The important role Long-Form Content plays in your Digital Marketing Strategy

Long form content – anything over 2,000 words – is a vital part of digital marketing strategy for any business today, no matter what your sector. Given the rise in video content and short snippets we’ve become used to on social media platforms that might sound like a strange assertion. However, long-form blog posts and pages create significant value for the user and that’s something that can generate benefits for your business too.

Moving on from 2012

In 2012, Google Search introduced its Penguin update and brought to an end an era in which short articles filled to the brim with keywords would perform well with the Google algorithm. Since then, the focus has been much more on long-form content that goes beyond the standard length and has been well researched and well written. This isn’t just about getting words on a page but the right words in a way that delivers value for those who are reading them.

Why work with long-form content?

1. It will boost visibility and awareness for your brand. The use of long-form content tends to increase brand awareness but will also positively affect credibility and reputation.
2. Long-form content brings more people to you. It’s very effective when it comes to generating website traffic, increasing the virality of content and generating high value links and media mentions. In fact, long-form content generates 56% more social shares and 77% more links than shorter pieces.
3. This type of content helps to establish authority for your website. Google’s Page Rank algorithm focuses on prioritising pages by their page authority – or domain authority – which is basically the ranking strength of the site based on how reliable the content is. Long-form content will improve domain and page authority scores, as well as creating a perception of your brand as a thought leader.

Creating valuable long-form content

As mentioned, effective long-form content isn’t simply a wordy blog post, it needs to be a well thought through piece that demonstrates a certain level of research. There are some simple ways to ensure that the long-form content you’re creating is valuable:

• Include reliable statistics in every two paragraphs.
• Cite peer-reviewed research articles using Google Scholar.
• Populate your content with visuals, such as infographics, tables and charts to illustrate your points wherever possible.
• Post long-form content in different lengths each time so you’re not producing formulaic pieces. For example, post one 1,800 piece, followed by a 2,800 word piece next time around.
• Make sure that you always have a table of contents so that the piece can be easily navigated by the reader.
• Share your content widely, whether that’s via social media or community forums.
• Avoid padding out your content with unnecessary words just to achieve length – make sure that it is streamlined so that every sentence has something important to add to the topic.

It takes time and effort to stand out when it comes to content today. Well-researched, and well written, long-form content is a key tool in any effective digital marketing strategy. Find out how Iconic Digital can help create long-form content for your business, get in touch today, call us on 020 7100 0726. Find out more about our Content Marketing Agency in London.