The Marketing Manager’s Guide to Long-Form Content

Welcome, marketing managers!

We understand that you’ve got a job that comes with many demands. With most brands these days using multiple social media platforms, as well as maintaining a website and an email list, you’ve got a lot of balls to juggle! It can be hard to decide where to focus your energy. Which means that long-form content can feel overwhelming.

We’re here to help you understand the benefits of long-form content and how it can help support your overall marketing strategy. We’ll be talking about:

• What long-form content is
• Its pros and cons
• How to create effective long-form content

If you’re ready to create content that takes your business to the next level, keep reading!

What Is Long-Form Content?

We’re living in a world where attention is at an all-time premium. We’re inundated with short-form content every time we open Instagram or TikTok. That makes it easy to recognize. So, what is different about long-form content?

(We’ll give you a hint: it isn’t just the length!)

At its core, long-form content is designed to go deep. Because you have more wiggle room regarding word count and time, this is a great opportunity to help educate your customers about your products, services, or the story behind why you do what you do.

Examples of long-form content include:

• This blog post 👍
• Newsletters 📰
• Magazine articles 📖
• Educational or explainer video content 🎥

What Are the Benefits of Long-Form Content?

With short-form content being so prevalent in our everyday lives, it is easy for even a seasoned marketing manager to discount the many benefits of long-form content. What are they? We’re glad you asked!

• Improve SEO – It is a universal truth that every business that you know has the same goal: making it onto the coveted first page of a Google search. That’s done through search engine optimization (SEO). There are many different strategies when it comes to improving SEO. Creating blog posts with relevant keywords is a great way to help your blog find readers and move its way up through the ranks.
• In-Depth Explanations – When you have something to say, as a business, it can be tricky to do it through quippy Instagram captions and TikTok dances. A long-form piece gives you the space to do a deep dive into whatever topic is on your mind.
• Increase Engagement – Many people dismiss long-form content, thinking it cannot hold the attention of your potential customers. We’re here to tell you that’s not the case! Many people would prefer to read long-form content in order to get more in-depth information. And when they are spending time looking at the long-form content, it means they are spending more time on your website!

What Are the Downsides of Long-Form Content?

While creating long-form content definitely has some benefits, there are also some downsides to keep in mind.

• Time Constraints – The fact of the matter is that it takes more time to create long-form content than it typically does to make short-form content. The average 1000-word blog post can take 2-3 hours to complete, and video content will take even longer.
• Limited Platforms – A solid content strategy often has a marketing department that creates pieces of media that can be shared across multiple social media platforms. Unfortunately, long-form pieces are somewhat limited when it comes to versatility. You are often stuck using platforms that can host longer video content, such as YouTube and Vimeo, or your own website for blog pieces.

5 Tips to Make Long-Form Content Work for Your Marketing Strategy

Ready to take your written content to the next level and take on search engines? Follow these strategic tips for creating long-form content.

1) Get Clear on Your Goals

As with any project, it’s vitally important that you have clarity around your goals. What are you hoping to achieve when you write long-form content? Is it education? Search engine optimization? Having clear goals allows you to measure your success over time and adjust as needed.

2) Develop Your Brand Voice

One of the best parts about writing long-form content is that it gives you ample opportunity to clarify your brand’s voice. This is your opportunity to really dive deep and pay attention to word choice. What tone are you trying to convey? Are you serious? Down to earth? Funny and irreverent? Make sure that the content you are creating matches your overall brand voice.

3) Create a Strategy

Once you’ve determined the type of content you plan on creating, we recommend making a content strategy. This should involve a written list of your overarching goals, as well as a schedule for when content will be released.

4) Focus on a Catchy Opening

Because long-form content requires your audience to have a longer attention span, it can be a good idea to try to reel them in right at the start. An engaging introduction can go a long way toward maintaining focus and increasing your time on page numbers.

5) Don’t Forget Visuals!

Breaking up text with visual media has been proven to help increase engagement and keep readers on the page. Visuals can come in the form of photos or even video content. In fact, if you’ve been creating videos for your company, this can be a great place to show them and increase views.

Work With a Professional Production Company

Want to create stand-out video content that supports your long-form post? Stingline Pictures can help! As a full-scale production company, we offer film services from directing and scripting to filming and producing. Whatever your vision is, let our team of experts help you make it come to life and grow your business. Contact us today to learn more!