So much about marketing has changed over the years. But one thing that remains the same is quality content.
Content determines how much you influence customers to buy your products or services. One piece of content that is gaining popularity, especially among business-to-business companies is white papers. It is an official document that provides detailed information about a product, how it works, and the potential benefits. The report aims to discuss complex issues. It usually comes in the form of a PDF that users can download online.
While it is a great way to advertise and bring in more leads and an ideal SaaS marketing strategy, a white paper has so much more to offer. Find out other advantages that come with including a white paper in your marketing strategy.
Table of contents
1. Showcase Your Expertise
In the professional world, everyone wants to work with the most knowledgeable businesses. So finding ways to show that you know what you are doing is a great way to earn trust and customers. Developing informational white papers can help you achieve that. Simply because this is the type of paper that helps educate the public about your product in a constructive manner.
It also has to tackle the problem that users are facing and your product will act as a potential solution. You need to make sure you create a detailed piece of copy, describing terms that users may be new to. This shows that you can provide the solution that customers need.
2. Generate Good Leads
One of the most important functions of white papers is to generate leads. They serve to not only provide information but also act as marketing content.
Because they contain educational content, it is easier to convince users to purchase a product or service. This makes white papers an effective addition to any marketing strategy. You are essentially telling users not only what they should buy but also why.
Combining marketing with education notes will leave you with reliable leads. When a reader downloads your white paper, they are more likely to purchase your product.
3. Create the Ultimate Email List
A great way to reach users is through emails. According to statistics, there are over 4 billion people using emails in the world. Actually, email marketing relies on the number of people you have. You need to convince people to give their email on your website so that you can send them updates or newsletters. This can be a painstaking task.
A clever tactic you can use to get people to sign up is by providing an incentive such as a free white paper. By doing this, you will increase the likelihood of people leaving their email addresses.
One factor that will affect how effective this method will be is how valuable, relevant and interesting your content is. Success relies heavily on you providing information that is important to customers. That is the only way they will want to sign up.
Moreover, information in the white paper should also be actionable if you are going to convert readers into customers. By using digital tools, you can add clickable CTAs so your potential prospects could take action.
4. Build Brand Awareness
As much as white papers are usually used to gather leads, this marketing strategy works well for brand awareness. If you want to build your brand then you have to create different white papers. For gathering leads, you put out information about your product and why it is the best option for potential customers. This is designed to influence customers to buy your product.
For brand awareness, on the other hand, you aim to create a good reputation for yourself. Branding your business has many advantages such as:
- Keeping you competitive
- Increase sales
- Leading to customer loyalty
- Improvement of retention rates
- Increasing word of mouth marketing
White papers that discuss your company, your values, goals, and expertise show potential customers that you are a reliable brand. Showing that you are an expert in your field will make people want to do business with your company. This will not only lead to new customers but also increase retention rates.
5. Improve User Engagement
Any effective marketing strategy should aim at increasing user engagement. For the most part, marketers focus so much on creating content that the aspect of user interaction is left out completely. With a marketing strategy, you want to elicit some sort of action in the user, hence the use of CTAs in content.
A white paper provides a means of doing that. Asking the customer to download a white paper for more information, for free, or in exchange for their email address is a form of interaction. Some case studies have shown that user engagement contributes to purchasing.
6. Improve Social Media Marketing
Social media is one of the best platforms to showcase your brand. With over 2.8 billion people active on Facebook every month, chances of getting your product out there are very high.
One way you can build your social media presence is by promoting your content through white papers. For instance, you can offer users to download a white paper for free in exchange for a like or for sharing your content with other users. This will increase customer interaction, bring in more leads and create brand awareness.
7. Improve SEO
When used correctly, white papers improve SEO rankings. By providing relevant and expert information on your website through white papers, search bots can easily identify your content.
The better the content, the higher the SEO ranking. Also, this means that you will get more traffic to your website. You will be able to reach more people through white papers as you can connect with them through social media and emails.
Final Thoughts
Adding white papers to your marketing strategy can increase leads. Since they work as both educational and marketing content, it is a great way to convince users to buy. Not only are you educating them about a problem, but also providing a solution.
Aside from bringing in more reliable leads, white papers also help you to build your brand. They offer a way to showcase a business’s expertise in a specific field. Providing up-to-date information can help you build on your reputation which brings in more customers.
Another reason you should include white papers in your marketing strategy is customer engagement. By providing an action such as asking customers to download a white paper, you are increasing engagement which leads to more sales and profit.
