What is the Distractometer?

Distraction. It’s all around you. Every day you struggle with it to complete the tasks you need to get done. It’s the same for the people you are trying to communicate with. They are distracted. If you want them to engage in our content you need to help them out of their distractions and into engagement.

This is the Distractometer. It measures how distracted your audience is. Why is this important? Because if your audience is not engaged in your content, they are distracted by something else. The goal of your content is to move your audience from being distracted and unengaged to being engaged and ultimately fans of your content, brand and business.

Distracted

So what are the levels of distraction? At the distracted side of the scale, your audience is either not aware of your content or they are aware of it but choose not to engage with it. This may be because they don’t see it as relevant or valuable and they prioritise something else over it.

Unengaged

At the unengaged level, they are aware of your content, they may even read a headline or watch the first few seconds of a video, but they don’t engage further and they don’t take an action related to the content and become more engaged.

Engaged

When your audience becomes engaged in your content they are actively involved in consuming and responding to it. They are reading the article or watching the video and they are taking a low commitment action related to the content. This may be to like, share or comment on your content. This is a highly desirable state for your audience to be in. They may even make a purchase relating to your business or brand. And if they are employees they will “buy” into the business.

Tipping point

You’ll see on the Distractometer that there is a gap between the unengaged and the engaged side of the scale. This is a tipping point where your audience moves from being unengaged to actively engage in your content. The challenge is that once someone tips from being unengaged to engaged, it doesn’t mean they’ll stay there. It’s a fragile state. They can easily slip back to being unengaged. The key is not to let them slip back and move them deeper into the engaged side.

Fan

The most desirable stage of all for your audience is to become fans of your content, brand and business. They are the ones who consume all your content and who talk to their friends about you. They are the early adopters of your latest products and they are evangelists for your brand. They self-identify with your content and what your brand stands for. They are the employees who are not just working for a salary but for the meaning and purpose, the company gives them. They are the customers who make repeat purchases of your products and services.

In summary, the key to successfully engaging your audience in your content is to move as many of them as possible through the different stages of the Distractometer. To move them from being distracted and unengaged to being engaged and ultimately fans of your content, brand and business. To do this you have to focus on the tipping point between an unengaged and an engaged audience. By getting them across this divide and keeping them there, you greatly improve your audience engagement and the chance of them becoming fans.