Back when traditional broadsheet newspapers were the medium of choice, the human attention span was measured to be around the 12-second mark. Fast forward to 2018, and that number has reportedly dwindled to around 8 seconds. Probably even shorter for the younger Generation Z.

Decreasing average attention spans make it even more challenging for businesses to engage. However, there are measures that can be put in place to battle these changing habits and still achieve the best possible results through adaptive strategies. Our three top tips for battling short attention spans can be seen below.

1. Stop Them Scrolling

We all do it. Crammed on the train or sat at our desk, we consume an incredible of amount of content on a daily basis through simply scrolling on our smartphone or desktop. The average person now scrolls through 300ft worth of content in a single day, which is not far off 100 meters a day!

Standing out and catching the eye amongst this sea of content is difficult. Whether it be a Twitter or Facebook feed, or even a Google results page, you have a precious split second to grab the user’s attention. So how can you actually do this?

There are many factors that contribute to making a person stop scrolling and focus on your offering, but there are some key fundamentals you should be using to maximise the potential of a user engaging.

Stand out – Easier said than done but on your next social media post why don’t you offer something different such as a GIF or some emoji. To find out more about using emojis, read our previous article ‘Emoji Marketing: Doing it right and doing it wrong’.

Have a personality – This comes down to crafting and perfecting your online tone of voice. Try and add a bit of humour and steer clear of corporate, robotic talk as it just doesn’t go down well anymore. Do beware though: ill-timed and insensitive humour online can have negative effects on your company’s image.

Get to the point – Just because Twitter has upped the character limit to 240, doesn’t mean you should be posting long-winded updates – people simply don’t like to read tweets of that length. The same goes for your website copy: don’t make it too long as people are likely to lose interest.

2. Nail Your Landing Page

Your landing page is undoubtedly the most crucial element of your website.

It is the first place a visitor arrives at.

It is the first thing your visitor sees.

It is the first thing your visitor reads.

It’s important not to overload visitors with information here. Keep it simple and visual. User experience (UX) is something we talk about a lot because it’s so important. Have clear calls to action and make the user journey smooth and easy to navigate.

Good Example

325% increase in searches makes websites more interactive through the use of ‘chatboxes’. It is a totally new and pioneering approach to UX and web design and is undoubtedly one of the most innovative landing pages out there. By thinking outside the box and using a humorous tone of voice, GIFs and emojis, Landbot comes across as approachable and engaging. This conversational format is a sure-fire way to boost engagement and reduce your site’s bounce rate.

Bad Example

Please, just don’t do this.

We’re not really sure what’s going on here…

3. Video, video and video

Video is one of the best forms of content available, making a huge impact in terms of engagement and conversions. Video is the best way to get your message across as easily and efficiently as possible. In order to stand out, hook even the laziest of users and battle your audience’s short attention spans, video is the way forward.

Using video in your marketing strategy brings so many other tangible benefits.

• Video on a landing page can increase conversions by 80% or more.
• 46% of users act after viewing an ad.
• Viewers retain 95% of a message when they watch it in a video compared to 10% when reading it in text.
• By 2019, internet video traffic will account for 80% of all consumer Internet traffic.

In a nutshell

In this time of change it is vital you stay ahead of the curve and do your all to stand out ahead of the competition. Following the above steps and always striving to innovate and refresh your marketing plan should be of the utmost priority.

What are your thoughts on battling decreasing attention spans and standing out from the crowd? Catch us on Twitter @createdbyneon!