Like it or not, attention span research by Statistic Brain says I get eight seconds to convince you to stay on this page – so I’ll cut to the chase. No matter your message or communication channel you need to seize the attention of your information-overloaded, click-obsessed audience in the first few seconds or you’re wasting your time. This post tells you what you need to know.

That took seven seconds. Still with me? If so, grab a stopwatch and start planning.

1. Websites

A third of web users abandon slow-loading sites within five seconds (on retail sites, make that four seconds) and Aberdeen Group research finds that each one-second delay results in 11% fewer page views. What’s more, those who do stay on your webpage will be there less than a minute – with half lasting less than four seconds. Use the time wisely.

• Reduce page size for speed improvements.
• Keep it short: Viewers read nearly half the text on pages with 111 words compared to 28% on pages with 593 words.
• Make pages scannable with bullet points, headlines, short text, visuals and video.
• Provide links to site sections and secondary pages.
• For conversion, tell users what to do and how they’ll benefit ­– and make the path fast, clear and easy.
• Use analytics to improve bounce rates, page visits, time-on- site, conversions and other effectiveness measurements.

2. Video

Research by Visible Measures shows that two of 10 video viewers click away in the first 10 seconds, three are gone in 30 seconds, and only four remain at the two-minute mark. And that’s without buffering problems. If a video is slow to load, University of Massachusetts research finds abandonment begins at two seconds and climbs by nearly six percent with each additional one-second delay.

• Make opening seconds captivating and relevant, with no wasted moments on slow lead-in visuals.
• Don’t waste moments on long introductions. YouTube advice is to keep branding to less than five seconds “unless it’s hilarious.”
• Front-load your message. The average watch-time for online video is 2.7 minutes
• When it doubt, cut it out – with great editing.
•  Turn the best segments into promotional clips. Video Brewery reports that including video in an introductory email increases click-throughs by 96%.

3. Face-to-face presentations

 Within seven seconds people decide whether they’re interested or bored.

• Don’t waste opening moments getting situated, testing equipment, making announcements, introducing yourself or reading a thank you list. Use those first seconds to seize audience attention.
• Realize you’ll hold interest an average of 7-10 minutes ­– that’s about 20 slides at 20 seconds each. After 10 minutes, use a break, Q&A, engaging story, demonstration or other means to renew attention and re-start the interest clock.

4. Online posts

• Use short posts to make a single point – fast. Salesforce Buddy Media research finds that posts of 80 characters win 27 percent higher engagement than longer posts. 
• Ask short questions or use fill-in-the-blank requests to ramp up interaction rates.
• Feature a photo. SocialBakers found that in 2012, photo posts were by far the most shared, followed by posts with links, status updates and videos.

Put every communication through this two-question test:

• Within seconds, will people be convinced that the content is worth reading, watching, or hearing?
•  At first glance will their instinct be that it’s worth sharing?

If you can answer yes to those two questions you can put the stopwatch away. You’ve created a winner.

Check out these stats on our Marketing Toolkit Timer infographic:

About the author

Barbara Findlay Schenck is a small business strategist, columnist and presenter. She is the author of Small Business Marketing Kit for Dummies and Selling Your Business For Dummies and co-author of Branding For Dummies and Business Plans Kit For Dummies. Read free book excerpts and watch presentations on her website, www.bizstrong.com, connect with her Bizstrong page on Facebook, and follow @Bizstrong on Twitter.

Learn more about capturing the attention of your audience with great content with our free ebook at the button below.