Content marketing continues to go from strength to strength, so if you are not already publishing industry leading content; your competitors have got the jump on you. You should think of the whitepaper content you publish as the skeleton upon which the flesh of your content marketing strategy will be built.
A whitepaper, as you may already know, is a concise and expertly authored marketing communications document. The whitepaper, by design, is structured to promote your brand’s offering in a very factual and logical manner. It is due to this structure that they are so very effective in persuading potential customers to become actual customers.
The best piece of advice when it comes to authoring your whitepaper? ‘Go for broke’ - write your content to be market leading, give it absolutely all that you have and set the bar well out of your competitor’s reach.
Do you remember the old saying ‘you have to give a little to get a little’?
Well, that rings very true here. Don’t go publishing any highly prized trade secrets, but giving your readers (and potential customers) a little industry insight as added value will surely go a long way in establishing a business relationship with them.
And finally, establish a connection with your reader – write with compassion and empathy. All too often content is written solely for SEO, humanise your writing. Mr Richard Branson is good at this: http://www.virgin.com/richard-branson/blog
So, blog posts vs whitepapers?
Not at all, it is more like your blog loves whitepapers.
If you are stuck for time (I would be surprised if you weren’t!) and considering between allocating your time to write a blog post or a whitepaper - then blog it is. But first ask yourself - does it do the content justice? Will a blog post suffice or would a whitepaper well and truly nail your colours to the mast? Which will reap the most reward in your long term content strategy?
If we are in content marketing for the long haul (and surely we are?) we must put a marker in the sand and look at creating content that can be referenced by both ourselves and others, now and well into the future. For example, let’s say that you publish a whitepaper in January, in reality; you could be referencing exerts of that whitepaper in your blog posts right through until December.
Publishing a whitepaper will obviously give you the immediate satisfaction of a job well done, but more importantly; you will have succeeded in creating content that by its mere presence will regurgitate other content. Bloggers love (and often rely heavily on) strong, original content to back up an argument or stance that they are taking.
This is because the fact contained in your whitepaper can support their opinion when it comes to getting a point across. A blog post that references a whitepaper will often have a little more ‘swagger’ when it comes to influencing readers. So, publish a whitepaper with world leading topic content and look forward to your content being referenced all over the social world.
(A really quick) Top 6 benefits of publishing a whitepaper:
1. It puts you in the middle of the discussion.
You create the content; you put yourself right in the middle of any industry discussions on the subject.
2. Provides amazing blog content
Expert content too, the good stuff - the ‘holy grail’ of content.
3. Lead Generation
Readers must register their details in order to access the whitepaper content. In doing so, they go straight onto your database (right near the top!)
4. Answers the business needs of your potential clients
Having actively sought out your content, potential clients are looking to have a business need answered. If you can achieve this, you’re at the top of their list when they come to purchase.
5. Gaining Trust
A whitepaper will earn your reader’s trust. They are reading content that was written by an expert, so they will be open to suggestion. This is a prime opportunity to add a thin veil of direct marketing messages to your writing.
6. Reputation Building
As search engines look to increasingly rank content by the authority of the author, building a strong reputation will become even more essential. Publishing great whitepaper content is not only good for business, but good for your reputation.
And there you have it…
So if you are able to sow the seeds of whitepaper content now, your brand can reap the sweet rewards well into the future!
