Translating psychology into strategic performance

Why is it so important to hold your reader's attention?

For performance marketers, this is most relevant when we consider how to link greater attention and reader engagement to our desired outcomes. Essentially, can we influence purchasing decisions based on the attention our prospects give us?

When you’re attentive to something, you are also much more likely to memorize it.

– Dr Alexandra Dobra-Kiel, Behavioral Science Expert

Studies have shown that more and longer attention is linked to a higher propensity to buy and increased content effectiveness. Dentsu Aegis discovered that prospects were 40% more likely to make a purchase based on 30 seconds of viewing an ad, versus a few seconds of skim reading.

We cover more on the link between attention, motivation, consumer buying behavior, and content effectiveness in Demystifying the Psychology of Attention.

Three questions to help you apply SDT to your strategy

When approaching your content strategy, you must consider:

Do you use the right content formats to drive attention and engagement?
Does your content encompass the three tenets of Self Determination Theory? Can it help people and improve their competence and autonomy?
Does your content provide enough value, with tangible benefits to take away?

If you’re not optimizing your content for attention, you’re missing out on high-intent prospects

You wouldn’t tolerate web pages without tracking or LinkedIn posts that don’t tell you how many people viewed them.Yet, some of the most highly valued-content pieces are created as PDFs and entirely unmonitored. Modern, interactive content formats are equipped to reveal buyer motivations, pain points, and product interests, essentially turning curiosity into intent. This means marketers can now reliably quantify engagement and attention.