What Makes Me Stop Scrolling as a Marketer

I spend a lot of time scrolling. Probably more than I'd like to admit, but in my defense, it is technically part of my job.

When you work in marketing, I don't think you ever really scroll through social media like a normal person. I'm constantly looking at the copy, the creative, the edit, the branding, and why a particular piece of content has made me stop for longer than the hundreds of others I've already passed that day.

Sometimes it's beautifully done. Sometimes it makes me laugh. Sometimes it's an idea so simple that I immediately think, "Why didn't I think of that?" And sometimes it's just a person talking to their phone who somehow manages to hold my attention for two minutes.

It got me thinking. In a world where we're consuming more content than ever before, what actually makes me stop scrolling? And perhaps more importantly for anyone working in marketing, what can we learn from it?

It Starts With the Idea

The first thing that will almost always get my attention is an idea I haven't seen 400 times already.

It doesn't need a huge production budget or the most beautifully designed creative I've ever seen. Sometimes the simplest concepts work best. But there needs to be an idea behind it.

This is where I think we sometimes get things backward in marketing. We start with, "We need three Reels this week" rather than asking what we actually have to say.

The format shouldn't be the idea. The idea should determine the format.

If I've already seen five versions of your concept that morning, making yours slightly prettier probably isn't going to make me stop. Give me an interesting perspective, an unexpected concept, or a different way of telling the story.

Give Me Some Personality

There is so much content online that technically looks perfect but feels completely forgettable.

Beautiful branding. Perfect grammar. Lovely imagery. And absolutely no personality.

The content I remember is usually the content where I can actually hear the person or brand behind it. Maybe it's funny, clever, slightly cheeky, or incredibly simple. It doesn't really matter what that personality is, as long as there actually is one.

One of my favorite tests for strong brand content is this: if I removed your logo, would I still know it was yours?

Your tone of voice, visual style, and the way you communicate should eventually become recognizable enough that people know it's you before they even look at the account name.

That's branding.

Make Me Think, "How Did They Come Up With That?"

This is probably my favorite kind of marketing.

Every so often, I'll see a campaign that makes my creative brain light up. It's unexpected, clever, or takes something incredibly ordinary and presents it in a way I never would have considered.

Those are the campaigns I send to people, save for later, and end up talking about in marketing meetings.

And they're not always the most beautiful.

There's a big difference between something being aesthetically pleasing and something being genuinely interesting.

Beautiful might make me look. Interesting makes me remember.

People Make Me Stop

I love a polished brand campaign as much as the next marketer, but sometimes a founder talking into their phone will hold my attention longer than an enormous production.

People connect with people.

Founders, employees, customers, creatives, experts, behind the scenes moments. There's something naturally compelling about seeing the actual humans behind a business.

I think this matters even more as AI becomes increasingly present in marketing. The little imperfections and human moments that brands once tried to remove are becoming some of the things that make content feel refreshing.

Not everything needs to look like an ad. Sometimes you just need someone interesting with something worthwhile to say.

Give Me Something Worth Knowing

Not everything that stops me scrolling needs to make me laugh or blow me away creatively. Sometimes I stop because I've learned something.

I love content that takes something complicated and makes it incredibly simple. The kind of post you immediately want to save or send to someone else.

For me, the best educational content doesn't exist to make the creator look smart.

It makes the audience feel smarter.

Give someone something they can actually take away, apply, or think about differently and you've created real value.

And Please, Surprise Me

Ultimately, I think the common thread behind almost everything that makes me stop is that it breaks the pattern.

We scroll past the same hooks, trends, video formats, templates, and captions every day. Our brains get very good at ignoring things we've already seen.

Then suddenly something feels different, and we stop.

That doesn't mean every piece of content needs to reinvent marketing. It means brands need to be willing to experiment, have a point of view, and occasionally do something simply because nobody else in their industry is doing it.

Playing it safe might protect you from creating something people dislike. But it can also protect you from creating something anyone remembers.

So, What Should We Actually Be Creating?

I don't think there's a magic formula for scroll stopping content. If there was, we'd all be using it, and eventually it would stop working anyway.

But there is one question I think we should ask ourselves more often.

Instead of asking, "What should we post?"

Ask, "What would make someone care?"

And here's something I'd encourage every marketer, founder, or content creator to try. The next time you're scrolling and something makes you stop, don't immediately like it and move on.

Ask yourself why.

Was it the first sentence? The visual? The person? The idea? Did it make you laugh? Did you learn something? Did it surprise you?

Start paying attention to what captures your own attention.

Because understanding why something makes you stop scrolling can teach you an awful lot about how to make somebody else stop too.