Content development has changed dramatically from what it used to be. Back in the day, you could write fleshy content and be sure that people who come to your site will read it and get all the information they need.

Today, things are different. Written content has taken a backseat for several reasons, and content developers now have to focus on grabbing the attention of their readers.

Whether you’re developing content for social media, a website, or even content for YouTube, hardly does anything matter like brevity. Your focus should be to grab the reader’s attention and convey your message as briefly and quickly as possible.

Readers Have Short Attention Spans These Days

With the internet becoming more ubiquitous, everyone’s trying to carve a palace for themselves now. This means that people who surf the web looking for information now have different sources where they can get it.

Over time, readers have grown to have shorter attention spans. If I head over to YouTube and search for “who won the Grammy for Best Rap Album in 2018?,” I want to see the answer immediately and get back to what I was doing. I’m not necessarily looking for copious details — just tell me who won, and that’s it.

This has presented a bit of a problem for most content developers — especially when writing web content. Most times, there’s a lot of information you need to convey, and you might not know how to pass it across without using so many words.

Being Creative With Your Storytelling

As a content developer, the best way to work around this problem is to be more creative with your storytelling.

We already established that readers have short attention spans these days. But, what they do like is a compelling story — something they can relate to, and which will resonate with them. That’s how you catch — and hold — their attention.

When it comes to storytelling, remember to be as relatable as possible. If your content is aimed at selling a product or a service, then speak to your target market in a way that makes them know you understand their pain points.

Don’t just tell what your product or service has. Sell what it does.

Remember: Don’t Bore People

Of course, while you’re telling your story, it’s still important that you keep things brief. Don’t go on about how you got injured on the football pitch as a kid just because you’re trying to sell a pair of football boots. Instead, explain why your boots are the best in the market, and how your customers will be able to benefit from them.

If a story can be told in 50 words, why use 75?

Also, you can engage other forms of content to pass your message across. Video content is very popular right now, and some stats even suggest that video content will make up 82% of all consumer traffic this year.

Graphic content also works well to convey your message. People are more likely to engage with something when they see graphics — instead of just long blocks of text. But, even your video content or graphic content will need scripts. For those, remember the rule — keep it brief!