By Anna Minton
By Anna Minton
The best way to get your idea and message across to your audience is to tell a quick and impactful story.
It is easy to connect the line between the rise of digital media and the public’s shortening attention span. Some studies have been able to show that active use of the internet can decrease the average person’s attention span from 12 minutes down to five minutes.
When it comes to digital attention, surveys have shown that an average of only 4% of website audiences will stay on a website for 10 minutes or longer. In addition, 47% of audiences expect a webpage to load in two seconds or less, and 40% of audiences will completely leave a page if it takes more than three seconds to load. From a social media perspective, studies have shown that 33 percent of audiences expect the load time on a mobile device to be faster than their laptop.
With these high expectations, it is clear that the best way to get your idea and message across to your audience is to tell a quick and impactful story. Whether it is through your website’s homepage or your social media content- concise stories are the best way to go.
This strategy is simply to use fewer words- and to replace what you can with graphics or charts. Describing a longer process, or complicated numbers can be more intensive for viewers- and using visualizations can make things easier to read, and also more mobile-friendly.
When you are talking about more in-depth topics- data visualization is a great strategy to explain a lot of information in an easier-to-consume way. Using visual graphics and charts to discuss large numbers, or explain processes is a smart and effective way to make sure your message is explained quickly.
Large paragraphs can get overwhelming, and when your audience has a short attention span already- it makes sense to avoid the type of content that would persuade someone to move away from your page. Telling your story in the fewest words possible ensures that you will be able to stick in your audience’s mind before their attention dries up.
Another great strategy to promote more concise content is to utilize this rule of thumb: if you wouldn’t put all that information on a presentation slide, don’t put it on social media. For the same reason that giant chunks of text are overwhelming on a PowerPoint- they aren’t very intriguing or engaging in a digital context as well.
An easy solution is to utilize bullet points. Using this method will allow for more information to be shown in a more concise way. It is simple, easy to comprehend, and an effective tool to use.
A simple way to keep your digital audience engaged is to not only keep your content short in sweet- but also to get your audience involved in the content itself. Interactive content that is simple and easy to use is a great way to make your page more intriguing.
Whether it is a graphic that changes when you scroll over it, a poll on social media, or a website quiz that redirects the user where you want them to go- interactive content is an excellent way to allow your audience to participate with your brand in a way that is more lasting and impactful for them.
Contact Us to learn more about how to up your digital game and promote more concise content!
February 2, 2023
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