Attention is something that is not easy to get these days. To acquire instant attention, you can do something crazy or gimmicky, sure. But it’s temporary, and soon fades away.
Think of a TV ad for a new product: it helps garner some initial attention. But, in the long run, even when the company runs the ad repeatedly, chances are huge that viewers might not pay any attention.
You can spend millions trying to get or keep attention, and that’s why attention today is worth so much money. As long as you keep spending you’ll probably keep some attention.
In the long term, however, such attention spans are always temporary.
Is there a better option?
Yes. Build enthusiasm.
And how do you do that?
Here is one way:
A fundamental aspect of creating enthusiasm is by offering people what they want. The hard part is knowing what they want. And, many times, people themselves don’t directly know that they want.
It’s a complex puzzle. However, a direct route to understanding people’s “wants” is to spend time with them, hang out with them, observe them, and learn to read between their routines and unknown problems.
Attention spans are short-lived, while enthusiasm lasts longer. Attention costs money, but converting short attention spans to enthusiasm is priceless.