This editorial was originally published on CU Insight
As a whole, people are more distracted than ever. A study in 2004 measured the average attention on a screen to be 2 ½ minutes. Some years later it was found to be 75 seconds while in 2023 it diminished further to an average of 47 seconds.1
A lot of time has been spent talking with leaders about how to break through the noise and earn just a few minutes of their members' attention. This increasing battle for focus is referred to as the Attention Economy, wherein consumers exchange their attention to one brand’s message for another. When a Facebook ad or text-heavy email campaign falls flat, the same questions come up every time – Is it time to make a video? Will that even help?
Savvy CXOs and CMOs know the answer – personalized video content is king – winning at every turn and driving essential engagement, including:
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- 95% retention of a message when watched versus read
- 1.8M words equates to one single minute of video
- 78% of customers are more likely to refer a friend to businesses that personalize
There is a catch, though. Traditional methods often come with hefty price tags and slow turnaround times, leaving essential messages lost in the shuffle. If the campaign doesn’t drive substantial revenue, you can’t justify building a $5-10k video with an outside agency. Valuable and timely educational content, employee training, urgent updates, or even a message from the CEO – if delivered as a text article or email – don’t drive the results needed.
Leading institutions are leaning into video creation tools but find it difficult to scale while managing brand standards. Others are hiring teams that can record video and produce motion graphics content, but the expense is significant, and throughput isn't any faster than hiring an agency.
Is there anything that can bridge the gap?
Here’s the big ‘aha moment’.
With the right platform, you no longer have to wait for the stars to align to incorporate video into your communication strategy. By transforming your approach to video content creation, you can swiftly implement it across various departments within your organization, including HR, Internal Communications, Sales and Marketing, Operations, Events, and beyond. Personalized video content has a profound impact on new hires, serving as a pivotal touchpoint that soothes first-day nerves, fosters a sense of care, and ignites enthusiasm for their roles, setting them up for success from day one. There’s a real opportunity here to enhance your communication efforts by adding video as a medium to bridge communication gaps and gain attention with movement, sound, and human connection – things that other mediums can’t compete with.
Technology equipped with an intuitive generative AI assistant has the power to revolutionize your video production capabilities. It enables you to effortlessly generate high-quality personalized videos at scale, streamlining the entire production process.
In a world where attention spans are dwindling faster than ever, the battle to captivate your audience has never been more critical. Don't let the distractions of others derail your message. Take charge of your narrative. Embrace the future of communication.
1Why our attention spans are shrinking, with Gloria Mark, PhD (apa.org)