Cars speeding down the highway, dinner made in seconds in the microwave, internet with lightning-fast gigabit-plus speeds—all examples of innovations that make our lives faster.

In the world of marketing and content creation, one popular term is “friction.” Friction is the idea that anything that slows the customer down, introduces resistance, or forces them to make extra effort is a barrier to sales.

Now, artificial intelligence (AI) has empowered businesses to work faster than ever before, saving professionals an average of 40-60 minutes a day with a “frictionless” experience.

This cult of speed has led many content marketers and businesses to believe that shorter is better.

But if long form is the tortoise and short form is the hare, which is truly the answer? I believe that well-balanced content marketing offers a twist on this old fable: both.

Users need quick, short-form content for rapid answers and deep, educational content to help with decision-making before converting.

In this blog, I’ll take a deep dive into the concept of introducing friction into the consumer experience with long-form content and review how to create long-term content that drives AI referrals.

The Two Pillars of Value: Why Long-Form Content Wins

A popular myth in the world of content creation tries to tell us that we’re all like fish.

Fish?

One often quoted statistic says that human attention spans are down to 8 seconds, like those of a goldfish. There’s only one problem—true crime fans can listen to hours of podcasts and families often binge an entire mini-series in one sitting.

If the long-form content is gripping and the information relevant, attention spans rise dramatically.

There are two pillars that explain how long-form content interacts with search engines, captures attention, and builds trust with your audience.

1. Search & AI Overviews: Why Google Prioritizes Depth

Google produces rapid-fire results for users with its recent AI Overviews feature—quick answers to questions when users do a search.

Yet, behind-the-scenes, 82.5% of AI Overview citations point to “deep pages” with URLs located two or more clicks from the home page.

In other words, Google has the best of both worlds in the classic conundrum of long-form versus short-form content. Why? Google invests in creating a global library of content and serving it up to users who need a speedy reply.

Gone are the days of Google relying only on keywords—the algorithm now measures the value of content by semantic depth. Semantic depth refers to a deep, long-form content page that covers the core topic at the center of a question, plus related subjects and subtopics.

My goal isn’t to write fluff that fills over 2,000 words—it’s to cover a subject with comprehensive content, so that the user doesn’t have to visit multiple pages or websites to find in-depth answers.

2. Using Friction to Build Trust in Long-Form Content Marketing

Introducing friction into your content is a powerful method to build trust.

How? Relational versus transactional speed. AI is a convenient tool and short videos on social media are brief snippets of entertainment—not long-term branding that determines a purchase decision. They offer a quick and easy transaction without building a relationship.

In the book “Valuable Friction” by marketing expert Robert Rose, he explains the concept of the “Pause Point.” In an era of infinite scrolling, the goal of long-form content is to make users pause—the moment where the reader stops skimming, starts thinking, and builds a trust relationship with your brand.

For example, a long-form piece of content could include a “stop and audit” box that invites the reader to open their last three emails and evaluate their communication style based on the tips from the article. When someone stops to download a free guide, it’s your cue to invest in them as a highly engaged customer and follow up with them.

How to Create High-Performing Long-Form Content

The goal of long-form content is to translate the topic you’re offering your audience into educational material—it allows you to persuade rather than sell.

There are several key steps to creating excellent long-form content that stands out from the crowd online.

Want help creating comprehensive content that balances in-depth learning and draws customers to your brand?

Step 1: Choosing Topics That Require Depth

Rather than answering a single question, the goal of your content should be to build out a series of answers AI can’t easily replace.

For example, answering the question “What is a 401k?” is a great subtopic for a piece of content, but not the main content. Why? Because an AI can provide an accurate definition in a paragraph.

A deep question is “What is Retirement Planning?” It’s an opportunity to connect many topics together.

It goes beyond AI information to human insight—your unique philosophy can shape how the pieces fit together, explaining the relationship between a 401k, a Roth IRA, tax limits, and employer matches.

Step 2: Visual Structuring for Skimmers and Deep Divers

Everyone active online has read a piece of long-form content that felt like a “wall of text” at one time or another. It can be intimidating to create long-form content while keeping it fresh and avoiding information overload.

The key point is that readers don’t mind length, they care about density.

When you narrow it down, there are essentially two types of readers online at different points in the searching process: the skimmer versus the diver.

For example, two mothers might Google “baby rash” looking for completely different types of answers:

• The Skimmer: A mom holding a crying baby with a rash at 2AM. She needs a bulleted list of symptoms and wants to know if she should call the pediatrician.
• The Deep Diver: An expectant mom prepping for the birth of her baby might search the same question, but wants to go into detail to learn about different types of rashes to prep for motherhood.

Your article should help them both through an easy-to-understand structure. The skimmer needs clear H2 headings, bullet points, block quotes, and bold summaries, reducing bad friction so that they can find an answer instantly.

The skimmer is also an opportunity to let your visual content creation shine. Don’t just use stock photos as a decoration—tap into creativity.

A visual metaphor like a compass for strategy or a data visualization, can explain complex concepts in an instant. It provides the skimmer with a quick answer and offers the deep diver a framework to study and retain.

The deep diver needs a clear structure to review the article and take notes. But I also don’t want them to speed through the piece.

“Pause points” like a contrarian take, a personal story, or a box that asks the reader to answer a question and reflect on the content, can slow them down and engage them with your expertise.

The goal is to be fast enough to capture attention, but slow enough to keep it.

Step 3: The Topics Cluster Strategy

The topic cluster approach to online content uses a “hub and spoke” model. The long-form piece serves as the central hub that covers a broad topic comprehensively, while smaller specific pieces of content act as the spokes.

For example, a piece of long-form content focused like “The First-Time Home Buyer’s Handbook” would have spokes like “What is a debt-income-ratio?” and “Closing costs explained for buyers.”

There are several main tips to consider when building a hub and spoke content strategy:

• Group keywords by category: Use keyword clustering to organize related terms. Research keywords for your topic and then build sections or sub-articles to complement your primary content.
• Link short answers to deep content: Short content like social posts or quick-answer blog posts should target the specific, long-tail questions with a brief, introductory answer. Then, you can link back to the long-form for the deep dive users.
• Avoid cannibalization: It’s key to make sure that multiple pages don’t compete for top ranking for the same keyword. Instead, create unique pages for each subtopic and link back to the main guide.

Key Takeaways

• Redefine positive “friction” as a trust-building tool. In a speed-obsessed world, friction stops the scroll and moves users from transactions to relationships.
• Don’t buy into the “goldfish” myth. Readers don’t reject length; they reject information overload.
• Create comprehensive, long-form content to target “semantic depth” for AI visibility. 
• Design long-form content for skimmers and divers with visual hooks for quick answers and deep insights for engaged readers. 
• Compete on your unique insight, not simply staying facts. AI has a library of facts—you have your unique voice, philosophy, and experience. 
• Build SEO with hub and spoke topic clusters. Link central long-form guides to shorter articles to build expertise with search engines.

Dedicated business founders sharing insights, highly critical consumers searching for great products, and users sharing absurdly hilarious real estate listings from Zillow—what do they all have in common?

The future of search: community.

Reddit is a social news aggregation, web content rating, and discussion website built around more than 100,000 communities (AKA subreddits). Businesses no longer need only focus groups and surveys to find out what people are thinking—they just need a free account.

These social tribes are all about transparency: honest answers to real-world questions, unsponsored product reviews, Q&A’s, and complaints. And search engine optimization giants like Google have taken notice.

That’s why Reddit is the number one destination online to build authenticity, trust, and awareness with the real audience behind your brand.

In this blog, we’ll explore why Reddit is a critical tool for building your online presence in the age of AI, breakdown who should use Reddit for marketing, review organic and paid advertising methods, and cover do’s and don’ts for winning on the platform.

Why Using Reddit for Marketing is Suddenly Crucial

In a Reddit study, results show that 74% of people agree that Reddit helps them make faster purchase decisions.

Have we got your attention?

Although Reddit has been around for over 20 years, the platform became the 2nd most visited domain on Google search in 2025. Why?

Let’s explore a little backstory and explain how it can transform the way you market.

The Trust Factor: Why Search Engines Prefer Reddit

In August 2023, businesspeople, marketers, and anyone with an online presence had a historic moment—the Google “hidden gems” update shifted focus to authentic, user-generated content.

Gone were the days of editorial and review sites dominating the world web—the world’s conversation space suddenly became the most valuable real estate on the internet.

The result? From July 2023 to August 2024, Reddit’s visibility skyrocketed with a 1,348% increase in visibility on Google…

The “Google Zero” Effect: Reddit and AI Search

In May 2024, another Google update caused a seismic shift in the internet community—the Search Generative Experience (popularly known as AI overviews). And it created a new phenomenon dubbed the “Google Zero Effect.”

Google was no longer just a search engine—it was an answer engine. A user could ask a question and get an instant answer at the top of the search engine results page (SERP) without ever needing to click a single link.

That’s where Reddit enters the scene once again. In February 2024, Google announced a partnership with Reddit to train its AI models with a goldmine of genuine, human conversations from the platform and made it one of the most important spaces on the internet. AI has truly transformed the landscape of modern marketing and it’s one of the most powerful tools available when used responsibly.

How Reddit Marketing Can Reshape Your Brand Awareness Strategy

Google updates, SEO, and AI training—how does it impact your marketing today?

There are several key advantages to becoming a Redditor:

• Become a part of the world’s largest online community and keep up with competitors
• Raise your brand’s ranking on Google search results and appear in AI answers
• Engage and build community with your target audience in niche, subreddit communities
• Speak with customers directly to answer questions about your product or service
• Gather feedback in real-time and build a library of user-generated content from positive comments

Which Industries Fit the Reddit Marketing Audience?

Reddit is like a hangout with friends and colleagues—it encourages social engagement and discourages self-promotion.

To gauge what’s appropriate, imagine what you would and wouldn’t feel comfortable inserting into a natural conversation. The unique culture of Reddit strongly impacts which businesses succeed.

Industries that thrive are those that naturally engage a tribe of followers with depth, passion, or technical detail. Thousands of subreddits exist for everything from hobbyists (3D printing, art, hiking) to professional communities (financial services, trade skills).

At the same time, Redditors frown on transactional businesses that don’t build community. Generic products like toothpaste or toilet paper may receive some product reviews, but they likely won’t build a dedicated audience. Hyperspecific local businesses without a unique hook like a dentist’s office or accounting firm also might struggle on the platform.

Organic Reddit Marketing: Transparency is King

Contribute before you promote—it’s the golden rule of Reddit. Users upvote what they like (“karma”) and downvote what they don’t. A subreddit is the opposite of a billboard because it’s an authentic space.

Let’s take Mint Mobile as an example. When you hear about the brand, you might think of Ryan Reynold’s brilliant commercial campaign, but the company has also experienced huge success on Reddit.

It’s actually a “semi-official” subreddit. Mint Mobile doesn’t control or moderate the content because it was founded by volunteers. Rather than attempting to take it away by starting their own channel, employees joined the forum and started posting.

They even provide a dedicated customer support professional for questions, concerns, and complaints. The outcome? 59,000 weekly visitors to the Mint Mobile community. Mint Mobile’s team truly understands Reddit for marketing and they’re gaining traction through organic channels.

So, how can you begin to leverage Reddit for brands? There are several key strategies you can use to get started:

• Share content: If you share great content, they will come. Creating great blogs, articles, videos, and infographics within the right niche can get people chatting.
• Build a subreddit: You can build a subreddit dedicated to your brand where people discuss your product or service. It’s also a place to host giveaways, perform market research, search out beta testers, and so much more (your creativity is the limit).
• Host an AMA: An AMA (ask me anything) is a planned event with a scheduled time where a brand or influencer chats with users to connect with them directly.
• Provide customer service: Redditors often come to the platform to find a forum of answers on customer service and technical support questions. It’s an opportunity to capture user attention with a dedicated space for troubleshooting and turn a complaint into a success story.

Reddit Advertising: Targeting High-Intent Communities

Want to take it to the next level beyond organic marketing and reach customers not engaged on your subreddit? Reddit advertising is another popular option.

Reddit paid ad formats include:

• Text (promoted posts)
• Image
• Video
• Product
• Carousel
• AMA (ads in feed)
• Conversation (ads in comment threads)

Reddit targeting offers a wide range of common ad demographic tools, but one feature stands apart from the crowd. Businesses can place their ads on specific subreddits, reaching highly niche audiences where they go to read about their interests. It’s the opposite of interrupting someone with an irrelevant ad.

Want to promote digital marketing services? Simply create an ad and set it to target the r/marketing subreddit and you have the potential to reach 127,000 new customers who are actively thinking about marketing. For example, Upwork targets people interested in hiring freelance marketers with a promoted image ad on the forum.

The 5 Do’s and Don’ts for Using Reddit for Marketing

When you’re new to Reddit, it can seem like a big task to dive deep into the waters and join the community. Thankfully, there are tried-and-tested do’s and don’ts to get off to a positive start with your audience.

Do’s

• Do observe and learn: Every subreddit is an ongoing conversation with a unique culture, inside jokes, and socially acceptable behavior. Quietly observe and watch before you start posting.
• Do contribute value: The key to Reddit is popularity—you want to add something to the conversation that informs, inspires, or entertains. Show what makes you unique and share your passion and expertise.
• Do be transparent: Always be honest about your background on Reddit, especially if you’re a brand ambassador or employee. Redditors expect to speak with real, unbiased people.
• Do encourage communication: Reddit is famous for praise and criticism. It’s vital to communicate with customers honestly, listen to their feedback, and accept positive and negative outcomes with grace.
• Create Reddit native content: Instead of simply linking to an external website, create posts designed to help Redditors. Speak to the community with detailed text posts, infographics, or original image albums designed to live on Reddit and encourage ongoing conversation.

Don’ts

• Don’t ignore subreddit rules: Every community has volunteer or paid moderators with a set of guidelines. They usually specify the type of content and rules on what you can post (including promotional material). Missing an important rule can get you banned easily.
• Don’t debate downvotes: One of the fastest ways to hurt your brand image is to begin debating on Reddit. Actions speak louder than words—if someone says something unfair or untrue, receive the feedback and work to correct it over time.
• Don’t use generic accounts: Avoid using accounts that sound like a corporate identity. Ask members of your team to join the conversation with authentic identities.
• Don’t neglect the comments section: Once you launch a subreddit, it needs regular upkeep. Not replying to comments will lower your activity and lead to negative comments left unresolved.
• Don’t reuse content: It’s also vital not to repost the same content across multiple subreddits. Eagle-eyed Redditors will pick up on it fast and realize the engagement is not genuine. You need well-written content that’s true to yourself and gently leverages copywriting psychology to persuade readers to explore your brand further.