There are a lot of misnomers about the way people interact with video content. You’ll hear experts telling you that the attention span of the modern consumer has dwindled to that of a hyperactive kid with a 6-second attention span. In fact, 6-second commercials are now a thing.

Here’s the trouble with the “shorter is better” argument; there’s no mention of control. HOW you allow consumers to view the content is just as important as what they’re watching.

At Cinebody, we’ve seen firsthand how making control a part of the user’s experience can have such a huge impact on engagement, and although Snapchat created the format, Instagram Stories is leading the charge with that interaction.

Want to skip ahead? No problem. Want to go back and see something again? Just touch the screen. This level of control is propagating all the major social channels, including Facebook, YouTube, and even business platform LinkedIn. But Instagram Stories remains the powerhouse in this arena, so we’ve put together three surefire ways to leverage that control in your content marketing strategy.

One: Control the Perspective

As people, we’re naturally curious and want to look around. We live in a 360 degree world, we want to see all the angles. You can give viewers that kind of experience through Instagram Stories.

For example, how about a video shot at a live concert that strings together multiple pieces of footage captured by different fans, all from different locations and perspectives? In the mosh pit, on the balcony, stage right, outside the venue, and so on. The viewer gets the chance to flip through each fan’s-eye view at their leisure. They watch the footage they like, they skip what they don’t.

Then there’s tourism. What’s a day at the beach like from every different part of the sandy nirvana? Skip ahead to the locations you want to see, go back to the ones that deserve a second look.

What about a home or office tour? Let the viewer control the perspective, going from room to room to room at their leisure. Give them all the footage and let them choose how to watch it.

Two: Control Access to Information

Think back to the introduction of the DVD. There were two primary reasons it took off like a rocket – quality and control. The latter was crucial. Now instead of sitting there fast-forwarding and rewinding to find the scene, you hit a button and you were there instantly. It’s the reason digital video continues to be the standard, and with Instagram Stories you once again put the user back in control.

A perfect way to utilize it would be with a Q&A session with a brand ambassador, celebrity, or figurehead. Segment the video into questions and answers, and let the viewers decide which questions they want to hear, which answers they feel are worth their time, and how they want to view it. Or maybe it’s one question answered by a variety of different people.

In effect, you put the viewer in the driving seat. They are used to being in control in many aspects of their lives. Don’t deny them that ability with video content.

Three: Control The Creative

When you create content for Instagram Stories, you should be creating for the power of the format. It’s something even the biggest brands forget to do. Many of them continue to take phenomenal 60-second content and chop it into 15-second posts. That’s like taking a widescreen movie and chopping the sides off to fit a TV screen. Sure, it kinda works, but that’s not what it was created for.

If Instagram Stories are the end product, create your footage with that platform in mind rather than doing a “one for all and all for one” video production. How can you use this user-controlled environment to make the footage work harder? We’ve already provided several examples above, but the opportunities for interaction are limitless.

Remember, the ability to control the way you view content is a huge part of today’s smartphone generation. It’s not that they have short attention spans, it’s that time is very important to them. If they’re not feeling something, giving them the power to skip ahead is way more beneficial than cutting the footage down.