Gen Z and Gen Alpha are not into long form, they are into skimming. So how do we capture the attention of a skim reader who is already thinking about task switching?
Have you seen or heard of a podbuster? You probably have but didn’t know what it was called. It’s an ad on TV (or streaming) or a podcast that’s made to look, feel and sound like the show you are watching. Instead of fast forwarding through the ad you stick around and watch it, or listen to it. This is a clever hook to make sure ad revenue is coming in, people are still consuming ads. You can use this idea to make sure people are still consuming your content even though they are skimming!
The key is in hooks. If someone is skimming, you need to have things in the writing that makes them want to stop, not fast forward!
Your hook can be right at the start with a really great headline. Interesting, engaging; making the reader want to read the article rather than skim.
You can hook them with subheads. Break up long blocks of texts and bring the attention back around if the reader starts to skim.
Pictures! Add something in the middle to bust the habitual skimming. Make sure it’s relevant though. Boring stock photos can make people leave the article all together.
Good captions. Captions are the most read elements on news pages. Make them compelling and relevant. Not only is it good for SEO, it also will entice your reader to actually read!
Lists! While people can just skim a list, if you break up the ideas into a listicle like this one, you help the reader’s brain see more blank spaces so they skim slower.
Boxes and panels are visual elements that make text less daunting because there’s a shorter time-commitment needed to read them.
Put extra time into your introductions. If you have a great first paragraph people won’t want to skim your article, they will want to actually sit and read. Don’t dull yourself out of readership.
Skimming isn’t necessarily bad, it just means you will need to convey your ideas more often and more precisely. Nuance is hard to get when the audience is skimming, if you feel like you keep on getting the same questions, even though you have covered it in something in long form… take the hint! Make it short and sweet because your readers are skimming (but at least they are opening!)
