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Recent research clocks the average attention span at around 47 seconds, a significant decrease from 75 seconds in 2012. Every day, we compete against a relentless barrage of notifications and distractions vying for our audience’s attention, amplifying the “attention recession” — a decline in the amount of attention consumers are willing or able to give any one thing.
But there’s no need to despair. While attention spans may be shrinking, thoughtfully created content can still capture, engage, and inspire an audience. Here are five ways to help your marketing cut through.
1. Focus on value
Your content must deliver genuine value. Offer insightful articles, how-to videos, or interactive tools that solve real problems and answer critical questions. Shopify delivers a powerful example of this. The e-commerce brand’s YouTube channel is packed with guides, success stories, and tips that offer immense value to their target audience. To customers, this signals that Shopify is more than a platform; it’s a helpful partner.
2. Keep it brief
Respect your audience’s time by being concise and clear. Experiment with bite-sized content: short videos, infographics, and easily digestible summaries. Be compelling in the opening moments of long-form content to keep your viewers engaged enough to continue watching or reading.
This short-form ad from Sephora steers clear of conventional ad aesthetics, while showcasing products in action. It offers viewers a leaned-in, participatory experience, striking a low-key tone that works better than a sales pitch would in the Shorts feed.
3. Encourage interactivity and community
One of the best ways to capture audience attention is to involve active participation in your content. Think of immersive experiences, quizzes, and challenges that captivate and engage. Interactivity works best when paired with community building.
Lego’s ideas platform, for instance, allows fans to submit their own designs and vote on others. If a design gets enough votes, Lego reviews it and may even turn it into a real set. This not only fosters a strong community but also gives the brand valuable insights into what their customers want.
4. Make it visual
Leveraging the power of visuals — images, videos, and animations — can help you communicate your message quickly and effectively. Studies show that people can recall 65% of visual content three days later versus just 10% of written content.
Visuals are even more effective when embedded into a compelling story. Purple Mattress’s egg-drop campaign used memorable visuals to showcase how its product supports pressure points on a human body. The brand’s Goldilocks and the Original Egg Drop Test ad, which introduced the campaign in 2016, has gotten over 200 million views and over 8,000 comments on YouTube since its first release.
Watch the video
Mattress company Purple uses an attention-grabbing stunt, hosted by storybook character Goldilocks, to engage viewers and keep them watching longer.
5. Personalize content
The key to forging authentic customer relationships at scale hinges on relevance. To win the battle for attention with your audience, it’s more important than ever to deliver a personal touch in every interaction. This requires segmenting your audience, using data-driven insights, and delivering content that resonates on a personal level.
Outdoor outfitter Smartwool’s approach is instructive here. They use affinity segments in Google Ads to reach groups of potential customers, based on their specific interests. By showing ads that are relevant to the lifestyles of affinity segments, like Running Enthusiasts, the brand is able to grow awareness, spark interest, and convert many of them into customers. Smartwool then connects with these consumers throughout the purchase journey by homing in on specific needs, such as breathable running socks, and building custom creative and messaging relevant to each interaction.
The bottom line
The attention recession continues to demand a shift from interruption to invitation. By implementing these five approaches — value, brevity, interactivity, visuals, and personalization — you can transform your marketing from a struggle for attention into a catalyst for authentic connection.
