o Capturing Attention in Social Media
Capturing attention in social media is a form of engagement from the audience. It is described as selectively prioritized or the shift of cognitive reserve to the current incentive over others. According to Brady, Gantman, & Van Bavel (2020) there is a level of importance as to individuals noticing, liking, commenting, and sharing content which creates an air of pressure for content creators to break through the noise.
There are many challenges for content creators to be able to successfully achieve high engagement. From the simplest decision of choosing the type of content Brady, Gantman, & Van Bavel (2020) found that content that were moral and emotional had more potential in capturing attention and more likely to go viral. This is why there is a stress to the strategy to putting out vulnerable, emotional, moral, and thought-provoking content. Add on the political climate into the environment and it has been shown that attentional capture is not fully explained by differences in perceptual arousal. But more so individuals have a natural inclination to gravitate to nonneutral language. This provides another strategy for content creators to beware of their language and to use more enticing language that will stand out (Brady, Gantman, & Van Bavel, 2020).
o Maintaining Engagement in Social Media
Securing engagement is pivotal on social media for brands and influencers. According to Ashley & Tuten (2014) securing engagement is securing psychological engagement and its dependent on the consumers, wants, goals, and needs. understanding the importance of encouraging ongoing interactions between the consumer and the brand through stories for example which can be updated as often as necessary. Stories on Instagram is a great example of a strategy that has been shown to be effective in maintaining engagement by allowing content creators to post polls, allow question boxes, input music all encouraging consumer interaction and creating brand relationships (Ashley & Tuten, 2014, p. 23). Another strategy that was observed by Ashley & Tuten (2014) such as placing paid advertising on time lines, working closely together with other brand personas and content creators, reposting consumer branded content. This furthers interactions and builds a consumer brand relationship.
Reference:
Ashley, C., & Tuten, T. (2014). Creative Strategies in Social Media Marketing: An Exploratory Study of Branded Social Content and Consumer Engagement. Psychology & Marketing, 32(1), 15–27. https://doi.org/10.1002/mar.20761
Brady, W. J., Gantman, A. P., & Van Bavel, J. J. (2020). Attentional capture helps explain why moral and emotional content go viral. Journal of Experimental Psychology: General, 149(4), 746–756. https://doi.org/10.1037/xge0000673.supp (Supplemental)
