With the surge in popularity of short-form content (videos, text) in recent times, many believe that the rise of short content corresponds to a reduction in the time consumers can pay attention to something, including marketing messages.
However, from studies on consumer behaviors, we know that humans have an immense capacity for attention.
Short content cannot and does not alter this fact. In fact, this becomes evident when comparing consumer engagement between a 30-second short video and a 30-minute long video:
- An average 30-second short video achieves 10,000 views, a completion rate of 62%, and generates 52 hours of consumer engagement.
- An average 30-minute long video achieves 1,000 views, a completion rate of 75%, and generates 378 hours of consumer engagement.
Clearly, even though long-form content has about 10% of the views compared to short-form content, it has a higher completion rate and, more importantly, significantly higher consumer engagement, up to over 7 times. It wouldn’t be surprising to find that long-form content also has a much higher conversion rate compared to short-form content.
A specific example is a webinar I conducted on “Business migration”. The webinar lasted for 2 hours without a break. There were more than 50 people attended, and almost no one left early. This resulted in 100 hours of engagement.
From consumer behavior research, real-world statistics, and my experience, it’s evident that consumers have a substantial attention span. The challenge lies in whether you can capture that attention with good content.
Don’t overusing short content to attract views. These practices contribute to the short attention span phenomenon of consumers, even though consumers themselves have a high potential for attention.
Marketers sometimes tend to train customers to become “dysfunctional” and then blame them for being dysfunctional.
When you understand the essence of consumer behavior and psychology, you will significantly improve your content marketing strategies.