Have you ever heard of long-form content? The chances are, probably not, yet you may have been reading it inadvertently for some time. So what is long-from content? Well, it’s similar to, but not the same, as a blog. It’s a medium where marketers can share a longer form of content with its readers. Although the concept has been around for some time, it’s only truly come into its own with the advent of social media. Social networks are great for businesses who want to advertise their brands, but naturally businesses want more. So naturally Facebook and LinkedIn have obliged by providing ‘Notes’ and ‘Pulse’ respectively.
Facebook Notes
Facebook’ Notes have been available for use since 2006. Unfortunately not too many people have heard of them, and of those who have, many mistakenly see them as a form of glorified text editor whose only use is for content that doesn’t sit well with status updates. Having been made aware of this misconception, Facebook updated this feature last year.
The new updated Notes tool is not only more sophisticated; it’s simpler to use too. What uses does Facebook Notes have for businesses? Well, put simply it makes marketing campaigns simpler on social media. You could use the tool to summarise the latest post on your website, and provide a link to the original post in Notes. Or you could use Facebook Notes to introduce a new product or service and link it to your landing page, or produce an extended biography about yourself or your business. The added advantage of carrying out these tasks through Notes is that it will definitely drive traffic to your website.
LinkedIn Pulse
At first glance the user interface of LinkedIn’s Pulse is similar to Facebook Notes. However, delve a little deeper and you’ll find that Pulse has more editing options. Using Pulse you can insert hyperlinks, add images and even embed videos.
What are the advantages of long-form content?
The simple answer is that long-form content platforms offer several better ways of increasing network exposure. What’s more it can also help your business establish or increase brand exposure and awareness: your long-form content becomes part of your company’s profile, and that could help in lending credibility to your brand’s profile.
The greatest advantage of long-form content, however, is that it can help to improve your website’s search engine results. For every online business the website is the main portal with the world. It tells users who you are and what you do. Unfortunately, most customers rarely find an online business through its website: most find businesses through social media channels. Because long-form content has a higher domain authority on social networking sites, any long-form content you post will appear on these platforms long before the posts appear on your website.
Having said that, there is one caveat: it’s important to remember that any content you post on social media channels belongs to that platform, whether that’s Facebook or LinkedIn. Rather than giving up your intellectual rights willingly, it’s better to store your digital content on your website then use social media channels as content outposts to encourage potential customers to do business with you.
