Marketing
The trend of the quick read – do readers crave more content?
True or false? Humans have a lesser attention span than a goldfish.
The media has popularised this as truth. But this is snakeskin oil, traded as a scare-tactic in the face of rising social media and internet use. Much like the advent of printed books or radio, any innovation that newly captures our attention in an all-engrossing way is considered a distraction.
There is no hard, scientific proof of the goldfish theory. Our attention spans are intact, at least physiologically. Experts reassure that our brains simply need training, or re-training, in the art of concentration. We haven’t evolved to lose focus easily. We’re just out of practice.
If this is the case, and keen attention spans are well within our reach, why does the media – both traditional and social – push the trend of the quick read?
The Quick Read
A recent addition to online articles is a footnote on expected reading duration. ‘10 minute read’, ‘5 minute read’, ‘1 minute read’, mostly erring on the quicker side. An article whose content is itself a footnote in our busy lives, glanced at briefly on commutes, while watching television, or while whipping up dinner.
Consider, too, the popularity of listicles, pedalled by outlets such as BuzzFeed. Instead of any meat for the reader to chew on, the content is skin and bones. The format: large subheadings plus two to three lines of body text equals an article.
For an even quicker read, there’s the Tweet. Capping – or restricting – content to under 280 characters. Twitter capitalises on the myth of the short attention span..
Many blog writers embrace short form articles as their brand style. Author and marketer Seth Godin shares his ideas through simple, short articles.
Quick reads are certainly the flavour of recent years, but what do readers really want? Superficial, bite-sized snapshots or discursive long-form pieces?
Understanding Short-form versus Long-form
Firstly, let’s start with the definition of short-form and long-form content.
Short-form is typically around 1,000 to 1,500 words and long-form is anything exceeding that. Some argue that long-form doesn’t depend solely on word count but can be bulked out with embedded infographics and videos. Plus, there’s no point celebrating the high word count of a long-form article if it’s 90% fluff.
Understandably content creators, with attention span in mind, may be less concerned about too little but rather too much. Content that’s unread means information lost – which is why news items open with the most vital facts and figures. Studies suggest that people read the first couple of lines of content and then skim the rest, with more focus on left-hand side text; or, they read headings and subheadings but skim the main body of text; or, they hone in on links or data or pull quotes – anything that jumps out on the page. In fact, 73% of people skim read blog posts.
Long-form articles also require a large investment of time, both in terms of research and the writing itself.
But there are many benefits of long-form articles for both the reader and the creator.
The Benefits of Long-form
Long-form articles lead to higher search rankings. According to a Backlinko study of 912 million blog posts, long-form content gets an average of 77.2% more links than short articles, leading to better backlink acquisition. Long-form articles tend to be better researched than short-form, with greater inclusion of key words, links, and references that boosts ranking.
Evergreen articles, ones whose topics are still relevant over a long period of time, can be better in long-form too. For example, in-depth how-to guides and case studies. Evergreen articles typically garner more interest than seasonal ones and retain that eternal appeal, bringing an audience to a website or blog time and time again. So, a no-brainer.
Long-form enables the reader to understand a topic in more depth and might provide more value by answering more questions. An article can exceed the short-form word limit simply through an introduction, set-up, and context. Long-form provides the space for examples, anecdotes, citations, links, and discussion points that can enhance a topic and support your argument, making it more persuasive, authoritative, and trustworthy.
These articles also have room for more mixed media, such as images, tables of data, and bullet point lists. More on this later, but the inclusion of mixed media can make an article just as easy to read than if it were simply short.
In terms of enduring marketing use, the longer the length, the more articles can be repurposed, chopped up into pull-quotes for years of social media postings and audience traffic. Although the article may take more time to write, it can provide far more marketing content than short-form articles, effectively saving time overall.
A Hybrid Approach
Yet, perhaps the debate is more nuanced than short- versus long-form. Content length can be audience dependent. Shorter content might attract more readers because it appeals to those with less time, less concentration, or less engagement with the written word. Certain content doesn’t need to be long. If the target audience needs to make an impulse buy, for example, information should be quick, catchy, and scannable. Yet, if readers are seeking a solution from the content, particularly a solution for a complex issue, longer content is preferable.
But – do you need to choose? Can’t content creators reap the benefits of both short- and long-form articles?
Hybrid content usually produces the best results, which is why it’s important to understand the purpose and objectives of the content itself. People are different. One person can embody two user preferences. One day, they might have little time to read content. Another, they might have time to fill with more in-depth discussion. Or consider this – a piece of short-form content followed by long-form on the same product, service, or information. The first, as an introduction or to catch the reader’s attention, the second, to engage them further. Especially with a product or service, this represents different stages of the buying process.
Increasing the Accessibility of Long-form
If you’re worried about readers skimming long-form articles, play around with making the content more visually interesting, accessible, and user-friendly. Brains are likely to shut off at the sight of overwhelmingly thick blocks of text. Break the content up with headings and subheadings (these also boost SEO), images, or boxed text. Highlight key information through pull-quotes, bullet points, or bold text, and include links out to both your site and others.
Kill Your Darlings
Remember – a long articles does not necessarily mean a successful article. Every word still counts, and efficiency, clear communication, and direct delivery is key. Before you even sit down to write, reflect: does this content merit a long-form article? Can I convey my message and make my intended impact in a shorter way? In the words of author and marketing expert Joe Pulizzi (https://www.joepulizzi.com):
“a blog post… needs to be long enough to cover the essentials
but short enough to keep it interesting.”
As you write, treat your words tough. “Kill your darlings”, in the words of William Faulkner. The content might be sparkling – but it really might just be too long. And if it’s too long, you reader will stop reading. But too long doesn’t mean word count necessarily, but lack of value. Published novels can exceed 100,000 words but, if the story adds value to the reader, if it’s engaging and engrossing enough, they will persevere to the end.
Utility, value, and comprehensiveness: if your article encapsulates all three, while answering questions and solving problems, then your long-form content should be as equally engaging as a short-form competitor.
Focus on the Audience
But do readers actually prefer long-form? Well, there’s no definite answer, but according to this study by Neil Patel of Quicksprout, he gained more socials shares with long-form content than he did with short-form, with an average of 68.1% more engagement on Twitter and 22.6% more on Facebook. Is there just more content to share, or is this content more shareable?
Whatever you decide in the debate of long-form versus short-form, just remember to keep the intended audience in mind. They are the priority, not the article length.
If your intended audience won’t finish the article, who will?