If you’ve ever sat via a 90-minute YouTube video essay a few random obscure matter — like this one about Disney channel’s theme — you might discover the stats about humanity’s lowering consideration spans jarring.
It’s straightforward to see why individuals are frightened, but when a video concerning the theme music of a community that creates content material for children and tweens has 4 million views, then we’d not be approaching the subject of brief consideration spans accurately.
Anyone who participates on social media is aware of that there’s a lot competing for our consideration that after all we will solely afford a number of seconds to determine what is going to maintain it. This opens up some considerations for creators. How do you create content material that captures and holds (the correct) folks’s consideration?
In this text, we provide some recommendation that can assist you virtually method creating content material that engages your viewers.
Choose the correct format(s)
The “right” format appears completely different for everybody, and deciding what that appears like for you’ll at all times be an ongoing course of. However, this is a vital step as a result of it’s about you. If you don’t look ahead to creating and sharing content material even on tough days, you received’t be capable of construct an viewers, not to mention interact them.
Formats abound for creators, from brief to lengthy kind. You can create hour-long YouTube movies, tweets, carousel posts, or newsletters. But right here’s the factor about holding consideration is: should you choose a format that you simply take pleasure in creating for, you will discover your viewers.
One method is to go pyramid-style by choosing one or two major channels and specializing in creating your greatest content material for them. Once you’re able to increase, you’ll be able to add one other channel that repurposes the content material out of your predominant channels. Then one other and one other as you develop your group, purchase sources and an viewers measurement that justifies the growth.
Ali Abdaal is a good instance of this, beginning on YouTube, sharing productiveness content material, and utilizing his content material there to gas the remainder of his method to content material on different platforms. He now hires a group of 20+ folks, presents programs, and has thousands and thousands of followers – nonetheless with one clear area of interest.
If you get weary of a selected format, re-evaluate your relationship with it. You would possibly simply want to modify up the content material you’re creating, dabble someplace else, or it could be time to maneuver to an entire new platform. Evolution is a normal a part of the artistic course of.
Aim for deep, not broad, relationships along with your viewers
We’re in a society and economic system that’s hyper-focused on progress in any respect prices, and that usually trickles down into how we method particular person pursuits. Of course, the massive numbers are nice and satisfying – there’s a cause high influencers command excessive charges.
But are you so targeted on progress by way of viewers measurement that you simply overlook that the true worth of your viewers comes from its engagement? In different phrases, in case your follower rely is very large, however you’ll be able to’t get a good portion of them to take a key motion, then is that viewers really helpful?
A scarcity of focus in your half as a creator is on the core of a poor engagement fee. Sure, your viewers loves your content material, however none of them can say what you create or the worth they obtain from you in a single sentence.
When I consider my favourite creators, I can normally state why I like them a lot. I belief them implicitly and would take their suggestions for something as a result of they’ve earned my belief, normally via honesty and authenticity.
Podcast professional Lloyd George emphasizes that you simply don’t want a big following to be a profitable creator, sharing, “I make virtually $8,000 a month simply from content material with about 12,000 followers on TikTok.” That further proves that you don’t need a big following to monetize your content.
So, how can you create deeper relationships with your audience? Focus on creating connections with them. As Jay Acunzo recommends, “The best way to [create connections] is to ensure that your own personal creative fingerprints are all over the work. Infuse your personal perspective, your lived experiences, and your stories, and you become irreplaceable in the eyes of your audience.”
Your content should resonate with a few people first before you start looking at reaching a larger audience. And it’s okay if you can never figure out to expand – resonating deeply with a small audience is better than being ignored by a large one. Elisa Doucette is a great example of having a small but mighty audience.
Her work caters to “driven writers” and if those two words don’t apply to you, you might not be as engaged with her content. But she’s built and sustained a career and business by sticking to her audience. Like Jay says, “Pick your viewers, choose your future.”
Take control of what happens when you have your audience’s attention
Picture this: you had a video go viral and suddenly have a lot of the attention you’ve been seeking. Even better, it’s attention from the right people! So, what’s next?
Do you continue creating the same type of content, hoping to capitalize on their attention? What happens when a portion of them move on to the next thing? Granted, a portion of them will stick with you post-virality, but you can do more than hope they do.
You need to be prepared with your funnel with or without a viral video. Ayomi Samaraweera hit the viral jackpot early in her start as a TikToker, which she attributes to her immediate niche focus. However, she took action and kept the ball rolling on the virality by reaching out to the networking and careers platform Fishbowl, landing a brand sponsorship with only 2,000 followers at the time.
@ayomitok
You know they’re real ones when they help you escape #greatresignation2022 #corporateamerica #corporatetiktok #nyctech #greatescapes #dreamteamtiktok #careertok
♬ original sound – 4Ms
What can you be working on in addition to creating content on social media that will help you capitalize on a viral moment or when someone famous retweets you? There are many options available to you when it comes to directing your audience to take a specific action.
Our top recommendation is setting up an email list so you have direct access to your audience, then highlight it in your comments and link in bio. Also, consider starting a newsletter or a podcast – something that puts you directly in front of your audience and isn’t controlled by an algorithm. Or if you have particular expertise that your audience might find valuable, put it together in an ebook or online course.
If you don’t have any upfront ideas for content, remember that it’s okay to repurpose what you’ve already created. Any videos you’re particularly proud of? Write something about what inspired it. Had a tweet perform really well? Break down what you did differently. Basically, treat your new formats as a way to bring the members of your audience who are really interested in what you have to say, further into your world.
Have a presence on every platform (wait, let me explain)
The last thing you want is to lose the trust you’ve built with your engaged audience. So, contradictory as it might sound, you need to be present on every relevant platform to protect your image and identity. You can deter impostors if you have at least an account on each platform, even if you don’t use it.
This is a more pressing concern than you might think – scammers create fake social media accounts by the thousands daily to target celebrities, influencers, businesses, and even regular people. In 2022 alone, Facebook took action on 1.6 billion fake accounts – and that’s just one social network.
In addition to protecting your identity, you also protect your followers. This TikTok creator with over 90,000 followers, @mor10web, spotlighted the issue, identifying 27 accounts pretending to be him. While the fake accounts may seem obvious, it’s not unusual for creators to have second accounts. Also, not every person on the Internet is discerning.
@mor10web
Fake accounts on @tiktok is a serious problem. here are 27 accounts pretending to be me. #fakeaccount #scam #spam @tiktokcreators @mor10web
♬ original sound – The Mor10 of the Web
So even if you lock your account and don’t do anything with it, you have somewhere to point people looking for you on any platform, even when you’re inactive there. Plus, you’ll have your desired username if you ever want to become active on a new platform.
Conclusion
Thinking about consideration spans, your competitors, and viewers engagement can encourage two emotions: dread or pleasure – all of it is determined by your perspective.
There’s an viewers on the market for each kind of creator and each kind of content material. It’s as much as you to find out how you’ll method that viewers to turn into profitable.
