Social media is the fastest-growing form of technology among all demographics. Understanding how the usage of social media can capture the attention of all ages is now essential for brands to help spark their businesses. While all social media platforms can help strengthen a business, the strongest of all is TikTok.
As technology has advanced, the attention span of users has decreased. TikTok utilizes short clips to push small or big ideas to people all over the world. In The Guardan, Sophia Hsu of the Standard stated, “As usership of social media has increased, so have our standards of appealing content. Social media platforms offer instant gratification, which can provide immediate fulfillment yet lower attention spans when focusing on substantial content.” Therefore, understanding how to properly brand through media is more important now than ever.
To better understand what draws individuals on social media, the question – “What videos/posts stand out the most to you?” – was posed to Union Catholic Regional High School student Ava Goldberg. Her response was, “Usually, the things that interest me tend to pertain more to sales. Also, shorter clips, such as a short TikTok PR video, are the ones I will look into more.”
On the flip side, I asked the COM of Our Home (a portfolio of brands), Deborah Holt, the question – “With trends changing so often, what do you do to keep your consumers engaged?” – to understand how brands react to these changes. She stated, “We definitely use our social media network and leverage UGC (user-generated content) to stay current and engaged. We also try to be quick with innovation and launch new products faster than larger companies.”
Both Holt and Goldberg’s statements complement each other. As attention and trends change, companies must act swiftly to maintain or boost their sales. As Goldberg expressed her interest in short PR videos on TikTok, it shows that brands have to be strong and concise with their message to grasp the attention of their consumers. The PR posts now have to have strong hooks and titles to show the consumer what is being sold and what it does from the start.
TikTok pushes videos that they feel the user will like; therefore, companies have to adapt their sales points to the trends at the moment. Additionally, there are certain times of the day when companies will release posts to increase their chances of reaching people outside their typical customer base. Deborah Holt said, “We typically post between 9-11 AM.” Having to react quickly to trends, she continued, “Posting trends on the fly and other posts being planned around a month ahead.” Therefore, companies must adapt swiftly as social media continues to evolve.
As social media adapts and trends die out while new ones emerge, brands will rebrand and change things to strive. This directly correlates to the attention span of consumers and what draws them in. Understanding both sides is the key to success.
