Having been in the wedding industry for over 15 years the one major thing I have witnessed is the arrival of social media, particularly Instagram.
At first it seemed the perfect platform to showcase a creative business's work, an online portfolio, and still can be if you get noticed but in recent years video content has become a big obsession but is it healthy?
Social media is designed to be addictive and it is but what business owner (I include myself here) wants to spend hours creating short form content that may or may not be seen.
People are getting tired, if you are like me most of my viewers are businesses I collaborate with, businesses looking for collaborations and many of my old clients and toss in a few neighbours and family/friends.
Is this really working for me as a marketing platform? I get bookings and have an online presence so it must be doing something but I don't want to spend a huge amount of my time throwing spaghetti at a wall hoping it will stick.
Why you should Consider Creating Long Form Content
Many are now realizing the power of creating long form content again as attention spans are looking for more interesting pieces to absorb information.
Long form content on average generates 7 x more leads than short form content.
Combined with the ongoing fact you can lose your social media accounts this shift is not only reshaping the content consumption habits of audiences but also influencing content marketing strategies.
Brands are recognizing the potential of long-form content to establish themselves as industry leaders and provide genuine value to their target audiences.
Thoughtful and informative pieces can serve as powerful tools for building brand authority, trust, and customer loyalty.
The resurgence of long-form content is also challenging the notion that shorter is always better for engagement. We only have to look at Tik Tok increasing its viewing time from 15 seconds to 10 minutes recently, so is shorter working?
While brevity remains essential for certain types of communication, the success of in-depth content suggests that audiences are willing to invest time in consuming longer pieces if they offer substantial insights and a compelling narrative.
Furthermore, the increased availability of high-speed internet and advancements in mobile technology have contributed to the rise of long-form content. Users can now seamlessly access and enjoy lengthy articles, videos, and podcasts on their devices, eliminating the barriers that once hindered the consumption of more extended content.
In terms of SEO, long-form content often provides a competitive advantage. Search engines tend to favor comprehensive, well-researched content, rewarding it with higher rankings.
In fact, around 56% of content on the first page of Google search results is over 2,000 words, therefore investing in comprehensive and informative content can boost organic search visibility.
Content creators are recognizing the strategic value of creating evergreen, long-form pieces that continue to attract organic traffic over an extended period.
The resurgence of long-form content does not mean the demise of shorter formats. Instead it underscores the importance of diversity in content creation. A balanced content strategy that incorporates both short and long-form content allows creators to cater to various audience preferences and consumption habits.
Whilst blogging (writing) is still deemed old fashioned it is still a proven winner when it comes to your SEO and authority within your industry.
The average blog post has 1236 words, which is 53% more than the average post six years ago.
Personally I have found committing to a regular blogging schedule has always been something I can make time for in my business.
More recently I started my email list to make sales and bookings and my business depends considerably less now on social media than it used to. The long form content can be then utilized for short form so becoming visible on social media isn't a dead end road, I can lead traffic through many different routes to my business
Blogging and Pinterest
I know many of you reading this article may not be confident writers or even know how to blog properly but it isn't hard it is just different and no more time consuming that creating constant content to entertain your audience daily for fear of not being seen.
But it is better to create one quality piece of content than low quality content and share this across your social media and on Pinterest.
There is no must, it is up to you to decide where your audience are hanging out but my advice will always work on your SEO.
If you wish to learn how to blog and use Pinterest come and join my Blogging Brilliance Course and Community.
If you don't have time and would love your blog done for you contact me to see if we can work together.