Reports have placed goldfish in the lead for “longer attention spans” than humans since 2013. With the iconic aquarium resident managing a solid 9 seconds to humanity’s paltry 8 seconds.

Between a good mix of social media and us wanting everything “five minutes ago”, we are spoiled for choice when it comes to the content variety available, and how said content is presented to us.

Probably one of the most repeated comments on forums when it comes to fan discussions of series like Game Of Thrones or the Harry Potter movies. While I personally don’t find sinking in hours for a more detailed experience through the books, there are others where the movies became the gateway for them to get into the books.

With this in mind, purposing and repurposing your content increases the reach you have, while maintaining longevity on the topics that you feel are relevant to your users and clients.

Balancing the limited time and resources that you might have can be a challenging task, start with the platform you have in mind when you’re deciding how to present your content. A long, detailed article will be perfect for your own blog, but your mileage will vary if you present it the same way across other channels.

Be open to switching it up, the same topic can be shown in different ways, and it doesn’t necessarily have to start from an article, here are some other formats to consider:

1) An image with a strong caption that encapsulates the core message or provides an insight into issues that will help your clients, or get them to think and look deeper. Numbered lists work well for this format.

2) A short video that can educate the viewer, and provide quick, simple wins. With this format, you can set the tone, pace, and message.

3) A gif, amazing how easy it is to make one that fits the messaging you require if it hasn’t already been created.

4) An infographic sprinkled with the right information that can be gleaned from at a glance. Some have said that the evolution of the infographic is the gifographic, a good primer can be found here.

Small wins to big wins. In a world where attention is increasingly becoming a valued commodity, giving users multiple ways to get hold of your content is more important than ever before.

This will lead them to becoming more knowledgeable in the topics you present, paving a way for deeper content. Just as it turns out, that attention is subjective, and we can apply ourselves better than goldfish if we want to.

So in the end, the important thing isn’t the book or the movie, but enjoying the story the way you like to.

We hope this simple breakdown will give you better insight to approach your content creation to get a wider audience. If you’d like to discuss or know more, do feel free to contact us, leave us a comment below, or check out our Facebook page.