It is no secret that it can be challenging to capture and hold your audience's attention. This is never truer than when it comes to web content. It takes only a matter of seconds for your audience to see if they are interested in your site before deciding to click away. So, the question is, how do you keep people from leaving your website in those first few seconds?
The good news is that there are some techniques that you can incorporate into your content that will make it more likely that you will retain your audience's attention and lower your bounce rate.
1. Presentation. Presentation is critical with your site. Whether you have a blog or a website, you need to make an excellent first impression. Make sure that everything looks uniform, and keep to muted colors with a white background. You want your design to be subtle, while the content pops.
2. Headlines. Headlines are so important. Not only for SEO purposes (they help though) but also for capturing your audience. A good headline lets them know what you are going to be talking about, and what benefit there is for them. This is not just for articles, landing pages, and blog posts; it stands true for email subject lines, as well as during presentations/pitches, webinars, and during public speaking.
3. Text. The text of your content plays just as important a role as the appearance and design. You want to write with short, attention-grabbing lead text that is easy to understand and for your audience to follow along with. This article explains more about how to get your audience to read your words.
4. Novelty. If you feel that your content is droning on try throwing out something unexpected to get your audience's notice: a funny anecdote, a joke, or a story. You want to lighten things up, and slightly change the subject to get them interested again.
5. Have an offer. Make it about them and let your audience know how they are going to benefit right from the get-go.
6. Connect. Using emotion and being relatable are great ways to connect with your audience. Be personable, tell stories, and find ways for your audience to see themselves and what they need in your subject (or why your product is right for them).
If you feel that you are not retaining your audience's attention take a quick overview of your content, or approach, and see it is following all of the above. You can do this with a content audit- read more on how to do that here. Next, continue to make changes until you find the techniques that work for you and keeps your audience interested.
When you are trying to keep people interested, these are the things to remember, whether you are using speaking, writing, or design as your medium to communicate.
Key Medium, Running SEO's digital agency sister brand, are SEO marketing experts in Philadelphia can help you come up with a content strategy that will work for your business. Get in touch today.
Sources:
https://www.inc.com/sims-wyeth/how-to-capture-and-hold-audience-attention.html
https://conversionxl.com/blog/how-to-grab-and-hold-attention/
https://thevisualcommunicationguy.com/2018/11/12/how-to-grab-peoples-attention/
