by Sanja Jachevska
We are constantly on the lookout for new information. We spend hours and hours on social media, but our average attention span is only about 8 seconds. Out of so many scattered materials and information on the internet, what keeps the attention the most is the short content form, popularly called “snackable” content that is easy to read, listen to or watch.
Besides being short, this content is both clear and easy to digest. And the audience often enjoys it. It even looks for it and returns to the brand that shared it. This Snackable content, may not seem so significant at first glance, but is actually very important for building a relationship and long-term connection with the audience. Furthermore, it makes the audience crave for just another “bite of information. It makes them come back for more. š
Obviously, snackable content gives a great focus to the visual effect, since the audience prefers consuming visuals instead of text. Even after many hours of scrolling, this type of content is consumed quickly and easily, without any effort. If it is short, fast and scroll-stopping, then you have then it is “snackable”.
āSnackableā content provides instant entertainment or education, encourages the audience to share the content on their social networks, gives them the opportunity to recognize themselves in the content, which further leads to greater benefit for the business or brand. It manages to capture the attention of the audience during breaks at work, while they are waiting for the bus, or have a short free time… And most importantly, it can attract the attention of random consumers, who may not be interested in the particular services or product of your brand at the moment, but it will nonetheless foster a connection.
It can be an Instagram Reel, a Tik Tok, an infographic, gif, meme, survey, Story, quiz, a tweetā¦ Just a simple and clear text and/or visual that that has the main purpose of stimulating interest. The end goal is not just to create a piece of content that will transmit a message, but that will trigger curiosity.
However, don’t look at these snacks as empty calories, because once you’ve intrigued your followers, they’ll want to keep up with what you have to say again and again. A great analogy for “snackable content” is the movie trailer. It hints at the content, but you still want to see it all, you’re hungry for more.
Even though short content is often more effective, it does not mean that long format is not important anymore. The long format content plays a completely different role in the buyer’s journey and t is necessary for many reasons. It provides better, more detailed search results for the brand. It is important for establishing brand authority and helps guide the customer to the final point of sale. “Snackable content” is just a lure to drive traffic to your long format content.