4 Tips to Catch and Hold Your Consumer’s Attention

What if I told you a goldfish had a longer attention span than you? Well, according to a recent study, the average attention span is now only 8 seconds. Meaning at 9 seconds, goldfish can officially focus longer than the average consumer. Which means entrepreneurs and small business owners face an increasingly difficult challenge when looking to incite consumer’s interest in their brands. In digital marketing, every second counts. Here are a 4 tips to catch and hold your consumer’s attention.

Let Images Speak for You

As the old saying goes, a picture speaks a thousand words. Have you ever thought considered why Budweiser continues to use a dog and a horse in both their tv advertisements but their online ads? It’s because both pull at your heart strings and elicited a strong emotion. Or consider any other advertisement that you have seen with a baby or small furry animal. These images created an instant connection with you. So the next time you’re browsing the internet, take note of the advertisements that draw you in and those you gloss over and ask yourself why.

Encourage Social Media Engagement

If you follow Oreo on social media you have likely noticed the fresh, well designed content it’s consistently putting out. What you’ve also likely noticed is they are constantly engaging with their audience. Oreo is the third most engaged brand according to Famecount. Oreo strategically uses their Facebook Page as a place to find recipes, videos, photos of fans, and games. A great way to start engaging with your audience is using CTA (call-to-actions) in your post copy, encourage comments, shares and other feedback. The real trick however is for you to listen. Respond to their comments, include their feedback in your social page.

Speak to Segments of Your Audience

Tailoring your message to individual consumers is a powerful way to stand out among the noise. According to MarketingProfs, personalized promotional emails and personalized online advertising techniques are among the top tactics for prompting consumers to purchase. Look at Coca-Cola, for example. After years of plummeting sales, the company decided to take a new approach with its “Share a Coke” campaign. Their brilliant solution? Simply putting popular names and labels on their bottles and promoting consumers to share pictures of it. As a result, Coca-Cola gained 25 million Facebook followers and made its product speak to consumers.

Less is More

You have a lot to say, and using text to communicate your message is great, especially for SEO purposes. But the reality is that most consumers don’t want to read your text-heavy ads. Use short, catchy phrases and be purposeful with words. When possible bundle your content into a video or infographic. This will take more effort and may require a designer’s eye, but the ROI will be astronomical.

When it’s All Said and Done

Your advertising efforts boil down to the first five seconds, but don’t let that overwhelm you. You don’t need a massive marketing budget to get your brand across. Keep it short and sweet, and relate to your audience on a personal level. Follow these suggestions and you’ll be able to advertise to any distracted consumer–maybe even a goldfish.

If implementing these strategies seems too much for you, you’re in luck! Intuitive is happy to help, send us a note at [email protected]