The Art of Holding the Human Attention Span. #FHtrends

Transcription

1 The Art of Holding the Human Attention Span

2 By now, we ve probably all heard the goldfish attention span example.

3 You know, the one that says goldfish have a 9-second attention span, but humans only have an 8.25-second attention span?

4 The example that s supposed to make us feel like we re less intelligent than everyone s first childhood pet?

5 A pet that supposedly can live for decades but always dies within a couple of months?

6 Yep. That s the one we re talking about.

7 But we re gathered here today to debunk that myth.

8 But we re gathered here today to debunk that myth. (And congratulations on already sticking with us for more than 9 seconds! )

9 TBH, research tells us that the average human attention span is decreasing.

10 But just like the goldfish that allegedly lived to be 45 years old, potential and average are two very different things.

11 Humans can have much longer attention spans, but for a number of factors facing today s consumers, often times they don t.

12 So at a time when consumers get bored more quickly than ever, how is it possible that we also have an appetite for some pretty specific types of long-form content?

13 And more importantly, what can brands learn about holding the human attention span from a few unexpected stories that did just that?

14 Let s consider a few examples.

15 Example #1: Serial, Season 1

16 Serial is a podcast that uses investigative journalism to narrate a nonfiction story in12 episodes, over the span of three months.

17 Serial is a podcast that uses investigative journalism to narrate a nonfiction story in12 episodes, over the span of three months. And 12 episodes over the span of three months wasn t even close to enough to fill our attention spans.

18 To say the first season of this series was a hit would be an understatement.

19 Listeners were captivated.

20 Listeners were fascinated.

21 Listeners were intrigued.

22 But mostly just obsessed.

23 Without even knowing the time commitment the series would take, listeners couldn t get enough.

24 There were even podcasts about the podcast.

25 There were even podcasts about the podcast....and then recaps of the podcasts about the podcast.

26 (...And then discussions the next day about the recaps of the podcasts about the podcast.)

27 For those short three months (and the couple of months that followed), Serial was everything.

28 Example #2: Making a Murderer

29 As many of you may know, Making a Murderer is Netflix original series that follows the story of Steven Avery, a Wisconsin man who has spent several years of his life behind bars for crimes many believe he did not commit.

30 Similarly to Serial listeners, viewers of Making a Murderer couldn t stop.

31 They were outraged.

32 And for many different reasons.

33 And for many different reasons. (Only some of which involved the bad hair.)

34 But regardless of their specific points-of-view, viewers spent 10 whole hours watching it.

35 And social listening tells us that a shocking number of viewers spent 10 consecutive hours watching it.

36 (And for anyone who s keeping track, 10 hours of content is 4,000 times the attention span of a goldfish.)

37 No one expected viewers to be as engaged with this show as they were.

38 And the more people talked about it, the more others had to watch it.

39 Example #3: Zola s Twitter Story

40 Warning: The content of this example deals with themes of an adult nature and is intended for mature audiences only. Viewer s discretion is advised.

41 Warning: The content of this example deals with themes of an adult nature and is intended for mature audiences only. Viewer s discretion is advised. (In other words, if you haven t read Zola s Twitter story yet, we don t suggest you do so on your work computer.)

42 In a mere 142 tweets, viral-sensation Zola used Twitter to tell a story about a new friendship that brought her into a very dangerous world.

43 A world filled with strippers and drugs and guns.

44 A world filled with strippers and drugs and guns. (Oh, my! )

45 Even though it s told through conversational language on a social media platform, it takes nearly half an hour to fully consume.

46 But followers were hooked after the very first tweet and were committed to finishing the story, no matter how long it took.

47 And they felt

48 And they felt all.

49 And they felt all.the.

50 And they felt all.the.feels.

51 They laughed.

52 They cried.

53 But mostly, they gasped in disbelief.

54 How could a story that lacked any sort of strategic crafting capture so many components of great storytelling?

55 In 142 tweets, Zola told us everything we needed to know to hear the characters voices in our heads and visualize the scene in our minds.

56 It was unintentionally genius.

57 So now we have three examples, involving three different mediums, when humans proved they can have longer attention spans than goldfish... when applied to ideal situations.

58 So circling back to our goldfish example, let s consider the most optimal conditions for keeping the human attention span alive.

59 1. Always leave them wanting more.

60 Just like the goldfish that was given too much food at once, overfeeding can be deadly. The best and most captivating stories leave your audience wanting more.

61 Serial became an obsession because listeners craved the truth, explanations and answers.

62 Serial became an obsession because listeners craved the truth, explanations and answers. (None of which they ever expect to get.)

63 2. Filters are necessary.

64 Aquariums often work to filter out certain toxins from the fish s water. To tell an engaging story, sometimes you have to filter out pieces of the story... even if the filtering actually raises more questions.

65 Making a Murderer left out specific pieces of the story, which only encouraged more conversation and discussion both online and offline.

66 3. Fancy isn t a requirement.

67 Sure, a fancy aquarium looks awesome, but it won t guarantee your fish stays alive.

68 Sure, a fancy aquarium looks awesome, but it won t guarantee your fish stays alive. The same goes for good storytelling. A fancy package could enhance the story, but the way in which a story is told is less important than the story itself.

69 Zola s story was pure stream-of-consciousness, delivered in 140 character bites, in a voice that would make any English teacher cringe.

70 Zola s story was pure stream-of-consciousness, delivered in 140 character bites, in a voice that would make any English teacher cringe. The story was a lot of things, but fancy wasn t one of them.

71 (And when they make Zola s story into a movie, everyone will say the Twitter version was better.)

72 So long story long, if we can create content that leaves people wanting more...

73 So long story long, if we can create content that leaves people wanting more... by being very intentional about the pieces of the story we don t tell...

74 So long story long, if we can create content that leaves people wanting more... by being very intentional about the pieces of the story we don t tell... and by telling our story in a way that feels truly authentic to the audience...

75 Chances are our story will capture and hold our audience s attention.

76 (And with any luck at all, it will be for longer than 8.25 seconds.)

77 So here s to creating brand stories that listeners can t stop listening to, viewers can t stop watching and the social world won t dare to stop following.

78 But mostly, here s to creating stories that won t get flushed down the toilet.

79 But mostly, here s to creating stories that won t get flushed down the toilet. (#RIPgoldie)

80 Thank you. FH Insights

81 Let s connect. Ryan Smith Abby abby.graves@fleishman.com