What Is Long Form Content for Influencer Marketing?

When most people think of social media & influencer marketing, they generally think of short content. Whether it’s a photo on Instagram, a quip on Twitter, or a TikTok video, it usually takes only a few seconds to consume and engage with.

While this is partially true, trends are changing and longer-form influencer content is starting to become more popular on social media platforms. This includes platforms traditionally seen as centered around short content.

A perfect example is how X now allows for complete article publishing directly on the platform so authors and others can share their work with followers. This is from a platform that built its following limiting users to 140 characters.

This is just one example, but it’s a growing trend to allow creators to post longer content for increased engagement that is now starting to compete with streaming content, cable TV, and other traditional long-form content.

For marketers and brands, this creates an exciting opportunity to reach and engage with audiences in completely new ways.

Below, we’ll look at what long-form content is for influencer marketing and how it’s changing how marketers need to look at the way they engage with customers.

What Is Long Form Content?

Long-form content is any content that goes into more depth and detail compared to the content traditionally shared on the platform.

For writing or blogs, anything over 1,000 words is generally considered long-form content. For video content, it’s often platform-specific.

On YouTube, it was considered that anything over 10 minutes was a long-form video. However, as longer form content has grown, the threshold is now considered to be closer to 20 minutes or longer.

For platforms like Instagram or TikTok, it’s generally any content that goes past the set lengths.

What is considered long-form content can vary between platforms and mediums, but the general rule is that it goes into more depth and detail than a typical piece of content on the platform.

What Is Causing The Growth In Long Form Content?

The social media landscape is constantly changing. Whether it’s what type of content is hot or how users are behaving, trends can change rapidly.

The rise of long-form content on social media is due to a few factors and it’s been a gradual change, which suggests it has staying power and is more than just a random trend.

Creators Seeking New Audiences

One reason is that creators are always looking for ways to maintain growth and engage their audience. To do this, they have to set themselves apart from other influencers in their niche.

While there are many ways influencers can set themselves apart, one way is to simply make more in-depth content than their peers. If you have an audience that enjoys consuming your content, it stands to reason they’ll enjoy more of it if you provide it.

So part of the reason for long-form content growth is simply creators responding to demand and trying to set themselves apart by delivering something their audiences will respond to.

Growth Of Social Media As A Full-Time Entertainment & Information Source

Year after year, social media is becoming a mainstay for entertainment and news gathering. This is especially true for younger audiences who consume a majority of their entertainment and information on social media platforms.

This means platforms like YouTube or even TikTok directly compete with Netflix or Disney+ for a user’s time. Creators have sensed this and have started producing longer content to meet the demand and offer an alternative to traditional content.

This has created a snowball effect where once longer content was introduced, it was also normalized and became what audiences expected of certain niches and creators.

Algorithm Changes

Although it doesn’t always yield the best results, there is no question that creators must play to the algorithm on each platform.

Algorithms controlling what content is promoted often get a bad rap, and sometimes rightfully so. But the truth is, the algorithms are just being designed to help people find the content they’ll find the most engaging.

Longer content tends to get more engagement, which virtually any algorithm will interpret as a positive metric. As a platform’s algorithm promotes longer content, more creators jump on the trend.

This is a common phenomenon on all algorithmic controlled platforms and it played a part in driving creators to produce longer content.

Advertising

When it comes to marketing, the more time a customer spends with a specific piece of content, the higher the overall engagement and impact.

With influencers, this is especially true since they have an almost one-on-one relationship with their audience. Longer content builds more trust and gives the audience more insight into the influencer’s expertise or subject matter knowledge.

Brands find that the increased engagement from longer content is extremely valuable and they will generally pay more for exposure during this type of content.

Of course, creators will respond by trying to meet demand and producing longer content to attract more lucrative advertising opportunities.

Some of these reasons listed may seem obvious while others may not. But it’s important to understand the confluence of factors and how they contributed to the growth of long-form content. 

The reason is that it shows a shift in audience behavior and it’s likely going to continue for some time as none of these factors appear to be changing or reversing.

The Types Of Long-Form Content Produced By Influencers

Below are the most common types of long-form content you’ll find on various platforms. Each one has its own strengths and weaknesses for marketing and branding purposes.

Podcasts

While podcasts may seem like one of the newer trends in content creation, it’s a throwback to the AM radio days of your great grandparents.

Long conversations on a variety of topics were a staple of old AM radio, and the podcast has revived that formula for an entirely new generation of listeners.

Podcasting has become so popular with audiences that those with followers from other areas of media are starting podcasts to both find new audiences and satisfy their existing audiences.

For example, countless comedians now also have podcasts. The same can be said for athletes and entertainers of all types.

For marketers, what makes influencer podcasts so appealing is that the audience is often engaged for up to an hour or more.

Beyond just engagement, there is also the extreme targeting that’s possible. Podcasts generally focus on a single niche. Even if it’s a general podcast, the audience will still have a very specific demographic makeup.

This creates a powerful combination for brands and marketers that want to reach specific audiences in ways that other marketing channels don’t offer.

Another appealing aspect of long-form podcasts is the non-linear aspect of how they are published. A podcast can experience new viewers for months or even years after being posted.

This is especially true for evergreen content. Since most advertising within a podcast is read by the host, the messaging can last for long after the podcast has been published.

While this is mostly a benefit, it’s also something to be aware of when creating your marketing message to ensure it stays relevant and acceptable far into the future.

Live Streaming

Another area of substantial growth for long-form content opportunities is in live streaming.

Live streaming was originally a place where gaming influencers would play for hours while audiences admired their skill and commentary. But today, live streaming has become common for many different types of influencers.

One lucrative area is gambling. Whether it’s poker playing or playing slots at local casinos, countless influencers from pro to amateur stream these events. While gambling can have certain restrictions when it comes to advertising on certain platforms, the highly targeted audience for these influencers makes it a perfect channel for gambling brands.

Musicians today are also streaming their studio sessions. It’s common for music producer influencers to post 2-4 hour sessions on platforms like Twitch or YouTube directly from their studio.

These examples show that when influencers offer their audience longer content options, they are almost invariably a huge success and lead to longer watch times and more engagement.

It’s rare if not unheard of for a popular influencer to introduce longer content such as live streaming and not experience a positive return.

Live streaming can also be used for event coverage. This allows live-streaming influencer content to enter the realm of B2B marketing.

Many successful B2B brands like Salesforce are leveraging influencers to livestream trade shows or events such as the Dreamforce conference, hosted by Salesforce.

This creative use of live streaming on various platforms allows B2B brands to reach much larger audiences during buzzworthy trade shows and other events from around the world.

The technique can multiply the exposure these brands would normally receive which makes the cost of partnering with an influencer to stream the event a worthwhile investment.

Finally, brands themselves can start to create long-form live streaming content. This is a low-cost way to add long-form content to your overall digital marketing plan.

It also helps you build relationships with your customers as well as authority within your industry when done correctly.

Long Form Blog Content

So far, we’ve mostly covered long-form video content. But writing still has a valuable place and many influencers got their start from long-form blogs.

This is especially true in the fashion and beauty niche where blogs are still common. Many of the most followed fashion influencers got their start with blogs that featured long-form written content along with photos of designs or fashion events from around the world.

That has expanded and now platforms such as Substack feature long-form writing as its main focus. This has allowed subject matter experts from virtually any field to grow an audience.

It’s creating a new type of influencer specific to an industry. An influencer that brings a type of insight and high level of authority to the space, often in the technical or scientific fields.

For marketing, long-form written content has the benefit of adding SEO value to your overall digital profile. Effective written content will attract inbound links from other sources, which increases your SEO profile and helps you grow organic traffic.

One final aspect of long-form written content is that many of the big media players have left the landscape due to the changing nature of digital advertising revenue.

While that has made it difficult for large media organizations to create written content profitably, it has opened the door for smaller creators to gain a large audience.

As is usually the case with technology, change can present opportunities. The rise of independent long-form written content is a perfect example of that.

Documentary Style content

Documentary-style content is now becoming extremely popular on YouTube and these videos can each attract millions of views.

The videos tend to be “deep dives” into a specific subject, very similar to a documentary. One trend is to cover pop culture personalities or events that are recent. This allows for the long-form video content to be one of the only pieces that cover that particular subject.

A popular example of this is the YouTube channel SunnyV2. These documentary-style videos take on TikTok trends or even other influencers who have recently been involved in controversy.

The videos look to take the viewer deeper into the subject matter and give them a broader look at what happened.

Another example is the popular channel Coffeezilla. This influencer and journalist found a niche by doing documentary-style deep dives into online scams and frauds.

He quickly became an authority on the subject and now even those outside of social media look to him as an expert.

Most of these longer-form videos run anywhere from 15 minutes to an hour long depending on the subject matter.

Due to the nature of the videos and the length, the comment section quickly fills, which fuels engagement.

For brands looking to partner with these types of influencers who produce long-form video content, vetting can become extremely important and is something to carefully consider.

Because of the controversial topics sometimes covered, these influencers are not always completely unbiased. While this isn’t necessarily a problem, you want to ensure the influencer and content align with your brand.

But regardless of the possible controversy, the growth of these videos shows that even though there’s the stereotype of social media users having extremely short attention spans, there is clearly a huge demand for long and detailed content.

Scrolling 15-second clips on TikTok may be one of the most popular pastimes at the moment, but don’t ignore the power and appeal of long videos that cover a fascinating topic.

In-Depth Reviews

In-depth reviews are a very popular form of long-form content and these are most common on platforms like YouTube, although you sometimes see them on Twitch, Kick, or other streaming services.

The reviews can range from video games to appliances and even high-end luxury sports cars.

Automotive journalist turned influencer Doug DeMuro regularly posts in-depth auto reviews of cars from various eras in the past. 

These videos garner millions of views and they also demonstrate how in-depth reviews don’t have to be for newly released products. Retro is almost always in style and in-depth reviews of retro gear are a strong niche with a loyal audience.

Usually, in-depth reviews come from those influencers who are already considered subject matter experts in the space. However, new channels and influencers can pop up out of nowhere if the production and information they present resonate with audiences.

Since most of these influencers are in very specific niches, they are very valuable to brands looking to promote awareness or build authority within the space.

Another benefit of partnering with in-depth reviewers is that their content often shows up first when customers are searching for a brand or type of product.

This means your product along with an in-depth explanation of all of its features is always prominently displayed on various platforms.

This is especially true for higher ticket items where customers tend to do far more online research before committing to a purchase. However, even lower-priced items can benefit from a strong review that dominates the search results.

The key for brands working with influencers that produce in-depth reviews is to ensure open communication as far as what the product does and who it’s for.

That doesn’t mean you try to change the review, but you want to communicate exactly what your product is for and who the target audience is. This removes any chance that the reviewer may not fully understand the product or the features, which could lead to an inaccurate review.

Finally, you’ll need to work out whether or not you offer the product to the reviewer for free, at a discount, or on loan.

These options can impact the type of disclosure made during the video to stay compliant with FTC and platform-specific regulations.

Bringing Long Form Content To Short Form Platforms 

While most long-form content is on platforms like YouTube, Twitch, or similar platforms, there is more and more long-form content coming to platforms where you wouldn’t expect it.

Many influencers are combining videos on platforms like TikTok to create longer-form content that’s relevant to their audiences.

This may not be entirely mainstream yet, but audiences are becoming accustomed to longer content on platforms generally regarded as short-form mediums.

Instagram and X both offer longer content options, with X showing full episodes of podcasts and allowing for full long-form articles directly within posts.

Combined, this shows the growing trend of long-form content within the influencer space, and audiences have signaled they enjoy this more in-depth information.

For brands and marketers, it’s important to understand this shift to determine if it impacts your own messaging strategy. While short content is still optimal for some brands, the rise in long-form content opens up a host of new marketing opportunities and audiences.

Creating A Long-Form Content Strategy For Your Brand

If you’re looking to leverage long-form content for your brand or marketing strategy, we’ve put together a simple game plan to help you get started.

This game plan will help you decide where long-form content can fit with your goals and how to start developing a plan to start publishing content.

Decide On Your Goals

As with any type of marketing, you want to first decide on your goals and ensure those goals align with the strengths of long-form content.

If you’re looking to increase brand awareness, credibility, or authority, then long-form content can be a great tool. This includes creating it yourself or partnering with influencers who create long-form content.

If you’re promoting a sale or just looking to drive traffic, long-form content can still work, but it may not be the best fit.

Once you determine your goals and whether they align with long-form content creators, you can move on to the next steps of the influencer campaign process.

Decide On your Message

Deciding on your message will help you to maintain a consistent tone across your entire campaign as well as among different influencers and pieces of content.

Your message should be aligned with your goal from the previous step and will vary based on what you’re trying to achieve. You also want to ensure this is a message that will age well.

Since many types of long-form content are “evergreen”, meaning they get traffic for a long time, it’s important to plan your message carefully and avoid anything that will quickly go out of fashion.

Decide Which Medium Or Platform Fits 

Once you have your message and goals in place, you can decide which platforms you want to target.

YouTube is probably the most common platform today for longer-form content produced by influencers. But Twitch or Kick can offer specialized live streaming content that may fit your messaging better depending on your niche.

You may also want to use a combination of platforms depending on the campaign and what you hope to accomplish.

Create A Workflow To Produce Content

If your goal is to produce long-form content yourself, you need to set up a workflow to produce it efficiently. Generally, this will involve the following.

• Deciding who will produce the content
• Idea sessions for content topics
• Approval of ideas 
• Decide if any outside talent is necessary to produce the content (video editors, writers, voice-over)
• Final approval of content
• Publishing to the various platforms

If you’re partnering with other influencers, then you’ll need to coordinate with them on content production and what type of promotional message you can include.

This may also involve getting products to reviewers or setting up travel plans if you’re partnering on live streaming an event.

Create A Content Schedule

A content schedule is an important part of any campaign and it’s especially important for long-form content campaigns. Because longer content takes more time to create, it’s crucial to have a schedule to keep your team on track, which leads to our next step.

Post Consistently

Content generation in marketing is a long-term game. While it’s great to get a piece of content that goes viral immediately after publishing, in most cases, success is a long process.

This is where most brands and marketers fail with their content strategy. When they don’t see huge results in the first month or two, they start scaling back their content or abandoning it completely.

Allow at least 3-5 months to start gaining traction with your content strategy.

If you’re partnering with other influencers, you should see results much faster since that’s more like traditional advertising.

But if you’re creating your own content for your own channels, be patient and consistent.

Monitor And Adjust Based On Metrics

When it comes to digital marketing, the answers are almost always in the numbers.

This means you should be closely tracking metrics on your content to see what’s working and what’s not.

If you speak with any successful content creator, they’ll generally have a few stories about how certain content performed better than expected. They’ll likely also have a story about content they were sure was going to be a viral hit but it bombed.

The point is that you need to be flexible. If your audience really responds to a certain type of content or topic, you have to lean into it.

What your audience responds to will be evident in the engagement rate and other metrics. Be humble and never assume you know more than your audience.

If they want a specific type of content, give it to them.

Conclusion

There is no question that longer-form content is becoming more prevalent and more valuable on social media.

Some of the fastest-growing influencers are those producing podcasts and other long-form content that’s up to 2 hours or longer.

Short-form content is still huge and likely will be for as long as social media is around. But don’t miss out on the long-form content surge that’s allowing brands and marketers to make even stronger connections with audiences.