How Does Long-form Content Work?

Imagine a brand that offers the necessary statistics, facts, and base information needed for a confident purchase.

Now imagine a brand that offers the same, only they've included how it feels to experience it. The potential customer has their questions answered, and their mind reassured.

They've also had their senses teased, their intrigue piqued, or their excitement expanded.

You could offer the feelings of your brand or product being their precise desires, exactly what they've been needing or what they've been looking for.

You have the opportunity to touch on needs, desires, or solutions to pain points that audiences may not even realise they have themselves.

Writing can be the needle that moves a potential buyer from "I'm considering this" to "Wow, this is exactly what I need, now."

The Main Advantages:

• Requires little to no changes needed to your current marketing strategy

• Can sync seamlessly into social media content or simply shared with ease

• Allows for personal control over how much or little to share

• SEO-powered to attract online traffic without social media platforms

• Offers a range of content styles, topics, and output

• Tone can be adapted -- kept strictly professional or light-hearted and friendly

• Can fluctuate with your natural business momentum, i.e. more content in high seasons

And one of the best things about investing in long-form content is how it moulds so seamlessly into your current marketing output.

How Does Long-form Fit In With My Current Marketing Strategy?

It's very possible that you already have your social media cogs churning and routine strategy established. The easiest way to align long-form writing is choosing content that would match your current material, but ultimately depends on your desired topics.

If you'd lean towards blog-like updates, fresh topics, extending friendliness and familiarity, and encouraging engagement from your audience, then adopting a journalistic approach of 'a story can be found anywhere' would be the route to go.

That means that any images, videos, or social media content you'd be putting out (including any footage or reels you've already got) could have an article specifically made to complement alongside it, and is an easy place to start.

A photo of a couple?

Evergreen content article about romantic opportunities such as couples massages, honeymoon suite upgrades, private butler service.

Short reel of the bar?

Blogpost about drink of the month, favourite locally-sourced ingredient, or interview with the head barman.

YouTube video of the pools?

Accompanying article about the all things swimming around the hotel, a breakdown of the adults only or kid pools, descriptions of the views from each, specific features such as diving boards, swim-up chairs, kid fountains, infinity styles, opening times... you name it.

If you're leaning towards a more professional approach and maintaining more of a gentle boundary with your audience, staple articles rely less on engagement and hold up without social media engagement. They will showcase more of the pillars of your business, are more laser-focused and detailed, and rely on SEO-optimised traffic to bring traffic from search engines, or serve the traffic that already browses your website.

SEO (or Search Engine Optimisation) can bring in browsers from the regular internet who have searched for things such as 'Best Seafood Restaurant in Portugal', 'Most Romantic Honeymoon Spot', or 'Must-See Attractions in Hawaii'.

If you've provided an evergreen article that targets an exact question or similar, and somebody looking comes across a detailed, enriched article about that exact topic, they are very likely to resonate: leading to remembering your information, consider booking, and even become a guest or client from that one article alone.

Not just that, but it tempts anybody that's already a potential client or considering purchasing a deeper level of detail past the informative facts, and offers a further, welcoming layer into your world that wasn't visible before.

This is the powerful content that can provide detailed insight and more laser-focused information, to include emotion and depth. Writing helps to nurture new audiences but also keep warm leads from older audiences. It can also be the ingredient that provides clients who take longer with informed decisions and prefer more detail with exactly what they need to feel confident in a purchase.

What Type of Long-form Should I Choose For My Business?

The great thing about long-form writing is how flexible and moulded it can be to your brand. There is no one-size fits all; rather, it can be tailored exactly to suit your business style along with being designed to suit your audience needs.

Classic, 'Staple' Articles (Recommendation: 10)

One brand may want to opt for a group of staple, timeless pieces that lean more into 'evergreen' content - in other words, articles that can stay on their website for long lengths of time that offer a strong taster and insight, but with little to no update necessary. Guests or website browsers can come across this information at any time, absorb it, take what they need from it, and the bulk of information remains.

'Timeless' pieces are a great way to showcase certain content, focusing on niches such as a speciality Restaurant, the immediate local area, or articles like the signature, luxury Interior Design of a resort.

Regular, Active Blog & Email Communications (Recommendation: One value-packed post per week, and a bi-weekly or monthly newsletter to email subscribers)

Alternatively, another brand may want to opt for a more inclusive and updated approach, with fresh content being released on a more frequent basis like a weekly blog update. Businesses that are comfortable offering more in-depth content could also include articles like spotlight features (for example: a new dish on the menu, interview with employee of the month, profile of the hotel manager, new luxury design for the golf course coming soon) which can boost engagement and invite commentary from social media comments and shares, opening the conversation to a wider audience.

Pairing this with a newsletter that writes more personally to your email subscribers works wonderfully. Your email list are people who have already given their permission to be kept in your loop or become closer to your brand, and contain warm leads, repeat custom opportunities, and nurturing/closing options for potential customers. You can cross-link to the the blog information, and supply a more personal tone with addressing your inner circle.

Blend of Both Timeless & Fresh Approaches

A great way to balance the two approaches could be investing in timeless, 'pillar' content but alongside a routine release of information such as a monthly blogpost of stories, specific updates, recaps, or carefully curated information that offers value and thoughtfulness.

Pairing with a newsletter for a three-pronged approach is also a great system, provided the narrative and writing style is designed to suit each type of audience well, and also taking initiative to find a complementing timetable.

How to Decide on Consistency and Routine

There is are no definitive guardrails to long-form writing -- creativity can be flexible, and your business can start with one approach or a small output. If the content is received well with audiences or it becomes particularly successful, it can always be expanded.

Fluctuation and dove-tailing with the natural momentum of a business is usually a key tatcic -- for example, matching the high-season buzz in a summer destination with fruitful and regular content, but adopting a slower-pace in winter is normal.

For most businesses that don't have a set idea of what suits them, it is recommended to lean back on the timeless articles, and introduce a light blogpost to assess engagement, receptiveness, and conversion.

The Summary of Long-form Choice

My outlook of how to best choose your category of tailored writing output:

• Evergreen & Staple: Selecting 5-10 'evergreen', staple content in the style of detailed articles that showcase in more depth the best aspects of your business. These can be balanced with a more professional tone or aim to evoke emotion, intrigue, or confidence toward a topic and maintain luxury undertones toward inclusivity.

  Examples: Restaurant, Amenities, Service, Local Highlights, Room Categories, Excursion Choices, Couples Highlights, etc

• Inclusive & Active: An open and welcoming content style, mostly tailored to the business momentum and leaning on communicative updates. Angles that work usually include journalistic-style stories and cover a wide range of topics specifically designed to encourage engagement, offer familiarity, and extend a fresh, inclusive nature. This approach can build strong relationships, repeat custom, and brand loyalty where guests feel included, welcomed, part of the conversation, or even part of the brand family.

  Examples: Speciality Drink of the Month, Highlights of Summer Events, Spotlight Interview with Head Chef, Top Things To Do In Rainy Monsoon Season

• Professional Blend: A blend of both approaches that mixes the evergreen articles alongside controlled insight of updated, professional content. As well as the staple articles to remain on the face of the website, a separate routine can be established where audiences can enjoy consistent, expected updates such as a monthly newsletter to an email list or a bi-weekly blogpost drop.

  Newsletters work great with a specific timeframe or set day to maintain stability, and blogposts can be the unimposing, extended invitation to read more if it resonates. In other words, this balances the best of the pillar content but also straddles some fresh, engaging updates to nurture audiences too.

If you're ready to step up your marketing and deepen your content with compelling writing, contact me here or take a look at my services.

Keep carving your pathway,

-fe