5 ways content creation can beat a short attention span

Our ever-dwindling attention span is now only 8 seconds.

8 seconds to engage with a reader or lose them.

As a result, brands and businesses become masters of engaging and inspiring content to get their voices heard. Simple…in principle.

In a recent study run by PR Newswire, 88% of brands say they will produce more content in 2016 than they did in 2015. But are they giving their audience what they want?

For PRs, content has always been King – a standout story that grabs a journalist’s attention is key to landing great coverage.

Brands are increasingly speaking directly to their audience online and finding the right combination of brilliant content and paid spend is crucial for a content plan. Welcome to the wonderful world of merging marketing disciplines.

…And this is exciting! Marketing disciples can join forces to complement and create real added value that is more measurable than ever before.

(We’re 8 seconds through…are you still paying attention?)

5 ways content creation can beat a short attention span:

1. Create videos but don’t make them too long – our 8 second rule applies here too! And on Facebook, videos are often played without sound – so a video must be engaging enough without sound to encourage people to watch (easy eh?)
2. Use infographics to tell your story in a creative and engaging way – simply, a picture still tells a thousand words
3. Provide REAL value for your target audience and consider using influencer marketing to gain advocacy for your business or brand
4. Make use of Google trends to find out what content is working best – google has so much information that it’s bursting to tell you!
5. Be reactive to the latest news to maintain relevance – check out what is trending on Twitter at least 3 times a day to keep up to date

And if you’re still in need of some more inspiration, here are some brands that are nailing content creation…

• CocaCola has created a digital magazine through its website covering everything from food, business and sports
• Redbull has made a sequence of extreme sports videos as well as stories from Red Bull adventurers
• Birchbox offers a series of blog posts of top tips on makeup
• Rosetta Stone provides regular posts on travel and education

So get out there and start to engage, disturb, compel and create value.

Happy content creating!