Keeping an Audience in an Age of Shrinking Attention Spans
For many of us, nothing can compare to watching a great film when an escape is needed from the monotony of daily life and with the global film industry being worth $41.7 billion it’s evident this is not an unpopular opinion. Growing year upon year, films have cemented themselves in our cultural landscape. Yet their cultural significance has been eclipsed by the exponential rise of social media over the past 10 years, which has skyrocket to be one of the most prevalent pillars in pop culture. Could this phenomenon challenge the film industry as short form content dominates our media?
The latest social media giant is undoubtedly TikTok, launched internationally in 2017, the app now receives 1.2 billion users, expected to rise to 1.5 by the end of 2022. The app allows users to quickly scroll through an endless loop of short form (usually 15 second) videos; which is why it’s growing popularity could be set to disrupt the film industry. The instant gratification of these short videos has been attributed to a narrowing of collective attention span, meaning for many the appeal for long form content is weaning. So how can the film industry compete to keep our attention?
One of the major appeals of TikTok is its ‘for you page’, this is the stream of videos unqiuely suggested to each user. The algorithm used is largely guarded but uses a variety of metrics including hashtags and song choices; a intricate and complex data profile is created for each user in order to perfectly curate their ‘for you page’ with videos that will keep their attention. For streaming services to compete with TikTok, it is vital that they try to replicate this algorithm to uniquely recommend films to individual users that will keep their attention despite the run time.
Streaming services like Netflix and Amazon Prime have largely under-utilized the opportunity for recommending users specific content. On the Netflix homepage it is not user-specific content that headlines but instead more generic recommendations of ‘trending now’ and ‘popular on Netflix’. By creating a complex algorithm that considers what users have previously watched, which films they didn’t finish, which films they search for, and which films they rewatch; streaming services could rival the ‘for you page’ and curate a list of films guaranteed to keep the attention of users and ensuring they don’t click off in favour of short-form content instead.
The film industry is further challenged as social media has almost eradicated the concept of boredem; ‘Filmmakers can no longer depend on bored teenagers in search of amusement to bankroll their efforts’. Apps like TikTok give users access to a limitless supply of free video content which means advertisers must work especially hard in promoting films and convincing people that it’s worth looking up from their screen to see. This also coupled with the covid pandemic has led to the closure of many cinemas as it is increasingly likely for people to opt for mindless social media scrolling over films.
As discussed by Nicola Freedman, social media has led to an increase in the importance of word of mouth on the performance of a film. After a film’s release comes a tidal wave of discourse across social media dissecting the film, offering opinions and interpretations. By the end of opening weekend, a general consensus will have been reached across social media that will determine its subsequent success. For film advertisers, utilizing this online discourse is a perfect way of generating interest in a film and moving people from observers of film discourse on social media into consumers at the cinema.
Valued at $13.8 billion worldwide, influencer marketing has revolutionized the landscape of advertising and is now one of the most widely recognized marketing techniques. For the film industry, this is an ideal way of creating hype around a film and ensuring that it doesn’t fall victim to people’s narrowing attention spans. In a study by Kerynne Tejada, it was found social media is the most common way people learn about a film so paying social media influencers to promote and recommend a film on their platform can allow social media to ignite interest in a film rather than cannibalize it.
Social media has birthed the ideal community to discuss films; fans of specific franchises or just film generally have banded together to discuss old favorites and new releases. Previously, film-buffs were limited to their pre-existing circle, or perhaps a film club at their local cinema or school, but now millions can congregate together online. For the film industry, these are reservoirs of potential for advertising and ‘it lets studios tap into underground cult-like followings of franchises like never before’. For many, film franchises are all about the culture- harnessing the cult-like following of films is vital for a film’s success
Marvel are the leaders of the film industry in this technique of online fan engagement, with specific efforts made to interact with their cult-like fan base across a range of social media platforms. The inclusion of an ‘end credit scene’ is a prime way of achieving this as it offers fans a glimpse into the next installment and provides them with fuel to keep the online community active in anticipation of future releases as they can discuss theories. They are a vital way Marvel generates hype in its social media community as they feed the ‘unquenchable thirst for more marvel’.
To conclude, the film industry face a variety of challenges emerging from the cultural shift towards short form content on social media: shortening attention spans, platforms for film discourse and growing online fan communities all have the power to change the way we consume and interact with films. However, if film studios make efforts to engage with social media users they can use this to reach a wider audience than ever before. Similarly, streaming services have the power to keep audience’s attention if they can replicate the algorithms which facilitated their competition’s (social media sites like tiktok) ascension to popularity.
