Home » When Customers Aren’t Reading What You’re Writing, Content-On-Demand Is The Way to Go

17 February, 2016

When Customers Aren’t Reading What You’re Writing, Content-On-Demand Is The Way to Go

Content fatigue. It’s a real thing. It’s why I gave you the story in the title. Kim Verbrugghe, Senior Strategist at Deepend, argues that while bite-sized can enhance audience engagement online, it is content-on-demand that brands should be embracing. And she’s not just talking about Netflix.

We’ve been exhausting consumers for years with long form articles, videos, podcasts and infographics. According to PQ Media, Australians are spending around 16 hours per day online consuming content. No wonder audiences disengage and are merely skimming text or sharing articles based only on the title.

Kim Verbrugghe

Currently online platforms provide only one format for an audience to consume content – long or short form. This presents not just a challenge to the writer but also to the platform. Creating ‘one-size-fits-all’ content will always only engage a set percentage of audience.

We need to start seeing content as a product in its own right and personalise it too.

Content-on-demand that delivers snackable stories and long form flexibility offers the reader choice and is the way of the future.

So what is content-on-demand? Or what could it be? By thinking about what factors really define on-demand, we can imagine what an ideal content-on-demand platform could provide. This includes the ability to discover content at any time, save it for later, consume it on any screen or device and choose the format it’s presented in.

The next step, and this is the interesting one, is delivering the personalised content that the audience wants.

Traditionally, a writer creates an article and if it is 8,000 words, that is what the audience will need to read. Those that want short form copy will skim through, but this action is draining and will reduce value to the reader. Moreover, how do we know whether they read the important bits?

Instead of fighting this behaviour, we need to adapt by providing both wide and deep options.

Wide content for skimming that provides and overarching narrative, and deep content that branches off in detail for those that want to read further.

Content-on-demand = content-for-skimming + content branches.

Not everybody wants the same level of participation or is interested in the same things. We need to be respectful of our audience’s time and earn their attention.

I hope I didn’t waste your time! But if you made it to the end of this article and want to read more on my vision for personalised, on-demand content, read the long-form content here.

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