A Company Analyzed The Most Shared Headline Formats And What Happened Next Won't Shock You

​The social headline. You know what we're talking about: A ____ Talked To A ____ And You Won't Believe What Happened Next; This Is Why You're _____; These Stunning Photos Of A _____ Will Melt Your Heart; etc. 

Upworthy rode a wave of these headlines from startup to media behemoth (and back down again), and the phrases are still all over your Facebook feed. And they're there largely because, well, they work. 

Social analytics company BuzzSumo took a look at 100 million headlines to figure out which common phrases drove (or at least correlated to) the most social engagement:

Here at Digg we try to avoid these sorts of headline phrases, but since nobody's perfect, here's a nearly-comprehensive look back at those we have featured: 

• The Ad For The First 'Portable' Computer Will Make You Appreciate Your Busted Old Laptop
• Cameraman Can't Stop Laughing As Friend Is Destroyed By Giant Egg Beaters
• This Is Why You Shouldn't Try To Outrun A Bear
• This Is Why You Don't Heckle A Comic
• Years Of Anticipation And Hope Playing The Claw Machine Finally Turn To Tears Of Joy
• This Is What Happens After You Die
• This Is What Happens When You Reply To Spam Email

But while the "best" headline phrases are fairly predictable, what are the worst? Unsurprisingly, they tend to be less incisive and far less emotional: 

You can check out more of BuzzSumo's results over at their site. 

[BuzzSumo]