Media in the New Millennium

Over the years humans have been experiencing increasingly shorter and shorter attention spans. Is this because we are becoming more accustomed to multi-tasking or is it because the world around us is growing so fast that we struggle to keep up? I think that the advent of social media and the killing off of more traditional media has contributed to our attention span problem.

Find out if you have an attention span “problem” by taking a quick 10-question test from Psychology Today.

So how did you do? Well I have nothing to compare it to because I didn’t even make it through questions #4.

So what does this have to do with anything? It’s because I am a pretty average person. That is, I am a consumer, between the age of 18-30, do most of my shopping online and I I’m heavily involved in social media/networking. If this sounds like you, or someone you would want to market to, listen carefully:
To market to someone like me you need to be quick on your feet, stay up on the latest trends and be very creative.

Some ways you can keep my interest:

Videos
I love videos…well, I love the first 60 to 90 seconds of a video. If you are trying to get more people to your site or blog, try putting up some videos. Keep them short and to the point and don’t host them yourself. Use YouTube – it’s easier and viewers can share and embed the videos for others to see. Edit them so that the most compelling stuff is the first thing viewers will see. It will help keep their attention and keep them watching, and did I mention to keep videos short?

Pictures
It’s like a video only a lot shorter, so you can’t go wrong with pictures, images and other visuals. It not only helps to tell your story, sell your product, etc. but compelling visuals will also help keep my attention and my interest on whatever it is that you may be sharing. Also, it gives the option to share and use your photos elsewhere, which will help bounce people back to your site.

Banner ads and flashy interactive ads
These work only if I like the product. The trick is to find out what I like. Use demographics and stats that Google will offer you, or try the interactive, fully customizable Facebook ads. Give me something that I enjoy or may look to purchase based on what you know about me. For instance, I’m a male, so electronics, gadgets, girls, cars, sports, fitness, clothes, etc. would generally be something that would interest me. I’m probably not interested in the latest makeup or beauty products out on the market. Be creative and targeted in your approach in order to see the best results and perhaps keep my interest on your site.