Don’t Try To Grab - Attention Must Be Earned

I hate the term ‘attention-grabbing’, and we hear it all the time in our industry.

‘Grab their attention with video’, ‘Attention-grabbing footage’.

It’s too rough, and personally, not how I want to be treated by a marketeer. In fact, the definition of grab is ‘grasp or seize suddenly and roughly’. Is that really how we want to be treating our prospects?

Can we expect them to want to listen to us if this is our first interaction with them?

I understand it’s not meant in that vein of course, but I believe the language we use impacts the way we behave. So if we’re thinking about ‘grabbing’ attention, it will come through in our communication.

So what’s the alternative?

Well, we all have limited time. Limited time on earth, limited time in the week, limited time each day. And as such, we choose how we spend our time.

The word spend is important here. Time is like a bank account you can only withdraw from - there’s no way to deposit more time so you can spend it later. It’s finite.

If we’re asking people to listen to us, even for 30 seconds, we’re asking them to spend their precious resource with us. Therefore we need to earn their attention, in much the same way as we earn money.

To do this, we need to provide value.

Our audience will then feel they can spend their time in exchange for the value we provide. And if they trust us to deliver value, they will spend more time with us and we’ll have earned the opportunity to communicate with them.

With this in mind, it’s clear that we have to give something to our audience each time we put out content. Each piece of content should be a gift to your audience.

Taking this approach - whether that’s a video, blog, newsletter or social media post - ensures you’ll be earning the trust and attention of the people you’d like to speak to.

So how do we ‘give’ in our video content?

Much like this article, you might provide an insight that gives people a new perspective. You’re not asking for a sale, but simply showing them how they could do something differently and achieve a better result.

If you’re speaking to their problems specifically, you’re giving them a tailored solution and that will earn you their attention every time.

Educating, providing insights, a virtual experience behind-the scenes of what you do or simply some entertainment are all ways you can ‘give’ in your content.

Have a look back at the last 5 pieces of content you put out there and ask yourself: did you really provide value and give something to your audience with each one?

Hi - I'm Dan Barker — a former aerospace engineer who now runs a video production company for manufacturers.

Follow me for posts on how to leverage video in your business.