Intuitively, we know it to be true. But now research from Microsoft confirms that people today have shorter attention spans than goldfish.
According to the study, which surveyed 2,000 Canadians last
year, a goldfish has an attention span of nine seconds.
But people today
generally can only stay focused on one thing for eight seconds.
“Heavy multi-screeners find it difficult to filter out
irrelevant stimuli,” said the report. “They’re more easily distracted by
multiple streams of media.”
Added Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella: “We are moving from a world where
computing power was scarce to a place where it now is almost limitless, and
where the true scarce commodity is
increasingly human attention.”
The study also found that 19% of people leave a website within the first
ten seconds—if they don’t immediately see what they are looking for, they’re
gone.
On the positive side, the report says that our use of multiple
screens and devices is training our brains to be better at multitasking.
What this
means for marketers
For those of us trying to catch the attention of people
online, this inability to pay attention means a) it is hard to catch attention
and, b) it is hard to keep it.
Says the report: “With today’s digital lifestyle, marketers need to make an almost
immediate impact before consumers switch off/move on.”
It goes on to say that people are “suckers for novelty. It's more
exciting to jump from subject to subject or device to device than to
concentrate on a single thing at any one time.”
Get to the point—quickly. “Hook consumers right off the bat with clear and concise messaging that’s
communicated as early as possible,” says the report.
And since many people won’t read much on a web page, “craft headlines
that can say it all.”
Be personal and relevant. Make sure your brand is “personal and communicate clear consumer value.
How will paying attention make their life be better?”
Today’s marketing, it goes on to say, “is about instant gratification
and appealing to consumers’ needs and desires to ensure your message is
relevant.”
Be short and clear. “What consumers can see in one
glance has everything to do with what they’ll do next,” the report says.
“If overwhelmed by input . . . their brain will stop
taking it in. Exclude unnecessary information.
Stick to the main message. If something doesn’t play a significant role, it’s
not needed.”
(Those who know how to write journalistically, using the inverted pyramid style of writing, will have an advantage here.)
Use rich media and
movement.”Human
survival has been based on the ability to focus on what’s most important
(generally what’s moving),” the report says. “Harness the power of peripheral motion.”
“Rich media ads help capture
attention and dramatically improve engagement.”
Include calls
to action. What do you want people to
do once they have read your content? Is it easy to find a donate button? A link
for more information?
It’s a big challenge, especially for small
non-profits with limited resources. But there’s no way around it.
Fortunately, there’s a bit of good news.
According to the report, our increasingly digital lifestyles is also making
us more efficient at processing information.
We are, apparently, able to do and
recall more—even with less ability to pay attention.
And it you made it to the bottom of
this article, congratulations on your great attention span!
When it comes to being focused, you
are much better than a goldfish.
Unfortunately, there's no direct link to the PDF of this report. For more information, Google Microsoft attention span study.
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