According to a study conducted in the year 2000, it was found that a visitor’s average attention span on a web page was 12 seconds. Later research reported the decrease of attention span to 8 seconds on an average. What could possibly be the reason behind this decrease? Is technology the wrongdoer or should impatience of visitors be blamed?
The latter definitely gets a higher score!
We all happen to enjoy a fine story, however, when it comes to going through content on an online platform, most of us just browse the headlines and do not even read the second line. Many readers skip the entire content after reading the first two lines.
Why visitors do not scroll down?
Easy and fast online access is what visitors want. The way in which online content is consumed plays a prominent role. With the availability of a large number of articles, blogs, and other online content, people get multiple options to refer to. This eventually creates a generation of highly impatient readers who have the habit of switching articles and blogs. However, this has become a huge challenge for digital marketers and content creators.
Many digital marketers understand the importance of including images in web content as visual stimulation is something that is highly successful in drawing the attention of the audience. Sometimes the graphic or image is what attracts the visitors rather than the article’s headline.
However, there are many controversies about images fueling much fake news through digital content. This creates more confusion and impatience among the users.
Here are some ways which will help you in increasing the engagement of impatient visitors:
1) Have an attractive headline
Create attention-grabbing headlines. At the same time, maintain the relevancy of the topic. Make the content thought-provoking and valuable in the introductory paragraphs. A short and interesting introduction is what will capture the attention of the audience
2) Include more questions
By including more questions in your content, you can capture the attention of the users and keep them encouraged to go through the entire content to get the answer at the end.
3) Easy and simple language
Use simple words and shorter sentences. You can also present your thoughts and opinions in a simple way which will make the content more appealing.
4) Include more statistics and quotes
Real life statistics and relevant quotes from experts grab increased attention of the audience. This will provide the audience with more concrete, credible, and reliable information within a shorter duration of time.
