By making it easier and faster for a reader to find what they need in the text, scannability reduces the time and mental energy a reader has to spend on your text. This reduces frustration, making for more engaged and satisfied readers. Over time, scannability may increase feelings of trust towards the writer.
Your content may be perfect, but if it isn’t organized to flow well with how readers consume information, it might as well be a smoke signal. There’s one quick concept that can improve your online marketing efforts: scannability. Read on for more information on how improving this one trait in your marketing materials can help you win over more warm leads.
Behind the Scenes of Scanning: As we continue our series on how financial advisors can boost their marketing efforts,[1] we’ve recently been talking about how to match trends. As we said earlier this year in a newsletter for plan sponsors “[s]ometimes trends are more than just, well, trendy. Five years ago, in a newsletter for our financial advisor readers, we discussed the trend of Podcasts and how it might show a change not in how people were consuming information, but what they were consuming information about.”[2] We’ve covered how a trend towards podcasts showed a desire by information consumers towards greater depth and detail. The migration to Substack may be part of that same trend. “While many think of Substack as only a place to grow a subscriber business, it may be that it works well for plumbers along with Pulitzer Prize winners…. But it isn’t just the writers that enjoy Substack. The platform allows readers to read the newsletters in a blog-like format and interact with other readers through comments and notes.” The key to Substack, we thought business leaders should take interest in was the format. “If [readers] are becoming more used to reading newsletters in a simple format with easy graphics, they may start to disfavor older versions of mobile websites. One of the major benefits of Substack is its ease in formatting. That easy formatting allows readers to scan information quickly.
The first F of Scannability is the F formation. “Whenever a user enters a page for the first time, they perform a dynamic visual scan to identify whether what they’re looking for will be there. How you distribute and format the text is what will allow your readers to scan it.”[3] Scannability measures how easy it is for a reader to perform that initial dynamic visual overview. The more scannable the text, the longer your reader stays on your page or in your newsletter. Additionally, scannability decreases bounce rate for emails.
The most scannable online text is that which conforms to a F formation, according to research by the Nielson group.[4] The F pattern is well known and accepted by marketing professionals. Instead of continuing to read right to left throughout an online document, readers will begin reading solely along the left column after the first blast of information. “This reading pattern prioritizes the most important elements of the text, such as the title and the first paragraph.”[5] The F pattern dictates some of what helps enhance scannability.
The Second F of Scannability is frustration. By making it easier and faster for a reader to find what they need in the text, scannability reduces the time and mental energy a reader has to spend on your text. This reduces frustration, making for more engaged and satisfied readers. Over time, scannability may increase feelings of trust towards the writer. One straightforward way to reduce frustration is to focus on white space. Inserting key or impactful information into a pull quote, a quote inserted into the body of the text, can help readers navigate information.
The Third F of Scannability is frequency. When it comes to making text easier on the reader, headings help. “They add structure and visual reference points, and the extra space they provide helps the user scan quickly.”[6] Simple text punctuated regularly by headings, numbered lists or pull quotes is easy to load and takes a load off the reader.
The Final F of Scannability is formatting. Using bold, italics, or highlighted words can help draw attention to key information, allowing a reader to pinpoint where they may want to go in your online text. Complex information involving contrasting choices can be presented in a table, rather than longer paragraphs, where it conforms to compliance standards. Font choice matters. Good graphic design usually suggests limiting the number of fonts. “Most often, two typefaces are enough to cover all your design needs. Moreover, you can get by with one typeface, using its different styles, and you will not lose anything…. Handwritten and heavily decorative fonts rarely look relevant, and are often difficult to read, especially on websites.”[7] Designers recommend to sticking to two fonts: one heavy and one light.
[1] For more on Advisor Edge, our program to help financial advisors build and maintain their business, please see https://www.bcgbenefits.com/advisoredge
[2] https://www.bcgbenefits.com/blog/benefits-boost
[3] https://hotmart.com/en/blog/what-is-scannability
[4] https://www.nngroup.com/articles/concise-scannable-and-objective-how-to-write-for-the-web
[5] https://hotmart.com/en/blog/what-is-scannability
[6] https://www.nngroup.com/articles/concise-scannable-and-objective-how-to-write-for-the-web
[7] https://amadine.com/useful-articles/rules-of-typography
These articles are prepared for general purposes and are not intended to provide advice or encourage specific behavior. Before taking any action, Advisors and Plan Sponsors should consult with their compliance, finance and legal teams.
Before leaping into the unknown, we recommend a thorough examination of your plan. Because we are experts in the field, we know the marketplace and know what your existing vendor is capable of offering. Through this examination, we can help you optimize the service you receive.
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