Content marketing is crucial to your marketing strategy for generating consistent, organic (free!) traffic, leads, and sales.
Content marketing can include anything from social media, email, infographics, blogs, podcasts, video marketing, and more. Long-form content marketing is a specific type of content marketing that consists of… you guessed it: longer forms of content, like blogs, podcasts, and video marketing.
Why use long-form content? Long-form content has a longer shelf life, which means it will continue to show up in Google searches (and drive traffic to your business) for years to come. Long-form content can also boost your business’s organic traffic because it has a greater opportunity for the use of keywords and search engine optimization.
Finally, and probably most importantly, long-form content creates one of the best opportunities to establish yourself as a credible thought leader in your area and provide free information (think: value) to your target market.
On the other hand, shorter forms of content, like social media posts, emails, or infographics, have a shorter life span before getting buried in other posts. Because they are short by nature, social media posts have less opportunity to provide valuable information and optimize for SEO.
There are three major types of long-form content for businesses and marketing teams to choose from. While “doubling up” on long-form content is a great way to increase reach, using at least one of these types (along with best practices for SEO, of course) is sure to increase traffic to your site and establish authority in your business area.
What are the three types of long-form content?
These types include:
- Blogging
- Podcasting
- Video Marketing (“Vlogging”)
Each has its own series of strengths and setbacks, which we’ll get into below.
1. Blogging
You may have heard somewhere on the world wide web that “blogging is dead.”
Well, my friend, this couldn’t be more wrong.
According to OptinMonster, “SEO leads have a 14.6% close rate, while outbound leads (such as direct mail or print advertising) have a 1.7% close rate.”
How does a business use blogging?
Blogging is a genre of writing that involves creating and posting informational articles about specific topics potential customers are actively seeking.
Writing a blog can be done for virtually any business. Marketing companies write informational articles about various marketing tactics (like the one you’re reading now).
A flooring company might write articles about choosing, installing, maintaining, and repairing floors of various types.
Clothing companies might write about sustainable business practices for creating clothing and yearly style guides.
What exactly is blogging?
Blogging is a visual type of long-form content that serves two main purposes: to provide value to a reader and to help a website rank higher on the search engine results page (SERP).
Blogs are great for businesses whose audiences research and seek answers to their problems online. For example, researching which wood flooring is the best or how wood flooring might be better than laminate are topics a customer may search for online.
If constructed well, a flooring company’s blog about wood versus laminate may pop up higher than a competitor, bringing new, organic exposure to the business.
To achieve successful results requires both quality content and SEO (search engine optimization) through targeted keywords and phrases. The more specific and relevant a topic is, the greater the opportunity there is for it to show up on Google when a customer searches online.
Because blogs are a visual medium, they can be a great way to show off videos and images to readers. Adding alt text to these images provides an additional way to reach a greater audience, directly impacting your page’s SEO score.
Blogging can be an easy choice because it requires virtually no tools outside of a computer for typing. However, if you don’t enjoy writing or your audience isn’t often reading online, you may be better off choosing one of the other long-form types.
2. Podcasting
Podcasting is similar to blogging, but instead of being written and read, it is spoken and heard.
The popularity of the podcast stems from the many directions and formats one can take them in. Podcasts can be formally scripted or entirely informal. They can follow the format of a single speaker sharing their chosen topic with the audience or in the form of an interview or panel between 2 or more speakers.
Whether as video or audio-only, podcasts are a great way to share and consume ideas, strategies, stories, and more. Audiences can listen in the car on their commute to work, while they exercise, shower, clean the house, etc.
Because your audience can hear your voice, tone, speech pattern, etc., it’s much easier to build your “know-like-and-trust-factor” with your audience than it can be with blogging. Podcasts can feel more personal, like a phone call with a knowledgeable friend or coach, rather than an informational blog post.
However, podcasting is not without its downsides. If going audio-only, visuals that serve to clarify ideas are all but impossible. In addition, podcasts do not directly contribute to strong SEO on their own. Because the content is spoken and not written, search engines have a harder time combing the content. The best way to circumvent this issue is to post a script or transcript online with each new episode, letting listeners know that a new episode is out and generating backlinks for guests.
We follow a similar approach with our podcasts, such as this one with Jesse Richardson from Ebullition Brew Works.
Finally, podcasting requires a quiet space for recording quality podcasts. You’ll want to invest in a decent microphone and software for recording and editing. In addition, you’ll need to consider the time you’ll spend setting up for an episode and editing the episode before posting online.
3. Video marketing
Video Marketing is similar to a blog or podcast – it provides useful information to potential customers and audiences.
In some ways, video marketing pulls together the best of both worlds in terms of combining the strengths of blogging and podcasting because it has both auditory and visual components.
Video marketing is great for teaching anything that requires an in-depth visual component or movement. Examples of topics ideal for video marketing are “how-to” videos, such as working on cars, fixing a broken handle, learning to use a computer program, etc.
Video marketing has the added benefit of further personal connection with your audience because your audience can see your face and mannerisms in addition to hearing your voice. This helps to increase that “know-like-trust factor” that is crucial to generating sales.
Like podcasting, you’ll need to consider the time involved in preparing for videos, especially with setting up an appropriate background and professional appearance (hair, makeup, wardrobe, etc) for those who will be featured in the video.
You’ll also want to consider the necessary equipment required for producing video marketing. While you can certainly hit record on your cell phone and make it big on Instagram or TikTok, a professional camera, microphone, light system, and software will elevate your content further.
Conclusion
Long form content is a crucial component of your marketing strategy for driving organic traffic, leads, and sales.
Which type of long-form content you choose depends upon you, the nature of your business, and the specific needs of your audience.
Audiences and businesses that rely on visuals may prefer blogging or video marketing over podcasting, while those with audiences who are on the go may have more success with podcasts.
If you’re ready to get started with blogging, video marketing, or podcasting today and would like to work with a dedicated marketing team, schedule a free consultation with us to see how we can help your business grow. Email us at info@starfox.media or give us a call at 760-385-3117. Or fill out our contact form for more information.
