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By Mona Mangat
More and more, little screens are stealing previous seconds of our attention, when we should be doing things like listening to a child, spouse or friend, working or even driving. Every day, the temptation to look at our mobile devices gets more addictive as people become more dependent on instant information and become masters of multitasking.
When you have so many distractions coming in from social media updates, live video, and non-stop streams of tempting click-bait digital content, it becomes harder and harder to market to your audience since you know their attention, just like yours is split up into many different areas. Not only will you have to catch their attention, you’ll have to keep it as long as you can, and that’s not very long.
Recently, it’s been estimated that the average person is so distracted by their screens that they check their phone more than 1,500 times a week. So, if our attention spans as social beings have shrunk, it’s no major shock. It’s only last 8 seconds so you have to accomplish a lot in a little bit of time.
Keeping someone’s attention and maintaining their concentration, to have them focused on your message is a massive deal. So, when it comes to marketing, capturing the attention of your audience is essential to developing a scheme that not only delivers your message but makes sure it’s noticed and remembered.
So, if we still have your attention, keep reading, get some tips and learn how you can generate more clicks, shares, and gain the loyalty of your readers. But here’s a fun video in case you’re too bored and need it put to you in a nutshell:
I. Make sure you communicate your message clearly
No matter what you talk about, make sure your content is ‘skimmable’, offers value, and is authoritative to show that you an expert. No one has time nowadays, so they skim. Over 80% of readers just whip through the main points. So, be sure to have a clear layout and make it really easy to scan through your info and digest.
-Use formatting to your advantage, use headers or numbered sections and break up large sections of copy, use bold or underline to draw attention and keep focus
-Use bullet points or numbered lists
-Make a summary or conclusion to sum up points
-Have a style guide so all your content is identifiable
-Use visuals like images, photos, graphs, data visualizations, graphics, videos, or infographics, because people want to ‘see’ their info
II. Know who your are writing to and targeting
So, it’s basic knowledge that content creation is key to strong inbound strategy. It’s basically how you grow brand awareness, and attract visitors to your site, thereby you generate leads. That’s why it’s important to create consistent quality content that your audience can use, so you can get engagements with that content, and consequently get it shared.
-So do your research before you publish. Get quotes from known experts and do industry research to know what your audience is curious about so you know what they want
-See what your competitor is doing and you’ll find out what your similar audience finds irresistible across a variety of topics and how to do it
-Ask your market for feedback using social media polls, live vote-ins, and surveys and find out about what matter to them and what topics your followers are interested in
-Since the market is flooded with so much information, the only way you’ll keep your audience’s attention is if you keep them in mind when writing content above all else
III. Show that you’re the expert in your field
If you’re a leader in your industry, that commands attention and people can’t help but pay attention to you. Get other experts to speak too and post things that are mutually beneficial, like cross-promotion articles, guest posting, joint social media efforts and joint research.
-Be a guest blogger since it can work wonders for generating noise and publicity about your brand that your target audience will want to pay attention to.
-Ask industry experts or other like-minded brands to write and contribute content for your blog and social channels once in a while
-Make presentations and take advantage of speaking opportunities at conferences and events in your industry, so people get to really hear you and can follow up
-Get access to experts and their influence by hosting live Q&A sessions with industry pros, or figure out how to collaborate with high-profile influencers in your area to increase brand awareness
-Create content that reinforces that you’re a reputable and trustworthy source so they keep coming back to you for more
Since content creation is not slowing down and 70% of B2B marketers are basically planning to produce more content in 2017 in comparison to last year, the bounce rate will be higher since page views will hit for less than a minute.
So, you might want quantity but you should go for quality since our ever-shrinking attention spans dictate it. Viewers and visitors are so good at skimming through content and picking out the good bits, while being busy doing other daily stuff. So to catch them and keep them, just don’t forget to factor in the short attention span into your strategies, and never sacrifice the quality of your content.
If you want know more about Inbound marketing and how it can enhance your business, let us guide you in crafting an effective marketing strategy that simply works. Contact us today to learn more about our marketing packages.
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Image Source: Based on Richard Mayer’s research, http://www.psych.ucsb.edu/people/faculty/mayer/research/research.php
