Modern copywriting experts generally encourage a “less is more” approach to content. Social media typically offers a great return on investment when it comes to spending a marketing budget, and social platforms like X specialise in short, impactful messages.
However, short messages don’t work for every industry. Businesses that offer a complex but useful service might be able to use social media to entice an audience to visit their website, but they still require a more expansive form of content to fully explain what they can offer.
In this article, we’ll explain the value of long-form copy for complex industries, looking at what kinds of content can be described as long-form, as well as going into detail about the specific benefits of longer copy. Read on to discover more.
Short-form copy examples might include thousand-word blog articles, social media posts, or snippets of advertising copy. Long-form copy, on the other hand, generally refers to any piece of written content that extends into two thousand words or more.
Common examples of long-form copy include:
Keep in mind that you don’t need to do all this work yourself: writing long-form copy can be time-consuming, which is why many businesses choose to engage a content writing service to create their whitepapers and ebooks. This allows a business to discuss a topic in much greater depth without spending days writing and editing the content itself.
Complex industries typically suffer from a lack of space when it comes to marketing: there are a lot of crucial details and caveats that they need to include to adequately explain how their industry works. However, embracing long-form copy can provide all the space a company could need in order to effectively communicate exactly what happens in their industry to their target audience.
In the modern business landscape, it’s tech brands that could most often benefit from using long-form copy to better explain the goings-on or hidden secrets of their particular industry. Being able to thoroughly explain what they do is important for tech brands because long-form copy generally isn’t top-of-funnel content (that is, it’s aimed at readers who already have some interest in the company and its services).
Once someone has been enticed by their advertising copy, an ebook or insightful whitepaper is great for a tech company to provide an overview of how their product works, especially if they sell something complex like payment initiation services or niche cybersecurity tools.
Once a company has explained how its industry or product works, it now has to explain why its product offers an advantage over its competitors' products. However, short-form content may not allow for this due to the constraint of a low word count.
By writing an ebook instead of just an article, a company can offer an expansive and thorough explanation of their product could help their audience, while also leaving plenty of space to show off the various benefits and unique selling points of their product or service offering.
However, this isn’t as simple as it sounds: while a company may have staff that can clearly explain even the most niche details of their industry, they may not understand how to craft effective marketing content. That’s why businesses in complex industries in particular can benefit from using a content marketing agency, which offers both subject matter experts and experienced marketing professionals.
So, a piece of content has a thorough industry overview, and an enticing explanation of the company’s product offering. But it doesn’t stand out from the crowd: there’s no original thought to separate this content from examples published by competing businesses. This is a common issue with short-form content pieces that don’t leave any room for thought leadership.
Thought leadership refers to any action that helps a business build its authority and relevance within an industry. Long-form content leaves plenty of room for expressing innovative thinking, which means it’s perfectly suited for thought leadership. While short-form content typically doesn’t allow complex industries to communicate groundbreaking new ideas because it’s limited in size and scope, long-form content doesn’t have these drawbacks.
To add thought leadership sections to a piece of long-form content, a complex industry might include some original research or thought-provoking insights from their management team. For more tips on improving your thought leadership strategies, check out our 2024 personal branding and thought leadership blueprint.
While long-form content can be an incredible marketing asset for businesses in complex industries like tech, finance, and manufacturing, the marketing teams in these businesses may not have the capacity or ability to write impactful ebooks or whitepapers. In these instances, it’s best to outsource the job to an expert content marketing agency.
At CopyHouse, our team of writers have experience building incredible pieces of long-form content, such as analytical whitepapers to comprehensive industry primers. Our process starts with intensive research to ensure a solid foundational understanding of even the most complicated industries. As such, we can effectively communicate how your business works, and exactly how your products can benefit your target audience.
Interested in our expert marketing support? Get in touch today.
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