Key takeaways:
- Attention spans are decreasing - from 2.5 minutes in 2004 to 47 seconds in 2020.
- Shrinking audience attention calls for a more strategic approach to content creation.
- To win the battle for attention, you need to understand your audience and align your material with their preferences and behaviors.
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Attention spans are getting shorter. Much, much shorter.
Dr. Gloria Mark, the Chancellor’s Professor of Informatics at the University of California Irvine, studies how humans interact with and are influenced by technology in real world environments. In her book, Attention Span: A Groundbreaking Way to Restore Balance, Happiness and Productivity, she shares the findings from her decades of research and reports that attention spans on any screen have declined from 2.5 minutes in 2004 to just 47 seconds by 2020.
Tech-enabled multitasking, Mark argues, may be to blame – rapid movement between different tasks and tabs is now natural for most of us, but the behavior incurs “switch costs” which consume mental resources, making it harder to focus for long periods.
For companies who create and publish content in any capacity, these are unnerving findings. If attention spans are dropping, what does that mean for traditional written content? If nobody wants to read, does that mean your meticulously crafted white paper is dead on arrival?
We don’t think so.
The success of any business content depends on how well the writer/creator understands their audience. The time the reader has to spare and the strength (or lack of strength) of their focus are two factors, among many, that content creators should be considering when crafting material.
So don’t throw out the white paper just yet; its appropriateness depends entirely on what your audience wants to see. If your consumers are educated professionals from the world of finance and tech, they may prefer in-depth written content and eschew your TikToks. If your audience skews younger, interactivity and accessibility may be the way to go. If your audience is a diverse mix of ages and professions, repurposing material to target different brackets could be the right approach.
Ultimately, shrinking attention spans don’t diminish the value of well-crafted content. They simply call for a more strategic approach to content creation.
To win the battle for attention, you need to understand your audience and align your material with their preferences and behaviors. Your company’s insights are valuable; it’s just about delivering them in the most effective way.
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