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A headline might be a reader's first – and only – contact with a brand, and many will keep skimming until they land on something that takes their interest.

If you aren't into the nitty-gritty of headlines, stop reading now. But if you want to be that content creator who writes the runaway headline, here's a snapshot of what some of the research has found.

Between 1 March and 10 May 2017, BuzzSumo analysed 100 million of the most shared article headlines on Facebook and Twitter, the platforms dominated by publisher and consumer content. Then in July, it published its analysis of 10 million B2B headlines – those shared on LinkedIn – and found that the best headline phrases, structures, numbers and lengths differed from the B2C results.

1. What works for B2C content

While previous research suggested that the first three and last three words were the important parts of a headline, the BuzzSumo research highlighted linking phrases as key for headlines targeting B2C audiences.

The three-word phrase – or trigram – that led the engagement charge (likes, shares, comments) was 'will make you'. In fact, on Facebook it had twice as many engagements as the trigram that took second place ('this is why'), followed by 'can we guess', 'only X in' and 'the reason is'.

BuzzSumo determined that the success of the 'will make you' phrase was based on it linking content to the emotional impact it will have on the reader – it sets you up to care ('will make you cry', 'will make you smarter', etc.).

It also found that headlines that provoke curiosity work well when readers are looking to learn something from an article. They are a little like the 'will make you' articles, but they tell you what you'll find out rather than what you'll feel.

The BuzzSumo research found that the top five phrases starting a B2C headline were:

1. X reasons why…
2. X things you…
3. This is what…
4. This is the…
5. This is how…

The top five phrases ending a B2C headline were:

1. …the world
2. …X years
3. …goes viral
4. …to know
5. …X days

Admittedly, the second-place holder might not rate as well in Australia, but the five top-performing first words were:

1. This…
2. Trump…
3. How…
4. 10…
5. Why…

So, what doesn't work for B2C audiences? The five worst-performing frequently used phrases were:

1. control of your
2. your own business
3. work for you
4. the introduction of
5. what's new in

Confirming earlier Outbrain research, BuzzSumo found that 12 to 18 words and 80 to 95 characters had the highest engagement on Facebook.

2. What works for B2B content

In BuzzSumo's analysis of 10 million headlines of articles shared on LinkedIn, the practical and informative nature of how-to and list posts (see #3 below) proved to be strong performers in the top five most popular three-word phrases:

1. X ways to…
2. The future of…
3. X things you…
4. How to get…
5. How to make…

There was a clear frontrunner in the top two-word phrases starting headlines – 'How to…' was shared almost three times more on average than the second-place holder. The top two-word phrases starting B2B headings were:

1. How to…
2. The X…
3. X things…
4. X ways…
5. Top X…

Note that after the 'How to…' phrase, the next four most shared phrases were all forms of list posts, which gained more than double the average shares of ‘what’ or ‘why’ posts.

Celebrity brand names also garnered high levels of engagement. It makes sense that companies influencing the business environment and forging technological and business model innovation – like Uber, Google, Apple, Facebook, Tesla and Amazon – will have strong reader appeal. For example, nib's Ambulance or Uber: Who you gonna call?generated a lot of conversation on its Facebook page due to Uber's topicality.

At seven to 12 words, the optimum headline length for LinkedIn is much shorter than for Facebook.

3. The ongoing power of the list

In July 2017, CoSchedule founder Garrett Moon published results of an analysis that began with close to one million blog headlines – which were then put through various filters. The top takeaway was that list posts or listicles (headlines that start with a number) are "huge". Moon wrote they are "the most likely type of post to be shared 1000 or even 100 times". Interestingly, he also noted that "list posts only made up 5% of the total posts actually written".

The BuzzSumo research, confirming the power of lists and the list post format, found the six most effective numbers (in descending order) in B2C content are 10, 5, 15, 7, 20 and 6. In B2B content, the most shared numbers that start post headlines are 5, 10, 3, 7, 4 and 6, with 5 and 10 performing equally well. Note that how-to posts outstripped list posts in B2B.

CoSchedule's results show that list posts that they identified by the words 'thing', 'should' and 'reasons' – '5 things you can do…', '4 reasons why you should…' – do best on Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn.

It's possible that this is due to a combination of clear promise (‘10 steps’, etc.) and the scannable nature of the post, where you can easily work out which bits you want to read.

4. Emotion is good but beware the bait

While strong emotional headlines and those provoking curiosity may get you results, you need to rein in any urge to overstate.

In May 2017, Facebook announced it would demote “headlines that exaggerate the details of a story with sensational language” and those that aim “to make the story seem like a bigger deal than it really is.”

There may be some debate about what is and isn't clickbait, but there are two key points to consider. In the first place, the reader needs to feel encouraged to read. And in the second, they need to not be disappointed when they have finished reading.

5. Research, tailor and test

There are no hard and fast rules. You always need to research what works for your audience, your topics and your social platforms, and to test your headlines. Different audiences will require different content and will be accessing it on different platforms. For example, Outbrain works for an editorial-led audience more than a business-specific audience.

In the interests of transparency, this headline isn't the first that came to mind. It's the result of trawling through this research.

Maybe we all need to take the advice of Ann Handley, chief content officer at MarketingProfs: "Spend as much time writing the headline as you do an entire blog post or social post."

Belinda Henwood, Strategy & Content

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Is content marketing an art or a science?

It’s not a new debate but an increasingly relevant one. As technology continues to improve, the C-Suite is demanding a clearer measurement into impact. Marketing and communications professionals responsible for curating content are no longer governed by ‘gut feeling’ and instead, are increasingly driven by engagement metrics to demonstrate ROI.

These professionals are well aware how their role requires a mix of art and science thinking. They both draw from the left brain and the right brain, using data and reason to guide the creativity that fuels it.

But this relationship is less rigorously applied to content marketing – an emerging discipline that straddles both marketing and communications objectives.

Marketers and communications professionals have varying levels of social media sophistication – particularly with LinkedIn, which is often a core channel for content. With LinkedIn estimating more than 130, 000 posts are made on its newsfeed every week, organisations are increasingly turning to it as a distribution channel for thought leadership.

Far fewer, however, understand how to draw insight from the platform to ensure their content connects with their target audience.

Marketers and communications practitioners will often speak to me with this challenge solely in mind. Most are able to gauge the success of content on Facebook and Instagram to some level. Plenty of tools exist which measure various social aspects of content marketing, such as ‘likes’ or ‘shares’. But real engagement isn’t buzz. Determining whether content is connecting with a target audience is a key challenge.

Content marketers are struggling to understand whether their current LinkedIn strategy is working – whether it’s reaching the right audience and whether a piece of content is being actively engaged on the platform.

Other times, they will want to target a particular demographic; millennials for example. But they don’t have the understanding of what this group is looking for when they log onto this social networking site.

In short, what content marketers want to do is debunk the myths surrounding their own activity and drill down into strategy to make their dollars work harder.

How can data help?

Data is pivotal. Armed with information, marketers and communications professionals have a window into the opinions, passions and motivations of their audience.

At Isentia we’ve seen this in our own business. The Research & Insights stream has grown by 25 per cent in the last year, as this market recognises the importance of data. I’m often told by clients that they’re just at the start of their measurement journey, but still desperately rely on data to convince the C-Suite to spend money on content marketing.

Research & Insights can be used to help inform content marketing strategy by highlighting what brand-relevant topics an organisation’s audience is engaging with. It can also help content marketers understand where their brand sits against those their competitors, by measuring their share of voice on a particular topic.

But most importantly, data can help marketing and communications practitioners build out content itself. By understanding what type of content receives the most engagement on the platform, they can tailor their content strategies and measure their success at the same time.

Data is the key to debunking the myths of what does or doesn’t work in a content marketing strategy. It gives marketers and communications professionals the opportunity to ensure they understand their audience first and foremost, in order to communicate in a way that connects.

This is where science can help inform the art in content marketing.

Asha Oberoi
Head of Insights, Australia 

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Emerge from the flood of online content

The Internet is saturated with content.

Content creators should strive to drive virality to emerge from the flood of online content. Viral content is not merely a popular piece, but it garners excessive engagement to outliers.

This paper explores some common factors of viral content.

If you would like more information about monitoring your content, get in touch with us today.

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If there’s one topic Australians never tire of debating, it’s housing. Whether it’s at the pub, around the dinner table, or dominating headlines, property prices, rent hikes and the “can I ever afford a home?” questions are constant fixtures of the national conversation.

But let’s be honest—rising house prices aren’t new. What is changing is how the conversation is evolving, who’s shaping it, and which narratives are starting to stick.

Using Lumina’s Stories and Perspectives, we analysed 19 stories and over 50 perspectives across a 30-day period from 15 March to 14 April 2026 to understand what’s actually driving the housing narrative in Australia right now—and why it matters.

 

Which are the stories shaping conversation and who's driving it?

 

▸ Housing Supply and Affordability Divide — Analysts and economists link supply shortages directly to soaring prices. Cities that built more homes saw far less price growth.  Key drivers: Gerard Burg (Cotality), Peter Tulip (Centre for Independent Studies), Australian Associated Press ▸ Tax Reform Debates Heat Up Ahead of Budget — 14 competing perspectives. Advocates say reforms are essential for fairness; the property industry warns they’ll push rents up 30%.  Key drivers: Anthony Albanese, Jim Chalmers, Angus Taylor, Housing Industry Association, Saul Eslake ▸ Grattan Institute Connects Housing to Democratic Trust — A major report argues that the housing crisis is eroding public confidence in democracy itself.  Key drivers: Aruna Sathanapally, Grattan Institute

 

Australians make housing supply the biggest story

This perspective was 100% of the coverage of this story and generated 85 media items, making it the most widely covered story of the entire period. The main insight is the public drawing a direct line between housing supply levels and property prices across Australia’s capital cities. 

Perth and Brisbane, where home construction has lagged well behind population growth since the pandemic, have seen property values surge massively. Meanwhile, Victoria — which built a proportionally higher number of new homes — saw less growth, compared to the national average.

It ran everywhere from PerthNow to regional papers across NSW and Victoria. The fact that the Australian Associated Press syndicated the data meant it hit dozens of outlets simultaneously.

 

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The key drivers are property analysts Gerard Burg from Cotality and Peter Tulip from the Centre for Independent Studies. Both are pushing the same message. If you want to fix affordability, you have to fix supply. Their proposed solution is liberalising zoning laws, particularly in NSW and Victoria, to allow more homes to be built faster. 

 

Why does this matter for communicators?

This story had the widest media footprint of the entire period, reaching outlets from The West Australian to regional mastheads across the country. If your organisation operates in housing, property, or urban planning, the “supply-equals-affordability” narrative is now firmly established in public discourse, and therefore, your messaging needs to account for it. Audiences know of the supply argument before, and with experts aligned on the issue, it’s harder for policymakers to dismiss it easily. 

It’s also worth noting how the analysis around who the key drivers are adds a layer traditional media monitoring might miss. The AAP’s role as the primary distribution channel meant this story reached dozens of the bigger mastheads like PerthNow and The West Australian  and  hyperlocal outlets like the Cobram Courier and Benalla Ensign, simultaneously. For communicators, this distribution pattern indicates that a story has penetrated both metropolitan and regional audiences, making it impossible to dismiss as just a capital-city concern.  

 

Tax reform rebates are the most contested story of the month

The housing tax reform debate was the most contested generating 14 distinct perspectives across 23 media items becoming by far the most multi-sided story of the month. However, the top three perspectives were the most interesting to look at considering how disputed the opinions of either side are and sit at the highest level in the government. 

At the centre of it is the Albanese Government’s consideration of reducing the capital gains tax discount and limiting negative gearing ahead of the May budget. The country is essentially split down the middle on this one. 

Perspective 1: This made up for 34.8% of the story coverage. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, Treasurer Jim Chalmers, and housing advocacy group Everybody’s Home are arguing that the current system unfairly benefits wealthy investors while locking out first-home buyers. Economist Saul Eslake backs this view. Together, they account for about a third of the story’s total coverage.

Perspective 2: This had an equal share in coverage at 34.8% of the story. Opposition figures Angus Taylor, the Housing Industry Association, and Victorian Libertarian Party Leader David Limbrick are warning that scrapping these tax incentives will scare off investors, shrink rental supply, and push rents up by as much as 30%. They command an equal share of the conversation (Herald Sun). 

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What’s interesting is what sits beneath these two dominant perspectives. A third angle that was 17.4% of the story coverage  was driven by Chalmers and Greens Senator Nick McKim, frames the whole debate as a question of intergenerational fairness. And then there are the young “rentvestors” who rent where they live but own an investment property elsewhere. They’re worried about getting caught in the crossfire of changes that weren’t designed with them in mind (Australian Financial Review). 

Trust is eroding in the Australian democracy — and housing is the problem

The Grattan Institute released a report warning that trust in Australian democracy is under pressure, and housing is one of the reasons why. This soon became the second biggest story, generating 58 media items. 

Led by Grattan CEO Aruna Sathanapally, the report argues that persistent inequality, including the housing affordability gap, is eroding the social contract between citizens and government. The report explicitly names the housing crisis as one of the major unresolved challenges fuelling public disillusionment. Sathanapally is the key driver of this story, commanding over 93% of its coverage. Her influence matters because she’s reframing housing as something bigger than an economic problem. She’s positioning it as a threat to democratic stability. That’s a powerful narrative shift, and one that gives housing advocates a new way to make their case. 

For anyone in public affairs or government communications, this connection between housing and democratic trust is worth watching. It’s the kind of framing that can reshape how policymakers prioritise the issue. 

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How does this inform PR & Comms strategy?

1. Know which side of the debate your audience sits on: The tax reform story alone has 14 perspectives. If you’re crafting messaging around housing policy, understand which perspective your stakeholders identify with and who they consider a credible voice. A one-size-fits all approach might not work.
2. Follow the key drivers, not just the headlines: The unexpected pairing of Greens Senator Nick McKim with Treasurer Chalmers on intergenerational fairness suggests this issue is cutting across traditional party lines in ways that could reshape coalition dynamics. Meanwhile, the "rentvestor" audience represents a politically orphaned group that neither side of the debate is referencing or considering, making them a potential swing audience whose concerns could quietly shape how any reform actually lands.
3. Watch the emerging narratives: One Nation’s growing support, the “rentvestor” demographic, and the connection between housing and democratic trust are all stories that could become dominant in the months ahead. 

 

What does this tell us about the Australian housing conversation?

It’s not a new crisis anymore. It’s a nationally entrenched issue that is now being addressed by the public by way of debates along with policymakers and experts at the highest government level. These debates are on solutions, trade-offs and fairness. The conversation is much more sophisticated where audiences are not just talking about “prices being too high”, but discussing supply, investments, short term relief vs long term reform. What’s also essential is to look at the key drivers or the key voices driving the top narratives.  From economists to policymakers to advocacy groups, the voices gaining traction are influencing how the issue is understood and what solutions feel viable.

Understanding not just what’s being said, but who is driving the conversation and why it’s resonating, is becoming critical for organisations looking to engage credibly. That’s where Lumina’s Stories and Perspectives comes in, helping you move beyond headlines to uncover the narratives and voices shaping the issues that matter most. 

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Want to see these insights for your own industry or brand? Discover what Lumina Stories and Perspectives can surface for you.

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