Lesson #3 – Who Are You Again?

Let’s face it, we’re all goldfish. 🐠

Thanks to technology, the human attention span is lower than it’s ever been. We’re all constantly distracted by social media messages, emails, videos, and – hey what’s that over there…

In a world where your technology buyers have countless things constantly battling for their attention, it’s important to convince them to stop and pay attention as quickly as possible. The first impression you make with a piece of content determines whether people will keep reading, and engage with your company, or forget about you as soon as they close a tab.

We’ve learned part of creating great content is figuring out how to grab eyeballs within seconds.

So, how exactly do you do that?

Capture Your Audience – Before they Get Distracted

Even if you have the most awe-inspiring content, almost guaranteed to engage your audience, it’s not going to get you anywhere if you can’t convince your customers to read it. Your headline and the image at the top of the page determine whether your audience keeps scrolling, or hit the back button.

“80% of your visitors will read your headline, but only 20% will go on to finish the article” – Tom Wright, Managing Editor

You need to magnetise your content to draw in and keep customer attention, starting with the headline. Here’s how you can do that:

• Walk in the shoes of your target audience: Use your customer profiles and personas to figure out what your customers are looking for, then cater your headline around that. Are they looking for a specific brand name, a keyword, or a solution to a problem?
• Name drop: Brand names generate a lot of B2B traffic in our experience when it comes to big juicy topics, so don’t be afraid to include them
• Key in the keyword: Adding a keyword to your title doesn’t just help you to impress Google, it also shows your audience you have what they’re looking for
• Use persuasive language: Stive to write a headline that demonstrates the value your customers are going to get from interacting with your content. Evoke emotion with descriptive terms, and stay away from too much jargon
• Stay active: Avoid using boring passive terms. Switch “Defendant found guilty” to “Jury finds Defendant guilty of heinous crimes”

Remember Your Images

We all like pictures, right? Your story is only as good as the featured image at the top of your article, social post, or in the thumbnail to your video. Find out what attracts your audience’s attention, and avoid placing generic stock photos on their own. People are tired of seeing the same images wherever they go online.

Freshen things up with visual content that connects to your audience on an emotional level. Instead of using the standard image of a remote worker sitting at home at a desk, help your customers visualize a new form of remote work with a picture of someone working from somewhere novel.

If you’re going to be talking about a specific brand, it’s also worth adding the brand logo to the image. Having a Microsoft Teams icon in a blog about Teams can further reassure your audience they’re clicking on the right content.

Connect with Your Audience Fast

You don’t have long to capture and keep your audience’s attention in today’s distraction-filled landscape. The right header and photo ensure you can stand out from the rest of the clutter long enough to convince your customers you have exactly what they need.

Read the next blog in our Content Code series – Lesson #4 – Get Dressed for the Occasion