When I worked as a talent agent, and for a few years after when my kids were acting, I learned a key thing that keeps proving itself to be true. You only have about 90 seconds for people to see if you are worth paying attention to or they should move on. Many actors’ information sites claim between 2 – 3 minutes (120-180 seconds), but my experience is that 90 seconds is about all it takes for someone to form an opinion about the worthiness of your talent or content.
Social media has made us even more susceptible to missing out on important information if something doesn’t catch our attention in the first 7 seconds. That is why sites like TikTok, YouTube Shorts, Instagram Reels, Facebook Stories, and more are so popular. People are bored too easily. People are bored much more quickly if they have to read something instead of watching a video.
That is what makes it so hard for me to understand why I get an ad for an amazing product. Then, they send me to a 45 minute video about the tragedy that leads to the trip to an exotic jungle to remind me of how they almost died, but then managed to find the exact thing that will make my life instantly better – if I just pay $37 – $97 or more for that amazing product this tragedy helped them create.
Just show me some before and after photos and give me the price. I usually let the video play while I go off and do other things until I get to the part where they tell me the price. Less than $50, maybe I’ll try it. More than $50, maybe I need to look at the transcript before deciding.
Then, there are the click bait videos that go on for way too long as someone pranks someone or surprises someone, and it’s all supposed to be authentic, but it’s definitely a scripted piece.
Because of all of this, my goal is to keep these blog posts shorter. Yes, some topics may require more detail, and some stories are more intriguing. In those cases, I will give you the opportunity to go more in depth, but you will get something entertaining or worthwhile information in short bursts.
In general, I will do my best to stick to these rules I’ve given myself for the majority of the posts.
1) Video posts – 90 seconds to no more than 180 seconds.
2) Written posts – no more than 1,000 words. (This post is just over half that.)
3) Have helpful information or entertaining content.
4) Give you the opportunity to get more information if you choose to by giving you links to access the in depth information, but not force you to endure a long video or story that leaves you annoyed that you spent so much time.
I look forward to interacting with my fellow working professionals and working moms through Queen of the B Moms.