A company offering LinkedIn engagement services liked one of my posts today.
I didn’t recognize the name, so naturally, I clicked over to see who they were.
When I reached their page, their tagline essentially said:
“That like got your attention, didn’t it? We can do the same for you.”
I had to laugh because, yes, it was clever.
Their like did exactly what they intended it to do. It got my attention. It made me curious. It earned them a visit to their company page.
By the numbers, the tactic worked.
But did it really?
The moment I realized the like wasn’t genuine interest in what I had posted—but part of their marketing strategy—the experience changed.
They won the click, but they lost some trust.
And that matters.
There is so much pressure in marketing to get attention.
We’re told to write stronger hooks, create curiosity, stop the scroll, increase engagement, and get more people to click.
Those things are important. If nobody notices your content, they cannot respond to it.
But attention is only the beginning.
What happens after you get someone’s attention determines whether that moment becomes a relationship—or just another click.
If the person feels informed, understood, or pleasantly surprised, you may have earned their interest.
If the person feels tricked, manipulated, or disappointed, you may have earned the visit while losing the opportunity.
That is the risk of clickbait.
A marketing tactic can look successful on paper and still damage the brand behind it.
The company may see another profile visit in its analytics.
What the analytics will not show is how I felt once I understood why they had interacted with my post.
The number says, “This worked.”
The experience says, “I’m not sure I trust this.”
Both are true—but only one is likely to influence whether I become a customer.
This is why businesses have to be careful about measuring success only by views, clicks, likes, or follower counts.
Those numbers tell us whether someone noticed us.
They do not tell us whether that person believes us.
They do not tell us whether the message made the business feel more credible.
And they definitely do not tell us whether the person is any closer to buying.
Before using any attention-grabbing tactic, ask:
Does the experience after the click deliver what the message implied?
Will people feel helped—or handled?
Does this tactic reflect how I want customers to experience my business?
Am I building curiosity without sacrificing credibility?
Will the right customer trust me more after interacting with this?
You do not have to be boring to be trustworthy.
Your marketing can be interesting, creative, bold, funny, and unexpected.
But the attention you earn should lead people toward a clearer and more accurate understanding of your business—not leave them feeling as if they were lured into the room.
Good marketing helps the right people recognize that your business may be right for them.
It makes your value easier to understand.
It answers questions.
It reduces uncertainty.
It gives people a reason to take the next step because they see the connection between what they need and what you provide.
That may not always produce the biggest immediate spike in clicks.
But it builds something more valuable: confidence.
People rarely choose a business simply because it got their attention.
They choose when they understand the value, believe the promise, and trust the business behind it.
So yes, your marketing needs to earn the click.
Just make sure it doesn’t lose the customer once they arrive.
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