Attention Spans Aren't Short. You're Just Boring.
Slightly controversial title, I know, but in fairness it was something I read in a report recently and out of all the pages...this is the one thing that struck a cord with me and got me thinking.
One of the most common complaints in content creation today is "people have short attention spans, WE MUST KEEP IT TO 30 SECONDSOR LESS!" And TBH...I often hear myself saying the same thing.
So when I saw that small sentence, it really hit me.
We love to blame the audience. We say "social media and smartphones have ruined our ability to focus". But in actual fact - that's a bit of a smokescreen. It lets us all off the hook when our content doesn't perform well because it's much easier than facing the harsher truth: if people aren't paying attention, the problem isn't their brain. It's your message/content.
Then I started reflecting on my own instances where the "short attention span myth" is destroyed every day:
- I can binge watch a really good show on Netflix for hours without distraction.
- I can easily listen to an engaging 45-minute podcast on a topic I find interesting.
- I can spend hours designing and lose track of time.
I can do a lot of things where my attention span was limitless. I was engaged, engrossed and absorbed by what I was hearing, watching or doing. Is it fair to say that people can and will pay attention to anything that provides value or engagement - regardless of length?
People don't have a short attention span - they just have a highly sophisticated palate for what they want to digest.
Maybe, the problem isn't the length of your content -it's the lag in relevance.
So what can be done so your content doesn't fail the #FocusTest:
- Boring start - you took too long to get to the point. You took too long for your audience to understand why they should care. Start punchy and to the point.
- You're too busy trying to speak to everyone (which means no one). When content is too generic, it triggers the "ignore" filter. Try to tackle a specific issue, audience or problem. For example: 3 reasons why our business has a high retention rate.
- You're valuing politeness over clarity. We're spending too much time in fear of being too direct and instead opt for jargon, a passive voice and words that are professional and safe. Your goal should be presenting your authentic self and to capture your audience and not worry about how many corporate buzzwords you can inject into your content.
- You don't have a clear plan for your content. Stop and think about what you want your audience to think, feel and do. If you can't answer these questions - then go back to the drawing board.
So in closing, here are some wise words from me!
- Let's all stop complaining about attention spans and start committing to quality content.
- Your content doesn't always have to be shorter - it just may need to be better.
- People don't have a short attention span - they just have a highly sophisticated palate for what they want to digest.
