A Guide to Long-Form Content And Why We Need It In Business

Long-form content can be a savior for busy women entrepreneurs who market on social media.

To effectively market online, you have to post fresh content daily. And we all know the time and work that goes into each stage of this: planning, creating, editing, publishing, and engaging. 

Long content can be a solution, lowering the pressure, stress, and workload associated with constantly creating new content.

This straightforward guide will help you determine if longer content is a good solution for your business.

You’ll learn:

• What it is
• 6 ways it supports you and your business
• Different types of long content
• How repurposing is the key to an efficient content creation system that relieves stress and supports work-life balance

What Is Long-Form Content?

Long content is any piece of content that provides a relatively comprehensive, in-depth look at a particular topic. It’s typically more extended and detailed than a standard piece of content. 

For example, written content like blogs and articles is often considered “long-form” if it exceeds 1000 words. Long-form videos run 10 minutes or longer. Ditto for long-form audio content like podcasts.

Aside from general time frames, in-depth content immerses the reader, viewer, or listener in a subject. It focuses on offering more nuance, detail, or perspectives. Its effectiveness depends on its audience, quality, and even the platform on which it’s published. 

6 Ways Long-Form Content Helps Online Business Owners

1. Establish Authority and Expertise

In-depth content can showcase your knowledge and expertise. Over time, it helps you differentiate yourself, build trust with your audience, and establish authority. All of these concepts apply even if you’re not the “face” of your business.

2. Get Found on Search Engines

Longer content generally outranks short, bite-sized content on search engines. It establishes and improves search engine optimization (SEO) on websites and social media pages. Search engines like Google favor consistent, detailed, informative content that users value. Because of this, long content can increase visibility and drive organic traffic to your business’s websites and pages.

3. Enhances Engagement

It also allows people to delve into topics more deeply, keeping readers, viewers, or listeners engaged longer. Engaged consumers and clients are more likely to develop a connection with the brand, leading to higher levels of brand loyalty. In addition, the amount of time someone engages with content is one way Google evaluates rank.

4. Facilitates Content Marketing

Detailed articles, guides, and videos are powerful cornerstones of a marketing strategy. Their valuable information helps consumers solve problems and answer questions, leading to conversions and sales. 

Long content can also be repurposed into shorter, bite-sized pieces, like infographics, podcasts, or social media posts, adding more material to your content production.

5. Builds Brand Identity and Voice

Nearly all online businesses generate content of some kind. Long-form content helps you compete in the crowded online business world because it helps build brand recognition and voice. 

6. Supports Customer Decision-Making and Sales

Detailed content can guide customers through their natural decision-making process. It accomplishes this by:

• providing the information they need to feel confident that your product will meet their needs
• fostering trust and engagement
• addressing potential questions and hesitations so they can make an informed decision 

When clients and customers feel informed and confident, they’re much more likely to convert into paying customers.

Different Types of Long-Form Content

Now that you understand long content and how it helps your business, let’s explore the different types.

Video

Long-form video content ranges from filmed podcasts, vlogs, documentaries, and tutorials to product reviews and interviews. It’s designed to engage viewers for a significant amount of time and is great for visual and audio learners. You can find long-form video content on YouTube, X, Instagram, blogs, Vimeo, and many other sites and platforms.

Audio

Long-form audio content often appears as podcasts or extended interviews but can also be audiobooks and playlists. Audio is ideal for busy people on the go who want in-depth discussions, storytelling, or listening environments. Listeners can dip in while commuting, exercising, working, or doing chores, making audio a flexible and engaging way to consume content.

Text

Long-form written content includes articles, blogs, workbooks, and e-books that provide thorough coverage of a topic. Unlike short blog posts or news articles, it’s characterized by more analysis, detail, information, or research.

The Key to Long-Form Content Is Repurposing It

Repurposing is a fancy way of saying “recycling.” When you recycle something, it’s broken down to transform from one thing to another. 

Repurposing long content across various platforms is a strategic move that boosts productivity and reduces stress. 

You're repurposing it whenever you break an in-depth piece of content into other types or lengths. 

You can create shorter pieces of content, a social media post “series,” or transform audio content into video. You can further repurpose by customizing repurposed content to different platforms. 

Let’s look at two quick examples:

Say you’re starting with a long-form blog like this one. 

• You could repurpose it into several social media posts and an infographic. 
• You could use it as an outline for a TikTok video series.
• You could post the TikToks on YouTube Shorts. 

Or, say you’re starting with a long-form podcast.

• You could post a video of the podcast episode on YouTube and Facebook.
• You could provide a written transcript of the episode’s audio file.
• You could take out “snippets” of highlights and post them as short videos.

The sky is the limit, as there are tons of ways to repurpose!

Repurposing allows you, as an online business owner, to maintain a consistent marketing presence across platforms while reducing the work of constantly creating new content. 

Alleviating the pressure to create new content streamlines time management, reduces stress, and makes work-life balance achievable. It can also help increase organic traffic, strengthen brand presence, enlarge your customer base, and help establish a manageable and efficient content creation system.  

Long-form Blog Templates that Help Women Entrepreneurs

If you’re creating long-form blogs, I’ve got some great new blog outline templates, or you can grab other templates inside the Ultimate Template Bundle here. 

The outlines cover various blog types like interviews, stories, information, educational, and more. There’s also a go-to template with tips and examples of each. Check out these ready-to-use outlines here. :)

I hope this guide to long-form content helps you.

I’d love to hear your experiences or questions!