Why is my cat more interesting than me?

HOW THE ATTENTION ECONOMY IS CHANGING - AND CHALLENGING - OUR MARKETING BEHAVIOURS.

Have you noticed that everyone is sharing content? Constantly.

We’re awash with Instagram videos, Facebook stories, Pinterest posts and Twitter feeds. Every day we scroll past sponsored ads explaining how to be successful by following someone’s ‘proven’ method for selling, marketing, coaching. The list goes on, we keep scrolling, and the amount of information we take in – together with our ability to engage and react – is in noticeable decline.

Facebook now has 80 million small and medium-sized business pages, while over 6 million of these businesses advertise, so while we’re faced with a growing engagement challenge, statistically, we know that digital media really counts. And whether you’re a lifestyle coach or a law firm, the ‘golden rules’ are the same: Conversation. Relationship. Engagement.

To be successful, you need to be meaningful, relevant and real. And every part of that communication is two-way.

Don’t worry about sounding professional. Sound like you. There are over 1.5 billion websites out there, but your story is what’s going to separate this one from the rest. If you read the words back and don’t hear your own voice in your head, that’s a good sign you still have more work to do.

Be clear, be confident and don’t overthink it. The beauty of your story is that it’s going to continue to evolve and your site can evolve with it. Your goal should be to make it feel right for right now. Later will take care of itself. It always does.

WHAT DRIVES ENGAGEMENT?

Intriguingly, we’re more likely to engage when the ‘reward’ is random.

What’s technically known as a ‘variable ratio schedule of reinforcement’ (where rewards are provided after an unpredictable number of responses), is the science behind the success of slot machines and video games: it keeps encouraging you to go back, because you never know when the win will come.

Just like a pigeon pecking on a disc in order to receive a food pellet
(a test developed by eminent 20th century behavioural psychologist, B.F.Skinner), we scroll through our daily news feed seeking digital ‘rewards’: liking, sharing and commenting on the posts that stand out.

Photo credit: Bettmann Archive/Getty Images

Social media builds on this principle. Our Facebook feed appears bottomless, so we’re encouraged to keep on scrolling until another post resonates and we hit ‘Like’. We’re always searching for something that resonates – personally – as well as professionally.

As content creators, we’re equally rewarded: constantly checking back to see if the number of ‘Likes’ has grown. Or is that just me!?

BUILDING ENGAGEMENT

In a word of digital ‘noise’, here are my ten top tips to help you engage online:       

1. Create an emotional connection with your audience. To do this, you really need to understand and be clear about who your audience is – your target market(s). Try to filter out the rest as you cannot and should not, appeal to everyone.

2. Be consistent. By this I’m not referring just to regularity, but to quality. Don’t post just for the sake of it just to make some noise. Your content needs to have purpose and value.
   Plan ahead and provide a balance of activity: you don’t want to overwhelm your audience with constant, lengthy essays, or switch them off with repetitious imagery and off-topic conversation. Just like a novelist mixes up the length of their sentences, let your communication flow, and leave your readers eager for more.

3. Be human. People buy people, not companies: we’re engaged by personal experiences, insight and emotion. Mix up your communication, blending real-life stories, commentary and insight to bring strength and depth to your profile.

4. Be memorable. Use video: Real-life action gives an extra dimension to your communication: the experience is more vivid and memorable.

5. Don’t over-curate. In 2019, ‘influencers’ – particularly on Instagram – are veering away from carefully curated, overly-polished imagery. It feels contrived. Perfectly imperfect will do.

6. Reciprocate. If you give, you get back. Insight, advice and information, written in a way that is true to your brand and spoken with authority, will raise your profile. Make yourself the ‘go-to’ person for advice or information. Offering assistance (often unconditionally) encourages reciprocity; people you’ve helped in the past are much more likely to recommend you, pointing prospective clients in your direction. Pay it forward.

7. Be in demand. Influence comes in many forms, not least social proof: If you build a quality client base (or social media following), others will follow. Why wouldn’t they? You must be good if there’s a queue at the door (or a waiting list, or you’re getting online referrals and recommendations).

8. Be scarce! Don’t be ubiquitous. Just as you don’t need to be at every real-life networking event, you don’t need to contribute to every online forum or discussion. Focus instead on your target audience and map their activity. Put yourself at the heart of their world(s) and try not to get distracted by white noise. Review your business plan: look at where you’re headed - and why! By all means try new things, but then really sit back and think, ‘is this the right fit for me and will it lead me to the right clients?’

9. Don’t sell. If you’re influential, you really don’t have to do a hard sell. People will come to you. Take a breath and try not to be too pushy.

10. Finally, be patient. This all doesn’t happen overnight. Relationships require trust and – whether online or in real-life – they take time. And it’s worth the wait!

THE ATTENTION ECONOMY HAS LIMITS

There are only so many hours in the day to read and absorb information, and competition for our time is fiercer than ever. In fact, Netflix recently commented that they compete and lose to Fortnite more than HBO. Clearly, it’s not just your own sector/specialism your fighting for attention in, it’s the whole gamut of life itself.

Which brings me back to my cat!

To successfully engage your audience, you need to entice them away from all those other competing interests. It demands compelling, engaging content, with a sense of humanity you can connect with. Which is why the crazy cat video always wins.