Why “Read More on Our Blog” is the Fastest Way to Lose Your Audience

For a long time now, “Read more about it on our blog” has been a typical ending of a social post, newsletter, and other company communications. An introduction would make people interested in reading something, tell just enough to set up the subject, and then direct the audience to a website for all the rest of the content. This is an easy trick for converting social media traffic into traffic on a website.

However, times have changed, and audiences do not feel ready to trade attention for information that could be easily gained instantly. By posting the teaser and asking a person to leave the platform to get to the useful part, you make an imperfect value exchange. In the age of convenience and instant results, the teaser became less valuable than the whole idea.

If the destination is a requirement, then the path does become sensible. If the destination contains information that could easily have been stated in the initial post, then the added step becomes superfluous.

Provide the Useful Bit Up Front

It’s better to be able to present content as inherently valuable. If a social message describes an issue in B2B marketing that many people face, provide the solution rather than just stating that there is a solution.

This could include explaining the core point, providing some helpful observations, or sharing the structure for a useful framework. Then the longer piece of content provides more detail for anyone interested in delving into the subject. 

Native Content Needs to Have Its Own Purpose

The social post cannot be seen as just another version of a shortened blog post. Various media allow different types of communications to be made. The post can communicate an idea, a model, a lesson, an opinion, or any other idea that does not require an entire post to be reproduced.

The possibilities are opened for the marketing content teams. There is no need to copy the intro of a blog post and add a link to it. They can take one idea from a blog and develop it into a native piece.

Stop Considering Platforms As Just Traffic Pipelines

It was common to have a strategy based on the fact that social platforms were used as just a traffic pipeline to bring users back to the website. This strategy puts websites at the center of all actions.

The modern user is using content in various places, and not all of these interactions will be finished by a visit to the company website. They might use social media posts, emails, communities, videos, and other forms of interaction long before they reach the website.

The Link Should Bring More Insight Than Hide Information

There is a significant distinction between adding a link as an extra move and adding a link as a gate. If the native content already conveys the message, the link might give more information – a thorough analysis, a complete research paper, case study, template, technical documentation, etc.

It creates purpose for the user to click on the link. The reader understands the value that the click brings as opposed to the marketer’s interest in the website traffic.

The easiest way to determine whether the link brings more insight or hides some information is to see whether the post provides any value at all without the link.

Complete Thoughts Create Better Content

Ideas are better remembered when they’re provided in their complete form. An insight that identifies a problem and states its implication provides value and something concrete that the audience can learn.

But this doesn’t mean that any piece of social content should become an extended article. Sometimes brevity combined with a complete idea works better. Sometimes two to three paragraphs can contain much more value than a lengthy introduction that ends up with “read the whole article”. Completeness, not brevity, is the secret here.

The Email Marketing Problem Is the Same

The “read more” strategy isn’t limited to the social media context only. It’s used quite often by publishers of B2B email newsletters. They publish a list of headlines along with short descriptions of articles. This approach makes their job easier. But it creates the necessity for the subscribers to open several links to find the information they need.

A more effective newsletter will teach the reader something right away in their inbox. The link to the page will still be there for those readers who need the extended resource, but an email itself should prove its worthiness.

Beyond the Clicks: Measure More

As marketers get out of the habit of using every post as a traffic source, there is a need for greater scope in their measurements. Page views are valuable, especially when a visitor is considering something and going through a decision process. However, they do not cover all valuable engagement.

An individual could remember a company due to an actionable idea from the post, share it with a colleague, refer to the brand in an internal discussion, or come back again once a need arises. This engagement may be hard to tie directly to page view data.

This does not mean that it is worthless. Rather, it means that the content performance should be evaluated in several ways.

Earning the Next Click Rather than Demanding It

While there isn’t any content strategy that doesn’t involve links, the best one will make people understand the reason why you need them. The shift will be from “click to get the information you need” to “we provide something valuable, and here’s how you can explore it further.”

This approach is a part of the general B2B marketing trend. The audience no longer requires another reason to exit the platform without receiving any value. They require a piece of content that respects their time and offers something valuable. What makes it ineffective is the fact that it replaces the value that should have been provided in the first place. A modern B2B audience expects content that deserves its attention rather than actions.