Longposting is the next big thing
And why Medium is a perfect place for storytelling
Teehan-Lax, a company that created Medium for Evan Williams and Obvious Corp in 2011, wrote about it:
Medium is for consuming long-form content.
Let’s together analyze this new form of content and where it is implemented. Also we will see why this is the future of social media and companies’ communication and will explore the trends behind posting the long-form content, the so-called longposting.
Longposting is the new media communication
The right questions here are how and where companies communicate with their audience in social media? They shoot videos (from YouTube or Vimeo) or photos (Instagram or Tumblr), write short posts (Twitter or Facebook). That’s an ordinary SMM (Social Media Marketing).
Short public messages or videos are how companies communicate, named content type.
Websites like Facebook or Google+ are where companies communicate, named social media platforms.
Now it’s time for new how’s and new where’s.
It’s time for long posts.
How (content type)
Longposting is about writing long posts that cover whole stories.
It is a storytelling with a help of text (mainly).
Longposting always implies structure and includes an introduction and a culmination.
Where (social media platform)
Medium.com was born to be a storytelling platform.
And the real breakthrough in storytelling is Medium’s comments concept.
Comments and Medium
Medium decided to divide all comments from all over the web in 3 types:
- “I like it” type
This means that a reader appreciates the post as a whole.
A reader agrees with the main idea of the post and wants to share it.
Positive emotions appeared.
This type of comments is converted into “recommend” button. - “That’s the point” type or context-based notes
This means a reader wants to comment, wants to write words, express opinions.
But the common usecase is that a reader wants to comment a certain sentence or paragraph.
That’s why on Medium anyone could comment the stated point.
And the author decides whether to make reader’s comments public or keep private.
This type of comments is realized by a small plus button right to the paragraph or when highlighting a sentence. - “I don’t like it” type
This means that a reader didn’t get the post as a whole.
The whole impression is negative.
Nothing can be added from a reader.
This type of comments is transformed into private paragraph comments.
No minus-buttons presented.
So if a reader didn’t like the post it could be seen only by the author.
Context-based comments are perfect for the longposting.
That is a revolutionary approach to storytelling.
And that’s what makes Medium so desirable for the longposting.
We’ve talked so far on how and where companies could now communicate with the audience, explained the longposting as a new content type and presented Medium as a storytelling social media platform. Let’s go further.
10 trends for the longposting
And some tips for a more effective storytelling, not only on Medium.
- Quantity matters — more user-involvement.
Readers tend to comment more often on longer posts.
And what’s even more important the quality of comments is higher. - Illustrate.
Be visual is important.
Highlights, quotes, accents, strong text.
A mashup of articles from Wikipedia and a magazine.
Need some creative visual longposts to inspire? Browse Behance and read its attitude to showcasing. - Aesthetic.
Nice-looking content.
Readability.
Create a masterpiece.
Present your post as a book you want your reader to spend an evening with. - Not only the text stories.
Try gif-memes stories (Buzzfeed) or interactive lessons (Stepic).
The story is still structured, moreover fun and education are more valued by readers. - Tease readers with the result and lead them to the very end.
That works with the how-to longposting (Quora’s answers) and different guides (Snapguide) - Ideas over information. Emotions over messages.
Longposting is much more intimate.
It’s like sharing your personal secret. - Be a narrator, not a seller.
Imagine you are Mr. Tumnus, a faun from the first Narnia story (The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe) who first introduced Narnia to its visitors. - Describe cases.
Tell real stories. Discover.
Compare what Harvard Business Review does with its business-cases. Read the Red Bull story as an example.
Or how Airbnb came up with a storyboarding. - Bring up relevant topics.
If you are a brand tell a story about your products, plans.
Speak business, share your marketing experience and mistakes.
Write how you achieve the results and show the road your product came before it was shipped to market: ideas, concepts, prototypes, challenges. - Ancient Egypt vs Ancient Greece.
Current Internet communication reminds Ancient Egypt: the audience write on walls and worship cats.
Now the era has changed.
It’s time for Greek philosophers and long debates and the audience who gather around the storyteller.
If you know more trends and approaches to longposting please share them.
Any comments are welcome.
