Technology has gotten so fast that instant gratification is no longer a luxury for consumers; it’s a necessity. Patience such as that exhibited by Dr. Dave Bowman with his device, HAL 9000, is all but extinct. When the average person in 2021 reaches for their device, they rarely need to open the pod bay doors, but they almost always need something. In this instant or micro-moment, the person drawing their device often has one of four motives: to know, go, do, or buy.

A micro-moment is the instant in which a person calls upon their device to quench one of these thirsts, and quickly. Since their motivation emerges from the womb—or brain, rather—fully formed, so too should your marketing strategy be fast, direct, and unambiguous. Your goal should be to, in the spirit of Oliver Nelson, steal these moments. To claim them for your brand, you must first identify the moments at which the consumer wants to know, go, do, or buy. Here are a few such moments Google shared in their “Basics of Micro-Moments” guide:

  • Someone is exploring or researching a topic but not looking to buy
  • Someone is looking for a local business or store that carries a particular product
  • Someone wants help completing a task or trying something new
  • Someone is prepared to buy but needs help choosing what to buy or how to buy it

Once you’ve rounded up your audience’s micro-moments, you must ensure your brand is prepared to respond quickly and succinctly when they happen. In their article on “Capturing Micro-Moments,” Act-On suggests prepping your platforms: clean up your website and social media outlets to maximize usability, and consider installing tracking beacons. Act-On also suggests re-packaging your content until it is “bite-sized” yet still engaging and reactive. This process might include adding subtitles to videos that might display at first without sound. You might also consider setting up a trigger that immediately sends an informational email message to a particular type of website visitor.

However you plan to ensnare and occupy your audience’s micro-moments, make sure you do it with purpose and speed, lest your brand go the way of the HAL.