Why Short Articles and Posts Are Used Almost Universally for B2B Marketing

The Content Marketing Institute recently released its 2024 B2B Content Marketing Benchmarks, Budgets, and Trends study.

One nugget that jumped out at me is that “short articles/posts (92%) replaced videos (85%) as the most popular type of content” used by marketers.

To be clear, the study isn’t saying short articles are better than videos, or that you should use short articles instead of videos. Neither am I.

But it does say the use of short articles is almost universal.

I have some thoughts about why this is the case.

Minimal Time, Solid Return for the Reader

The average reading speed is 200-250 words per minute. Basic math tells us a LinkedIn user could read an article/post of 300-400 words in under two minutes.

Suppose the author does a good job focusing on a specific point and building a narrative that speaks directly to the wants, needs, challenges, and goals of the target audience.

I’d say the reader’s investment of less than two minutes of their life to consume helpful content was well worth it.

Which means they’ll probably read the next article. And the one after that.

Minimal Time, Solid Return for the Author

Don’t look now, but the author’s short articles are helping to establish thought leadership and build a foundation for business development.

Not by selling, but by delivering value to the reader.

48% of study respondents said short articles/posts deliver the best results, just behind video (55%) and the same as case studies/customer stories and e-books/white papers.

And these articles can be developed without much of a lift on the author’s part.

The author of a short article or post could spend 15 minutes or so on the phone with a talented writer who asks the right questions and can capture the author’s voice.

The process of interviewing, writing, revising, and publishing can be completed in a week.

Publish on the Platform

Short articles can be published as a post on LinkedIn, for example, without eliciting eyerolls from users. Readers would rather stay on the app than leave to read your article anyway.

You’ll see more engagement than you will on your website, and you’ll expand your network, potentially reaching new clients and partners.

And you can still publish your articles on your website to get the SEO benefit. Just include a link back to the original article in your LinkedIn post.

Need Help Getting Started?

If you’d like to discuss how to publish valuable, relevant content in a short article, and do it consistently to establish thought leadership, build trust, and win business, give me a shout.