Why You Should Prioritize Long-Form Content

Every year, it becomes harder to compete for audience attention. Social media platforms increasingly direct consumer attention to posts from creators they don’t even follow, and your ability to reach your audience becomes more and more dependent on the unpredictability of algorithms. 

At the Content Entrepreneur Expo (CEX), Jay Clouse offered some solutions to these rising difficulties and talked about the role of long-form content in a short-form world. Here are the five things the 2023 Content Entrepreneur of the Year says you should do to keep consumer attention and build trust with your audience:

1. Start with two platforms: Jay suggests starting with two platforms you are already familiar with. One should be what he refers to as a “discovery platform,” like X, TikTok or Instagram. The second should be a relationship platform like an email newsletter or a podcast. The discovery platform helps you reach a larger audience who you can refer to your relationship platform where you build trust.

2. Use platforms of the same substance: Since you’re only using a few platforms, make sure they provide the same type of content, such as written posts, audio tracks, or videos, to your audience. Pick the format you do best and stick with it. Your audience is more portable if you don’t ask them to switch to a different form of content. A teenager scrolling through TikTok is not looking to start reading an email newsletter, but someone on X might. You’ll convert your audience more efficiently and avoid the difficulties of creating numerous forms of content.

3. Redirect them quickly: As soon as someone discovers you and your brand on social media, refer them to your owned platforms, where you can be building trust. Discovery platforms are competitive environments so while a consumer may be interested in your content right now, they might not check what you’re doing three months from now. The quicker you can convert your audience the less likely they are to forget about you.

4. Try more long-form content: Gaining trust takes time, but it is a prerequisite for any meaningful transaction with your audience. Consequently, think about how your content can spend more time with your audience. Jay says it’s time to go back to long-form content. Put your energies into books, podcasts, blogs, or videos that give you the time and space to explore your ideas. 

Jay says too many of these creators spend too much time worrying about generating engagement with brief posts no one remembers a week later. It may be harder to direct audiences to your long-form content, but it’ll be easier to convert their attention to trust once you do.

5. Sell your sawdust: Anything you spend time working on will create byproducts that don’t make it into the finished product. Content is no exception. If you create long-form content, you will also create byproducts that can be used for a different purpose. The story of how you made your content can be a TikTok all its own. Quotes and tips included in your book can be engaging X posts. Short-form posts are important for generating interest, but you won’t need to spend so much energy on them If you spend your time on larger products and use their sawdust.

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