Nobody reads anymore.

Okay, that’s not entirely true. You made it this far in this article, so there’s certainly some level of reading going on. But more and more, showing what we mean is replacing long-form writing, and that’s okay (said the author of 27 books). Younger generations, in particular, tend to respond best to short, visual media over lengthy paragraphs.

Viewer attention is at a premium. The average page visit lasts less than a minute. If we try to cram everything viewers need to know (or we want them to know) into what they have to read, they may learn nothing because they’ll skip it—or if we’re lucky, they’ll skim it. Why fight it? Let’s make it work for us. Stick with me, I’ll make it quick with a few ways to write things your members will read.

Tricks to gaining and keeping viewer attention

Here’s what we can do:

1. The People magazine effect

Even going back years, People magazine realized its “readers” like to look at pictures and read captions for context. We should do the same. As credit unions, we are people helping people, so we need to find ways to show it. (I’d write more, but then I wouldn’t be taking my own advice. You get it. Which is the point, Gen-Z is considered the smartest generation to date, so give them the least they need to know and provide a link to learn more.)

2. Blink if you understand

We have only a second or three to grab someone’s attention. Picture all of your information waiting to go on stage, but there’s only time for one more act. Push your best performer out into the spotlight because that’s all they may get to see. Do the same with your information. It’s hard to believe people still don’t understand how and why credit unions are better than banks. Focus on that. (Also, use word pictures as I tried to do above.)

3. A word is worth a thousand pictures

Couldn’t help yourself, could you? You know a picture is worth a thousand words, not the other way around. You wanted to see if I’d lost my mind. We can convey emotion, create a connection, and tell a story a lot faster with photos, illustrations, and infographics. (We can also use catchy and creative headlines to draw people in.)

Meet them where they are, not where we want them to be

You. You! I wish there were more true readers like you. Alas, there’s the way we want things to be and the way they are. As credit unions, we’re lucky that we tend to attract the smartest people who will at least glance at the information we send. However, as our members get younger, it would be wise to make sure we apply the principles above to our email marketing, in-branch signage, social media posts, literature… I could go on, but you get the point.