lists

Do a quick scan of Facebook or some other social media outlet, and you’re bound to notice at least a handful of people have shared a list of some kind. Top [number] of [something. Often nostalgic or industry related]. Buzzfeed is notorious for lists, many related to the 90s, and the trend seems to have permeated throughout the entire internet. Basically, if you’ve got content, you’ve got lists.

We’re not knocking lists, in fact we’ve written a few. And we’ve said before that they’re a great method of creating shareable content. So by all means, write one, or two, or three.

The thing about lists is that they’re perfect for those who don’t really read everything they find on the internet. That’s why they’re so popular. You could scan each of the numbers and get the gist of the content within a minute or so. But is that really how you want people reading your content? Just scanning it and clicking away?

Not really. You want people to come to your website or blog and be so interested in what they’re reading that they digest the whole thing, and want more. You want your content to draw readers in. You want people to be so informed that they stay on your website, look around a bit, and maybe inquire about your products or services.

Lists are great shareable content. But they shouldn’t be your only content.