If you spend even just a few minutes online, you’ll know that attention is the one thing that every marketer and content creator is chasing.
In the world of newsfeeds and infinite scrolling, anything that stands out and causes someone to stop in their tracks, even just for a few seconds, is modern-day gold.
But what is it that causes some messages to cut through the noise while others disappear into the ether?
Read on to find out why some messages stick and how you can make yours do the same.
Evolution has made human attention highly selective
At any given moment, we’re surrounded by thousands of stimuli that engage each of our five senses, but we only consciously notice a tiny fraction of them. This is because human attention is highly selective and our brains have evolved to allow most things to pass through unnoticed.
At the centre of this filtering process is a network in the brain called the reticular activating system (RAS). Its job is to decide what does and doesn’t get through to our conscious awareness.
The RAS is constantly scanning the environment and making decisions about what deserves our attention based on our survival instincts.
In practice, this means your brain is always asking three questions:
- Is this new or unexpected? One of the quickest ways to capture attention is to offer something the brain hasn’t seen before, as we are hardwired to notice change as a survival mechanism. In marketing, this means that messages that use new angles, strong phrasing, or eye-catching images are more likely to stand out.
- Is this emotionally significant? Emotions signal to the brain that the information is worth storing. Positive emotions make a message more engaging, while negative emotions create tension that people feel they want to resolve.
- Is this relevant to me? People pay attention to what matters to them. Messages that clearly signal who they’re for and are directed at the audience feel more significant and are far more likely to be remembered.
If the answer to one or more of these is yes, then the RAS sends the message to your conscious mind, which will then notice the stimuli.
This can help you detect the movement of a predator in the bushes, smell the gas that’s been left on in your kitchen, or see that social media post that makes you stop, click, and find out more.
Cognitive biases can also make certain messages stick
Once your attention has been captured, there are certain cognitive biases that can affect which parts of a message we remember.
For example, you may have heard of primary and recency bias, which refers to the human propensity to remember the first and last items in a sequence better than those in the middle. That’s why headlines, introductions, and conclusions or calls to action are so important in your messaging.
This also links to the “peak-end rule”, which states that people largely judge experiences based on the most intense moments and the end, rather than the entire experience.
Marketers might also mention the “isolation effect”, which is a principle that simply notes that distinctive things stand out. For example, a bright red call-to-action button on a webpage is more likely to draw the eye than one that blends in with the background.
And remember, the human brain is inherently lazy and avoids overstretching itself whenever possible, meaning messages that are complex, cluttered, or confusing are often ignored. So, make sure to break information into simple, digestible chunks.
By creating content with these biases in mind, you can increase the likelihood that your message is remembered as well as seen.
You can use these facts and biases to create messages that stick
If you want to create messages that capture attention and are memorable, the following principles could help:
- Start with something unexpected and eye-catching. This immediately signals to the RAS that the message is worth attending to.
- Make the audience the protagonist. By targeting your message to a specific audience, it will feel relevant to them.
- Appeal to emotions because this helps ensure the message is remembered.
- Create tension or curiosity early, as this prompts the brain to seek resolution.
- Make your key points stand out. This could be through your headline, a call-to-action button, an image, or by bullet-pointing the key information at the top of the page.
- Keep it simple. Make sure your message is clear and reiterated, as overloading your audience with too much information could put them off.
These strategies can help ensure your marketing reaches its audience, sticks in their minds, and motivates them to act.
Get in touch
If you want your messages to cut through the noise and stick in your audience’s mind, we’re here to help.
Email hi@theyardstickagency.co.uk or call 0115 8965 300.
