An oft-quoted Microsoft study claimed the human attention span has shortened from 12 to just 8 seconds.

While the exact source of the data has never been corroborated, it shows two things. One, the claim that attention span is shortening is uncontroversial and taken at face value by the likes of Time magazine, the Guardian, USA Today and the New York Times. Two, having short and memorable takeaway phrases from content is useful in promoting content.

The buying journey has changed forever as a result of purchases moving online and increased use of mobile devices. Rather than a linear approach when buyers move straight from consideration to a final purchase, consideration is now a cycle that involves multiple touchpoints, mediums, devices and people. Users seek out content to reinforce decision making at different points of consideration – whether this is a product review, blog post, news article or social media post – and this is always available on a screen they carry round in their pocket. The modern user refers to many different types of content in the process to sale or action, each of which are getting smaller in word count, more visual and as a result are increasingly shareable between peer networks.

Modern organisations are now realising that creating short form, easily readable and emotive pieces of content from longer form content drives engagement and allows them to engage with audiences across a wider range of channels. Developing an in-depth whitepaper is a great way to logically outline a key offering or educate the reader on a particular issue, but this content needs to be used in a “one to many ” approach taking out key stats, issues or emotive quotes to reinforce the decision journey. This approach also works well for both online and offline interactions – “snackable” material is equally good at creating memorable soundbytes for real world conversations as it is sharing via social media platforms, where long form content is actively discouraged.

We have been working with our clients to create more ‘snackable’ content, sharing insights and practical next steps/checklists in easy digestible parts to drive engagement and customer acquisition. We have already seen some great initial results and are looking forward to moving to the next stage with more content reaching more key audiences.

So are you ready to take your first bite out of snackable content? Get in touch with the Positive team to discuss more.