The Eye of the Digital Beholder

Capturing Attention in Social Media
Tapping into users motives to visit a site or platform is an ongoing competition. Companies are using psychological strategies to draw users in. By making us feel that we matter, and that we belong, satisfies our ego. People need to feel connected to others, and companies are doing whatever they can to make that happen, either on their webpage, search engine, or platform (Alhabash, S. & Ma, M. (2017).
There are many techniques to “lure” social media users to a platform or website. You may receive a pop-up window offering a discount if you provide your email. Other ways to keep you engaged can be marketers and platforms that encourages you to check your status on Facebook, Twitter, or Snapchat, to mention a few (Brooks, 2017).
Companies who understand social media marketing and how user’s online behavior is motivating, can tap into these habits and adjust their marketing strategies accordingly (Guesalaga, 2015).
Furthermore, companies such as Snapchat, Twitter, Facebook, YouTube and Netflix, all have ways to make you stay on their platforms as long as possible. Netflix, for example, will automatically start the new episode when you are watching a series. This method will make you stay put and continue watching (Brooks, 2017).
As the social media world changes constantly, companies who market on social media need the agility and knowledge to change as well. Identifying users and to effectively market to these users remains one of the most challenging aspects for companies and marketers (Guesalaga, 2015). The more a company engages in the online community, the better they can measure how and where they are successful, as well as where they are not (Davis, 2017). There are also challenges when companies try to engage their customers by encouraging them to provide feedback about their purchases, and rating their overall experience with the transaction (Templeman, 2017). Negative e-WOM (electronic word of mouth), is far more detrimental to a company’s reputation compared to positive e-WOM (Guesalaga, 2015).

As social media is growing at exponential rates, people are bombarded with so much information they tend to skip irrelevant or boring content presented to them. Some ideas mentioned in the article “4 Ways to Capture and Keep Your Target Audience’s Attention” (Mendenhall, 2017), are:
- Compelling visuals ~ Websites incorporating compelling images and videos about their products can keep visitors on their site 100% longer.
- Mobile use ~ Close to 80% of social media is conducted on mobile devices. Adjusting your website to be mobile-friendly will increase traffic to your site.
- Try, and then try again ~ Exposing consumers to your product can take up to seven times before they will even notice your campaign. So, keep putting your message out there (Mendenhall, 2016).
4 Ways to Capture & Keep your Target Audiences Attention!

Maintaining Engagement in Social Media
In order for a company to stay competitive they need to harbor a vast amount of skills of how to capture and retain the attention of their visitors (Mendenhall, 2016).
Securing a user’s engagement is critical in order to promote a business’ product or services. If a person likes something, they are more apt to forward positive information about their experience to friends and other connections they have in social media (Templeman, 2017).
Platforms such as Facebook, Snapchat and Twitter, use techniques such as “continuous scrolling”, or “streaking”. Snapchat, for instance, use an emoji “hourglass” alerting you when your streaks are falling behind other user’s streaks. This leads to addictive behaviors such as FOMO (fear of missing out). The need to belong and not be excluded has led to “compulsive clicking” and continuous scrolling of social media platforms (Brooks, 2017).
Businesses need to know where to find their consumers, as well as how to attract them to their platforms or websites. Templeman, (2017) calls this “Social-Listening”. Being an active ‘Social-Listener” can lead to a more targeted market, while also eliminating areas where marketing brings little, or no return on their investment (Templeman, 2017).
Organizations and companies need to “connect” with their consumers and/or users. Consumers who are encouraged to share their experiences with a social media website, platform, or community, will feel that their opinions and ratings are making a difference (Guesalaga, 2015).
The need for people to stay on top of information have led to the compulsive need to check their social media platforms several times a day, sometimes several times an hour (Brooks, 2017). The FOMO keeps users on the platform constantly. Social media sites will play into the users need to be recognized and feel valued by their involvement in the online community (Brooks, 2017).
Platforms that deliver “up to the minute” news, such as Twitter, allows followers to stay on top of the “latest and greatest” happenings. It as well will automatically fill the user’s feed with new information, keeping the user’s attention on the site longer (Brooks, 2017).
Maintaining social media engagement involves many different approaches. An opportunity to engage users by offering relevant information and urging you to share this information with your community is one tactic companies use to maintain social media engagement (Templeman, 2017).
References
Alhabash, S., & Ma, M. (2017). A tale of four platforms: Motivations and uses of facebook, twitter, instagram, and snapchat among college students? Social Media + Society, 3(1), 205630511769154. Doi:10.1177/2056305117691544
Brooks, J. (2017, June 9). 7 Specific Tactics Social Media Companies Use to Keep You Hooked Kqed Future of You, [Web log post]. Retrieved from https://ww2.kqed.org/futureofyou/2017/06/09/7-specific-ways-social-media-companies-have-you-hooked/
Davis, J. (2017, April 18). A 5 Step Guide to Using Facebook for Business, Business to Community, [Web log post]. Retrieved from http://www.business2community.com/facebook/5-step-guide-using-facebook-business-01818232#JeAxRrllY5cccr2i.97
Guesalaga, R. (2016). The use of social media in sales: Individual and organizational antecedents, and the role of customer engagement in social media. Industrial Marketing Management, 54, 71–79. doi:10.1016/j.indmarman.2015.12.002 http://www.sciencedirect.com.library.capella.edu/science/article/pii/S0019850115300134
Mendenhall, N. (2016, July 10). 4 Ways to Capture and Keep Your Target Audience’s Attention, Social media today. Retrieved from http://www.socialmediatoday.com/marketing/4-ways-capture-and-keep-your-target-audiences-attention
Templeman, M. (2017, January 26). Social-Listening: 5 Ways to Really Engage with Your Social Media Audience, Forbes, Retrieved from https://www.forbes.com/sites/miketempleman/2017/01/26/how-to-really-engage-with-your-social-media-audience/3/#55692e2a49f7
