糖心Vlog

I created psychology-inspired TikTok videos that made viewers 82% more likely to follow my account. And, I did it by using an ancient storytelling practice. The technique? A cliffhanger. And, it’s been around for centuries.

“One Thousand and One Nights” stories, also known as Arabian Nights, used cliffhangers. Each night in this story ended on a different cliffhanger to keep readers hooked. Charles Dickens was a cliffhanger pioneer. Famously, Great Expectations was originally published in small segments in a weekly magazine, with each short story ending on its own cliffhanger.

Today, cliffhangers are everywhere. Sitcoms and soap operas use cliffhangers. They fill your feed on YouTube, Instagram, and TikTok. Let’s dive into why and explore the power of cliffhangers.

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The Zeigarnik Effect

The Zeigarnik effect is named after the Lithuanian-Soviet psychologist Bluma Zeigarnik. She discovered that interrupted activities are more likely to be remembered and recalled.

Zeigarnik first noticed this at a local beer garden. Sitting with students and research assistants, the conversation turned to the remarkable talent of a veteran waiter — who, without keeping any written record, could remember and distribute the orders of large groups perfectly.

The group of psychologists decided to explore the limits of the man’s impressive memory. So, they came up with a plan. After he had served all the group members flawlessly, they covered their plates and glasses with a cloth. They then asked him to return to the table and again recall what each had ordered.

But this time, he couldn’t do it. In fact, he couldn’t even come close.

What accounted for the difference?

Sure, a length of time passed (30 seconds or so), but that amount of time doesn’t drastically affect memory. Instead, Zeigarnik suspected a different reason. As soon as the waiter correctly placed the last dish in front of the last diner at the table, his task of serving the group changed from unfinished to finished.

Unfinished tasks are more memorable. Unfinished tasks hoard our attention so they can be performed and dispatched successfully. Once completed, attention is diverted to other activities.

Zeiganik went on to prove this theory in a set of studies published in 1927.

One of the most interesting insights found was that students who stop studying to perform unrelated activities (such as studying a different subject or playing a game) will remember material better than students who complete study sessions without a break.

There have been lots of applications of this.

Ernest Hemingway famously finished every day’s writing in the middle of a sentence. Rather than finish his thought, he left it purposefully unfinished. He’s quoted as saying, “I learnt never to empty the well of my writing but always to stop when there was still something there in the deep part of the well and let it refill at night from the springs that fed it.”

But that’s Hemingway and a 100-year-old study. I wanted to test if it still worked today. So, I ran an experiment on TikTok.

I’d heard that TikTok was a good place to find listeners, so I decided to try to grow my following there. Armed with some ad budget and the Zegarnik effect study, I started to create some videos. I made two types: ones that used the Zeigarnik effect within the first 5 seconds and ones that didn’t.

These Zeigarnik effect videos included an immediate cliffhanger. I’d share a piece of information but wouldn’t give all the details. I’d leave it unfinished. These videos were designed to get people hooked. Here’s an example:

I explain that I made a Reddit ad 45% more effective, but don’t immediately reveal how. Here’s another example:

There’s another layer of curiosity here. You not only want to know what the tip is but also why it’s simpler than you’d expect.

Here’s one more example:

Ok, this one was a bit of a Hail Mary. We’re revving up the Zegarnik effect by telling people there’s a way to make people love what you’ll create, but it’ll surprise you, and it’s irrational.

Now, I won’t say that any of these are perfect. There are far better examples of the Zegarnik effect openers on other TikTok videos from better creators than me. But, I wanted to test this out myself.

So, I compared these Zegarnik-inspired TikToks and nine others just like them with some videos that didn’t have the Zegarnik openers.

Videos like this:

Now, this intro isn’t awful. I still wanted people to watch the videos after all, but there’s no cliffhanger. It’s just a statement: “Your ideas aren’t as unique as you think.” It’s missing that Zegarnik effect element.

I created seven of these TikToks, each without the Zegarnik intro.

When starting this experiment, I had 0 followers on TikTok, so to get people to watch the videos, I’d need to spend some ad money, $400 in total.

But to test which videos were effective, I needed to measure who went on to become a follower. The more people who watched the video and became followers, the more successful I’d declare the video.

My thinking: If you go on to follow the profile after the video, it means A) you likely watched the whole video, so you were drawn in by the intro, and B) you want more content like that.

So, I published all 20 videos to TikTok and spent $400 promoting them. After 60,000 impressions and 6,133 new followers, I had my results.

Unsurprisingly, the Zeigarnik effect videos were far more effective.

People who watched those videos were 82% more likely to become a follower compared to those who watched the non-Zegarnik effect videos. Because these videos were more effective, the cost per impression was cheaper. I was able to spend 50% less to gain a follower with the Zeigarnik effect videos.

One out of seven people who watched the Zeigarnik TikToks would go on and become a follower. Whereas for the videos without the cliffhanger, it was one out of 13. .

Want more tips like this?

*And yes, that’s a very blatant use of the Zeigarnik Effect.

Keep Them Hanging

Starting content with a cliffhanger kept people watching. In fact, cliffhanger videos have helped my TikTok account grow to over 17,000 followers.

It’s a lesson for anyone creating content or writing a message they want people to read. Whether that’s an email, a pitch, or a blog, use the Zeigarnik effect. Share something surprising at the start, and make viewers curious about the answer.

Editor's note: This post was originally published in August 2017 and has been updated for comprehensiveness.

How to Use Psychology in 糖心Vlog

Access the guide to learn more about psychology.

• Turn customers into fans.
• Understand Maslow's hierarchy of human needs.
• Understand how marketing can influence how people think, feel, and behave.

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Download Free

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You're all set!

Click this link to access this resource at any time.