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[impossibledinosaurfart]

Hold your horses! I need your attention for a moment!

Social media has become an important part of many lives, mine included. A few reasons social media has become a critical part of our lives are business, social connections, learning, teaching, and sometimes, just to zone out. When zoning out, some content catches my attention, and some makes me scroll faster than green grass through a goose.

SNATCH THEIR ATTENTION LIKE MY GRANNY USED TO SNATCH HOLD OF MY BRITCHES!

Tim McGraw said it with “I like it, I love it, I want some more of it”, granted he definitely wasn’t referring to social media, but the words fit the bill!

Capturing attention in social media means to entice one to react to a post by liking it or commenting on the post, to keep them wanting more and continuing to read the post, sharing the post, and enticing them to keep scrolling through related posts by the poster.

Here are a few tips to snatching people’s attention:

·   Adding emotional content has been shown to increase the virality of content  

·   Being as brief as possible and add just enough information to keep them wanting more

·   Use content related to current events to intrigue the mind

·   Catchy titles catch attention

Don’t let it go to hell in hand basket! Maintain engagement ‘til the cows come home!

“Don’t let go!” -Gentri

You gotta keep their attention! Maintaining engagement can be tricky, but possible. Digital engagement varies by perspective, but it ultimately means the process of connecting with others. “Others” could be clients, followers, friends, family, Digital success is often rated by digital engagement, but again, that varies by different perspectives.

Here are a few ideas to maintain engagement:

·   Post often- the more you post, the more they see

·   Contests- keeps viewers engaged

·   Have question/answer sessions or do this during live feeds if possible

·   Target your audience- keeps viewers interested if content is relatable

·   Be your true self. Don’t fake it ‘til you make it! Make it as you!

I didn't just fall off the turnip truck. I have references to support these thoughts!

 Brady, W. J., Gantman, A. P., & Van Bavel, J. J. (2020). Attentional capture helps explain why moral and emotional content go viral. Journal of Experimental Psychology: General, 149(4), 746–756. https://doi.org/10.1037/xge0000673.supp (Supplemental)

Close, S. A. (Ed.). (2017). The dark side of social media : A consumer psychology perspective. Taylor & Francis Group.

Forbes Council Members. (2021, April 27). 12 Ways To Grab Attention With Content. Forbes. https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbesbusinesscouncil/2021/04/27/12-ways-to-grab-attention-with-content/?sh=7242c3dd445b

Rose, K. (2017, October 3). 10 tips for increasing your social media engagement. Social Media Week. https://socialmediaweek.org/blog/2017/10/10-tips-increasing-social-media-engagement/