Business Marketing Video Marketing

How to Adapt Video Marketing Strategy to Short User Attention Reality

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We now officially have an attention span less than that of a goldfish. Perhaps you offer an amazing product, but no one is paying attention. Everyone turns their heads away after 8 seconds! This makes marketing jobs incredibly difficult. If you are struggling with this, here is what you can do to get people’s attention when creating videos.

Short and sweet

Whatever you want to say with your video, keep it short. Human attention span has been gradually decreasing. The average span measured in 2000 was 12 seconds and when measured in 2015, it was 8.25. We can safely assume that the trend has continued and that we are now at 8 secs on average. The length of an average video watched has also dropped. It is now around 2.7 minutes. You know this yourself. Are you more likely to click on a 15-minute explainer video or a 3 minute one? You only watch long videos of those you already know and love. For example, if there is a YouTube DIY channel you like, you may not mind watching a 15 minute tutorial.

Get their attention before they hit play

Apart from a convenient length, your video has to appear promising even before it is played. You have to give the audience a reason to choose to click on your video. This is done with a strong title. The title has to be both attractive and informative. A straightforward title will give a viewer an instant idea of how good of a match your video is. The title needs to be accompanied by a splash screen. The screen should also offer a piece of information which could indicate the content of the video. The information depicted should be of the highest relevance to viewers.

Straight to the point

Given that you have less than 3 minutes on average, where the first 8 seconds are the most important, you cannot afford to waste time. Your video needs to be clear and straight to the point from the very beginning. This is why you should skip long introductions. Do not go on about your company’s background story. Jump straight into explaining what your business can do to improve lives. If you feel obliged to tell the story about your company, you can always put it in the description.

Mind the platform and the audience

An important thing to consider when creating a video is who will be watching it and where it will be posted. People from different walks of life and of different ages expect different things from your product. Knowing who will be watching the video will allow you to select the best information to share within those 8 seconds. Having knowledge about the platform you are using to post the video will provide additional information about the audience. 

Edit the video

Edit your video over and over again before posting it to get rid of any unnecessary pauses and time-wasters. This ensures you have a short video packed with information and excitement. Also, if you are using a video marketing platform, you can use the insights obtained after its posting. Information about which parts of the video got skipped or where most people dropped out are facts you can use to edit the video again.

Find the best way of pitching it

You have done everything on your part to make this video watchable, grab, and hold an audience’s attention for a sufficient amount of time. Now it is up to the viewers to give their best and focus on your video. How are you going to make them do that? Take advice from 1 Minute Video Production and find the right channels for sharing your video. Find a way of getting different social media or public influencers to share your videos. Their followers will give your video a chance or make them approach it with extra zeal just because it was recommended by a certain person.

About the author

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Leila Dorari

Leila Dorari is an entrepreneur, freelance writer and business-improvement enthusiast from Sydney. Currently, she is consulting companies on various effects different marketing solutions can have on their business. In her spare time you can usually find her window shopping.