I want people to look up from their phones.
I want them to look for opportunities around them to do more, be more, and help more. I want them to see and hear opportunities to bring others up, rather than tear each other down.
Digital marketing, and content marketers, must stop trying to grab attention irresponsibly.
Too many marketers are obsessed with attention, page views, eyeballs, and clicks. The focus is on the wrong things.
People’s attention is already spread thin and it’s been conditioned to ignore noise. Corporations and media companies control information channels and the majority of content, and they have been steadily eroding our attention through bias, sensational stories, meaningless stories, and appeals to your emotional triggers.
We are collectively wasting time and wrecking our attention on everything that is unimportant.
So that’s why I’m more than just a marketer and not just a strategist. I’m not content to help people sell shit by any means necessary.
I want people to pay attention on purpose.
Slow Down
What that means is that we all need to slow down and become more aware.
Look at what you’re doing.
Evaluate every action taken, and every action on the agenda. Look at what you’re clicking on and what kind of content you share.
- Is it necessary?
- Is it helpful?
- Is it mindful of other people?
Make better content
For the marketers and business owners, remember that there are real human beings on the other end. Every contribution to the newsfeed should warrant the precious attention it requests.
Exercise greater respect for people’s time.
In a world full of clickbait and fear, we’re better than what we’re giving ourselves and allowing to proliferate in the newsfeed. We are more amazing and do more interesting things than what the world sees when they consume the majority of online content.
We can do better. I’d like to think I’m doing my part.
How about you? Will you be the next person to click on that misleading headline or will you report it, block the source, and share something more meaningful instead?
