• by Miles Buergin , August 21, 2024

Length: 5 minutes

Aren’t you happy I included that little statistic above? It’s so you can see whether this article will hold your attention or not.

Time -- your time -- is now the commodity of content. Much like a bustling city street, social media and online content is a chaotic blend of stories, and snippets of life from all corners of the globe. And you, the user, don’t want to waste a single second when consuming it.

“If a video or photo doesn’t grab your attention, you move on in a second,” says Gloria Mark, Ph.D. at the University of California, Irvine. According to Dr. Mark’s “Attention Span,” the average human attention span is now 47 seconds long.

I’ve noticed that more people are likely to watch a clip on TikTok for fewer than 47 seconds than a longer-format video that runs more than two minutes.

How to Create Content that Grabs Attention

A blend of psychology and instant gratification are the two tools you’ll need to build an engaging audience around your content.

Think about the types of video content you love to watch on social media. You’ll notice they have three key elements:

-       An attention-grabbing visual within the first second

-       Large and colorful captions to keep your focus throughout the video

-       Are under a minute in length

The One-Second Society

The first second of your video content counts. You need to focus on how you can snap someone out of their algorithm’s matrices to pay attention to your authentic short-form content.

It has to be exciting. Examples could include an exterior shot of the resort you’re staying at, the view from your train travels, or images of slapping together a delicious burger.

The Captivating Captions

Not only have our attention spans gone down, but so has our hearing.

Many content creators use captions for their voiceovers to keep you glued. Sometimes, it’s the captions that grab your attention rather than the video itself. It could be a snippet from a podcast where someone shared a groundbreaking study or a something hilarious and relatable said by a notable musician.

A Minute to Win It

Consider your elevator pitch. Imagine you have one minute to pitch your idea to someone while an elevator shoots up to the top of a building. Nobody wants a lecture, and nobody is going to wait ten minutes for a fairy-tale ending.

Instead of telling, show it in under a minute in length.

Lastly, A Personal Note on Authenticity

Social media and content accounts that cut through the noise with raw honesty and unpolished truth are worth noting. Businesses like the street food vendors sharing their craft, and the chefs giving you a peek into the kitchen's chaos, are the stories worth savoring, the ones that remind you that beneath the surface, there’s real passion, struggle, and joy.

When you create, you should focus on how your content can inspire or allow others to share their thoughts.

Now that you understand your audience’s attention, you can quickly create quickly consumable and authentic content that people will associate with your brand or business.