Twitter trends lose their luster by the minute, emails get buried among more enticing ones, and the estimated 4,000 to 10,000 ads we see a day only overwhelm consumers rather than inspire them. There’s a fierce competition for novelty in the digital marketing space, but nevertheless, content is still king.

In recent years, there has been a questionable statistic floating around about the human attention span: it’s down to a mere eight seconds from 12 seconds in 2000. Articles even claim that a human has a shorter attention span than that of a goldfish. If this were really accurate, how are people able to binge watch a Netflix series or a dozen YouTube videos?

Our attention spans aren’t shrinking — they’re evolving. In Prezi’s 2018 State of Attention Report, they found that the ability to focus has actually improved over time. With the ever-growing amount of content available, people have simply become more selective of content they consume.

The information age might have altered the way we think, but it’s a myth that we are all at the mercy of an unending onslaught of information. The goldfish theory provides that humans would be satisfied with eight seconds worth of ideas or content — and that is nowhere near the truth.

In this article, we’re discussing how marketers can understand the human attention span to produce truly engaging content.

5 Principles of Attention Digital Marketers Need to Understand

Consumer attention is limited and comes at a price — and that price has skyrocketed in recent years. We refer to this phenomenon as the attention economy. As the market for consumer attention has become more and more competitive, attention has evolved into a currency itself.

Here, we break down some principles and tendencies that relate to the human attention span.

Multitasking: We look at our phones while we watch TV. We listen to podcasts while we get ready for work — sometimes, even at work. In fact, 52% of business professionals admit that splitting their attention across two or more pieces of content has caused them to watch, read, or listen to something multiple times.

Instant Gratification: High-speed internet, mobile devices, and social media culture have all contributed to the human desire for instant gratification. In a crowded marketplace, your business must be there at the right moment, or consumers will quickly turn to another platform, site, or brand.

Passive Media Consumption: From email inboxes to social media newsfeeds, the platforms we check on a regular basis are constantly being flooded with new updates and information. People check social media to combat the “fear of missing out” — better known as FOMO. However most of the time people spend scrolling, they’re only passively consuming the content presented to them.

Divided Attention: Divided attention isn’t just a symptom of the digital age — it has always been a function of how humans are wired. As the digital world becomes increasingly saturated with new information, our brains need a way to respond to this content frenzy. Presented multiple inputs, we revert our attention to the one that engages us most — the other stimuli simply remain distractions.

Simplicity pays

Some marketers have ramped up their messaging, thinking that the more information and interactions they provide, the more loyal their consumers will be. But the opposite is actually true: the increasing amount of messages isn’t empowering — it’s overwhelming.

The cacophony of messages flooding in from multiple businesses and media outlets means each customer interaction must carry the brand. Brand simplicity — distilling the core principles in messaging of your brand — will ultimately attract more engagement.

You’ll notice that some of the world’s most successful brands, including Spotify, Google, and Netflix, have fully simplified their customer experience. By knowing their audience and truly understand what they need, they’re able to provide them with a sufficient amount of content and interactions.

People are attracted to great stories

It’s becoming more and more important to create and share a narrative that’s highly engaging to your audiences. Why do you think consumers are drawn to ad spots with cute dogs and newborn babies? There’s usually a deeper story ingrained in messages like these.

Marketers should carve out time to creating stories that resonate with consumers and sell their brand. 35% of Millennials say they only engage with content that has a great story or theme, compared to 27% of Baby Boomers — meaning each generation is growing more selective of the content they choose to consume.

Companies that excel at storytelling know how to make their audience feel as if they’re part of the story. Consider Nike, for instance. A campaign promoting Nike running shoes doesn’t just focus on the attributes of the shoes — it pushes the idea that consumers can become better athletes by purchasing Nike footwear.

Share your story effectively

You could have the most interesting story in the world, but if you don’t share it effectively, you might ruin your chances of making an imprint on your consumers.

Here are some tips for improving your storytelling:

Be Conversational: As a brand, your role is to be an authority in your industry. Many marketers think they need to tout their expertise at all times, but it’s equally as important to present yourself on a level playing field with consumers. Content that is inviting will naturally entice people to respond — just as they would in a normal conversation.

Be Concise: With limited time, people scan web pages and only actually read about a quarter of the copy. Being succinct is key to ensuring your readers are taking away your key messages, rather than just superfluous details. With copy, a little can go a long way. Clarity is also key to getting your message across.

Don’t Cut Out Long-Form Content: It’s easy to assume short-form content is the way to go in times of instant gratification and overwhelming distractions. While bite size content blocks are certainly easier to digest, long-form content brings plenty of benefits. Long-form content allows brands to establish thought leadership, and it is often content packed with value and answers to consumer questions. Not to mention, it often gets you more attention from search engines, increasing your organic ranking in search results.

Split Up Content: The human attention span works best when you feed it small chunks of information. Splitting up your messages using smaller paragraphs, snippets, quotes, statistics, callouts, and bullet points makes it easier for consumers to scan a page and digest the information. Consider adding more headings and sub-headings to your content as well. The key is cultivating a more skimmable experience.

Lighten Up: Don’t be afraid to be lighthearted or humorous with your marketing messages. Leading brands, including Taco Bell, Oreo, and Netflix, have all effectively used humor to bring their stories to life. In fact, more than half of consumers say they are more likely to remember and enjoy an advertisement if it’s funny.

Show up where your audience is

You don’t go on Instagram, Twitter, and YouTube for the same reasons, so why would your target audience? Knowing where consumers devote their time online — and what they’re looking for on each platform — is key to meeting their needs. Fortunately, it’s easier than ever to track the customer journey with advanced technology and tracking analytic software.

Look deeper into your metrics to get detailed insights of your audience engagement. Are you receiving high levels of engagement on Instagram stories and short-form video content? Or, is your audience dwell time particularly high on your website’s blog page? Wherever the bulk of your followers are spending most of their time is exactly where you should be spending most of yours.

Know what drives action

“Know your customer” has become a redundant phrase in the marketing world. The true method to engaging your audience across every touchpoint is understanding what drives decision-making.

These are some ways leading businesses have used consumer insights to guide their marketing strategies:

Zara and Bloomingdale’s eliminate clutter and maximize full-bleed product images

Amazon enables consumers to choose the type of push notifications they receive and when they receive them

Sephora adds inspirational and tutorial topics in its push notifications to avoid message fatigue

Analyze your consumers’ habits, search behavior, and activity on your digital platforms. What content are they engaging with the most? Sharing the most? Social shares are a particularly important performance metric to measure, as it shows what your current consumers want to share with their own networks. Their networks can then share with their networks, which can exponentially increase awareness of your brand. More awareness equals more shares.

Integrate visual aids

Even the strongest content is weak if it's not accompanied by strong visual elements. Visual aids — including photos, videos, illustrations, and other branded graphics — will ultimately help you tell your brand story and invite consumers to engage with your content.

Here are some visual assets to consider:

Infographics: Instead of using words to convey an idea, try bundling your content into a neatly designed infographic. In fact, eye-tracking studies show internet readers pay close attention to information-carrying images.

Video: Marketers lean on video because it’s compelling, engaging, and can portray an abstract idea in a straightforward way. How-to videos, panoramic videos, and live video content are particularly popular video formats with younger generations.

Photography: Great photography can evoke emotions and drive consumer decisions. In the e-commerce space, consumers often like seeing alternate product views and download enlarged product photos.

Leverage personalized, interactive content

Combining personalization and interactivity can help you capture consumer attention. While personalization makes content relevant, interactivity helps keep users on a platform longer.

E-commerce is a particularly important industry where personalization increases conversions. 75% of consumers are more likely to buy from retailers that offer some element of personalization — this includes being recognized by name, being offered relevant recommendations, and being remembered by purchase history.

Similarly, interactive content can hook consumers and keep them engaged with your content. For retail brands, this could be a fashion style quiz, and for CPG brands, this could be an interactive video that gives a demo of a product. One study found interactive content has a 93% effectiveness rate, compared to 70% for static content. This type of content encourages consumers to take some sort of action, which will increase your engagement rates.

Don’t Just Capture Attention, Retain It

The race to make your content remain top of mind is critical in our day and age. There’s no magic formula for attracting consumer attention, but marketers need to be adapting their strategies to embrace new challenges. Personalizing content, engaging consumers through the mediums they use most, and telling a compelling narrative are crucial to retaining your audience’s attention.

Our Evolving Attention Spans: Creative Tips To Keep Your Audience Engaged