If you’ve been working in marketing over the last few years, you’ve probably felt like everything in content was heading in one direction: shorter, faster, and more disposable. Short-form content is still doing heavy lifting, especially for reach and discovery - Shorts alone generate 200 billion daily views.

But, what we see more and more with clients is that long form content still thrives. It drives sustained growth, deeper audience relationships, and stronger brand growth.

Much of this comes down to how people watch YouTube today. In this article, we’ll explore changing viewing habits, the platform’s support for long-form, and what it means for your content marketing.

TLDR;

Long form is reclaiming its place as audiences gravitate back to in-depth videos - tutorials, interviews, explainers, and narrative storytelling - that allow for deeper engagement and mirror the original YouTube experience.
Value builds loyalty. Viewers will commit to 20-30 minutes of content if it delivers clear value upfront. Well-structured, purposeful long form videos earn trust, encourage repeat viewership, and bring meaningful audience relationships.
A strategic balance drives lasting impact. Shorts spark discovery, but long-form deepens connections. When combined thoughtfully with search optimisation, chapters, and cross-promotion, long-form becomes an evergreen, always-on asset that grows both audience and brand over time.

Viewing Habits Are Shifting Back to Traditional YouTube

Check your YouTube Studio data, and you’ll see TV screens creeping up the list. People are watching YouTube in the evenings, on the sofa, often with others in the room. In that mindset, they’re far more open to podcasts, long interviews, or documentary-style videos.

While the last few years emphasised short, snackable content, audiences increasingly seek in-depth videos that feel like the original YouTube experience - tutorials, explainers, and long form storytelling - but this time they're using Smart TVs. Consumers today want content that goes beyond a quick punchline, and provides in depth details about a topic or brand that they can unpack. This shift reflects a return to more traditional YouTube viewing at a time when audiences are quickly becoming fed up of surface level AI generated content. Instead they crave more information about your brand and topic than ever before before making any purchase decision.

This opens the door to more considered formats that can tell fuller stories, explain complex ideas, or let personalities and expertise shine. The platform itself is backing this change with investments like higher-resolution thumbnails, AI-powered video optimisation, and upcoming customisable multiviews for YouTube TV.

In the UK alone, YouTube has overtaken the BBC for monthly audience reach across four screen devices and recently announced a partnership with the broadcasting giant to deliver more for audiences. In the US, it continues to outperform Netflix, Amazon, and Disney+. It’s clear that YouTube isn’t just competing with TikTok or Instagram, but directly with broadcasters and streamers for people’s time.

People Will Watch Long Videos If You Respect Their Time

The idea that viewers have no attention span for long videos anymore doesn’t hold up. Tutorials, how-to content, and in-depth explainers are some of the platform’s most-watched formats, and they’ve been growing steadily.

The key is respecting your viewers’ time. If you’re asking someone to spend 20 or 30 minutes, you need to demonstrate value quickly.

Long-form content requires structure, and honesty about what the video delivers to ensure people stay. The algorithm increasingly rewards this kind of engagement.

long form content example: Liverpool FC player portraits s2 Ep1

Our client AXA UK’s Liverpool FC Player Portraits Series is a great example. Episodes often exceed 15 minutes but maintain an engaged, returning audience. Series 2, Episode 1, featuring new signings Jeremie Frimpong and Florian Wirtz, combined thumbnail design and metadata optimisation to generate 76,000 organic views and push AXA UK over 5,000 subscribers. Four Shorts cutdowns highlighting peak retention added 10,000 views in the first weekend, amplifying reach without losing engagement.

Short-Form Captures Attention, Long Form Builds Relationships

The channels we see drive commercial growth the most are those that use YouTube’s full ecosystem. This means integrating short and long form content rather than treating them separately.

Shorts are excellent for reach, they introduce new audiences, test topics, and give viewers a low-effort way to understand your brand. But they rarely build depth on their own.

Long form content is where recognition, trust, and returning viewership develop. Strategic launches, teased with Shorts, highlighted with community posts, and optimsied for search determine whether a video quietly fades or continues drawing attention for your channel.

Search, Chapters, and the New Era of Discovery

Long-form content thrives in the age of detailed searches. Audiences ask specific questions and turn to YouTube for visual, practical answers. YouTube videos are 200 times more likely to be cited by AI platforms than other video content.

Chapters (or YouTube timestamps) amplify this effect. Viewers can jump straight to the section they need without committing to the full video. For brands, this builds repeat engagement and familiarity, quietly turning long-form into a component of always-on marketing rather than a one-off push.

Making Long Form Content Work for Your Brand

Effective long form content requires planning and a good understanding of your audience.. Series perform better than one-offs because viewers know what to expect and why to return.

So, think beyond the single upload and consider:

How will it be discovered?
What shorter and community content can be produced to point people toward it?
How do search and chapters enhance its value, even if viewers only watch part of it?

When these pieces align, long-form content becomes a reliable way to build expertise, familiarity, and trust for your brand.

Conclusion

Short-form content remains central to discovery, but long form is where relationships are built, expertise shines, and audiences start to feel they know your brand.

YouTube uniquely supports the full journey, from quick discovery, to deeper engagement, to TV-style viewing at scale. If you’re investing in Shorts but neglecting long-form, there’s an opportunity for better, more useful content that continues delivering value long after the upload notification fades.

In a world where attention is scarce and fleeting, long-form content is one of the few ways to win and keep it