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When you mention attention grabbers or attention getters first thing most people think of is school.
This word is commonly used for students; teachers will use learning tools in classroom to teach kids who have attention issues. Even though it is one of the terms that a teacher uses each and every day, it is also common in marketing management.
In this new era of online business, it is really hard to get great exposure for your blog.
You might have good ideas, free products or best service within your industry, it will still require a lot of time to be noticed by the community and to boost the sales on your website. If you truly wish to create a contact with potential clients, you need to grab their attention.
So what’s the easy way to it? Through videos and attention grabbers.
Creating video content and how attention grabbers fit in
Attention getters are not content by themselves; they are elements that are going to make content better and more fun for a visitor. When you start creating content, you need to use grabbers that will be interesting and yet, support the general message of content.
Before reading anything else, let’s consider why attention getters are necessary.
They are one of the best ways of engaging a person and ultimately, getting a response. Here, the main presumption is that visitors don’t pay attention to begin with. This means you have to find something that will change their view towards your contact.
Next thing you need to ask yourself is which type of content will best fit with getters?
Although you are open to try things with different graphic content such as images, infographics etc., study has shown that video works best in this situation.
Why? Because it is most interactive.
People who don’t have trouble concentrating find it easy to go through written resources. So, not only do you have to add all these elements which are going to grab their attention but also to use a proper format to present them with. In that regard, videos are the best choice given that they’re interactive.
If you wish to learn more about attention getters that work in 2017 read these tips!
Title
Like with all other things, title is the catchiest and most intriguing part about a piece. That’s why you should use your titles as attention grabbers to their full potential.
Whether we’re talking about a video, book or any other creation, title is what gets us intrigued and persuades us to continue consuming. It is definitely the most important attention-grabber we have at our disposal.
In terms of videos, there are several ways to approach the issue:
- “How To”
- “How Not To”
- “Top 10”
- Using catchy and over-the-top words
- Videos guaranteeing success
- Tutorials
- Ultimate guides
- Personal story
Please have in mind that you need to cause excitement and curiosity. If you follow this simple rule you will be able to add life to your videos and increase their attention grabber ability.
Thumbnail
Together with title, thumbnails are the best way to make first impression. They are the second attention grabber element but are even stronger than the titles. Here’s why.
Given that we are visual beings, images are able to attract attention much quicker persuading a potential visitor to watch our content. They are going to leave a longer lasting impression as well.
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Still, if I had to choose between having a good thumbnail and a good title, I will always go for a quality thumbnail. The main reason for this is that titles can be bland. If you search for a topic on YouTube and browse consistently, sooner than later you will see all the potential word combinations. On the other hand, thumbnails allow us creativity that titles do not. That doesn’t mean titles are irrelevant; it’s only that we can do less with them.
Thumbnails are more important for branding increasing the number of people who subscribe to your channel. They also increase the number of questions in comment section and can potentially increase the number of visitors to your site. In that regard, thumbnails are not only important for grabbing attention but also for overall conversion.
Introductory lines
Like everything else mentioned so far, the first sentences you use in a video are important for initial impression. They focus viewers’ attention and create curiosity.
Here are some examples how to use introductory lines as attention grabbers when you start a video:
- “Have you ever wondered what would happen if… “
- “Although there are a lot of stories regarding …. the real truth behind it is much different”
- “Here are some easy tips that will help you with… “
Initial sentences are a good way to set a viewer in the right direction. You need to create a question in their head, to create a reason why they should continue watching this content. You can also try and be actionable, to teach a viewer something new or to share less known information. People simply love it when their curiosity is peaked and this is one of the best triggers to grab their attention.
Word of precaution. When writing your initial sentences try to be brief. There is no real reason for having an introduction that is longer than 30 seconds. Even if people watch this video, it is unlikely they will watch something else on your channel.
Video quality and graphic quality
Whether you’ve made an explainer video that thoroughly depends on animation or you simply made a video with your home camera, it is necessary to have high quality image presented on the screen.
When it comes to cameras, today most of them have high resolution so this shouldn’t be much of an issue. Still, I have noticed videos that are so low in quality that it is hard to watch them.
On the other hand, we have animations and other graphic solutions.
Best advice I can give you here is not to produce a video if you’re no 100 % certain of your skills.
Explainer videos and other forms of videos that are heavily reliant on visuals have to have a good crew working on them. In this day and age when everyone has some technical knowledge, you need to be at least mediocre.
Needless to say, if you have good skill and you’ve shown it within video, you are more likely to grab people’s attention and make them sit through the entire video no matter what.
Having a well-focused goal
People tend to leave videos after a minute or two. It is really hard to retain their focus especially if you have a longer content. Even though they might click on your link due to a nice title and thumbnail, the biggest challenge is to keep them in place until the end.
There are 3 attention grabbers approaches you need to know if you wish to retain their attention:
- Always bring up a point; avoid meaningless sentences and anything else that dilutes content
- Stay focused and keep your eyes on the main story
- Avoid format that is too long
Bear in mind one thing: even if you’re focused, you can drive away people by trying to prolong the video. In the YouTube world, shorter is better so make sure to be reasonable.
Last thoughts on attention getters
Nowadays, websites use various channels to grab readers’ attention. Whether you’re getting traffic from Facebook, YouTube or your own blog, it doesn’t matter much as long as your organization is able to make profit.
Unfortunately, videos are still underutilized which is a real shame. Furthermore, it is probably the most engaging format you have at your disposal. There is simply nothing better that can grab the attention of people.
Start using these videos to enrich content on your blog. Use them as attention grabbers for the visitors coming to your site. If you do everything properly, you will be able to boost your web traffic tenfold improving positions of your pages and with it, the profit of your company.