There’s an old saying about less being more, and this is especially true when trying to convey a message to young people. I’m finding that I have to say less and less in hopes younger people around me will get the message. Lately I’m saying so little I’m not sure there’s enough meat to fully communicate the message.
One of the newest trends in online entertainment is Vine. The website compiles a series of seven second videos that each tell a story. Users upload videos edited from their smartphones in hopes they will be seen by millions. At first I was a bit skeptical, but after watching for a while it hit me the new generation is used to keeping things short and sweet.
Technology has influenced a generation of people who are used to being inundated with advertising and messages. If you’ve ever thumbed through Facebook posts you’ve noticed that interspersed with legitimate posts are advertisements. In fact, much of the stuff on Facebook now is advertisements disguised as posts.
Because young people were born into technology they’re forced to quickly distinguish between material they want to look at and all the rest. If the message isn’t conveyed within the first few seconds then it’s on to the next bit of information. I never gave this concept any thought until I talked to an advertising company recently.
Within the first three seconds someone has already made the decision whether the message is important. If the message drones then any benefit in the first few seconds is lost. If the latter part of the message doesn’t contain relevant information then advertisers can count on the ad being clicked off.
YouTube advertising comes to mind when I hear the three second rule. Before the start of some videos, YouTube posts a sponsor’s advertisement. Most have an option to skip ahead after watching five seconds of video. The idea is to capture someone’s attention within the first five seconds so they watch the complete advertisement.
An interesting YouTube statistic I saw lately had to do with a video created by one of my employees. His video is just over three minutes and he had 16,000 views within a month’s time. The interesting statistic is that the average amount of time the video was watched was just over one minute. Of course this means people watch, catch the gist and click the next video.
Knowing all this stuff has some merit employing or working around young people. Their work and communication style will be different than mine (a 43 year old) which means I have to tailor myself to them. Perhaps I text rather than call. And if I decide to call I’m going to keep it short and to the point with nothing extra.
Reaching this demographic through advertising means keeping the message very short without weakening it with too much detail. Save the detail for a website or some other place they can get more information. My test when I modify my company’s website is to visit it from my phone. If I can catch the main idea without having to click then I did good.
Being cognizant that giving too much information has the power to turn off the majority of a generation may make some rethink how they work. The golden rule I seem to have adopted is to make sure the information I’m communicating is concise and complete; something I have clearly struggled with over the years.
(Jeromy Patriquin is the President of Laptop & Computer Repair, Inc. located at 509 Main St. in Gardner. You can call him at (978) 919-8059 or visit www.LocalComputerWiz.com.)