White papers. Everyone in the B2B sector has most likely encountered them at some point. Whether offered in your LinkedIn feed or as a pop-up on a website, white papers can be incredibly valuable for your company. Especially if you know how to use a white paper optimally. In this blog, I will explain what a white paper is, how best to use it, and provide a step-by-step plan for writing a high-quality white paper.
What is a white paper?
A white paper is an article that provides information about a specific problem. The primary goal of a white paper is to provide the reader with truly valuable information. In many cases, you discuss a problem that you can subsequently solve.
Example of a white paper: ‘How do I convert my leads into conversions?’ In this example, you could provide an explanation about lead generation. You then clarify that many companies find it difficult to convert leads into conversions. Finally, you provide information on how to solve this problem.
It is important to ensure that you are providing genuine value in your white paper. It should not, of course, be a disguised advertising brochure. A white paper is a genuine giveaway. However, it is not effective to use a white paper as direct advertising for your company. Many people will lose interest if you do.
How do you write a white paper?
By now, you should have a clear understanding of what a white paper is and why it can be a useful addition to your website, for example. In this section of the blog, I will explain step-by-step what a high-quality white paper must entail.
Choose the problem statement and research your target audience
As a company, you should have a clear picture of who you want to reach. Put yourself in the shoes of your target audience and identify a problem that you could solve for them. Ensure that you can easily articulate the solution in writing. This ensures that your target audience can easily understand what needs to be done.
Tip: Create a mind map with several problems and discuss them with your team. Often, people who are not involved in content creation can provide various ideas that you, as a writer, might not immediately consider.
Write the introduction
The introduction is, just like in blogs or articles, a very important component. It is the first part of your white paper. In the introduction, your target audience decides whether this white paper is worth reading or not. Therefore, try to engage your target audience immediately. You can do this, for example, by highlighting the problem in an engaging way. Consider using an anecdote about the problem. Your target audience will recognize themselves in it and will want to know the solution to this problem.
Demonstrate your expertise
After the introduction, it is time to show that you are the expert. Make it clear that you have studied the problem. This builds trust with your target audience, and they will become even more curious about your solution. This section of the white paper is also ideal for mentioning solutions that the target audience has likely already tried without success. This piques the reader’s curiosity regarding your specific solution to the problem.
Provide the solution
You have now clearly described the problem in the introduction and the middle section. Your target audience also knows that you are knowledgeable and an expert in the field. Now it is time to take this expert status to the next level. You do this by providing your target audience with the solution to the problem. Ensure that the solution is easy for your target audience to understand so that they can derive real value from it.
Often, you will find that the solution to the problem is not overly complicated, but it does require a lot of time and energy. Ultimately, the conclusion that companies often reach is that hiring a specialized agency is the right move. This is a perfect example of why white papers are so effective.
As a marketing company, for example, you can provide an excellent solution to a specific marketing problem in a white paper. Often, you will find that this solution is not feasible for the reader to implement themselves. Consequently, they end up returning to the experts. This does not always apply, but you will often find that your target audience is unable to execute the solution you provide in a way that makes your services unnecessary.
Create a conclusion with a call-to-action
Summarize the problem and the solution in a few sentences. This makes it even easier for the reader to extract value from the white paper. Do not forget to add a call-to-action at the end of your white paper. This ensures that they can contact you directly if they have any further questions about the topic.
How do you use your white paper for lead generation?
Solving problems provides value to the reader. That is often the reason why white papers are placed behind a lead form, so that you receive contact details in return. This mainly happens on websites as an extension of a blog or in advertisements. On LinkedIn, white papers are frequently used to generate leads.
White papers as a lead generator for LinkedIn ads
Advertising on LinkedIn for lead generation can be expensive if you do not offer the right value to your target audience. It is therefore wise to utilize the target audience analysis you conducted during the research phase. You need to translate this audience analysis into LinkedIn targeting. This can be quite challenging in some cases. If you have never advertised on LinkedIn before, it is also difficult to predict what your target audience will find interesting.
In an ideal marketing strategy, we always launch an awareness campaign first. In this campaign, we introduce your company to the target audience and test which topics generate interaction. You can read about how this works here. Once there is an idea of what works, you can use a white paper to match this interest with your solutions. People are more likely to provide their details for a white paper if they have interacted with your company before. This is a good example of a remarketing strategy.
You do not always have to start with an awareness campaign. There are exceptions. For instance, if you operate in a niche where the demand for solutions is high, a direct lead generation campaign will yield immediate results. In such a case, you can start advertising your white paper immediately and address your target audience directly regarding the problems they experience. If you want to start generating leads with your new white paper, first look closely at the situation of your target audience. This prevents unnecessary costs.
When advertising on LinkedIn, it is important to perform extensive A/B testing. You can read about how to do this effectively on LinkedIn here. One possible test is whether or not to show the white paper in the ad image. We have already performed this test for you, and you can find the results here.
White paper as a lead generator for your website
A white paper can also be an ideal addition to a section of your website. Visitors to your website will rarely download a white paper on their own initiative. The use of a sales funnel is therefore essential here. Just as with an awareness campaign in advertising, you must first introduce the reader to your solution.
On a website, you have many more options for this than with advertisements. For example, you can write a short blog post as an introduction to your white paper. People can then learn more by providing their details in exchange for the white paper. You can also create a specific landing page especially for a white paper. This page can then be fully optimized with calls-to-action to motivate visitors to download the white paper.
Conclusion
Having a white paper can truly make a difference for your marketing strategies. It is a highly valuable addition for establishing yourself as an expert within your niche. Providing genuine value puts you in a position to request contact details in return to generate leads. Hopefully, this blog has given you a good overview of how to start writing a white paper and what you can use it for.
Do you need help writing your white paper or generating leads? Please feel free to contact us.
info@primemarketing.nl
