By Michael Brito, {grow} Community Member
There’s no question … the world of content marketing is going “short.” Whether it’s infographics or Vine, brands must learn to master the art of short-form storytelling in this new media world. Technology enables it … the consumer attention span (or lack thereof), demands it. So you might think that today, it’s go short or go home.
But with all they hype about short-form storytelling, too many brands often forget about the longer brand narrative and they are making a big mistake by doing so. Even with the rise in social media usage, consumers are still using Google, and they are still using it a lot. It’s the home page for millions of people globally and the gateway for learning and discovery.
Is short a dead end?
When was the last time you saw a tweet or Vine video in the search results? I would guess, never, unless of course you are searching for a specific account or person. And I guarantee that you’ll NEVER see a Facebook update or Instagram photo in the search results for obvious reasons. We use search daily and when we do, we are on a mission. It’s not like Twitter or Facebook where we scroll through our feeds and casually check our @replies, messages and follower count. And then mosey on over to LinkedIn to see who has been stalking our profile.
When we use search, it’s because we want something and want it NOW.
The question you have to ask yourself is whether or not your content is actually surfacing in the results. If your focus and financial investment is purely on short-form storytelling, you are missing a huge opportunity to reach new prospects, sell additional products and demonstrate thought leadership.
Hopefully, you have some really smart engineers, scientists and product managers that work for your company. And they most likely have a very specific point of view about technology or the industry, which can be used to start conversations and influence people.
Content length and credibility
Data from the 2013 Edelman Trust Barometer tell us that when it comes to trust and credibility, “people like yourself,” “subject matter experts,” and “employees of a company” always rank high when people are seeking information about a company.
But is it even possible to demonstrate thought leadership in a tweet or a status update?
In some cases … maybe, if you an eager audience actively paying attention to the content you are sharing. Like a celebrity.
But what about the CIO of a company who’s interested in investing in new data center technology? Yeah, they may go to Twitter and browse their feed, that’s a given. But I guarantee you this: They are going to a search engine because they know, just like you know, that Google knows best.
Unfortunately, many brands today struggle with long-form content (Mark Schaefer recently characterized this as “rich content:” blogs, podcasts and videos). With the shift from “brand to media company” long-form content is even more critical for telling stories across the entire digital ecosystem. The good news is that there are technology vendors that can help augment long-form storytelling initiatives. Vendors like Contently, eByline and Skyword offer brands with a network of professional writers and journalists that can help feed the content engine with high-quality content.
Short-form storytelling is important. It’s your attempt at reaching those busy consumers and break through the clutter with compelling, creative, real-time and visual content. But why not try to make their lives easier by allowing them to find you through your rich content? It probably takes more than 140 characters to establish thought leadership!
Agree?
