Your Personal Brand – Short Attention Spans vs. The MCU

“If people only have 8- second attention spans, how is anyone even going to read my content?”

I've seen those statistics. People only watch short content on YouTube! People skip ads! People lose interest after 8 seconds! There are studies, man! Studies!!!

And I counter all of those studies with three pieces of evidence of my own: exhibits A, B, and C: Downton Abby, Stranger Things, and the Marvel Cinematic Universe. What do these three things have in common? They are binge-watching magnets.

Think about that: people are binge watching the MCU.

All of it. 23 movies totaling 49 hours and 56 minutes. And they are not doing it 8 seconds at a time. Downton Abby is 56 hours. Stranger Things is much lighter fare at just 21 hours. As a bonus, we can throw in another binge- worthy favorite,  Friends, which weighs in at an unfathomable 121 hours. That’s five straight days of uninterrupted viewing, with an hour of content left to spare.

Most of the 8-second studies have a fatal flaw in the form of a massive assumption: that all content is created equal. Unfortunately, this is simply not the case. On YouTube alone, 300 hours of content is posted every minute.

The internet is an amazing development, and has made it possible for anyone anywhere to post almost anything. 97%of Americans own a cellphone. 85% own a smartphone… so roughly 255 million Americans. And they are all free to post content.

85% Will Be Crap

Most of it won't be good.  Many people won't care about quality. They're going to express themselves and say what they're thinking, period. Most, if we're perfectly honest. Of those that actually try to produce something worthy of their audience, half, by definition, will be below average.

So let's assume (conservatively) that half don't give a crap. And of the other half, only half of them can be above average, because…math. That means only 25%of the content being produced will be decent, as far as the audience is concerned. Of that 25%, almost all of it will be tailored to a very specific audience.

Even the most charismatic makeup vlogger is only going to be capable of capturing a small fraction of the DIY grease-monkey auto repair audience. That's nothing against the make up vlogger or the grease monkey audience. Yes, there will be some crossover. But most grease monkeys won't care about creating the perfect smoky eye or the fundamentals of contouring.

So let’s assume that, of the 15% of all content that's above average, only a fraction of that is going to appeal to a broad audience.

So, yes most people are going to lose interest in most content very quickly. That's not a problem… that's a feature. Good content self-selects the right audience. The hardest part is making sure your right audience finds your content.

So, here's how you fight the 8-second attention span:

Step 1: Make interesting content

Step 2: Make it easy for your audience to find your content.

How to make interesting content

It's true, people binge the MCU and Stranger Things and Downton Abby to be entertained. They probably aren't going to binge your personal brand content to resolve what happened in the last episode. But they also binge courses on Facebook Learning and Masterclass and a dozen other educational sites.

Your personal brand should be the solution to someone else's problem. Your entire catalog of content should be “You can overcome that obstacle, here's how.” It should describe how much better life can be, and the steps they need to take to get there.

If your content is about them, the life they want, and how to overcome the obstacles in their way, it will be engaging… to those people. And those are the only people you should care about. If your girlfriend who's an accountant or your mom who's a dentist don’t get it, that's fine, so long as you’re not trying to get hired by an accountant or a dentist.

If a manager in your field whom you don't really care for at a company you don't want to work for is critical and gives you a litany of things he thinks are going to keep you from getting hired, thank him graciously for his constructive feedback. Look at his list honestly.

If those changes will correct an oversight you made about the industry at large, try to integrate them. If they are going to get you hired by someone like him and not a person you want to work for… politely ignore the advice.

Your brand should try to resonate with the specific people you want to get hired by, and only those people, with content that is about them.

How to make it easy for your audience to find you.

Over time,  your audience will organically find your content, if you are constant and consistent with your messages. That method will take time, which is why it's best to start before you really need it.

The quickest and easiest way is to go to LinkedIn and Twitter. Search for questions related to the topics you have been making content about (literally, use the search bar). Comment and reply to interact with the people who make up your ideal audience.

If your comments are helpful and insightful, they'll check your profile, which will lead them to your site. After a few engaging conversations, direct message them that you're looking for work, and you'd appreciate them passing your name along to any colleagues that might need someone with your skills and experience.

Then continue engaging them in conversation, without being pushy or needy. Actually work on developing relationships with people who you wish would hire you.

Because in the end, it's not what or who you know, but who knows about you when the time comes. Explicitly give them reason to like you. Implicitly show them they need you. Too many  people get that part backwards.

Finally, put your site and social media URLs in the header of your resume and cover letter, with your address and phone number. Make it as easy as possible for them to find you.

In the end, if they can find you easily and find that your content is about making their life better, 8 seconds will be more than enough time to draw them in.

Heck, you'll be more interesting to those people than Tony Stark on his best (or worst) day.