How You Can Hook Attention (In An Era of Dwindling Attention Spans) And Keep It
You might remember a study conducted by researchers at Microsoft Corp in 2015 that concluded the average human attention span had dropped from twelve to eight seconds. A goldfish, by comparison, was reported to have an attention span of nine seconds.
On the surface, it sounds like a transparent (and pretty shocking) statistic. Eight seconds isn’t a long attention span, especially compared to the humble goldfish.
Until you dive deeper… Because the statistic about goldfish wasn’t actually reported in the same study. This “fact” came from another source and somehow became synonymous with Microsoft’s attention span study.
Apparently, there is no evidence that any fish — especially goldfish — have such short attention spans, and Microsoft certainly didn’t use this to prove how short humans' are.
However, this widely-accepted stat has been used in the marketing world and may also be hurting our marketing efforts. There is no denying that there is more vying for our attention than ever before in this digital age. BUT, the answer isn’t condensing all our marketing campaigns into eight-second soundbites.
The question then becomes: How do we effectively communicate in a world where our ideal customers are more distracted than ever?
Why Your Copy NEEDS To Be Compelling
In Eugene Schwartz’s world-renowned book, Breakthrough Advertising, he writes, “If your first thought holds [her], [she] will read the second. If the second holds [her], [she] will read the third. And if the third thought holds [her], [she] will probably read through your ad.”
This quote is exactly 35 words long, which translates (as you may have guessed) to approximately eight seconds of reading. But this intriguing thought is part of a much longer book that is meant to be read cover-to-cover by a vast audience...
Demonstrating that if you hook people in eight seconds, they’ll continue to engage with you. A scroll-stopping headline could pique your audience's interest, but now it's your job to hold that attention for a longer period. How, you ask?
Let Me Tell You About The Power Of Story…
Humans are biologically wired to listen to stories. Think about the last time you got excited about a new movie, binge-watched a TV series, or stayed up later than you should have finishing a page-turning book. It might have even been a personal story retold by your friend, or a hilarious anecdote from a comedian who had you on the edge of your seat.
What do all of these examples have in common? They're a series of events told in a fascinating way that grabbed your attention — and they're definitely longer than eight seconds.
When a story is THIS compelling, our curiosity gets the best of us, and we’re hooked — we can't wait to hear what happens next. You're completely dialled into the messaging, so much so that the TV series could be the length of a soap opera, and you would still tune in to every episode; or a weekly podcast release that you mark on your calendar.
Stories have innate power, and they can be sprinkled throughout your copy to engage your reader — from emails and social captions to blogs and sales pages. They create relatability and connect with your audience in a way that gets them thinking, “Hey, this sounds exactly like me…” That's why I specialize in turning salesy, ROI-only copy into human-centred, audience-first copy that grabs the right people's attention (and keeps it).
But, Are Customers Really Reading Your Copy?
Once I share this with my clients, many of them ask how they can tell if anyone is actually reading their copy. Here's a quick, simple test you can run to see if your customers are reading your headlines and beyond.
How often do you get asked the following questions:
What does your business actually sell?
How does your business work?
How do I buy from you again?
I’m not sure it’s for me?
If you hear any of these questions frequently, either your messaging isn't clear, or there's a disconnect between your marketing and your brand. It's also possible that your audience reads your headline, but it doesn't compel them to read on, whether it's confusing, boring or off-brand. Confusion is the biggest conversion killer, after all, so your messaging needs to be clear, concise and compelling to attract your ideal audience.
Why Dwindling Attention Spans Are NOT A Threat
Given that many of us (myself included) have binge-watched many TV shows, or doom-scrolled social media for much longer than we care to admit, perhaps it’s not our attention spans that are the problem.
Maybe it’s the influx of information, the poorly targeted digital marketing efforts, or the bland copy that fails to engage audiences. Maybe, just maybe, people are sick and tired of gimmicky advertising, bro marketing and inauthentic brands. If you ask this copywriter, I say we need to improve digital marketing efforts across the board — not our attention spans.
So I challenge you to take a look at your marketing and see where and how customers engage with you. If they engage in some areas, but not others, consider refocusing your efforts where they're responding and connecting with you. If they're not engaging with your brand at all, perhaps it's time to revisit the drawing board and see how you can adapt to the everchanging digital marketing landscape.
If you’re looking for a second opinion or ready to implement scroll-stopping headlines and compelling stories that keep your audience hooked for far longer than eight seconds, request your free 30-minute call.
