The Great Goldfish Attention Span Myth
& What it Means for Engagement
Jason A Miller
Global Content Marketing Leader at LinkedIn
Humans Have
Shorter Attention
Span Than Goldfish,
Thanks to Smartphones
You Now Have
a Shorter
Attention Span
Than a Goldfish
The Eight-Second
Attention Span
2
3
4
5
6
Digital media isn’t killing
attention spans
What we actually know about attention spans
Smartphones aren’t
killing attention spans
We’re better than ever at
processing and encoding
information through short
bursts of high attention
We use our attention
far more efficiently
than at any other
point in history
We’re far better at multi-tasking,
able to divide our attention among
several different things without
compromising our focus
The main focus of our more
efficient attention is to find content
that’s worth paying attention to for
a longer period of time
8
9
10
11
The messy truth
12
The new model
a long-form
blog
31 million
unique visitors
acquired
87 million
page views
through
80
articles
that average over
2,000
words each
13
14
Power Pages
(How to, What is)
Strong Opinions
(Editorial)
Research
We:
+242%
Increase
in unique page
views
+128%
Increase
in Total Shares
+146%
Increase
in Avg. Time on
Page
+67%
Increase
in Ave. Shares
-8%
Decrease
in Bounce Rate
312%
Increase
YOY
in Organic
Sessions
2017 vs 2016
We are posting
less, but traffic
and conversions
go up.
We believed anything
worth doing is
worth over-doing.”
“
Localisation
6 Blogs (3 French/ 3 Spanish)
34k Page Views
8 Minute Average Time on Site
Rich media images have 38% higher CRT than
linkshare updates with a thumbnail image preview
20
VS
“Guide” saw a
100% increase
in click through
rate (CTR).
Image with
quote saw a
30% lift in CTR
vs. image
without quote.
Image with a
face saw
+160% CTR,
+290% CVR
vs. image
without face.
21
Background color
Does woodgrain feel more authentic, or provide more
visual interest? Either way, the post with the darker
wood background saw 32% more clicks than a lighter,
white background.
+32%
clicks
Test Creative Placement to Draw a Reader’s Eye
Can you spot the difference? In one image, the model is
looking right at the CTA button, subtly drawing readers’
attention to it. This image saw an 89% increase in clicks
over the other image.
+89%
Click-
throughs
5.32%
CTR
75%
OR
6.19%
CTR
61%
OR
25%
increase in
open rate (OR)
95%
increase in
CTR
Running Sponsored Content & InMail Together,
we see:
23
95%
open rate
“The week that we recorded 95% — we sent 7,086 and recorded 6,743
—
The Death of the One Dimensional Marketer
30
31
The 4 unique band members work together
to deliver an amazing product
Lays
Groundwork
Fuels Content Fuels Demand
Gen
32
33
They consistently deliver content that
their fans want to consume and share.
33
Their PR efforts guide their vision
as the hottest band in the world
34
Event marketing:
They deliver amazing experiences on tour
35
They built a thriving community.
36
People want a thrill,
people want a spectacle
and people love
to be entertained.”
“
37
38 38
39
Thank you
Jason Miller
Group Manager, Content Marketing
@JasonMillerCA
@LinkedInMktg
40

Marketo Event Double Secret Probation Edition J Miller Preso

  • 1.
    The Great GoldfishAttention Span Myth & What it Means for Engagement Jason A Miller Global Content Marketing Leader at LinkedIn
  • 2.
    Humans Have Shorter Attention SpanThan Goldfish, Thanks to Smartphones You Now Have a Shorter Attention Span Than a Goldfish The Eight-Second Attention Span 2
  • 3.
  • 4.
  • 5.
  • 6.
  • 8.
    Digital media isn’tkilling attention spans What we actually know about attention spans Smartphones aren’t killing attention spans We’re better than ever at processing and encoding information through short bursts of high attention We use our attention far more efficiently than at any other point in history We’re far better at multi-tasking, able to divide our attention among several different things without compromising our focus The main focus of our more efficient attention is to find content that’s worth paying attention to for a longer period of time 8
  • 9.
  • 10.
  • 11.
  • 12.
  • 13.
    The new model along-form blog 31 million unique visitors acquired 87 million page views through 80 articles that average over 2,000 words each 13
  • 14.
  • 15.
    Power Pages (How to,What is) Strong Opinions (Editorial) Research
  • 16.
    We: +242% Increase in unique page views +128% Increase inTotal Shares +146% Increase in Avg. Time on Page +67% Increase in Ave. Shares -8% Decrease in Bounce Rate 312% Increase YOY in Organic Sessions 2017 vs 2016 We are posting less, but traffic and conversions go up.
  • 17.
    We believed anything worthdoing is worth over-doing.” “
  • 19.
    Localisation 6 Blogs (3French/ 3 Spanish) 34k Page Views 8 Minute Average Time on Site
  • 20.
    Rich media imageshave 38% higher CRT than linkshare updates with a thumbnail image preview 20
  • 21.
    VS “Guide” saw a 100%increase in click through rate (CTR). Image with quote saw a 30% lift in CTR vs. image without quote. Image with a face saw +160% CTR, +290% CVR vs. image without face. 21
  • 22.
    Background color Does woodgrainfeel more authentic, or provide more visual interest? Either way, the post with the darker wood background saw 32% more clicks than a lighter, white background. +32% clicks Test Creative Placement to Draw a Reader’s Eye Can you spot the difference? In one image, the model is looking right at the CTA button, subtly drawing readers’ attention to it. This image saw an 89% increase in clicks over the other image. +89% Click- throughs
  • 23.
    5.32% CTR 75% OR 6.19% CTR 61% OR 25% increase in open rate(OR) 95% increase in CTR Running Sponsored Content & InMail Together, we see: 23
  • 24.
  • 25.
    “The week thatwe recorded 95% — we sent 7,086 and recorded 6,743 —
  • 29.
    The Death ofthe One Dimensional Marketer
  • 30.
  • 31.
  • 32.
    The 4 uniqueband members work together to deliver an amazing product Lays Groundwork Fuels Content Fuels Demand Gen 32
  • 33.
    33 They consistently delivercontent that their fans want to consume and share. 33
  • 34.
    Their PR effortsguide their vision as the hottest band in the world 34
  • 35.
    Event marketing: They deliveramazing experiences on tour 35
  • 36.
    They built athriving community. 36
  • 37.
    People want athrill, people want a spectacle and people love to be entertained.” “ 37
  • 38.
  • 39.
  • 40.
    Thank you Jason Miller GroupManager, Content Marketing @JasonMillerCA @LinkedInMktg 40

Editor's Notes

  • #7 \
  • #14 The increasing demand for long-form specialty content will shape the future of the publishing industry. For this slide please have the following lines populate upon click: Click -  Wait But Why, a long-form blog Click - Acquired 31 million unique visitors Click - 87 million page views Click - through 80 articles Click that average over 2,000 words each.
  • #15 Not more content, but more relevant content. Many of us are guilty of pushing content out so quickly that we don’t
  • #26 In May 2015, a whole host of reputable publications (including TIME, New York Times, Telegraph) started publishing headlines proclaiming that the human attention span is now less than that of goldfish (8 seconds vs 9 seconds)