How Can Brands Retain Consumer Attention?

Retaining the attention of your audience is a constant battle, especially in the hyper-saturated world of social media. So how can you stay ahead of the competition and win over your audience? We’ve put together a guide to help, starting with the very basics of humans’ capacity for attention…

What is the human brain’s capacity for attention?

Humans’ attention capacities are limited; there is after all only so much time in the day, and an even more limited amount of time to be advertised to. We live in a very cluttered information marketplace and despite having access to such advanced technology, experts say that “our modern skulls still house stone age brains”. Plus, in an online world where we have more control over what we see than ever before, the time spent skipping, scrolling, and swiping past things that don’t interest us is greater than ever.

What does this mean for brands?

In short, this limited attention span means one thing for brands: You have to stand out. Outdated, long-existing marketing strategies need to be constantly tried, tested and re-evaluated, and brands need to ask themselves: Do we deserve our audience’s attention?

Marcus Foley, Co-Founder of Tommy, speaking on retaining consumer attention at SocialDay Festival in 2020

Is retaining attention more difficult on emerging platforms like TikTok?

Gen Z audiences are perhaps the most perceptive consumers when it comes to content; they consume so much of it that they have become digital content experts. But it’s not just Gen Z audiences whose brains have adapted; as a society, we have had to start prioritising our attention, filtering through uninteresting or non-useful content and dedicating our time to meaningful content which works to grab our attention. Platforms like TikTok, for example, are merely an evolution of the direction existing platforms were already heading towards; they’re fast-paced, rapidly changing, and notoriously difficult to market on. However, if your brand stays agile and open to new features, strategies, and audience priorities, it is perfectly possible to retain attention on emerging platforms. Dan Thorne, Senior Social Media Manager at Guinness World Records, suggests that understanding music, rhythm and synchronisation, as well as delivering content which celebrates positivity, surprises consumers, and utilises humour, are key steps to take in order to deliver successful content. Just make sure you’re showcasing them as early in your videos as possible!

Dan Thorne delivering his session, Wrangling With Retention and Tackling TikTok, at SocialDay Festival in 2020

What are some key strategies for winning the battle for attention?

1. Be distinctly and recognisably you

To stand out from the crowd, your content needs to have a look, feel, voice and energy that is distinctly you. Many brands adhere to a ‘tried and tested’ model when it comes to their online content and marketing strategy, however this model just isn’t working anymore, particularly with a younger generation of consumers who reject perfection and predictability.

Top tip: When looking at your feed, if you can swap out your product or message for any of your competitors’, just drop it.

Similarly, on emerging Gen Z platforms like TikTok, Dan Thorne advises not to try too hard to ‘be cool’ or follow the crowd. Instead, concentrate on what people love about you and what you love as a brand. Authenticity and individuality are increasingly important to consumers living in a content-saturated world.

2. Use impactful, emotion-evoking and human-focused narratives

Using narratives or stories in your marketing is a reliable strategy for grabbing attention as it helps consumers to feel and experience your message for themselves. SocialDay’s experts stressed the importance of utilising human emotion and emotional biases for brands to really grab your audience’s attention. For instance, Behavioural Scientist Patrick Fagan highlighted that humans are “evolutionarily hard-wired to pay attention to cute things”, and thus incorporating this into your content is bound to make consumers’ thumbs stop scrolling. Additionally, rather than focusing on your product or something abstract in your content, consider showcasing a human experience that your consumers will relate to. As Dan Thorne says, “it’s about humans connecting with humans over what makes us human.”

Patrick Fagan delivering his session, Fear, Faces, and Food: The Psychology of Grabbing and Keeping Attention, at SocialDay Festival in 2020

3. Make content shareable

Content which evokes ‘me’ moments for your customers is content which is relevant, relatable and most importantly, shareable. Allowing your audience to feel like you really understand them is key to retaining not only their attention, but also the attention of the friends and followers that they share your content with.

4. Allow consumers to participate

Marcus Foley suggested following the 75:25 rule, where consumers are encouraged to “bring 25%” to complete your content, for example through figuring something out or actively engaging with it. You can also allow your consumers to engage with your campaigns through gamification, which places users into an active role in your content, tapping into the human desire to control things. Ultimately, if a consumer is having to actively think about or engage with your content, they are far more likely to remember it.

5. Grab attention immediately

In an overcrowded online space, it is crucial that your content grabs people’s attention immediately, whether that’s through strong, powerful visuals, an unexpected, pattern-flouting narrative, or an instantly-engageable feature. This is particularly important on fast-moving platforms like TikTok, where you’re really looking to make this visual impact in the first 2-3 seconds of a video.

Dan Thorne delivering his session on grabbing attention on TikTok at SocialDay Festival 2020

Key takeaways

• Consumers have more control over the content they see than ever before, therefore the battle for their attention is a difficult but rewarding one

• Many businesses are reluctant to use emerging platforms like TikTok for fear of a lack of retention, however any good marketing strategy should be adaptable for the kind of fast-moving audience which TikTok has

• ‘Tried and tested’ models of content marketing are no longer relevant or effective; it’s time for brands to get creative and individual with their strategies

• Making audiences feel understood, included and valued is crucial to retaining their attention, and there are many strategies that you can use to make this happen

Watch Patrick Fagan’s full SocialDay 2020 session here:

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