Zero-Click Marketing 101

When did you first promote content on the Internet? Some of us have been doing it long enough to—GASP—remember when Facebook post CTRs were 10%. Yes, folks, that meant a full 15% of all your Facebook page likes (back then we called them “fans”) would click a link you posted, and then we web marketers would complain that it was only half the CTR of email. Today 1.5% is considered a miracle. And 0.15% is still a multiple of the median engagement rate (nevermind CTR).

Why did Big Tech kill the click? To feed their relentless hunger for higher stock prices, of course.

For Facebook, Google, LinkedIn, Instagram, Reddit, Twitter, Snapchat, TikTok, and the rest, users clicking links to the open web meant losing precious ad dollars and tracking data to a lowly content creator. As they discovered this group would devour each other for the scraps the platforms allowed them, they leaned into algorithmic feeds and platform protocols that made earning traffic like squeezing blood from a stone.

Yet, many modern marketers continue to use these platforms in much the same way they did a decade ago—publishing content and then distributing it directly with links or the closest allowed alternative (“link in bio!” “link in comments!”). Here at SparkToro, we think there’s a better way: Zero-Click Marketing.