Everywhere you look, content is shrinking. It has to. We live in a world of information overload and mobile-first internet access. To survive, we’ve had to put speed and convenience over depth. But does that mean there is no place left for long-form content? Absolutely not.
In this article, I'll be exploring the advantages of developing short and long-form content, and how you can use the latter to create communications that count.
Why the world loves short-form content
It’s official. A goldfish has a longer attention span than us humans. In fact, if the latest data is to be believed, the average social media post holds our attention for just eight seconds (for the record, a goldfish can focus for nine). The time you have to catch it? That’s more like two.
More than just clickbait, short form content is crucial because it fits our fast-paced lives. It delivers messages quickly and effectively, capturing attention with intriguing hooks, headlines, visuals and crazy-impressive copy.
Short but sweet, this brevity helps keep content memorable and actionable. It is, without a doubt, the perfect tool to capture our attention in the rapid-fire of fleeting moments that dominate our time online.
What is long-form content, and why do I care?
Long-form content, on the other hand, is there to do something a little bit different. Definitions of vary, but for me, long-form is anything that creates space to offer readers that little bit more detail. For those of you in the social impact space, examples of long-form content might include:
Blogs, articles and online guides
Case studies and impact stories
Op-eds and feature pieces
Website pillar pages
Direct mail and appeals
Impact and annual reports
Whitepapers and information resources
Done well, long-form content is a great way to:
Build trust and credibility: detailed content often feels more credible and authoritative, and long-form pieces can create a forum to showcase your expertise and insights.
Promote thought-leadership: Long-form content provides the space to explore ideas in depth, positioning you or your organization as a thought leader in your field by sharing well-researched perspectives and insights.
Create an emotional connection: stories help make your message relatable and memorable, and long-form content gives you the space you need to tell them.
Educate and inform: longer documents (think whitepapers) are great way to turn complex information in accessible, readable information.
Build the case for action: long-form content creates space for a more detailed argument and strategic asks that help guide readers toward a specific action.
How long-form content can boost your SEO
For digital tools, long-form content is also a great way to boost your SEO. Let’s take blogs as an example. When I first started writing, best practice for the average blog was to hit somewhere between 500-800 words. Then it rocketed to 3,000 (and is quite rightly referred to as “Skyscraper content). Now, the ideal length is somewhere between 800–1,500.
The basic premise is that well-crafted, long-form content can engage readers for longer periods of time — reducing bounce rates, and signalling to search engines that the content is valuable. Long-form content is also more likely to receive back-links, and stays relevant for a longer period of time. This in turn can lead to higher rankings, increased organic traffic, and better visibility for targeted keywords. Not to mention conversion.
Imagine, all that from a blog!
Some tips to help make your long-form content count
The key word here, though, is “well-crafted”. The danger with long-form content is waffle. No one wants to read long, dense, paragraphs full of technical terms and jargon. Or words that have been written for the sake of it. That’s not long-form content. That’s boring.
To make long-form content count, you’ve got to make it as accessible — as readable — as possible. To do this, we need to borrow a few tricks from our short-form sister:
Start with a strong hook: captivating titles and headings grab your readers’ attention and set the tone for the content.
Be concise and clear: using plain English and avoiding jargon ensures your message is easily understood.
Break up bodies of text: dividing text into smaller sections and using bullet points improves readability and keeps readers engaged.
Tell a story: about more than fairly tails, even the most complex information needs to tell a story and have a clear and logical flow.
Invest in design: good content is like a good meal. If it looks good, you’re going to want to read it.
Have fun with it: injecting personality and enthusiasm makes the content more fun to write and enjoyable to read.
A match made in heaven
Of course, you can have the greatest piece in the world, but that doesn’t mean people are going to read it. The rule here is to make your content as long as it needs to be to get your point across. Good long-form content will be the sum of ideas. It will be rooted in a firm understanding of your target audience, a broader content strategy, and will offer your readers something of genuine value.
To make sure they find that value, you will also need to create some shorter, spin-off content. That’s right: we’ve just gone full circle. But if you want to get your message out there, you need to make sure people see it.
Why not try:
Creating social media teasers to pique interest and drive people to your site
Making a quick-access summary or sharing key takeaways on LinkedIn or Facebook
Spotlighting quotes, stats, infographics and photos to catch people’s eye
Sharing bite-sized video clips or animations to highlight key points
Using your newsletter to direct your audience to the full content
(Spoiler alert: there’s a whole post on this subject coming soon!)
Of course, when you’re posting don’t forget to include a clear link and call to action so people know exactly what’s wanted, and where they should go.
Hi, I’m Jen
I’m an ex-fundraiser turned long-form content creator helping health social impact organisations make a difference.
Drop me a line at copy@writtenbyjen.com to find out how.
Comentarios