Using Market Influencers to Increase Retention

The fickle nature of human memory is a phenomenon that has been well documented. We all are acutely aware of how bad we tend to be at remembering things. However, a new study published by Prezi in conjunction with Dr. Carmen Simon, a cognitive neuroscientist, quantified just how poor the average memory is.

With all the effort that marketers put into branded content, it is disheartening to know that 80 percent of consumers report that they forget the majority of the data of branded content within three days of viewing it. Even worse, more than 50 percent report not being able to recall a single detail of this content within that same amount of time.

However, this does not mean that marketers should give up on creating new content altogether. There are techniques and approaches that can be utilized that make content more memorable to consumers. Video content was recognized by consumers as being much more likely to stick in their minds than other forms of content like written articles or graphics. This is likely because videos activate more parts of the brain (listening comprehension and visual tracking) than other forms of content, and it is that greater activation that yields greater retention ability. Any content that consumers can interact with also has a higher rate of memory.

With this in mind, it is clear that marketers should be focusing on video and other forms of interactive content. This is where the use of market influencers can come into play. Many market influencers are already heavily reliant on video to communicate with their followers. The majority have built their following through video segments that consumers go to for entertainment and recommendations. By forging strategic partnerships with these influencers, marketers can gain access to a spokesperson with an expertise in creating engaging videos and a large following. The usefulness of video is just one more reason why marketers should look to make influencer marketing a central part of their strategy.