The Visual Advantage

The average human’s attention span is … oh look, a bird!

In today’s digital era, there is no doubt that people have shorter attention spans than ever before. For customers, time is money and many don’t have the time to read through long paragraphs and detailed descriptions.

Today, a business only has seconds to grasp the attention of its target consumers. In fact, a 2015 survey conducted by Microsoft found that the average Canadian attention span is now eight seconds (compared to twelve seconds in 2000).

How can businesses capture the attention of customers and get the most bang for their marketing bucks?

Capturing Attention Using Visuals

The expression, “a picture is worth a thousand words” describes the notion that a visual is more effective than text at conveying a complex idea.

The following images effectively illustrate this:

The human brain can process visuals, such as photos, videos graphics and GIFs, much faster and more easily than written content. Visuals allow target consumers to better understand how a product or service can be used. In addition to understanding the content, visuals also play a powerful role in the retention of the content. According to Brain Rules, if you hear or see a piece of written content (purely text), you’ll only remember 10% of it after three days. Add a meaningful visual that supports your content, and you’ll remember 65%.

The bottom line? We live in a world of distractions. To make your messaging count (understood and remembered), incorporate high quality and eye-catching visual content in your business.