How marketers are reacting to short attention spans

We explore how marketers are dealing with the ever-shortening attention spans of consumers.

The decrease in consumer attention span is down to a number of factors. The biggest factor that resulted in the movement was the transition to mobile content consumption with smartphones. Google has dubbed this a ‘micro-moment’. This is where the consumer uses the nearest device to them to look something up, buy something or go somewhere. In these specific moments, consumer will prioritise convenience, relevance and immediacy.

This has resulted in a need for marketers to adapt to these ‘micro-moments’ – but this task is not as difficult as you might think. The tactics in play at the moment are called ‘pre-click’ and ‘post-click’ to help you take advantage.

Pre-click

Search tactics should be the most obvious focus in reaction to micro-moments. Micro-moments happen when an individual wants to find something out. These moments happen thousands of times each day. Sometimes a person may look for your specific brand to find something out, but you need to also be prepared for those that conduct a far broader search. Your website pages, content and even social media posts should be search engine optimised. A paid search strategy would also be beneficial to have!

One of the most important things to consider pre-click is having a mobile-friendly website. Google tends to favor sites that perform well on mobiles – so be warned! The higher you are in the search engines, the bigger the chance you will participate in a consumer’s micro-moment.

When thinking about social media, a good tactic to use is enlisting the support of influencers. According to research, 92 per cent of consumers trust word-of-mouth reviews more than brand marketing. If you do use influencers, their reviews and thoughts on your product or service will pop up when consumers are searching for information.

Post-click

After the click, your content needs to be relevant and immediately capture their attention. If your website doesn’t give the consumers what they want straight away, they will probably just leave. This is usually down to poor design, pop-ups, too many ads or bad navigation. The micro-moment has passed – you’ve got them to your site. But now you have to win them over…

The best way to catch visitors’ attention is with interactive micro-content and personalisation. Interactivity will keep them on the page, with personalisation keeping the content relevant.

Personalisation plays a role in 86 per cent of consumers’ buying decisions. In addition to that, 45 per cent said they are more likely to buy from websites that offer personalised recommendations. Brands can offer personalised experiences simply by asking customers what they want. By asking their consumers questions, brands can personalise their website in real time to move them on to the next stage of the buying cycle.

Interactive micro-content pulls visitors in and keeps them on your site. This could range from an interactive product demo, a quiz or an online personal shopper. For B2B companies, infographics are a great way to engage customers and produce leads.

As marketers we have to adapt – micro-moments shouldn’t scare us, they should excite us.

Read and comment on the original Inc. article.