When I get home from work, I always put on YouTube while eating dinner. It’s easier to just pick one long video rather than browsing around constantly. Turns out, I’m not the only one🤔. Did you know that even as flashy, stimulating short-form content sweeps the trends, long-form content is actually gaining attention again?
Despite often being an hour long, sometimes even exceeding five hours, these lengthy videos consistently rack up millions, sometimes tens of millions, of views, proving long-form content still has a dedicated audience. So, what exactly is it about long-form content that captivates viewers?
📱 Short-Form Content: Intense, But Also Intensely Fatiguing
Paradoxically, behind the popularity of short-form content lies viewer fatigue. Because you need to grasp the core message in under a minute, short-form demands your undivided attention while watching. The constant barrage of stimulating videos over-activates the brain, boosts dopamine release, and quickly leads to exhaustion. It’s like a lightning strike – intense, but quickly fading – and this characteristic exacerbates the fatigue. This short-form fatigue can actually be leveraged to highlight the appeal of long-form content. It offers consumers, tired from the endless stream of short clips, a chance to catch their breath and engage with something more in-depth.
On the other hand, long-form content offers a comfort akin to a calm lake. Minimally edited live streams or extended talk shows don’t provide the same intense stimulation as short-form. The lack of information overload, and the ability to have it on like the radio while doing other things, has become an attractive quality. In a way, long-form content acts like meditation for eyes and brains tired out by short-form.🧘♀️
These characteristics of long-form content are also effective from a marketing perspective. Instead of delivering fleeting information in a short burst, it allows for deeper communication of brand stories or values and helps build long-term relationships with consumers.
🎬 Long-Form Content: Where ‘Raw’ and ‘Simple’ Are Strengths
Another secret to long-form’s popularity lies in its simple editing style. Instead of flashy effects or rapid cuts common in short-form, it opts for calmer, more comfortable editing. Think of it like a simple, home-cooked meal that you never get tired of, compared to an endless stream of omakase or course dinners. Rather than exaggerated production or stimulating edits, the sincere, human appeal found in raw, unpolished content is a key point that resonates with consumers.
Calm Down Man, now arguably more famous as a streamer than a webtoon artist, once offered some half-joking advice during a talk with PD Na Young-seok: “If you edit too hard to make every single moment funny, people won’t watch. To keep them comfortably watching for a long time, the content needs to be something where it’s okay if they miss parts.” This really hits the nail on the head regarding the core of long-form content. Ultimately, the essence of long-form is authenticity. Unfiltered honesty and unprocessed, raw information can often be more appealing to consumers.
🤝 The Sweet Spot: Combining Short-Form and Long-Form
However, it seems likely that short-form and long-form will continue to grow together in a mutually complementary relationship. While long-form content provides depth and a relaxed flow, short-form content can highlight the funniest or most impactful moments, acting as a gateway or primer.
For example, releasing intriguing summaries or highlight clips on short-form platforms first can pique curiosity and effectively encourage viewers to watch the full long-form version.
In fact, YouTube has mentioned that channels uploading both long-form and short-form content tend to see increases in both watch time and subscriber counts. Short-form acts as a teaser for the original long-form piece, naturally driving traffic towards it. The statistic that 59% of Gen Z viewers who come in through Shorts go on to watch long-form content is also noteworthy.
It’s time for a ‘separate but together’ strategy for short-form and long-form. Planning content series that organically link short and long formats is a great approach. You can spark interest with short episodes and delve into deeper topics with long-form ones, keeping viewers engaged within your content ecosystem.
✨ Choosing the Right ‘Vessel’ for the ‘Story’
Ultimately, the trend towards long-form content signifies a rediscovery of the intrinsic value of content itself. It means that simply being short and stimulating isn’t the only path to success; sometimes, content that is long and slow, but authentic, can resonate more deeply. The craving for narrative and context, not just dopamine hits, is driving this long-form trend.
Instead of leaning heavily towards one format, creators need to choose the format that best suits the content’s purpose and message. The priority should be deciding ‘What story do I want to tell?’ Short-form and long-form are merely the vessels for that story. The resurgence of long-form reminds us once again that the essence of content marketing is the story. In the end, what matters more than ‘which vessel you use’ is ‘what you put inside it’, right?