Keeping customer attention in the digital age

In today’s digital age consumers’ attention spans seem to be shrinking by the second which means brands and retailers need to find creative ways to hold attention long enough to affect buying patterns. Personalization, visual content and online reputation are all important components of using digital strategies to keep consumer attentions while moving prospects through a purchasing funnel.

Big Data Personalization

Big data has allowed companies to personalize customer experiences to drive more sales. 48% of consumers spend more when they have a personalized experience, so it’s no wonder that 90% of marketers believe personalization is the future. In the past, eCommerce sites were only able to personalize customer experiences through email automation like “Hi Joe” and product recommendation engines. These were (and still are) effective ways to use consumer data and behaviors to increase sales through automation. The limitations were obvious in that online retailers’ data was limited to consumer behavior while on the site.

Now retailers have personalized data coming from a plethora of channels such as email engagement, campaign referrals, mobile usage, social media interactions ad geo-location data just to name a few. This data is being combined with on-site and in-store (where applicable) customer behavior to tailor shopping experiences to individuals which results in substantial increases in sales.

Visual Messaging

In a consumer age where information about products and services is abundant online, companies needs to find new ways to capture the attention of their target market. Creating YouTube videos or graphics that explain a product or help the consumer learn about the product will lead them further down the purchasing process. The brain can digest visual content much quicker than text, and with the average person getting distracted in a mere 8 seconds it’s important to create easily consumable content experiences. Digitally savvy companies are taking long form text, like game manuals, and breaking up the extensive information into visual appealing gaming guides that are easily consumable content.

Online Reputation Management

It’s not only important to have your company be found everywhere online but also we seen in a positive light. Reviews, social media comments and articles are all placed where the online reputation battle can be won or lost. Consumers have never before had the power to effect business like they do in today’s digital environment. Positive and negative word of mouth can spread like wildfire through social media channels. Creating a cohesive content strategy and engaging with consumer comments as they happen on social media is a great way to shape a brand’s online reputation and keep positive consumer attention on your brand.

The more Facebook, Twitter and Instagram followers you have the greater the chance of success in this realm. There are numerous ways to increase the number of social media followers you have and also plenty of ways to appear to increase followers so. The added bonus of this is that success breeds success and often the more popular you look, the more others will want to follow and be part of something in a positive manner.

One great way of improving your online reputation is to seem successful on social media. The more 

Time and attention have never been more important to a brand’s success as in today’s digital age. Creating attention grabbing content that can easily be consumed, interacting with both positive and negative mentions in social media and using big data to personalize customer experiences are the digital tools of today that will help brands succeed in an every changing landscape.