White Paper: what is it and how can I use it in my PR strategy?

A White Paper is a report used to explain, promote and highlight a company’s solutions, products or services. To do this, an in-depth and authoritative tone is used while informing readers about the topic, followed by data and results from researches.They argue a specific position, meaning to educate the audience and help them to understand and solve an issue.

This document has become popular as a marketing and PR tool for corporations to sell information and share about their services. In the past, white papers were most often produced by governmental agencies, NGOs, consultancies, and financial institutions that needed to present the findings of their researches in a succinct format. With the widespread growth and adoption of content marketing and PR, white papers have become more common in other industries as well.?

Main purposes of a White Paper

• Build trust: White Papers speak to readers with authority, using an educational approach and data-backed research.
• Generate leads and increase sales: they offer valuable insights and data to potential customers who then look to the brand for more of this information or even acquire their services.
• Propose solutions: White Paper enables companies to share how their products and services solve specific issues.
• Create brand visibility: White papers can build brand awareness for SMEs and big and established corporations.

How can I use White Paper in my PR strategy?

White Papers offer a good amount of data from researches, results and expectations, which are extremely important for PR content. Here are some strategies that can benefit from this information:

Press releases: the data and information of the exclusive material can be used in an official press release, sharing in first hand the importance and news of the material;

Articles for the press: an article signed by an executive of the company can be shared with a vehicle that will publish it exclusively;?

Blog posts: if your company has a blog, an article about the White Paper’s content and main points can be published on the institutional website;

Email marketing: it is possible to strategically use the data and/or content of the White Paper in your email marketing, pursuing the readers to want to know more about it.

How can I write a White Paper?

Writing a white paper requires proper research, many daily hours of dedication and patience. The main steps are:

1. Pick the right topic. This might seem obvious, but if the topic doesn’t relate to your audience, your white paper is not likely to be read;
2. Identify your audience’s problems to generate demand for your product or service;
3. Conduct research to provide information that your audience cannot easily get elsewhere;
4. Get expert feedback from those you trust to verify information;
5. Keep it interesting. White papers should be detailed and authoritative, but this doesn't mean they have to be boring.