By this point, it’s no secret that people’s attention spans are shrinking. Living in a world where all assortments of information barrel towards us from all directions, it’s easy to feel overwhelmed and overloaded with content, not all of which is entirely necessary.What does that mean for marketers? It means that adaptations are necessary, as they always are. If your intention is to reach out to a consumer that is no stranger to being approached, there’s no room in the presentation for any content that isn’t absolutely necessary. ‘Minimalism’ is the key word here. It’s an ever-growing trend in design, art, music, architecture, and of course, marketing. The old saying “Less is more” is becoming increasingly relevant every day. The marketer who ignores this will develop an intimate bond with the spam folder, while the one who embraces it will see direct results in the from of growing consumer engagement
Media Exposure
All of us have experienced some extent of media exposure. It eventually comes after a particular ad campaign oversteps the line of consumer outreach. Influencing through advertisements via incessant bombardment is a strategy normally taken on with good intentions, however it almost always produces adverse effects. “If people see too much of you, they get sick of seeing your face,” offers Entrepreneur contributor Steve Tobak. “More to the point, they become sort of numb to your presence and stop paying attention to anything you have to say. The same thing happens if you spam them with stuff they could care less about and waste their precious time.”
Succinct Content is Key
The gradual dip in the average attention span is becoming increasingly more difficult to deny. While this spells some form of doom for maximalist campaigns, it presents a wide open door for minimalism. Those who stubbornly continue to pack their emails with infinite layers of information will notice a dwindling subscriber list in turn. Mindful, modest messages are both easier and more time-efficient to produce, and they are exactly what a reader wants to open. “Did you ever stop to consider that, if you’re spending more and more time generating more and more content that people have less and less attention for and interest in, then maybe, just maybe, you might want to focus on doing less and having a greater impact?”
Be Bare in Your Writing
The last thing prospective consumers want is to be given what essentially amounts to homework by marketers. Sure, there’s a fair amount of information surrounding your brand, but your readers should only be let in on that which will be interesting to them. What makes the cut is up to you, but respect your subscriber’s time and engagement in opening your message. Just as design in an email should be clear and easy on the eyes, the text should be bare, and serve only to convey an intention.
Only Reach Out When Needed
It’s tempting for marketers to think that the best way to get their brands into their consumer’s mind is to maintain a consistent virtual presence. This is true to some degree, but it’s important to keep in mind that people don’t get the chance to miss something if it’s constantly being re-presented to them. “The best example I know of this sort of thing is Apple. Apple has a starkly minimalist communication strategy,” writes Tobak. “They only communicate when they’ve got something important to say, and when I say important, I don’t mean important to Apple, I mean important to its users.”
