I’ve noticed an interesting trend on Facebook lately. When someone posts something intelligent or thought-provoking on their wall (i.e. “Voyager 2 proves that the solar system is squashed”), a couple of people (if any) might comment on it. But when someone posts something superficial or, um, not very thought provoking (i.e. “It’s Friday, yo!”), the post will generally have 15 people like it and as many comments.
Obviously, this reaction to content is dependent upon the demographic of friends in any given network and the platform on which the content is presented. I consider my network of 200 friends on Facebook to be a good representative sample though, as it contains a wide variety of educational, geographical and professional backgrounds and interests.
Sometimes, when you try to be too clever or interesting, you risk alienating the masses. Being overly analytical in your communication or presenting something too academically can cause your audience to shut down and get quiet. To that end, best selling authors generally pen their work at a 7th grade reading level.
Beyond the reading level of your content, the content itself also plays a part in appealing to the masses. What you present will determine the attention that it will get from the largest segment of the audience. The reading level that you write it in will determine how many in the audience will understand it.
Top Network Primetime Telecasts 2000 – Present (US)
* The 2009 Presidential Inauguration had approximately 37.8 Million viewers and certainly didn’t make the top 20 shows on television in the US.
So, if you want to communicate with the masses, don’t be too smart and make your audience think too much. They will probably tune you out.
Alternatively, you can be smart and communicate with a smaller, more targeted audience that might appreciate your intellectual, well-written and thought-provoking content and respond in kind.
Comments
2 Responses to “To Get Attention, Don’t Be Too Smart”
See, i’m unsure whether it is being clever or finding common ground with people.
The example you used, with the universe being squashed, I would find interesting, but I know that the majority of my mates wouldn’t really care as it wouldn’t affect them directly.
Where as everyone knows about the joys of Friday. That will directly affect a larger audience.
So I think you’re quite capable of purveying an intelligent message to the masses, but just make sure that it is one of those common grounds that everyone can relate to if you want to maximise your impact.
I agree with you Alex, thus my last sentence: “…alternatively, you can be smart and communicate with a smaller, more targeted audience that might appreciate your intellectual, well-written and thought-provoking content and respond in kind.”
In mass communication, you sort of need to play to the least common denominator if you want a large number to respond.