Is the Goldfish Attention Span Myth Affecting Your Marketing Decisions?
Don't let the "8 second attention span" myth affect your marketing. Yes, you need to be concise and engaging, but that doesn't mean you should be arbitrarily short.
I never bought into the “we have the attention span of a goldfish” memes that we still see floating around now and then.
Mostly because I had a goldfish years ago. She was an Oranda, Rosy. And I’m “pretty” sure she recognized me – she would swim up and allow herself to be petted.
In the pet store picking up various dog/cat essentials the other day, when I stopped by the fish and glanced at the goldfish. Got me thinking about this again.
I hadn’t bought into the myth because I kept looking at my personal and my client’s Web stats and seeing a positive correlation between length, bounce rates, and time on site (and, even better, conversions!).
Something seemed off, but I had other things to do so never thought seriously about the research behind the headline.
Of course it’s a fun meme; and custom-made for the various cultural scolds who enjoy variations of “those stupid kids today” and/or “things were better when” myth-making.
The 8 Second Attention Span “Misunderstanding”
The myth of the 8-second goldfish attention span can be traced back to a Microsoft study on ad retention. However, the study's findings were misinterpreted, as it focused on engagement with digital content rather than providing a definitive limit on human attention spans.
A shorter version: the Microsoft marketing team pulled a number, stripped of context, essentially from their derrieres.
It also remains persistent. A quick Google search shows this from a recent article about education:
Recent studies have shed light on Gen Z's shorter attention span, revealing significant implications for every industry. Research conducted by Microsoft in 2015 found that the average attention span of Gen Z individuals was only about eight seconds, four seconds less than that of millennials.
So here we have a piece of “research” no one can pin down affecting thinking across industries. Great.
In marketing, this “8 second attention span” myth fed an already too-loud drumbeat of “no one has the time or patience to read long content.”
Meh.
No one has the time or patience to read your shitty, self-involved content that serves YOU and not your AUDIENCE (which means it doesn’t actually serve your interests anyway).
In Defense of Goldfish
Let’s take a quick moment to defend the facilities of the poor, maligned goldfish too.
Goldfish are, well, fish, BUT they can recognize objects and learn simple tasks. Research shows that goldfish can remember the location of a feeding spot for up to 12 days (possibly even a month) – a wee bit longer than 8 seconds.
In a double-whammy to those giddily casting aspersions at attentions spans of the youth, this (long) piece of research about goldfish memory and training was written by a 9th grader. For the even more curious, I also found an interesting article about fish and how they experience pain.
OK, digression is done.
We Don’t Understand the Nuances of Human Attention
Our attentions can’t be reduced to a single metric.
We all have different types of attention, including
focused attention (deep concentration on a single task)
divided attention (splitting focus between multiple tasks), and
selective attention (filtering out distractions to focus on a specific task).
Our attention spans are highly context-dependent and influenced by factors such as the environment and our level of interest. We can maintain deep focus on tasks that truly engage us, while we may allow distractions to creep in when we aren’t interested or the task is repetitive.
Basically, we pay attention to things that we think are important and/or find interesting.
Take binge-watching as an example. I remember turning on the first episode of Cobra Kai (ALL the 80s nostalgia feels!) out of curiosity around 9 one Friday night. Around about 4 a.m. I had finished season 1.
Around 60% of adults binge-watch regularly, with the numbers higher for Gen Z and Millennials.
When it’s interesting, we can sit and pay attention.
Content Marketing Implications - Long-form Content Engagement
Since the first website I wrote in 1998/99, I’ve noticed a correlation between length and positive website statistics indicators such as time on site, bounce rate, conversations, and other “sticky” indicators.
I’m not arguing that short content should be avoided.
I AM arguing that long content shouldn’t be avoided.
How do you know what your audience wants?
Do both. Measure results based on your goals. Lather, rinse, repeat until you have an idea of what resonates with your audience.
It’s not just me saying this. Research from the Content Marketing Institute shows the average time spent on long blog posts or website pages is much higher than on shorter ones. That’s a sign readers will spend time with content that they find appealing.
Unbounce found that longer landing pages can increase conversion rates by up to 220%. Again, DO NOT BE AFRAID TO GO LONG. demonstrating that valuable and engaging content encourages sustained attention and even prompts action. [Sources: Content Marketing Institute, Unbounce]
Your Audience Isn’t Made of Goldfish, Create Content Accordingly
Why did this statistic blow up? I’m on speculating here, but most likely confirmation bias plays a role. You know these people, “AHA! I KNEW all of those kids can’t pay attention (not like back in MY generation).” I almost hurt myself rolling my eyes as I typed that.
To the one-part confirmation bias, add two parts of “well, it sounded good” and laziness – hardly anyone tries to trace stats that can draw attention to see if they’re true.
A third reason; it's a helpful "reason" for marketers to point to for poor content performance. We know that you have only a few seconds to capture a reader's attention before they leave for another site. If a poor marketing team can point to a "fact" that people "just don't pay attention," the pressure is off of them to create helpful content. Or an excuse to cut corners and only produce short pieces of content candy.
Regardless of why, ignore this piece of Internet lore.
Respect your people's time by creating useful content for them. How long should that content be? Long enough to make it useful.
Ready to attract — and keep — the attention of your goldfish, er, customers? Check out my Newsletter-in-a-Box offer and get in touch with me ASAP!