In the world of content marketing strategies, one in particular is underemployed and misunderstood: serial content.
The ability to break content down into bite-sized morsels and parse them out over a longer period of time, when used correctly, is an excellent way to keep the reader engaged and hanging on.
What is Serial Content?
The first step to unpacking the concept of serial content is to differentiate it from a content series.
Think of a series as a topic about which multiple posts are made, while serial content describes a narrative that ties each installment together.
Serial content aims to capture the attention of the reader and keep them coming back with each update.
Looking at content like a story makes it inherently more engaging.
The narrative quality of the content, when used correctly, will hold an audience much more effectively than basic, bland content offering an optimistic call to action at the conclusion.
What Are the Key Benefits of Serial Content?
- It Increases Productivity: By turning one idea into the framework for a series of engaging content, you can focus on your ideas with the highest potential and transform them into a story that keeps the reader hanging on to every word.
- It Caters to Diversified Forms of Content: When you direct your content marketing in the form of serial content, each bit becomes bite-sized and more manageable. This not only presents a way to better capture the short attention spans of the market, it lends itself to podcasts, short videos and social media in a way that other content does not.
- It Increases Traffic: Serial content allows its user to grab the reader and keep them coming back for more, which in the short term, translates to more traffic. If used correctly, this strategy means a higher conversion rate and a higher ROI over time, if the content continually meets a need for the reader that was previously unmet.
- It Allows For Better Planning: By mapping out the whole series ahead of time, you can decide how you want to disclose information and format the series for the best results. Use market analytics to find an engaging topic for your audience and plan your method of presenting details to prevent information overload and keep your readers hanging on.
When effectively done, serializing your content distills information down into engaging pieces that are easier for your audience to process and allows you to present new information with each installment.
Whether your goal is lead generation, publicizing products or an increase in conversion rates, the use of serial content can be the versatile means to that end. If you need a hand creating serial content, be sure to check out our high-quality content writing services to connect with a freelance writer perfectly suited for you company.
Have you ever written serial content for a client? Do you have any examples of brands who are utilizing the concept of serial content? Let me know in the comments section below.