LONGFORM IS BACK. HERE'S WHY

Curiosity, not just content, is king. 

It seems odd that there was once a time when simply likes and impressions were a measurement of content engagement. Now, there are much richer metrics used to validate real interest, and they’re best served by longform.

These metrics place greater importance on demonstrating a viewer’s deep curiosity. They take into account not only what someone views but also whether they: 

• Save it, which assumes they intend to view it again
• Share it, thus endorsing the content
• Stay captivated until the end
• Stop, rewind and replay certain sections, and
• Return to explore more.

 

What is longform?

Longform is generally considered to be any content over 10 minutes long. To exceed the 10-minute mark on a particular subject should, in theory, mean a more comprehensive display of insight, storytelling and personality.

For example, a podcast discussion between two hosts could easily exceed 10 minutes by featuring opinion, explanation and debate on a single topic. A 10+ minute tutorial could demonstrate an entire activity or break down the capabilities of a complex product.

 

Why is it coming back?

Scroll fatigue. Too much short, easy-to-make, lightweight content was pumped out, at scale. It filled our feeds to brim and sifting through it became tiresome. 

Rather than make the switch to more in-depth content, the initial response was to try to compete with the noise. At any cost. The race was on to game the algorithm into favouring one piece of shortform over another, using tacky tricks like clickbait hooks (“You won’t believe…”) and engagement bait tactics, such as manufacturing controversy for clicks (also known as ragebait).

Remember those craft or cooking videos that deliberately inserted an unnecessary or downright insane step? The response was predictably big and ugly, with everyone rushing to call out the idiocy of the content, unwittingly improving its engagement metrics and boosting its visibility.

But cheap tricks can only get a creator so far. Sooner or later, there was going to be a backlash. People got tired of being conned into clicking only to be disappointed with the same, old themes and lack of meaningful content.

Finally, it was recognized that the way to cut through the noise in a real and lasting way was to offer real value.

 

What are people looking for?

The demand is for real depth and expertise. The movement towards this type of content is clear from Substack’s exponential growth in paid subscriptions between 2020 and 2024 across a variety of verticals.

This tells us that people are increasingly seeking out their preferred content creator, publisher, influencer or expert for content they know guarantees value for them and are willing to pay for it.

YouTube channels offering high quality longform content are also growing in popularity. 

Those who reinvest the wealth from their longform content success back into their content, promising ever greater originality, depth and production quality for their audience, stand to reap even greater rewards. 

Notable strategies include upgrades to equipment, expanded teams, more ambitious ventures, improvements to animation quality, and all-round heightened production value. Others engage in philanthropic efforts, often related to their channel’s content in some way.

 

How to do longform in the right way

Even though the focus is longform, success is down to more than minutes. Narrative quality is essential to hooking the reader or viewer in the first few seconds, and slowly teasing every second of attention span from them over the entirety of the piece of content.
  
1. Provide audience value from start to finish

Content needs to have a clear value proposition that doesn’t lose its intensity as the content progresses. The talking points of a podcast, the argument of an article and the subject of a video need to go the distance, unravelling layers of insight, interest and revelation to the very end.

2. Set out a clear structure

The structure of written, audio or video content should include a good hook and summary of the content to follow and subheadings or timestamped segments to create an ordered narrative you can scan or skip. 

3. Optimize for search 

What’s more, the content needs to be deliberately punctuated with curiosity-driving moments. This is because Google will serve up segments of an article or video based on its relevance to a search query. 

A smart creator will ensure each segment, which could be triggered by response to a query, is not only fully optimized for that query but also serves up a content segment that’s purposely built to drive further engagement. 

4. As well as audience curiosity

You can drive engagement at key points in your content through curiosity-driving narrative elements, such as quotes that tease the content to come. In video content, this could be a link within a current video, inviting a viewer to explore related content.

Longform content, richly optimized for both search and audience engagement in this way has many more opportunities than shortform to attract their audience and hook them in.

5. If you advertise, do it naturally

Something you’ll hear across the slickest audio and video productions is their seamless integration of advertising. Sometimes it’s so natural and “native” to the channel, you won’t twig until partway through that you’re listening to a promotion. 

This is really the holy grail of video advertising, as it reduces the chances of the audience skipping, stopping or navigating away altogether. Often, it can only truly be achieved by weaving relevant products into the subject matter using a natural and logical segue.
 

A dopamine hit from deeper insight

Done well, and for the right reasons (to provide high quality, insightful content), you can be rewarded for your longform content efforts with:

• Improved visibility and engagement, particularly across Instagram and TikTok which prioritize content that commands longer attention
• More conversions than shortform
• A more loyal audience or readership
  
  

Enhance your longform project with music

Did you know that music can increase content engagement through emotional connection and recall? Explore our selection of music best suited for a variety of longform projects.