Everyone wants to hold the attention of their target audience. They want to make content that captivates consumers and keeps them engaged. But not all content has that effect. The Journal of Marketing* recently conducted a study to determine how creators can generate more impactful content.
To pinpoint why some content more successfully holds an audience's attention, researchers examined 600k reading sessions from 35k pieces of content. The findings revealed the importance of language in engagement.
Content including emotional language more effectively retained attention than content without emotion.The impact of language is driven by how much emotion it evokes. Certain emotions more successfully sustain attention. For example, anxious, exciting, and hopeful language holds attention because it evokes uncertainty and arousal.
Researchers also confirmed that content using familiar, easy-to-read, concrete language improves attention and engagement.
The authors emphasized the societal implications of content engagement. A reader's attention impacts online algorithm recommendations. It shapes what issues get attention and what products and services consumers learn about and purchase.
The report concluded that understanding what sustains attention can improve consumer, organization, and societal outcomes.
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