We are approaching the end of the year, and it’s time to review how our marketing strategy performed this year. We should ask what worked, what didn’t, and what we can change for next year. If something works, continue doing it for next year. If something didn’t go as well as you’d like, you can make a few changes and try again next year. Another option is to look for a different marketing strategy altogether.
Long-form content is always an excellent marketing strategy option. From hanging out online on various platforms, it seems like some creators and business owners are getting burnt out from social media and realizing that the shelf life of short video content isn’t providing the ROI (return on investment) they’d thought it would.
If you haven’t prioritized long-form content for your marketing strategy, today, I will share ten reasons why you should prioritize long-form content for the new year. Long-form content, whether podcasts, blogging, or YouTube videos, provides depth, engagement, and value. Not to mention evergreen shelf life.
Increase SEO Performance
You should want your potential clients and listeners to find your content rather than you chasing them all the time. That’s exhausting. It seems like with short video content, that’s what one is doing—but with long-form content, you’ll increase your SEO performance, making your content visible to your audience.
Plus, whether you record a podcast and then turn it into a blog post or write blog posts for your website, remember that Google prioritizes content that is well-researched, written, high-quality, and answers users’ inquiries in detail.
Increased Audience Engagement and Retention
Since long-form content is more extended than short-video content, users are engaged for longer periods. This helps build and maintain stronger brand loyalty. Plus, people want to know all the details, but short video content doesn’t provide detailed information; it’s just a hook to get them to follow the account.
Plus, research shows that Podcasters are the most trusted media personalities in the US. Podcasts are long-form content that has an evergreen shelf life, like blogs. Think of podcasts as audio blogs. So, if you’re thinking about creating stronger brand loyalty with your audience – you should either have a podcast or a blog. You can always do both because people like to receive their content from different media.
Authority Building in Niche Markets
One reason podcasters are trusted is that the format of podcasts allows the host to cover topics thoroughly and establish themselves as experts in their field. This applies to blogging as well. Podcast episodes can run from anywhere from three minutes to over an hour.
With interview-style podcasts, the hosts will interview other experts in the field to talk about their experiences, knowledge, and expertise, boosting the show’s credibility. These interviews can then be turned into blog posts to help those who wish to read the interview versus listen to them.
Think about your market and make a list of experts you can invite to your show next year. Take this opportunity to learn from them and share their wisdom with your audience.
Better Conversion Rates for Businesses
If you are using blogging and podcasting for your online business, which you absolutely should, these long-form content provides a better conversion rate than short video clips on social media. Why? Because they provide more details, more value, and they help build trust with your potential clients and audience.
I had a friend refer a potential client to me to help her launch her podcast. The client confessed to me that she had viewed my website and blogs before she finally said yes to working with me. That lets me know that having my website and blog about podcasting tips is doing what it’s supposed to do—converting visitors to clients.
Ideal Format for Storytelling
Long-form content – especially podcasting, is the perfect format for storytelling. You can either tell your story or invite experts in your field to share their stories of getting started. I have seen a few business owners who highlight their clients’ stories on their websites. This is an option as well.
Storytelling is the best way to connect with your audience on a deeper level. Sharing our stories creates change, and we learn from each other. Podcasting, as mentioned above, is the perfect format to share these stories. Sharing stories in an audio format really captures the audience’s attention and can motivate them.
Increased Social Sharing Potential
Have you noticed that when someone shares an article online, it’s usually a well-crafted, researched, and detailed enriched article? This is the power of long-form content; it is more likely to be shared online because of the value it provides.
The same is applied to podcasts. When someone recommends a podcast or a podcast episode to you – it’s usually because there are details that resonate with those who recommended it and will resonate with you as well. You want to provide this same type of content that will make others want to share with their friends, families, colleagues, etc. Long-form content is the way to go!
In-Depth Analytics and Audience Insights
Producing long-form content provides much more analytics and audience insights than short-form content. You can find out where your audience is coming from and how they found your website or your podcast. As mentioned above, long-form content has more engagement, and it provides a bigger picture of what is working and what is not. You can use this data and insight for future content strategies and help others along the way as well.
I love the detailed analytics I get about my audience from my podcast hosting site. With this information, I can see who is listening, from where, and which stories they like the most. It’s a little different for me in regards to getting clients because I don’t use my podcast for clients, but I do share my podcast success to show potential clients what they can achieve as well.
Support for Content Repurposing
I’ve shared before about ways to repurpose your podcast episodes, but long-form content provides ways to share content across all platforms. For example, you can create short clips. This may sound ironic since the post is all about long-form content, but shot clips shouldn’t be your main content creation strategy, is what I’m trying to say.
You can create carousel posts on Instagram from your long-form content. I’ve mentioned turning your podcast episodes into blog posts, which, yes, is another long-form content, but keep in mind that different people like their content from different mediums. And you can write short summary posts on various platforms and include the link to the long-form content – give them a little tease of what the post is about.
Competitive Edge with Quality over Quantity
You don’t want to be like everyone else—you want to be different. However, I am seeing a shift toward long-form content marketing strategies, so you definitely want to be ahead of your competitors.
Keep in mind the value you want to bring your audience. High-quality, longer content achieves that, versus shorter content that doesn’t provide that much value and loses its shelf life in a few days. We want to create content that will generate leads for years to come.
Long-Form Content is Evergreen
Evergreen content means that people are always looking for it. When creating content, you should keep this in mind. What question can I answer that my audience is asking? Is it timeless? And answer the question. For example, people are always going to want to start a podcast. So, I have content about starting a podcast.
Evergreen is the way to go because your content will always work for you instead of the other way around. Work smarter, not harder.
Conclusion
Marketing will always be part of your business or projects because we want people to know about it. Finding the right marketing strategy that works best for you is the key to reaching your goals.
For me, long-form content creation has worked best because I provide in-depth details, values, and examples from my own experience. Also, people love a good story.
Let me know if you’re considering starting a podcast for your business – I have different resources available to help start your journey!
With Love, Heidy
