How to Get More People to Consume Your Content

The other day I spent some time scrolling on LinkedIn and paying attention to when I stop for a video and when I just keep scrolling to see if there are some patterns to improve our own videos.

Here’s a breakdown:

1. When I come across a video while scrolling, I first watch the first 1 or 2 seconds without looking at the copy.

2. If it’s super catchy, I just keep watching the video.

3. If the first 1-2 secs don’t grab me, I look at the headline of the video to know what it is about.

4. If that headline doesn’t sound like something valuable or interesting to me, I just keep scrolling without even bothering to look at the copy above the video.

5. If it *does* sound like something valuable or interesting to me, before continuing to watch the video, I go up to the copy and skim it to find out the main points. Often that’s already enough, I got some value and I keep scrolling without watching the video.

6. If those points really interest me, I go back to the video and watch it front to end because I want to get every little nuance being laid out in the video.

𝐄𝐱𝐜𝐞𝐩𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬:

The only other times I might stop for a video even if the first 1 or 2 seconds and the headline don't catch me are when I come across a video by:

- Someone I have goodwill for, e.g., a friend, colleague or someone who regularly engages with my posts
- Someone who has a track record of being valuable to me. For example, I basically watch every Chris Walker video I stumble upon, just because every time I’ve done so in the past, I learned something new.

So what does all this mean for your own videos?

𝐓𝐚𝐤𝐞𝐚𝐰𝐚𝐲𝐬:

1. Start out with high energy in your video.

2. Jump right into the juicy part of the content without much preface (if the first 2 seconds are your company logo or some intro sequence, you lost me there).

3. Use a concise headline above the video that clearly communicates: What's in it for them? (If you don’t have headlines on your videos, it’s the first sentence of your copy - the hook - that needs to do this job)

4. Make your copy easily skimmable so that people can quickly see the main points. Use bullet points, lists, short sentences and paragraphs.

5. Make your copy a standalone piece of content for people who just want to read. Don’t force people to watch your video.

6. Use subtitles in the video for people who don’t have their headphones but still want to watch the video.

7. Engage with other people’s content, makes it more likely they will engage with yours.