In today’s digital-online landscape, attention is the critical spark that ignites revenue.
In pre-digital days, audience attention was predictable.
A decade ago, Sunday night viewing of the major TV networks captured the most attention. Advertisers with deep pockets booked simultaneously across all networks – virtually guaranteeing them maximum attention. Life was easy.
Today the first 1-second of a video is the make-it-or-break-it moment.
The tests
- Is the video visually – able to stand out from competitors and immediately grab attention?
- Has the Thumbnail been tested to capture maximum attention? (Video thumbnails let your audience view a quick static snapshot of the video – headline and visual)
- Is it engaging after the first second and every five seconds onwards?
- Will viewers respond emotionally and cognitively in such a way that they will later remember the brand and the offer?
Neuroscience is reliably answering these questions.
Neurons Inc, Mobile Marketing Association (MMA) and Advertising Research Foundation (ARF) researched to better understand video advertising responses in the first few seconds.
- Recent research shows that advertising on digital media is an entirely different game than traditional formats such as TV and print.
- The findings show how strong a proper 1-second strategy is- After all, if you can win or lose your audience in a blink of an eye, you need to focus on the first few seconds.
It works the other way.
Traditional approach
- Videos that require the viewer to willingly spend time to follow and learn the narrative until the big reveal at the end – do not work as well.
Today’s approach
- Having a 1-second ad strategy for digital media is a mind-blowing challenge – it requires a reversal – a big reveal is at the start – and a supporting narrative follows.
In short, lead with the best, most exciting elements at the start – to capture maximum attention.
The one-second rule also applies to websites.
Conversational Commerce – answering your buyer’s questions while on your website is mostly free, and every website should and can provide this service.
The choices
Chatbots
Chatbots use natural language processing and artificial intelligence to simulate customer conversations.
Voice commerce
Voice commerce allows customers to purchase through voice-activated services like Amazon Alexa, Google Home, and Apple Siri.
Social messaging apps
Facebook Messenger is an example of a free platform service to ask questions, purchase, and receive product recommendations.
Niche down and differentiate: to sell more online.
Sidestep your competitors – sometimes.
Many businesses sell at a national or multi-country level; for many, the potential competitors can be in the hundreds or thousands – it can be overwhelming.
Recently we had an enquiry – their potential competitors exceeded thirty thousand.
One way to stand up and rise above the market’s noise so your business stands out like a lighthouse is to niche down and find a space where there is little or no competition. Avoid beating the competition by avoiding them altogether – it can work.
Twitter – Giveaways
Twitter remains a platform that can deliver significant demand for businesses.
One of the successful tactics that some businesses find attention and engagement in is to provide an incentive (e.g. The Complete Answers to How to Achieve X). To get the incentive, they – like and retweet the post and leave their email address – receive Direct Mail with a link to the landing page. (it’s fully automated). Recent campaign email captures can be well into the thousands.
2023 and Beyond
How your business thinks, acts and communicates is the difference between substantial profits and meagre returns.
It’s time to sit down and take stock with a planning day. There is so much happening – technology changes – business models suddenly under threat – new opportunities that weeks before were not viable. It’s a wonderful time to be alive – but it’s time to get your ducks in a row – know where you are going.
If you are working on a business planning day, we assist with the Steve Jobs | Nike day. Taking the best elements from both deliver better decisions. If this resonates, please get in touch with me.
Regards
David
