Disney’s Finding Dory: Content strategies for marketing to fish

What was I watching? Why did I walk into this room? Where are my keys? While the Finding Nemo sequel, Finding Dory may be a children’s movie, most of us can relate to the forgetful fish in one way or another.  Often we find ourselves caught up in the hustle and bustle of our daily lives; work, kids, gym, school, eat, sleep, repeat. Our lives have become so filled with hustle and bustle that it has become second nature to tap an app to pull up a show we want to watch, or to ask Siri to find a funny clip that someone told us about, or even find a 30 second video of a recipe at the very moment you’re ready to cook dinner. There is no need to wait for anything anymore, which is why it’s so important to cater your content and media strategy to a saltwater fish.

Technology is a great tool for those of us on the go but can be a hindrance when it comes to marketing and developing content. Like I said before, no one wants to sit through a 2-minute ad, regardless of how personalized it may be. No one wants to sit in front of the TV without fast forwarding the commercials, and quite certainly no one wants to read more than a few sentences about your credit union’s fantastic loan rates.

I like to blame the invention of the microwave. The moment we realized that instant gratification was possible, our attention spans began to shrink. I don’t know about you, but I often pop open the microwave door with 1 second left because I just can’t stand to wait. Think about how this has affected media and mass communication. Facebook now auto plays videos because most people don’t even take the time to click the play button. A little lazy, a little ridiculous, but the truth. I personally don’t watch a video for more than 8-10 seconds unless it involves Leonardo DiCaprio or something that I know is going to end in an epic fail. Our minds are running a mile a minute and our attention spans are just like that little forgetful fish, Dory. Technology and social platforms have made it easy to engage with consumers at any given moment in the lifecycle, but now comes the hard part, customizing your content. Customizing content to the younger Millennial generation is an entirely different ball game. Their attention spans are so short at times that they have chosen to migrate from Facebook to things like Snapchat, Vine, and Instagram to fulfill their need for instantaneous content. But don’t blink, because before you know it, those platforms too will be replaced by something even more instantly gratifying.

Digital media can be a great tool for promoting your brand and engaging with prospects, but your content strategy can make or break your success. Recent studies have shown that attention spans have shrunk from an average of 12 seconds in the year 2000 to 8.5 seconds in 2016. That is even less than our fish friend Dory, whose attention span is around 9 seconds. These are pretty shocking statistics, but vital information when putting together your media strategy. Take a look at your Google Analytics, most likely your Average Session Duration is less than 1 minute, and bounce rates are increasing. To combat this lack of engagement, it has become imperative to focus on UX (User Experience) when it comes to your own website.

When it comes to digital media content however, relating to a niche market, using story telling, sharing trends, and leveraging comedy (throw in a meme or 6), are some of the top ways for you to engage with your easily distractible audience. And of course, the age-old mantra, K.I.S.S. (Keep It Simple Stupid) absolutely applies today. Digital videos and commercials should always be shorter than 30 seconds, 15 seconds is more ideal. If it needs to be longer, make the first 8-20 seconds attention-grabbing; funny, emotional, or exciting. We have become a more distracted society with the amount of stimulation that is thrown at us through our growth in technology, so the more concise you keep your messages, the more opportunities you’ll have to showcase your brand and build trust with your audience. So in conclusion, whom do you think Negan killed in The Walking Dead season finale? My bet is on Glenn. Oh wait, I was writing about Finding Dory, that’s right. Just keep swimming, just keep swimming.

Hilary Reed

Hilary Reed

Hilary Reed, founder of EmpowerFi, is an innovative thought-leader who has been involved in various aspects of strategic sales and marketing for 15 years. Her career began in 2000 when ... Web: www.empowerfi.org Details