What Users Want

If you are in the business of content development you should know by now that there is no way to know what will work with your audience.

It is sometimes baffling what will click with an audience and what may not. At times I have posted some well-curated or well-researched content but, found no takers. In contrast, some very random posts get totally unexpected appreciation. The pattern is same with learning content. You may design the best learning games or weave the learning into the best of stories but, when you evaluate retention, you realize the audience was not engaged enough to learn!

I agree that high-end learning does not work for everyone however, there often is no telling what does. What is making the business of catering to tastes more and more difficult now is also the fact that in this era of 'individualism' you cannot really club users into types or groups anymore. There are all possibilities that the content may not work for everyone in the group.

Why?

With increased presence in the social media at all times thanks to the smart phones, everyone has become an 'individual'. The digital social presence that started with chat rooms hanging out with virtual people in the late 90s when a conversation started with, "ASL (age, sex, location) please" is now crowded with curated presence on the Internet. You don't need to ask anything about a person anymore - just go to their Facebook, LinkedIn, Google, Reddit, Tumblr or Instagram profile/ handle and it's all there. Every profile has a storyline. You can go on Twitter and check a person's political views or lack of it or read blog posts to determine their thought process.

Each and every person is a storyteller today and have the leading role in the story of their lives. No doubt that a recent survey recently reported that 50% of the Millennials think that their lives should be turned into a movie.

Don't be surprised. When you put up your life on the Internet and treat your smartphone like how Gollum treated the ring in Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings, and share every moment of your life on a platter with friends and strangers, you obviously start believing that you are a brand. While many argue that this kind of presence on the social media is making strangers of family members because the only place they hang out together is on the Net, I firmly believe that being on the Internet helps broaden your horizons. The access to news, ideas and knowledge is immense and it is all free. When you are browsing all the time and learning so much, your IQ is bound to be much more developed than many others around you and you are bound to have very well-developed interests as well as dislikes - in short, you know your mind and don't care if it does not match your peers'.

Which brings us back to our dilemma, what works for such a diverse and eclectic audience who already have access to almost every information for free?

It is obvious that despite knowing that your audience has individualistic tastes it is not possible to create content targeted for individuals. So, what is the solution if we cannot create content targeted for either groups and individuals then what works?

The best solution would be asking them to do it.

Don't be surprised by the solution. It has already a rage in the marketing world and also in learning and development. It is called, Reverse Marketing' in one and 'Hands-on Training' in the other. It comes with personal branding and endorsement of and from each and every individual involved.

Have you ever thought why a Kim Kardashian is so well-followed individual with immense influence though she is neither a movie star nor a model? I am sure you have and the answer is that she is famous for being famous! She and her family are mostly famous because they hung it all out there for their reality show, Keeping Up with the Kardashians. The intimacy of sharing their daily life with television audience for several years made them immensely famous. And while we would think that daily life of a family would put people off, in reality it had the opposite effect. The audience bonded knowing that no one was writing the script and that the storyline was developing on its own just like their own lives and wanted more. The rest as they say is history!

Now, take for example the soap brand, Dove. They burst into your lives with real people and real stories. They ran a series of advertisements where unknown women shared their tryst with the soap on TV endorsing the fact that it made their skin feel smooth and happy. It worked. It still is working. Dove has no celebrity brand ambassadors but, has a thriving niche market!

Now, think of all the blogs and Instagram postings and Facebook and Twitter shares on the social media. It is engaging billions of like-minded as well as diverse sets of people with each other. The influencers with huge online following are as easily unknown people who have gone 'viral' as much as well-known faces from glamour, sports or politics.

So, coming back to our discussion, what works, well... Here's your answer.

I have said it earlier and I will say it again. You can click with your audience by being yourself and being visible. Create a strong platform for yourself. Make your opinion count and let the audience come to you. Be the viral guru!

Or

Throw the platform open. Interaction is the key to your success. Let the users lead the show.

How?

It is pretty simple actually. Let them set the pace. Here are some of the ways you can do it:

1) Use interactive platforms where your users can share their experiences, thoughts and ideas

2) Let the users lead the campaign or training - you can be the facilitator

3) Let the users dive into their experiences and share their understanding of what you want to teach/ sell

4) Ask them to upload videos, submit papers or write ebooks that endorse or reinforce what you are wanting to say

There are many other ways to do this as well but...

Yes there is always a but.

When you throw your doors open to the village, you need to keep a watch that your house is not ransacked.

What do I mean?

Simple. When you are letting everyone share their opinion in your campaign or course, you need to have the last word. Ensure that you check and curate everything that goes out to the world. Your role is the most important here. You will be the floodgate that lets the water out. If you don't know when to clamp-down and when to let go, then it may not work.

How to do that?

Well, that would be the topic for another story. For now, build your community, gather it together and take the plunge!

All the best!

Blink and Miss: On Millennials & Overcoming Attention Span Disorder

I read recently that millennials have an attention span of 12-8 seconds - even less than that of a goldfish!

I know that most of you already know that but, what are we going to do about it?

As a creator of content it almost turns me into a ball of knots to think that I have no time to catch attention of the people I am trying to catch attention of - go figure!

I have also been reading up on disruption as a technique to catch attention but, I honestly do not believe that attention grabbed that way can be held for too long. It can be used as a one-time-odd gig to pull people in but, it doesn't guarantee that they'll stick around.

So, what can I do to grab those roving eyeballs and turning heads to stay in place and glued to what I want them to see - my content?

I pondered for a couple of weeks on this and meanwhile, kept rewriting my draft here. I spoke to some of these so-called 'dreaded' millennials and found them not much different than me in habits and behavior. Except for one BIG difference - they were way more relaxed in their approach towards life and that they pursued things with passion. If it clicked for them then, they'd move mountains to work on it.

No wonder then that there are so many web influencers who are perhaps half my age but, they have huge following on web portals and social media. They may not be sharing the best, most polished content but, they were dedicated and honest in their postings. They are also interacting with others in their network. They have grown because they actually read what others were writing, cared to comment and strike up conversations. Plus, they are sharing personalized messages and views on what works and what doesn't. There is a lot of care in the chaos if you look at it closely.

Which led me to believe that they were actually not lacking in attention department but, were pretty high on the passion front. They like to be appreciated and in turn are ready to appreciate other people's handiwork albeit it is a personalized and honest attempt and I am not talking of the bloopers videos!

So, wow! Therein lay my answer.

Buried in the discussions on lack of attention we had forgotten that, we are equally inattentive when it comes to things we don't care for. But, the difference between Gen X and the Millennials is that the later are passionate in their pursuit of what holds their fancy. It does not matter too much if it doesn't bring home the bacon but, it does make them feel appreciated. There are so many of them touring the Earth like vagabonds on tight budgets to be able to click pictures of remote places and share them with the world. There are those who are religiously blogging about their newborns and toddlers or baking recipes. They don't care to follow the tried and tested path unlike their predecessors.

It all fell in place the other day while interviewing a girl for a corporate role, I asked her the age-old HR question, "where do you see yourself five years from now?" I was smugly settled thinking she'd make up a long story about climbing the ladder to the top but, she stole my thunder with, "I want to start my own bakery and be a famous TV food host." She was so convinced that she was going to achieve it by watching YouTube videos of other famous cooks and chefs and baking up a storm in her kitchen. She didn't come from a very well-to-do family nor did she look like someone who had everything provided for her by her doting parents. On the contrary, she was contributing to the family income.

I loved her answer and it made me rethink everything that is being said about the Millennials. They are not seeking what the Baby Boomers had not already asked for. Then why do we criticize them for putting themselves and their families first?

We couldn't even say that to our folks at home forget at job interviews.
  
After that I decided to look into each and every bit of content that I have been working on and asking myself:

• Is is great?
• Does it make an emotional connect?
• Is it focused?
• Is it easy to understand and follow?
• Does it make an impact?

And the most important question:

• Will it stop me in my tracks if I had not made it myself?

The last question is the most important. If we are able to answer it honestly. A whole lot of issues that we face with audience attention disorder can be done away with if we can answer that one from our guts.

So, my take on creation for the supposedly ADD Millennial audience:

• Keep it simple
• Keep it focused 
• Keep it useful
• Don't preach
• Make it your own

Unless we can honestly tick all the boxes, keep reworking. You will hit the sweet spot! (Pun intended) 

The Instructional Designer as a Bespoke Tailer

'Instructional Designing is boring!' I often hear many younger teammates complain. The lack of creativity often turns many towards trying out other more creatively-paying jobs abandoning ID by the wayside.
But, I have always disagreed that argument. An ID's job is NOT boring. On the contrary, it is no less interesting than that of a Fashion Designer's or Bespoke Tailor's!
"Training becomes boring without interactivity." This was the very first input I had received when I started off around 14 years back as an ID.
"But, how much interactivity?"
That is a pertinent question to ask especially when you are creating content for classroom training purposes. Because, in a classroom, the trainer is the helmsman who keeps things going. S/he needs to have a grip over the class. If the content is too interactive, the trainer may have a tough job keeping things together. Unless of course it is an outdoor training camp or a theater workshop. Then of course, the approach changes.
Similarly, while developing creative content which could be either, game-based, story-based or audio/video-based, it is important to know your audience and then, think what would work for them before running with a current fad.
Remember that the latest in fashion does not work for everyone. A stylist or a fashion designer would suggest different clothes to enhance the personality of each client. A dress is often designed keeping in mind the demography, body type, age, season, fashion, purchasing power and finally the outfit to make an impact by enhancing the personality of the one wearing it.
Similarly, Creating training content is like high-end or bespoke tailoring. You need to cut the cloth according to the requirement and keep in mind the personality of the wearer. It may not be as glamorous a job as a fashion designer's but, it is very similar. The idea is to cut the cloth according to need.
Many IDs often think that theirs is a very non-creative line of work. They are not thinking out-of-the-box. A good course material always reflects the ingenuity of the Instructional Designer. They are like well-tailored suits. The cloth is cut and stitched to accentuate the wearer's body and highlight their best features while hiding the flaws. Similarly, a well-designed course should also work for the end user by not just being good to look at but, also allowing them to learn and apply the newly-acquired skills at work thus enhancing their career.
If you don't study your end users or recognize their needs, the training content you create for them is unlikely to make any impact on the learner. No matter how creative, interactive, beautiful, knowledgeable your training material, it will only work if it is relevant for the end-user and enhances their skills and boosts their careers. Just like a beautiful but flashy outfit would look out of place on an elderly person but, works wonders on a younger wearer and vice versa.
To be able to make hard-hitting training course, an ID needs to get inside the mind and working life of the end user. The ID also needs to speak to the manager, the customer and the company head honchos to understand what is it the vision of the organization and where does the target audience fall in the scheme of things. As a dress must be designed keeping in mind the need and the occasion when the wearer is going to put it on. A party dress cannot be worn to work.
Then there is the content itself. It pays to remember that a Subject Matter Expert (SME) is NOT an ID. An ID needs to pick and choose the relevant and discard the rest this is very important. It is often difficult for the SME to do so. Not every tailor can be a designer. Can they? But, a fashion designer need not be an expert tailor. Their job is to make their clients feel confident of facing the world in the clothes designed for them.
Finally, the medium of instruction, how will the training be delivered? Will it be on an online platform? Will it be delivered face-to-face? On a mobile phone? As a book or workbook? As a hands-on training? These factors also have an impact on the course design. Each medium needs to be handled differently and an interactivity used in one for the same course cannot be reused in another - at least not without making proper adjustments to make the activity/ game/ story fit in with the medium. As cloths are designed keeping in mind, season, trend, age, lifestyle and many other factors.
If your assessment is correct then your course design solution is definitely going to make an impact on your learners' careers just like a designer dress on a fashionista. At the end of the day both the Instructional and the Fashion Designer help their clients by making them face the world with confidence.
But, don't forget the Jazz. It helps keeping the story moving in the classroom or in a self-learning session.
Happy designing folks!