Effective Marketing Content Gets Attention

Curiosity & Interest May Help Customers Focus

How long is your attention span when you read information or websites? For most of us, unless it is vital information we want to find out more about, most people glance and read top menu items and if it doesn't apply to us, we move on right? There are those that would say that the internet has changed that attention span just because of sheer numbers of bombarding information from so many sources. Most small business companies would like to consider saying the human attention span is just evolving and by doing so hope that this will lead to important implications for marketers. Do you think that is the case?

The next question you may want to ask is what type of marketing content gets and holds people's attention; and how is it created? According to Prezi, the presentation software company who that uses motion, zoom, and spatial relationships to bring your ideas to life and make you a great presenter of multiple types of marketing materials, they agree and state that 6 in 10 respondents in their surveys say their ability to focus is better, has become more selective with undivided attention, and Millennials and Gen X or boomers say that type of "right content" will hold their attention for a long time. 49% identify with those numbers which is a great improvement. Wow, think of it, keeping someones attention means they take action and respond right away.

One catch, remember not all content gets that undivided attention so it may be harder for your business to actually engage with a compelling message. It does seem that most marketing content that gets attention has some things in common.

We believe there are 3 things that matter:

• The marketing tells a great story - Marketing needs to setup a situation that piques interest. It may be a challenge or conflict that arouses curiosity. Or, could be a resolution that brings satisfaction, the end result means the reader buys, call, or visits a website and asks for more information. This type of marketing is usually very personal as well as be visually stimulating.
• The setup for the article must provide a scenario that will enable the reader to get involved with what is being said. These target customers will then devote attention to the issue at hand and can relate to what is being said.
• The challenge or conflict that could get in the way is not having a resolution to make it happen once they identify what the challenge really entails.

The resolution is the key point here. What does your business do for your customers? How does it help them overcome the challenge or conflict they want to address? That brings in another point, identifying "How to tell your story". Success means telling your story in the way that your target customers want to hear it. Several options come to mind here. A live video, a social media post with a photo, a brochure, an animated video with cartoon characters, and requires what your target customer wants. Due diligence is required. You can also track the results of your content marketing to see what gets the most interaction and engagement.

Remember the opposite side of the coin is knowing how not to tell your story. People disengage for a variety of reasons. Prezi says "No substance: More than half of respondents in the Prezi survey say a story that does not challenge them mentally or lacks substance will cause them to disengage."

Another negative is that too much information is just as bad. Too much text (even if it’s formatted in bullet points) can cause overwhelm and make it hard to retain by most readers of that information. Take smart phones into account when providing information. Keep it smart, easy to understand and see. The KISS principle may apply here. Keep words simple and not too many with images to retain attention. Using an info-graphic format or a video could also work.

Be sure what you are saying is authentic. Real customers testimonials or user-generated content can strike a chord if your prospects can relate to the customers and their challenges. Abide by the above and remember to tell the story of your business. Use your website’s About Us page, your social media feeds, and your marketing materials in general to remind customers what your business is all about. It's all about them coming to you for help. By Humanizing your business, you can become more memorable and help you keep prospects’ attention. If SEO is a concern, we need to identify exactly what you want to have Google focus on, and apply a different set of practices to meet those goals, and this may be a topic for another discussion.

from – SBA.gov – by Rieva Lesonsky