A Guide To Short-Form Content: Why Keep It Concise? (Part 2)

Have you ever clicked through an article that seems to go on forever or scrolled through a never-ending social media feed? In a world where information is constantly being thrown at us from all directions, it is no wonder that short-form content has become increasingly popular. In the first part, we discussed what short-form content is and how to achieve quality SEO short-form content.

In part two of our short-form content guide, we will explore why keeping our content concise is vital in creating engaging content that captures your audience’s attention, from the psychology behind attention spans to the benefits of brevity.

Why create short-form content?

Short-form content is meant to be straight to the point, snappy, and concise. It is supposed to be digested in a couple of minutes. Creating bite-sized content has its advantages. Here are some purposes and reasons why you should consider brevity in your brand’s SEO marketing strategy.

1. Target SEO and search intent

There is a suitable place and time for long-form and short-form content. Not every written content has to have 2,000 words to be informational and beneficial.

In this day and age, where people are looking for quick and easy-to-access answers to their search queries, only some people are willing to read through lots of words to get what they want.

Ultimately, it is crucial to create SEO content that targets the context of a particular topic and the user’s search intent. If short-form fits their requirement, then it is precisely the solution you need to rank well on SERPs, as well as generate traffic and lead generation.

2. They are easy to consume

Listening, watching, or reading content still requires time and effort, even if the individual has the right intention to understand the information. However, if the same information can be carried across in a two-minute read compared to a 10-minute read, many will choose the earlier.

Short-form content requires a lower commitment level, encouraging them to complete the entire article. A shorter length is a more straightforward way to boost your engagement metrics and readership.

3. They can generate faster conversions

There is value in immediacy. Short and sweet content takes less time to consume, enabling your readers to reach your internal links and CTAs faster. Hence, visitors who have landed on your page for a quick fix or solution can convert quickly. It is all about knowing your readers’ search intent.

4. Faster production time

Another reason you should create short-form content is that they take less time and resources to generate as compared to long-form content, allowing content creators and digital marketers to focus on other aspects of SEO services and marketing efforts, such as distribution and promotion. You also have more time to generate quality content, ultimately keeping your brand at the top of SERPs.

Best tips to improve your short-form content

Any brand looking to boost audience engagement rate must master short-form content. With less time to grab your readers’ attention, every word counts. Here are some tips to help you improve the authoritativeness of your short-form content.

• Be as detailed as possible: A shorter piece does not mean you stinge on the answers provided. Readers want a fast but informational read.
• Stand out from the competition with unique insights and info: Short-form content is a highly competitive field. It is unavoidable that you will cover the same topic and provide the exact core solutions as your competitors. However, what you can do to stand out is to offer unique metrics, interviews, and data.
• Offer further reading resources: Another way to up your game is to include links to other relevant, quality resources, internally or externally. Ultimately, you want to support your readers by providing your best.
• Create a purposeful internal link-building plan: If you have further internal resources that will benefit your readers, include them in your content purposefully, naturally, and meaningfully. A good internal link-building plan will help you to gain your reader’s attention, helping them, while strengthening your page’s overall authority and boosting your SEO ranking.

Conclusion

As we’ve seen in this guide, short-form content is more than just a passing trend. Keeping things concise is a vital strategy to help your brand create engaging content that effectively delivers your message and captures your reader’s attention.

From the practical benefits of brevity to the psychology behind attention spans, we have shown why you should consider short-form content as a crucial communication tool. Stay tuned to this series’ next and final part as we bring you the types and examples of short-form content you can consider in your SEO strategy.