"If everything you do is trying to blend in, you’re going to disappear."
- Seth Godin
In today's digital world, the average person is exposed to an overwhelming amount of information, especially on social media. With what simple flick of the thumb, many of us scroll through hundreds of posts daily, often without consciously registering the content we see. This relentless influx of information has led to a phenomenon known as "scroll blindness," where we become desensitised to the myriad of messages competing for our attention. For brands and marketers, this presents a formidable challenge: How can we capture and hold attention amidst this sea of content and mindless browsing?
An often-overlooked yet powerful design concept may hold part of the key to this challenge: the MAYA Principle, which stands for "Most Advanced Yet Acceptable." Coined by the renowned industrial designer Raymond Loewy, the principle suggests that to truly capture attention, we must present something novel but not so unfamiliar that it becomes alienating. By integrating this timeless concept with insights into how our brains process information, particularly through the mechanisms of attention, we can craft strategies that cut through the digital noise and resonate with audiences on a deeper level.
Understanding the Brain's Instantaneous Evaluation of Information
The human brain is an incredible machine that processes an unbelievable amount of information in just fractions of a second. What makes this accomplishment possible is the brain’s ability to prioritise, filter, and focus on what matters most while discarding what is perceived to be irrelevant. Central to this capability are the mechanisms of attention that help us navigate through information overload. My undergraduate dissertation focused on these very mechanisms, particularly the two types of attentional shifts essential to how we process stimuli in any environment: overt and covert attentional shifts.
Overt attention shifts occur when we consciously and deliberately move our eyes or head towards a stimulus. This happens, for example, when you spot an eye-catching creative on social media and physically turn your attention towards it to examine it more closely. Overt attention demands more cognitive resources and is often required for tasks that involve detailed processing, such as reading or analysing data. In social media contexts, these shifts occur when a post grabs our attention enough to stop our scrolling and encourages us to take a deeper look.
In contrast, covert attention shifts allow us to process stimuli without needing to physically look at them. This happens when something catches our peripheral vision or when we become aware of stimuli in the background without directly engaging with it. Covert attention is less taxing on cognitive resources, making it an efficient mechanism for scanning the environment or briefly registering stimuli without interrupting our primary focus.
In my undergraduate dissertation, I examined how these attention mechanisms affect multitasking and performance by measuring reaction times and accuracy across gender differences when completing concurrent tasks. While the study found no significant gender differences in multitasking abilities, it revealed important insights into how the brain divides attention between competing demands. Overt shifts, though more cognitively demanding, provide more precise and intentional engagement. Covert shifts, on the other hand, are quick and efficient, working almost subconsciously to help us filter irrelevant stimuli.
In the fast-paced world of social media, these attention mechanisms are constantly at play. Users scroll through their feeds at high speeds, with covert attention helping them assess content without stopping, and overt attention being reserved for posts that demand deeper engagement. The brain must therefore instantly decide, often within milliseconds, whether a post warrants further attention or should be ignored. This dual process of filtering and focusing determines how users interact with content on social media, explaining why much of the content fails to leave a lasting impact.
Mindless Scrolling: Challenges and Implications for Brands
My research on attention and multitasking highlighted that users in high-stimuli environments, and in this case when using social media, are engaged in rapid-fire multitasking. They process countless posts, notifications, and advertisements within a limited window of cognitive capacity, leading to an attentional bottleneck, where too much competing information overwhelms the brain, making it difficult to process everything effectively. This results in reduced engagement, decreased retention, and ultimately, cognitive disengagement.
In these environments, the brain continuously switches between covert and overt attention, determining which content deserves more cognitive resources. As cognitive overload occurs, users subconsciously ignore repetitive, predictable, or unremarkable content, focusing only on what stands out or breaks the monotony.
Brands relying on conventional social media marketing techniques, like generic product shots or overly familiar imagery, run the risk of their content blending into the background and being swept aside as part of another ongoing endless scroll. Simply producing more content or increasing the frequency of posts won't necessarily capture attention either. In fact, if the content is too complex, visually overwhelming, or entirely unfamiliar, it may lead to cognitive overload, causing users to disengage.
Applying the MAYA Principle on Social Media
In a world of mindless scrolling, capturing attention is a real challenge for brands, but the MAYA Principle offers a compelling solution. In an information-saturated environment like social media, content needs to feel innovative enough to spark curiosity but familiar enough to avoid confusion. If content is too familiar, it becomes invisible; if it's too novel, it may be too jarring for users to connect with.
Central to the MAYA Principle is the concept of moderate incongruence. The principle outlines that the most effective content is moderately incongruent with expectations. Slight deviations from the norm, and subtle breaks in the pattern, are more likely to prompt an overt shift in attention, causing users to stop scrolling and engage more deeply. When a message deviates slightly from what people expect, it triggers a sense of curiosity. Users are compelled to notice, and process the information, and often remember it more vividly. This response is rooted in the brain's natural inclination to detect and investigate anomalies in our environment, a mechanism with deep evolutionary advantages.
However, it's crucial to balance novelty with familiarity. If content overwhelms the user with too much novelty or complexity, an information processing bottleneck occurs. This can lead to disengagement as the brain opts to conserve cognitive resources by ignoring the overly demanding stimulus. Therefore, the goal is to introduce just enough novelty to engage the brain's interest without exceeding its processing capacity.
Furthermore, implementing the MAYA Principle on social media involves maintaining consistency at the "meaning" level, such as brand values and messaging, while introducing novelty at the "signal" level, which includes visuals, tone, or format. This approach leverages both overt and covert attention mechanisms. A post might initially catch someone's peripheral attention through bold colours or unexpected visuals (covert attention), but must then be engaging enough to warrant a direct, focused look (overt attention) that leads to meaningful engagement.
By thoughtfully applying moderate incongruence within the framework of the MAYA Principle, brands can tap into the brain's natural response mechanisms to capture attention and enhance memory retention. This strategic balance of novelty and familiarity enables brands to stand out in a crowded digital world while respecting the cognitive bandwidth of their audience. By creating content that not only interrupts habitual scrolling behaviour but also fosters deeper engagement, brands can leverage users' cognitive processes to produce more effective and memorable content.
Practical Applications of the MAYA Principle for Branding
Understanding these concepts is one thing, but how can brands effectively apply the MAYA Principle on social media? The key lies in creating content that balances familiarity with novelty, capturing attention without overloading users. Here are some strategies to achieve this:
1. Leverage Covert and Overt Attention
Design posts that first catch users' covert attention through bold colours, unexpected visuals, or subtle animations. The initial "hook" should be distinct enough to be noticed peripherally yet familiar enough to encourage further focus. Once you've captured their interest, hold their overt attention with meaningful and consistent messaging that aligns with your brand's values.
2. Create Visual Surprises
Instead of relying solely on standard product photos, incorporate elements that feel new or unexpected. This could include unusual colour schemes, quirky illustrations, or unconventional photography angles. These visual deviations should still align with your brand identity but offer a slight twist that piques interest and encourages users to engage more deeply.
3. Switch Up Formats
Experiment with different content formats to introduce novelty while maintaining consistent messaging. Video clips, interactive polls, stories, or carousel posts can offer new ways to present information. For instance, a traditionally conservative brand might introduce playful elements like behind-the-scenes footage or user-generated content, enhancing engagement while reinforcing its core message of reliability and trust.
4. Play with Tone
If your brand voice is typically formal, consider introducing occasional light-hearted or playful content. This slight shift in tone can create the kind of moderate incongruence that captures attention without confusing your audience. It's essential to ensure that any changes in tone are appropriate for your brand and resonate with your target audience.
5. Test the Waters with Moderate Incongruence
Run A/B tests on your posts to determine how much novelty works best for your audience. Gradually introduce elements that deviate from your standard content and monitor engagement metrics such as likes, comments, shares, and click-through rates. This data-driven approach allows you to fine-tune your strategy and find the optimal balance between novelty and familiarity.
6. Optimise for Cognitive Load
Consider the balance of information in your posts. Just as in multitasking, too much information can create cognitive overload, leading users to disengage. Keep posts visually striking but simple, allowing the brain to focus on one core message at a time. Clear and concise messaging enhances comprehension and increases the likelihood that users will remember and act upon your content.
Conclusion: Standing Out Amongst The Noise
As social media continues to be a dominant platform for brand communication, standing out requires a nuanced and strategic approach. The MAYA Principle offers a clear roadmap: balance novelty and familiarity to capture and hold attention. By understanding how attention and multitasking work, brands can create content that resonates with users on a deeper level.
Applying the MAYA Principle means being consistent at the meaning level while introducing novelty at the signal level. Whether through visual surprises, tone shifts, or creative content formats, this approach can break the cycle of mindless scrolling and lead to higher engagement and brand recall. Success on social media isn't just about being seen, it's about being remembered. By strategically leveraging the insights from research on attention and principles like moderate incongruence, brands can ensure their content strikes the right balance between familiar and fresh, creating a lasting impact in a crowded digital world.
Furthermore, integrating insights from neuroscience and cognitive psychology into marketing strategies is not just beneficial, it's essential in today's fast-paced digital world. Understanding the mechanisms of overt and covert attention shifts allows brands to design content that not only captures fleeting attention but also fosters meaningful connections with their audience.
Research into multitasking and attention underscores the importance of optimising cognitive load and leveraging attention mechanisms to enhance performance and recall. By embracing these principles, brands can transform passive scrollers into engaged followers, navigating the challenges of today's digital world and turning mindless scrolling into meaningful engagement.
PoweringThought:
As today's digital world continues to evolve, so too must the strategies needed to thrive within it. By combining the MAYA Principle with contemporary insights into human cognition and behaviour, brands can craft content that stands out and resonates. It's a delicate balance, but one that, when achieved, can lead to significant rewards in terms of brand recognition, loyalty, and engagement.
As these articles continue to explore the intersection of creative design, psychology, and marketing, one thing remains clear: the most successful brands will be those that understand not just what captures attention, but why. By exploring the science of how our brains process information, brands can better craft their messaging to seize attention and build lasting connections with their audience. Embracing this approach will not only help brands cut through the digital noise but also foster stronger, more meaningful relationships with their customers in an increasingly crowded marketplace.
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