While current statistics of the top performing blog posts will show otherwise the rise of the micro blog is beginning to take hold. In 2015 HubSpot determined that blog posts between 2,250-2,500 words most frequently occupied the top 10 in search results. Blogs found just outside of the top 10 is where we are seeing a change taking place. While longer posts create more of an opportunity to influence SEO and Google rankings, shorter more concise content is becoming more attractive to consumers especially through social channels and mobile outlets.
According to The National Center for Biotechnology Information the average attention span has dropped from 12 seconds in 2001 to 8.25 seconds in 2015. Technology, which brings about instant gratification is thought to be the biggest contributing factor. When it comes to blog content most will agree that the information is taken in through scanning for attention grabbing snippets of the overall content. This is why we as content marketers have been taught the importance of headings, subheadings, bullet points and numbering within our posts. The issue is that often times the prevailing message within our writing is being missed.
Shorter blog posts have become more appealing as they get a point across with little effort from the reader. With mobile marketing starting to gain a significant share of marketing dollars it’s easy to see why this trend is taking hold. People tend to read through blogs and emails while waiting in line at the store or on short breaks at work. Providing a teaser that gives the consumer a small amount of pertinent information that persuades them to download a longer, more in depth piece of content is the future of online lead generation. This is where the longer content will find its new home.
The ability to communicate thought leadership through condensed content will serve as advertisements for your premium content. This provides the opportunity to capture your website visitor’s contact information by gating your more detailed content with forms. While longer posts may garner more likes and shares, often times that content is wasted, as it requires no exchange of information from the reader. With attention spans shrinking and the amount of available content rising, shorter posts below the 500-word threshold will serve as the most successful lead generation tools.
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