How to Market to a Goldfish (AKA Millennials)

A 2015 study by Microsoft confirms what we’ve all suspected; the human attention span is dwindling. In 2000, our average attention span was approximately 12 seconds. Fast forward to 2013, and research indicated the average human's attention span had dropped to eight seconds. It's official. Our attention span has fallen below that of a goldfish (which, according to scientific records, has an attention span of nine seconds). 

The report also highlights the top factors impacting our decreasing attention spans: media consumption, social media usage, technology adoption rate, and multi-screening behavior. Each of these factors should come as no surprise.

But what does this mean for marketers and business owners looking to reach target audiences - especially the Millennial generation, who already know to have a limited attention span? It means it's time to reevaluate the visual appeal and performance speed of your website. And it also means it's time for you to sign up for Pinterest, Snapchat, or Instagram, if you haven’t already.

We know consumers better process information in short concentrated bursts. So, if you want to reach Millennials (who are now spending about 600 billion dollars each year), you are going to have to answer their "What's in it for me?" question in record time.

Moreover, when you start to examine the psyche of Millennials, you discover that they have a need for instant gratification. This instant gratification is not in the sense of seeking an immediate reward or immediate payment; but instead, it's seeking an immediate answer to their questions. In fact, Millennials have been trained to expect an answer in the time it takes to load a Google page.

Therefore, your "sales pitch" or “call to action" and content need to be condensed into simple, easy to consume, nuggets of information. Here are a few examples of content that will help get your message across and share information in short form:

Social Cards - We have all seen those beautiful images with inspirational quotes floating around the internet. But what if you took those photos one step further and added your company's information via a website link? Try including your logo, Twitter handle, or a sales team email address.

Infographics - Why read an entire article when there's an infographic? They capture the key news, numbers, and facts Millennials are ultimately looking for and can easily digest. They jump right to the answer with minimal pre-amble, and they're easy to consume and share. They’re essentially the Millennial’s dream content. Why not try amping up an infographic and animate it or add a video component?

Podcasts - Since the creation of podcasts in 2003, the popularity of these on-the-go audio clips have grown exponentially. Today, there are over 29,000,000 podcasts recorded and broadcast each year! This is an area you can start small in and build as you feel more comfortable. Why not start by answering your customers’ most common questions in short, interesting formats that work well with earbuds?

These three examples are just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to developing quick and engaging content for your Millennial followers. With the shortening of attention spans, and the increased demand for instantaneous answers, moving your marketing strategy towards easy to consume content will be the way to go. And it’s less challenging than training a goldfish to swim in reverse circles.

At Warner Communications, we have a dedicated specialty area, M2M? (Marketing To Millennials) that can provide your business with more insight and strategy. So don’t hesitate to reach out to us!