Social Media Strategy in the Age of Short Attention Spans

In the age of TikTok, work-from-home, and media overstimulation, social media marketing has changed pronouncedly. Attention spans have gotten shorter, people are consuming more content than ever, and the media cycle is focused more on numbers and getting those numbers by grabbing viewers’ attention with short, meme-able segments.

The challenge in the current SMM strategy lies in the question of how to build a well-received brand in a much shorter way; what small segments can be used, in synchronicity, to form a fully fleshed-out whole? As it seems, the answer lies in content – a lot of it. Short-form content revolving around one subject, multiple meme-able segments that tie into the same thing, and so forth has proven to be one of the most effective current strategies for marketing a product, business, or person.

One of the most pronounced examples of how we can see this work in its purest form – namely, a purely entertaining product for mass consumption – is the way the music industry has marketed pop stars post-TikTok. Among the strategies they’ve used to do this are:

1. Color theory
   Recently, pop stars have been designating their “eras” with color schemes. This is to establish visual memory within the viewer in the age of short attention spans and ensure that disparate pieces of content, whether they be music videos, record covers, or live shows, tie together visually.
   
2. Quotes and trends
   TikTok Sounds have been crucial to the development of this strategy. Virality is more important than ever today, and there is no better way to become viral than by creating a trend, whether it be a catchy tune or a specific, punchy quote, that people resonate with and reshare into infinity.
   
3. Shorter, more rapidly digestible content
   The average length of the pop song has dropped significantly over the past few years to accommodate a.) the rise in streaming that relies on numbers to indicate chart positions and b.) the communal psyche developing a shorter attention span. This ties in with the “quotes and trends” point; often, songs are built essentially to have a longer version of a TikTok Sound – as you can’t just release a 15-second snippet and call it a “song.”
   
4. Pure oversaturation
   The most important point, and ultimately the whole point of this article, is that the amount of content created about these individuals has increased through the prior-mentioned strategies, as a direct correlation between more content and more sales has been found. If it seems like you’re hearing more about specific people over and over – something like Taylor Swift, for instance – you’re probably correct, as more information is being given to you about them.  

All of these can be good strategies in their own way, but they also have their pitfalls. Recently, as promotional cycles have been taking a few years to fully carry themselves out, it has been clear that some work and not others. It seems odd that, despite using the same strategies, some things are critically and culturally well-received, yet not others – why is this?

The answer lies in the fact that, despite numbers and leveraging the new methods of reaching people, audiences have proven that the quality of the content being advertised still ultimately matters the most in the long run.

Take something like Ice Spice, for instance – she is one of the most pronounced examples of “marketing for marketing’s sake” in that her music and image have been built around the strategies mentioned previously. Despite this, although she is certainly getting streams and eyes on her content, her overall reception from the masses has cycled several times, largely settling in a negative take. A large part of this criticism revolves around the fact that she “isn’t talented,” “can’t perform,” and that she purely exists as an internet meme rather than an actual artist. Whether this is true is up to the individual, but the larger reception of her work as of late has certainly been focused on this. This has been reflected in poor overall sales of her music and concert tickets (relative to her celebrity status, followers, and so on), which is what matters – the sale of the product to the consumer. Many people just aren’t finding her engaging enough to pay for her, so to speak.

This goes back to a point that has existed for decades – false advertising. If a product doesn’t work, it shouldn’t be advertised like it does. Therefore, despite changes in social media strategy, it’s important to ensure that the product delivered is high quality, transparent in how it’s advertised, and satisfying to the consumer. It is important to ensure this is true with the product and that the social media strategy used fits the bill as well – it doesn’t make claims about the product that can’t be backed up by proof.