Did you know that a white paper white book Where e-book) is the ideal partner for your Inbound Marketing strategy? At the heart of your Content Marketing, it targets qualified contacts through a downloadable document in PDF format of a few pages to promote your business through your expertise. Creating a white paper from A to Z, essential lead generator, cannot be improvised! It’s all about methodology…
But what exactly is a white paper?
By definition, a white paper is one of the essential communication media for a company to express itself as an expert in its field. By revealing this expertise, 76% of prospects are ready to give information concerning them as well as their contact details in return for this premium support, according to a study by DemandGen. When you implement an inbound marketing strategy, it is therefore a safe bet and an essential lead generator.
Whatever the stage of maturity of the contact (visitor, lead, prospect, customer and ambassador), this informative guide effectively helps to convert it.
- By visiting the site, his attention is above all captured by a white paper with high added value to download. To access it, he must leave his contact details via a form. This is the start of conversion.
- Once the contact is created, he has access to premium support with information that reflects the expertise of the company and can present products or services;
- Once the visitor converts into a lead and then into a prospect, he can at any time become a customer by using the company’s services.
- Ideally, he will become a loyal customer and subsequently a brand ambassador by sharing the white paper with his contacts.
The white paper, once integrated into your Inbound Marketing strategy, allows you to:
- Enrich your prospect database;
- Publish relevant information to optimize the SEO of your web content;
- Affirm your credibility with Internet users and thus enhance your e-reputation;
- Build customer loyalty.
At first glance, writing a white paper looks complex, time-consuming and expensive given that it is very high value-added content in the context of inbound marketing strategy for B2B companies.
And yet, it’s all about methodology!
Structure the content well
The white paper should be written in a clear and well-structured way, with an introduction, titles, subtitles and a conclusion so that readers can identify the content of the document at a glance.
Choose the subject according to the most recurring problems. The information collected also makes it possible to draw up the profile of the persona. Depending on the dominant interest he expresses for the subject, you will be able to define the style and tone to adopt to create the white paper. In any case, it must remain informative, as neutral as possible, while conveying the brand image of the company. Remember that the purpose of an e-book is not to directly promote a product or service, but to inform your target.
In any communication work, including the creation of a white paper, you need to consider several things:
- The market ;
- The target population;
- Goals ;
- The level of knowledge;
- The types of information to publish.
Once all these elements are well defined, you can more easily define the structure of the white paper and establish the writing plan.
Develop the plan of the different stakeholders
Writing the white paper should not be done all at once. It is carried out in collaboration with the marketing team, but also the management to best reflect the brand’s editorial line and present information that brings real added value to readers. The editor then writes each part, which will be validated as it goes along, so as not to deviate from the common thread set up.
Entrust the writing to a professional writer
The choice of the subject rests with the company according to the centers of interest of the visitors who go to the site of the company. If it does not have an in-house writer, it is preferable to entrust the writing to a professional who has a perfect command of the mysteries of the trade and is able to better understand the subject.
Ensure attractive and ergonomic reading
Writing in stages avoids large blocks of unattractive text for an Internet user who is always in a hurry. To ensure attractive and ergonomic reading, remember to ventilate the text and the document in general. In addition, always keep in mind that the visitor remembers more what he sees thanks to beautiful images, good quality photos, but also graphs and diagrams, which will punctuate the reading. So remember to illustrate it as much as possible to facilitate the teaching approach.
As for the length of the white paper. Depending on the content, it usually contains between 6 and more than 50 pages, ideally between 10 and 20 pages. And do not forget to mention the contact details and all the information concerning the company.
Seek advice from experts for specific questions
In terms of content, although the writer is an expert in the subject, it is strongly recommended to seek advice from professionals in the business sector for technical explanations or for legal issues.
Facilitate access to the white paper
The download time must be reduced as much as possible since this is a parameter that can scare away a visitor if he waits too long. Another blockage: the need for him to have to fill out a form and leave information that he may consider too personal. But in the end, it already helps to sort out those who are really interested in the brand and who are able to consume the content of the white paper. So think about optimizing the call-to-action (CTA) or call to action.
To prevent filling out the form from being too restrictive for the visitor. It should be neither too short nor too long, but just enough for you to expand your database, such as the visitor’s name, their identifier on your page if they are already subscribed, their e-mail address , or his phone number.
Now you know what you have to do! It’s up to you to find the formula that sets you apart from the others from the start, and that is able to seduce visitors and encourage them to download your white paper.