Have you ever gone through your social media feed and stopped very early to read long messages or articles?
You’re not alone. It’s a real challenge for content creators these days to hook and sustain the attention of the audience. Considering the huge amount of information that is coming to us through social media, smartphones, and the internet, our attention span has gotten shorter. This creates difficulties for content marketers as the target audiences are always distracted.
Before we discuss how to market content, let’s figure out why people in the digital age have short attention spans. Research shows that our attention span has become much shorter in the last decade. Some say it’s currently just eight seconds, which is less than that of a goldfish. So, what might be the reason behind such?
There’s a lot of info on the web; we’re usually distracted by something. People want instant, simple stuff to be seen while they are multitasking. On top of that, there are those irritating ad blockers and people getting tired of seeing ads constantly. It’s a real challenge! Therefore, what could be the master key to holding people’s attention?
While people have shorter attention spans in this digital age, content marketers can still make use of the following strategies to make their audience interested and to keep their audience engaged as well.
1. Embrace Brevity
Capturing attention is one of the most important things to do for any maker of content who is dealing with the short attention span of audiences online. By the word “brevity,” we mean “to be brief and to the point.”
People these days prefer information that is simple and concise. To achieve this, content writers can make use of short sentences and paragraphs. Besides, bullet points and numbered lists make the information well organized.
Readers can sort out the main points and avoid getting lost in long paragraphs. Apart from respecting the time people have, this also makes the content look much more appealing. Choosing a concise format is not only about what people like but also about the speed at which life changes online.
2. Leverage Visuals
Additionally, we have the use of pictures and videos. When it comes to the battle for attention, visuals are like the strongest weapon. When you use Creative images, videos, infographics, and gifs in your work, it becomes more attractive. Our brains work using visual input, and therefore, this is a great way to capture and retain someone’s attention.
Moreover, content that has awesome visuals is more likely to be shared on social media. This allows more people to like and comment. The strategic use of visuals is a key thing because, in today’s world, whether people notice your content or not depends on how it looks.
People pay attention to the content that not only provides the information but also looks attractive because of the flood of information. Whether it’s an eye-catching picture or a video that is intriguing, visuals make your content more attractive.
3. Focus on Quality Over Quantity
In addition, when one concentrates on posting content on the web all the time, it’s better to pay more attention to its quality rather than its quantity.
Although it is appealing to release as much content as possible, instead, we should concentrate on developing valuable and relevant messages that will make our brand stand out. In this case, it is about the careful usage of resources to create content that is well thought out, providing value for the audience.
The creation of good and relevant content draws people’s attention and also turns the brand into a trusted expert in the field.
4. Personalize Your Approach
Stepping further, in content marketing, it is important to make things personal. Knowing the audience is not enough; you need to know them well. By this, we mean focusing on who they are and what they like and don’t like.
To achieve this, content marketers use data to know more about the people they want to reach. Having all these details, they can adjust their techniques to meet what their audience desires to watch.
They can also produce content that addresses the specific issues and problems that their audience is experiencing. This brings the audience the impression that the content is specially created for them. What I like about this personalized content is that it makes people feel like they can relate to it.
5. Optimize for Mobile
Furthermore, since most people use their mobile phones as their main way to go online, optimizing content that works on mobile is strongly recommended. This implies the website must be aesthetically pleasing and also functional on mobile phones, with small texts that are easily readable on small screens.
If it isn’t easy to get the content on phones, lots of people might not see it, and they might not stay to read it if it’s too difficult to use.
Therefore, making content mobile-friendly is the key to reaching more people and keeping them connected. And it’s not just about the way it looks; it’s about making sure that it is usable and enjoyable by people, no matter the device they are using.
Conclusion
As we wrap up, here are some of the thoughtful questions you might want to consider before deciding to become a content marketer. First, are you ready and willing to overcome short attention spans in the online world? If so, can you keep things brief, look professional, and stick to quality content? Personalize the text and make it work well on mobile phones.
Content creation should focus on getting attention. Even as things are evolving online, the essence of sharing a powerful story and thinking first about the audience is still important. Stay connected to your audience, and you’ll create content that makes your audience passionate to take action!