Some people think that long-form content, being lengthy and wordy, overwhelms the readers and fails to grab their attention.
Contrary to this myth, it actually offers more room for creativity and depth. Hence, it is more effective.
In this post, we will present some important benefits of long-form content, and some valuable tips on how you can go about producing in-depth reader-friendly articles
Let’s dive right in
What Is Long-Form Content?
As the name suggests, any piece of writing that is long and offers in-depth information about a topic is classified as long-form content. While there is no specific length prescribed for such content, the word count generally exceeds the limit of 2,000 in most articles.
The realm of long-form content encompasses the following formats:
- Tutorials
- eBooks
- How-to guides
- Case Studies
- Whitepapers
- Resource Lists
- Infographics
The domain also includes visual content, such as podcasts and videos.
What Are The Benefits of Long-Form Content?
The ultimate goal of any content in the marketing world is to provide value to the target audience and keep them hooked. You can achieve that through an efficient content marketing strategy that involves leveraging the power of highly engaging long-form content.
Read on to find out why you should be creating in-depth content for your website.
- Boosts Your Brand’s Visibility on Search Engines
Long-form content can help you enhance your brand’s visibility on search engines. To put it simply, you have more room to accommodate your search engine optimization strategy in a longer article by:
- Adding your focus keywords as many times as you want without resorting to keyword stuffing and sounding unnatural.
- Incorporating headlines, bullet points, detailed statistics, and backlinks to improve page readability.
- Applying a proper image optimization strategy through various visual elements.
Much of this can also be achieved in shorter articles. Still, a study shows that top ranks on Google are occupied by more comprehensive articles.
- More Social Media Shares And Backlinks
With smartphones in everyone’s hands, social media has become an increasingly powerful marketing tool. A robust online presence on major social media platforms is what most businesses aim for.
According to Backlinko, long-form content helps acquire an average of 77.2% more backlinks than short articles. As for social shares, articles up to 2000 words long outperform shorter blogposts. Another study of 100 million articles shows that the top 10% of long-form articles got the most social media shares.
Ultimately, more shares and backlinks bring in more traffic and conversions.
- Reinforces Your Brand’s Authority
Long-form content can provide deeper details and a higher degree of depth, allowing you to enhance your brand’s authority. You can talk at length about what your audience wants to know and create a strong impression of expertise in your sector.
By incorporating in-depth and comprehensive content, you can present yourself as a master within your niche and attract more readership. Your audience will start looking up to your content for insightful ideas, bolstering your brand’s reputation and credibility.
Moreover, a study reveals that people support businesses with more value and insightful knowledge.
- Better User Engagement
You might think that people are mainly looking for quick fixes. It is partially true, but often, the answer lies in the details.
Long-form content readers happily bask in all the valuable details you’ve provided, taking their time. This increases the user engagement on your webpage.
And that is not it! in-depth content lovers will gladly check out other content on your website, enhancing on-site activity.
- More Number of Leads
Who knew long-form content could serve as a handy lead generation tool as well?
Yes, you can expand the number of prospects through long-form content. A comprehensive and in-depth article will allow more space to accommodate relevant CTAs (call-to-action).
Not only that, but you can also bulk up your leads by simply trading long-form content like eBooks, guides, or whitepapers in return for as little as a name and email.
Creating Successful Long-Form Content
Now that you know what you’ll gain from investing in long-form content, it’s time to get down to business and start producing top-notch content!
The following steps will help you create winning long-form content for your business:
- Define Your Goals
Ask yourself: What do you want to achieve with your long-form content? Are you looking to bulk up your prospects? Maybe you want more social media shares and a solid online presence. Or you could be seeking a strong viewership?
Defining your goal will help you decide what type of long-form content you should create. For example, a survey found that listicles and infographics will get you the most social media shares. On the other hand, another research affirms the importance of ebooks and whitepapers in enhancing lead generation.
- Decide Your Keywords
No matter how well-created your long-form content is, it will bear no fruit if it doesn’t incorporate relevant keywords. Just imagine: How will people find your content if you do not include appropriate search terms?
Keywords are essential for attracting organic traffic to your platform. They help search engine algorithms understand your content. They are also queries used by people to find relevant information.
The best way to decide keywords for your content is through Google Search. The autofill feature will give you an idea about the topics your prospect is searching for. Another way is to look at what your competitors are talking about and the topics helping them rank in the top SERPs.
You can also use SEMrush and Ahrefs to analyze your competitors’ SEO strategies and competitive keywords for your industry.
- Be Descriptive
We all know that long-form content is descriptive. So do not shy away from offering additional and new information about the topic.
Whether it’s an eBook, a how-to guide, or a tutorial, you have to be an expert on the subject. And what better way to do that than being elaborative and touching the most intricate details?
However, make sure that the information you provide is well-researched and helpful for the readers. Simply adding fluff to cover the word count limit can impact your content quality and turn both – the readers and search engines away from your brand.
- Make it Scannable
As a long-form piece is lengthy and comprehensive, you must make it readable. Your readers should be able to scan through it without necessarily having to read massive blocks of text to find the simple detail they are looking for.
You can start by adding a table of contents first and then linking each content to its respective section below. Then you can add headings, sub-headings, and bullet points to break and make it easy for the viewers to skim through the article.
Another great and necessary idea is to avoid big paragraphs. Cut down your content into smaller paragraphs, making it look more readable.
- Don’t Forget Visuals
Visuals are a vital element of your long-form content. It helps in understanding the textual content better and serves as meaningful breaks in between loops of lengthy texts. The right imagery will also make your page more appealing.
Always use high-quality and relevant images in your content. You can either choose to take custom photographs or source from an online visual content repository. Screenshots from other articles are also helpful in conveying the message.
Conclusion
Today’s fast world of quick fixes and short attention spans might make you believe that long-form content is an old-school concept. But, the truth is, the thirst for detailed, in-depth, and insightful content is still there.
The Internet is flooded with shallow answers to deep problems, revealing their inefficiency to people seeking a comprehensive look at their issues.
With well-researched and knowledgeable long-form content, you can provide your audience with the seriousness and depth they crave. Add consistency and determination to it, and you are sure to pave the way for a loyal and steadfast clientele.
In this article, we highlighted the top ways to help you create long-form content. Give them a try and let us know the results you experienced.