The 8-Second Attention Span

While long-form content plays an important role in marketing, there is a reason that short-form content like TikToks, Reels, and Tweets are as popular as they are. As of 2022, the average user’s attention span is now just 8 seconds (a 4 second decrease from the average of 12 seconds in 2000!) How can marketers ever hope to grab consumers’ attention when the window of opportunity is so slim?

Keep content short and sweet

Long form video can be great to offer a lot of detail about a product or service, but many marketers find that getting to the point quickly is more effective. With all the different forms of media and social entertainment now, consumers have short attention spans and likely won’t stick around long enough if you take too long to get to your point. This is especially true with the frequency of “skip” options for ads on YouTube and the ability to scroll past ads on Instagram and TikTok. The challenge here is to capture the attention of your consumers quickly and efficiently so they stick around for your full message.

Experiment with interactive ads or gamification

Using tools such as quizzes, surveys, polls, and personalized content is a great way to encourage increased engagement with your content. By providing your consumers with something to interact with (and an instant-gratification result such as poll results or a quiz answer), you’re allowing them to be a part of the process. Additionally, this is a great way to get instant feedback from your consumers, whether it be general satisfaction or more detailed information about them. The better you know your consumers (and what they think of you), the better you can engage with them and foster brand loyalty.

Adopt the agile methodology - yes, even with marketing

The agile methodology is an iterative approach to project management and software development. While it was designed for the engineering world, its principles work great for marketing as well. The general premise is to implement tactics quickly and get continuous feedback, which allows you to know if your tactics are working and then iterate quickly if needed. Come up with a plan, implement it, and measure the performance. As you go, change your tactics to encourage increased engagement and eventually you’ll find the right marketing mix for your product.

Be quick and flexible

You have a very small window of opportunity to grab your consumers’ attention. By committing to short-form content, interactive and gamification opportunities, and an iterative approach, you’ll have a much better chance of capturing your audience’s attention.