The Claymanite: Are You Being Seen and Heard?

Brand Building - White Papers Offer More Than Face Value

Someone once wrote that "the devil is in the details." Sometimes, however, the devil is in a pretty picture or promises that look good on the surface but have no enduring substance or depth.

It is not coincidental that 'Google talk' involves spiders and crawling and impressions and clicks. Digital marketing can catch the eye of a potential customer. In the end, though, the best customers are looking for substance - depth of knowledge and experience and expertise. They are searching for someone in whose brand they can trust.

White Papers can build just such customer confidence in a brand by working with and within a fully realized integrated marketing structure. But what is a "White Paper?"

As reviewed in a previous e-newsletter, historically, the term White Paper refers to a political document in a white cover that presented information for review to policy makers in order to build a consensus prior to the issuance of a formal policy or law. The IT (technology) world re-purposed the term to refer to reports or longer articles that offered greater scope or detail on emerging technologies or new products. From there the term has evolved to describe an effective marketing tactic, as a component of a larger strategic marketing effort, that can be utilized to educate customers about a company's products and services.

Marketing being marketing, White Papers no longer are consigned to the simple white cover. The appearance and content can be as individual as desired and fit into the overall look of a company's branding effort. Some companies elect to make White Papers appear more formal and academic while others present information in more playful and product relevant ways. These determinations, of course, are directly related to the overall marketing strategy.

White Papers can also be presented online, offline, or both. This flexibility enables them to be used in a variety of venues and with multiple purposes to build on customer interest. An ad, an email, or any one of the various avenues of Social Media might pique a customer's interest to know more and that "need" can be immediately gratified online with a White Paper that provides a more in-depth presentation of a product or service or deals with information relevant to either. Additionally, White Papers make excellent hand-outs at trade shows and sales meetings where a customer might want to know more but does not have the time at just that moment to talk. An additional bonus is that it can keep the sales and marketing teams on point.

Many companies offer a White Paper as a reward for participating in an online survey or other marketing tactic. Promoted correctly in an email or Social Media campaign or even in an ad, a White Paper can attract people to sign in to receive information on topics of interest to them especially when the information is targeted to their interest and is presented as "free" information and not as a sales gimmick.

The last point is critical. Baiting and switching is never appreciated and this is especially true with White Papers. Trust begins with delivering what is promised. When someone signs in for information about a product or a service, the last thing they want is a sales pitch followed up with telephone sales calls and emails that feel like harassment. The objective of the White Paper is to establish your company as a credible source of information about specific products and/or services. The sell component must be organic to the White Paper's topic and be handled with an almost invisible touch. The White Paper is about building trust in your brand. It is to build the consensus in customers and potential customers that your company has the depth, the experience, and the expertise in the market place. It establishes you as the company a customer wants to deal with. A White Paper filled with useful information helps build just that perception as long as its purpose and function remain clear.

As with all marketing tactics, attention has to be given to consistency of aesthetic and content of message. Your White Papers need to be in harmony in form and content with their purpose as well as in consistency with other elements in the strategic marketing plan. This is essential for ease of brand identification and recognition.

Again, the White Paper must be seen as a contributing but remote cause to achieving a sale. Any sales element must be beyond a light touch if present at all. Finally, White Papers like all Social Media marketing need to have a clearly defined plan and objective and must also have a means to track who is taking or downloading it. This data collection can become useful information for other direct sales activities and follow up - unrelated to the White Paper, of course.

As the old Blues song goes: "You can't judge a book by looking at the cover." But you can certainly tell more about a company by the information it offers free to those willing to sign up for their latest White Paper.