Add Vibrancy to Your White Papers

It’s so interesting to me. The fact that in today’s hyper-targeted fast-paced, frenetic world, white papers still exist in largely the same format they did 25 years ago. I have had conversations with engineers, scientists, and even doctors, to understand their attraction to and perceived value of white papers. I completely agree with and understand the incredible value of the information within them and their use in the life of a customer or prospect. What I don’t understand, however, is why organizations largely limit the content within white papers and consider them as one-time assets vs multi-purpose content for marketing. 

The irony deepens when you consider the number one barrier marketing professionals cite to deploying more content is the funds and resources, both human and financial, to create content. Who is going to create it? Where are we going to get the expert to form an opinion related to our brand POV? How can we use it to market? In white papers I’ve reviewed, it’s all there. Usually, by nature of crafting a white paper, the target audience is understood and well defined; the strategy and messaging are defined to address specific category needs. With a fraction of the expense to create additional content, many white papers can simply be re-packaged/designed and delivered for specific marketing channels.  

I’ve recently reviewed dozens of white papers. Within one white paper, I found over 25 additionally relevant “content nuggets” that could easily be created, used, leveraged, retargeted and delivered to prospective customer audiences (existing demand generation programs, lead generation campaigns, and or new inspire completely new directions/experiences (tradeshows, sales meetings, etc.). With a little extra thinking, white papers can be turned into a pipeline power source.

Let’s use this simple 5 page GE White Paper for as an example. Clearly, their POV is that manufacturers wrestle with the increasingly high cost of energy in retail package goods industries. Right away on page 2, we are introduced to a concept that could quickly convert into an animated GIF, pre-roll motion ad or as an image for a targeted/sponsored LinkedIn post. Any creative writer can generate a series of headlines to accompany the fact that “price of energy has risen steadily since the early 2000s, to almost seven cents per kilowatt hour in the industrial sector” (i.e. “$.07 a manufacturing hour qualifies for minimum rage”, “You can’t kill a watt but you can control it.”, (sorry, I couldn’t resist that one) etc.). 

Page 3 introduces a bulleted list of content nuggets that can become top-of-funnel teasers in animation formats. Each of these statements begs for visual accompaniment. Infographics, illustrations, etc. In the third paragraph on page 3, we read “Sustainability-related costs like energy, water, and wastewater are a large percentage of the total operational cost in most F&B/CPG plants.” This begs for an interactive tool like a cost-calculator or guided sales journey. Here’s a cost calculator we created for Ecolab and a guided sales journey we created for 3M. These are examples of taking a white paper content platform and converting into powerful digital marketing tools.

The headline on page 4 indicates the data and insights have been captured. Let’s connect them emotively through video stories about GE solutions and their efficacy in customer C-suites. Testimonial video, brand storytelling, and sales references come to mind as great extensions of these insights. 

By applying some creative thought to conceptually elevate how white paper assets are created and delivered, you can successfully leverage them into a robust communication kit of connectedness. Or, if you go into your white paper process with this mindset you very well may re-invent how your company does white papers.

So, there it is. Literally. Right in front of you. Go get it! For more examples of white paper video we've created for other clients, go here.