Long or Short Form Content? Our answer to the Debate
What’s the one thing that Facebook, TikTok, Instagram and YouTube have in common? Right now all of them are evolving their platforms to become video shorts or reel friendly. The reason? Their data shows they get more views and engagement with short form content.
Just FYI – long form content can be a long video, an article or a long text-based carousel post.
By 2020, videos under a minute got the most uploads
Source: Wistia
A couple of months back, I put out a video stating that we’re switching to short form videos and everyone else should do it. However, this very hooky video did not capture the nuances of my opinion.
Social media copies have gotten shorter.
Most brands prefer to upload videos.
Even video length has gotten shorter. The preferred video length is between 10-30 seconds.
So, what does this mean for long form content?
Is long form content dead?
The short answer:
Yes, short form content is here to stay.
Also – yes, long form content is not going anywhere.
So, what does this mean?
Short form vs Long form content
Do you prefer fast food burgers or gourmet burgers?
There seems to be a debate among marketers about putting out shorter content to get more views, likes, shares and more.
To me, this kind of debate is like asking: Do you prefer fast food burgers or gourmet burgers?
Both short and long form content have their purposes.
Short form content: catches attention
Long form content: informs
While short form allows you to be catchy and grabs eyeballs, long form shines because it informs.
That’s the advantage of long form.
- It gives the audience information on that specific topic
- It answers a question on the audience’s mind
- It pushes the audience to make a decision
Google still loves long form content
When it comes to content creation, there is a ton of focus on social media. However, content creation happens on many platforms – not just social media. Content creation is also super important to get ranked on Google.
The below data indicates that people have not forgotten SEO.
Snapshot of Google Trends’ comparison between the terms social media and SEO.
In fact, most SEO experts will tell you that Google loves expertly written content that is written in-depth. And, one of the ways Google assesses an article’s depth level is its length.
In addition to that, Google relies on keywords and search queries to show people the right results. To optimize your content, it needs to have the right and relevant keywords along with the correct keyword density for your content.
One of the best ranking content pieces from Spacebar’s blog is The Ultimate Guide to Content Marketing. As long form content, here’s why it stands out:
- It’s optimized for multiple keyword clusters
- It deep dives into the topic of ‘content marketing’
- It’s hyperlinked to multiple articles
Do a Google search of any topic, and most likely the content pieces that rank are all long form.
Google likes long-form content.
Audiences still want long form content
Yes, short form content does better on social media.
However, that does not mean the audience does not want long form content. One only has to look beyond the platform of Instagram and TikTok to discover that there is an audience that wants long form content.
The average length of a video on YouTube is 11 minutes. There is a hunger for long form.
Long form content also does well on LinkedIn.
An analysis by OkDork found that LinkedIn posts with a larger word count got more views. LinkedIn is a professional social platform, where experts quite often share their expertise, advice, knowledge, and experiences. And quite often these posts tend to be in the long form format.
People are seeking knowledge and this can only be delivered by long form content.
The story determines the length
In all this debate about whether long form content is dead or not, let me present another point.
Let the story or the information you are communicating determine the length.
Focus on telling a good story rather than worrying about whether it will get views on Instagram. If you consistently share quality content, over time, you will find your viewership grow. Just don’t expect your content to go viral.
Take that long form content and repurpose it across the internet on various platforms. That way, you get optimal use out of it.
For example, if it is an article, put it on:
- Your blog
- LinkedIn page
- Facebook page
- Newsletter
While the rest of the world panics about the death of long form content, I’ll be right here, tapping away at my keyboard.
Chances are low that this article will get as many views as Spacebar’s average Instagram reel. However, the few people that read it, will get insights that only long form content can give.
Let me end the article with another piece of interesting data:
So yes, Instagram reels are getting shorter, but movies are getting longer.
Long form content is far from dead.
