Myth: People have shorter attention spans these days.
Fact: They just have more choice in the content they consume.
People will watch two hours of content they think is good, but they won’t watch 2 seconds of content they think is bad.
The verdict? Stop complaining about shorter attention spans and start making better content.
The Power of Content Marketing
Content marketing tells a story. If you’re using it just to sell a product, you’re missing out on creating a much bigger impact with your customer.
Your social media and other content stand to provide free value to your audience: Think of it as a generous free sample. Great content marketing gives your audience a taste of all the flavors they’ll enjoy when they fully invest in your products or services.
3 Steps to Grabbing and Keeping Your Audience’s Attention
1. Provide value.
Your audience only has a short attention span for boring, irrelevant social media content. The goal is to view it from their perspective, not yours:
- Does this content help them?
- Does it serve to entertain, educate, engage, inspire, or relate?
Just like good products focus on solving the needs of the customer, strong marketing focuses on adding value through the content or experience it delivers.
Value is the first ingredient in revenue generation. Value captures attention. And it’s only with attention and a relationship with the customer that you have a chance to make a sale. Build the relationship first and drive action second.
2. Hook them in.
You have your valuable content idea. Now, it’s time to create it.
First, start with a ‘hook.’ Hook your audience in the first 3-5 seconds of your social media content. This might be a catchy headline, the first line of your social media caption, the first few seconds of your TikTok, Instagram, or YouTube video, or the striking visual
design of your social media graphic.
Capture their attention. Intrigue them. Be creative. Get them thinking, laughing, or relating in the first few seconds. This is the main area “short attention spans” really apply.
3. Be organic and dynamic.
You’ve got them hooked: let’s reel them in with valuable, relatable social media content.
It’s tempting to push the sale once you’ve got their attention. But this isn’t organic –– it deflates the intrigue you worked so hard to build.
Remain organic throughout your content marketing by staying authentic, customer-focused, and human.
Beyond this, be dynamic. Don’t get too caught up on one point or topic. This is another aspect where ‘short attention spans’ apply. It’s not because your audience is bored easily –– talking about the same thing for too long is boring.
Frame your content marketing in this mindset, and you’ll capture their attention, keep it, and convert it.
