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If your business could use help explaining to customers what it is you do or how you could benefit them, white papers may be a perfect method for doing so.
While the history of white papers goes back nearly 100 years, they’ve become increasingly popular in the last few decades. Where once they were used for explaining a company’s details to government agencies, now they are more often found in B2B marketing materials.
What Is a White Paper?
Though they can easily be eight pages or more, white papers are not a manual. They are a marketing material companies use to convince leads to turn into customers. The reason they tend to show up in B2B campaigns is because these companies usually have more in-depth products to describe. Whether it’s software, construction tools, commercial restaurant equipment, etc. a typical ad probably won’t cut it.
However, white papers are not something you can simply whip up on your own, at least not if you don’t know what you’re doing. Let’s look at some white paper examples now to give you a good idea of what to include.
The Arrival of Real-Time Bidding
If a white paper is used by Google, you can bet it’s doing something right. This paper is actually a prime example of what they should all do well: take potentially complicated or at least technical information and break it down in a highly-readable format.
In this case, the subject was real-time bidding, an innovation Google was hoping to sell as a real advantage to advertisers. This white paper works because it makes clear at the beginning what it will be covering. By doing so, it also gives the reader an idea of the technology being discussed and what it will entail.
Remember, while you want your white paper to be easy to read, it’s not a novel. There shouldn’t be any surprises along the way. Early on, your reader should understand what you intend to cover.
3D to 2D Flattening for Industrial Fabrics
This is a great example of what we just talked about. Before the white paper gets going there’s an executive summary at the beginning to help the reader get their bearings and understand where they’ll be headed. In fact, from page one, the white paper spells out the benefits of using this company’s technology.
It also clearly defines what’s wrong with the current way of doing things. You have a number of pages to work with when writing a white paper, so take the time to spell out why the competition’s solutions don’t work.
How CIOs Can Improve Supply Chain Management
As you can imagine, supply chain management is a highly technical field. Becoming a CIO means you have to prove yourself time and time again,which means it’s going to take a lot to convince one that their current supply chain management solution isn’t working.
To do this, you need a white paper like this one. It’s well-written and defines its points clearly. However, this example also does a great job of providing resource after resource. All this information is well-cited which will make it easier for CIOs to buy the message.
The Importance of Graphics
One thing all these white papers do exceptionally well is implement beautiful graphics. They help organize the papers, illustrate key concepts and direct the reader where to look. Never skimp on using graphics to make your white papers more effective.
If your company could use help with your B2B prospects, there’s no better solution than a white paper. Use the above examples as models to work from and you’ll start seeing better results from your marketing efforts.
