And we couldn’t be happier!
All jokes aside, short-form content has dominated the online space for quite some time now. From endless TikTok videos, to YouTube Shorts and Instagram reels – we have been encouraged to mindlessly scroll for hours on end, far too long.
In this blog, we will explore how long-form content is coming back. We will discuss the reasons for this trend and how to create your content strategy for 2025.
Why Short-Form Content Dominated For So Long
With the emergence of TikTok, short-form video content became the main way to communicate online. This entailed 10 or 5-second videos that delivered information in bite-sized chunks, which were the ideal way for people to learn about new things.
This content was easy to consume, without it feeling like too much of a time commitment compared to watching a movie. However, this was the catch! Because, while the content was short and easy to consume, it also made hours of scrolling through videos feel like minutes!
Remember those afternoons when it felt too hard to choose a series to watch before bed? So, you ended up scrolling through social media instead. Fast forward to midnight, and guess what, you are still scrolling and probably could have just binged a whole season of something instead!
So, What Happened to Short-Form Content?
You might be wondering, then, if this style of content is so convenient to consume, why is it slowly losing its dominance online?
Our argument here is that the rise of AI has altered our perception. See, while AI created a lot of excitement when it first emerged, soon, people became hyper-aware of AI content. It quickly became easy to spot when these tools were used to generate and paraphrase content.
Often, the tell-tales included specific keywords, tired bullet-pointed structures, and overall, a lack of warmth and human emotion.
Furthermore, short bite-sized content has become so oversaturated that audiences are exhausted from mindlessly scrolling. Think about it, trying to consume so much information constantly while continuously scrolling eventually leads to information overload. At this point, many of us are no longer absorbing anything.
Create Effective Content That Matters!
When we say, create effective content that matters, this does not necessarily mean writing thousands and thousands of words in every single blog post. However, it is going to take some strategy and good old human writing to keep your audience engaged in this day and age.
After all, let’s face it – no one can talk to and appeal to a human better than another human! Sure, AI content gives you the advantage of zero grammar errors and insanely fast content that can be loaded 24/7, but it lacks emotion, which is crucial for creating a connection.
In fact, before AI, blog writing was already, arguably, robotic. This is probably due to various ‘how-to’ style blogs, which consist of very simple and instructional style writing. Blog posts were also traditionally encouraged to be easily scannable, so we saw a lot of bullet points and subheading formatting.
While this hasn’t completely disappeared today, we have noticed that currently, audiences seem to prefer a bit more of a narrative and storytelling experience. However, it is important to know when to use this writing style and when to use clear subheadings and bullet lists.
For example, if you are writing a blog post that details quick solutions, then yes, your audience will probably want those easy-to-read lists. However, if you are writing an informative, thought-provoking piece, then tell us a story and make us stay until the very end!
How Does Long-Form Content Improve SEO?
Search engine rankings are based on how well-researched your content is, because these often answer consumer queries better.
This entails long blog posts that delve deep into the topic of choice, while providing depth and value throughout the article. Furthermore, when you take the time as a writer, to carefully package the information you are trying to provide, you ensure that it is easy to consume, as well as answer the initial issue or problem fully.
By taking your time to formulate your content, you are also giving yourself enough space for keywords to occur organically within your text. This is crucial for SEO, as keyword stuffing can often lead to your content being flagged.
With short-form content, it can be easy to accidentally overuse keywords because you are trying to impart a lot of knowledge in a very short space.
To Sum It All Up
So, now that we know the beautiful art of storytelling is back – it’s time to use this to our advantage.
This means applying your knowledge carefully when it comes to formulating your blogs, articles, and various other digital content.
Here’s a quick list to scan through for those of you who still prefer that short form of information:
- Appeal to human emotions to hold your audience’s attention.
- Carefully formulate your ideas to fully answer the question and any adjacent queries.
- Be mindful of your writing structure and what your audience will prefer.
- Take note of your keyword usage to avoid keyword stuffing.
And most importantly, remember to tell a story! Even in a space where long-form content is dominating platforms, quality is still and will always be favoured over quantity. Think about it – no one enjoys mindless rambling if it is not adding value to the content.
So, grab your pen and paper, and let the creativity flow! Or, if that sounds like too much admin, why not let us take the stress off your hands? We know what’s hot, what’s not, and how to adapt in a flash.
With us, you can sit back and enjoy some serious scrolling while we make sure that your content gets scrolled through!