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Why we can’t stop scrolling (and what it means for your business)
Matt Deseno
May 15, 2024
Why we can’t stop scrolling (and what it means for your business)
What’s your TikTok For You page like?
Do you get marketing advice? House tours? DIYs? Those weird-but-satisfying sand-cutting videos?
As they say, there’s something for everyone.
TikTok and its short-form-scroller copycats are popular for a reason. They reflect our current attention economy and what consumers are hungry for.
And what is that, you may ask?
We’re hungry for lots and lots of bite-sized pieces of content.
I know; it seems obvious.
But too often, I see entrepreneurs in our space fail to take advantage of this truth…
Those SaaS businesses you see scaling to 6 or even 7 figures? They’re doing this. 👇️
Today in 5 minutes or less:
✔️ In our “snacking” era
✔️ You have commitment issues
✔️ How to build an ethical content machine
IN OUR “SNACKING” ERA
People will say they’re too tired for a movie and go on TikTok (or Reels, YouTube shorts, or another one of its copycats) instead…
…Only to spend a full 90 minutes scrolling through hundreds of videos (seriously, the average user spends an hour on the app a day!)
We are marketing to a world that has short attention spans, but large appetites for content. They don’t want to sit down for a full meal, but they LOVE to snack.
So, how do we adjust our content and conversation to satiate that hunger?
We need to cut down our content into…
Short, shareable snippets!
More than anything, today’s users want to be educated and entertained. If you can do that in short, repeatable bursts, you’ll be golden.
Because here’s the reality: If we can’t adjust how we communicate with audiences as their appetites change, we will get left behind.
To demonstrate cutting down content, I will take this 130+ word section…
And cut it down into a 140-character shareable tweet:
TikTok has shown us that we need to cut down our marketing into bite-sized pieces to connect with today’s content snackers.
YOU HAVE COMMITMENT ISSUES
Do you have commitment issues?
Based on the outcome of this experiment I ran, you do.
I went live in our Facebook group…
… and 500 people tuned in.
But at the 18-minute mark, I began discussing this concept of the current attention economy and was curious to see who was still watching…
So, I asked anyone out there to comment if they were still tuned in, and I’d give them a freebie…
… and only ONE person commented.
500 of you were interested enough to click into the video and watch some of it, but only one person committed to watching the whole thing.
Now, I can’t say I’m surprised. Nowadays, it’s a big ask to expect someone to watch a 20-minute video.
Today’s audiences are content snackers. To effectively reach them, no matter how relevant your content is, it should be short and require a low commitment.
Ask yourself, what value am I offering this potential customer, and how can I communicate it without making them a big commitment?
In keeping with the theme of this email, here’s my point in a less than 140-character tweet:
People won’t wait 18 minutes for you to get to the good stuff. You need to take less time to get to the point.
HOW TO BUILD AN ETHICAL CONTENT MACHINE
So, how do you ACTUALLY take your content and make it shorter and more frequent?
It can feel super daunting…
Like you’re going against everything you thought you knew about content marketing….
You might even be envisioning all the SEO value lost from not being able to stuff all your magic keywords into this new, short-form content… The horror!
The truth is that short-form content is simply a better option for most brands. It’s easier to create, easier to digest, and far more likely to be consumed in its entirety.
BUT that doesn’t mean there’s no place for long-form content in the mix!
Don’t go throwing out those thoughtful blog posts, podcasts, and YouTube videos… Just find ways to extract the most meaningful nuggets of insight from them.
Those are the bits that you can repurpose into powerful, short-form content.
Ask yourself…
Which parts of this are the most valuable or interesting?
Which part offers takeaways that readers can put to immediate use?
Which parts are the most motivational?
THESE are the nuggets that you want to use for successful, bite-sized content. Create highly-concentrated, efficient content that people would regret skipping.
You can actually leverage AI to do this for you!
Simply paste in a blog post or large chunk of text into Chat GPT, and it will spit out a powerful, 1-2 sentence summary for you.
You can also repurpose one form of content into another, like turning a long-form article into a series or a video script.
👇️ (Scroll down to the Golden Nugget section if you want a copy-paste prompt guide for easy content creation.)
Find a system that works for you to generate short-form content so you can maintain a consistent stream of posting.
This isn’t about ditching long-form content and converting everything into short-form posts.
If we all stopped making YouTube videos, podcasts, and blog posts and moved entirely to TikTok, we would only reach a singular audience…
The people who use TikTok.
At the end of the day, people like what they like.
People who use Twitter use Twitter. People who listen to podcasts listen to podcasts. People who read newsletters… well, they read newsletters—people like you, apparently… thanks for being here!
You need to put yourself in those spaces to reach all those different people.
Don’t be afraid to say the same thing in different spaces!
While by and large, short-form content is the trend… People will always have their preferences.
Truthfully, the act of translating information across different mediums is a selfless and ethical one.
By repeating yourself across multiple platforms, you make your content more accessible by catering to different people’s preferences.
Some people go crazy for video content. They’re visual learners. Make content for them.
(So many businesses are fearful of video and haven’t ventured into the video medium, yet it’s one of the most consumed! Highly recommend!)
Other people might have a super busy schedule, but they put on podcasts during their commute. Allow them to hear your message, too.
If you genuinely want your message to impact lives, you need to translate it into different vehicles to reach more people.
Whether that means cutting down your content, condensing it, or even getting it on video, don’t be afraid to rework the same messages to fit into all these different spaces.
I know going on a posting-spree can feel daunting and self-absorbed. I’m here to tell you that it’s not. Don’t be afraid to repeat yourself!
If I’ve already lost your attention and you’re fighting the urge to check Twitter in the span of reading this email, here’s your to-do list …
Aim to communicate your message in a way that requires low commitment from your audience
Utilize AI to shorten or repurpose content
Repeat your message in different spaces
“How can I churn out more content?” is the wrong question.
Instead ask: What would my audience like to see or learn, and how can I exceed their expectations?
Then, you can figure out how to translate THAT content across different platforms to reach more people. 💪
You got this!
To profiting more and working less. 💸
-Matt
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How would you like your very own Social Media toolkit with some of my favorite AI prompts to supercharge your posts?
This thing is packed with tips and tricks to help you become a more prolific publisher, creating content that truly resonates with your audience. 👇️
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