How To Amp Up The Lead Generation Power Of Your White Papers

transcript

@marketingmojo | #mojowebinar | marketing-mojo.com

Presented by

Tad MillerVice President, Accounts

Kari RippetoeContent Marketing Manager

HOW TO AMP UP THE LEAD GENERATION POWER OF YOUR WHITE PAPERS

TODAY’S PRESENTERS

KARI RIPPETOEContent Marketing ManagerMarketing Mojo

@KariRippetoe +Kari Rippetoe

TAD MILLERVice President of AccountsMarketing Mojo

@jstatad +Tad Miller

ABOUT MARKETING MOJO• Originally founded as Search Mojo• Demand generation marketing firm founded in 2005

› Search engine optimization (SEO)› Paid media management

» Pay-per-click advertising management (PPC)» Social media advertising

› Content marketing› Marketing automation› Analytics consulting

• Headquartered in Charlottesville, VA› Office in Charleston, SC

• Featured in the Washington Post, B2B Magazine, MarketingSherpa, Visibility Magazine and many blogs

• Speakers at SMX Advanced, MarketingProfs, PubCon and more

OUR CLIENTS

WHY USE WHITE PAPERS ?

WHY WHITE PAPERS ?• You are selling to Businesses

WHY WHITE PAPERS ?• You are selling a complex product,

solution or service

Not Complex Complex

WHY WHITE PAPERS ?• It’s a complex sale process

WHY WHITE PAPERS ?• Your product, service or solution is a

major commitment

WHY WHITE PAPERS ?• Your sales cycle is very long

WHY WHITE PAPERS ?• You need qualified sales leads• Because of the nature of your sale, very

few are immediately ready to buy• You need a “Foot in the Door”

WHY WHITE PAPERS ? • They provide free valuable information that your

customers are interested in• High Value – Low Commitment – Low Friction Assets• Typically the easiest B2B Lead to Acquire – Highest

Volume

Getting a Form Completion is Easy!

WHY WHITE PAPERS ?• They Make You Look Smart to

Potential Customers

Thought Leadership

Authority

Expertise

WHY WHITE PAPERS ?• In a long sales cycle you don’t want to

be forgotten• White Papers allow you to nurture your

old leads

BENEFITS OF WHITE PAPERS

1. AUTHORITY BUILDERSWhite paper readers are seeking information to help them understand a problem or issue.

2. VALUABLE AND UTILITARIANWhite papers make effective ToFu (Top of Funnel) or MoFu (Middle of Funnel) content

› Help someone understand an issue› Provide a solution to a problem› Research a possible purchase

SALES PITCH

3. DEMAND AND LEAD GENERATORSSurvey of IT managers* showed why they read white papers:

› 69%: Get information about new products and vendors

› 50%: Compare products› 42%: Help justify buying decisions

*Forbes.com & TechTarget

WHAT MAKES AN EFFECTIVE WHITE

PAPER?What is a white paper

anyway?

DEFINITIONS OF “WHITE PAPER”• “An authoritative report or guide helping

readers understand an issue, solve a problem, or make a decision.” -Wikipedia

• “A persuasive essay sponsored as a piece of marketing content by an organization.” -ThatWhitePaperGuy.com

• “…the purpose of a white paper is to advocate that a certain position is the best way to go or that a certain solution is best for a particular problem.” –Purdue University

ELEMENTS OF AN EFFECTIVE WHITE PAPER

• Authoritative› Takes a position on the topic addressed

• Useful and valuable information• Backed by research

› Your own data› External research

CREATING WHITE PAPERSIn just 4 easy steps!

1. WHO IS THE AUDIENCE?• Know the roles of the decision-

makers and influencers• Know what their pain points are• Know what their top questions

regarding your solutions are

StepHow Many Solutions Evaluated

Key Personas

Key Rings of Insight

Trigger Small biz owner Lightweight option, warranty expiring

Research 5 Office Manager Battery lifeSize/Weight

Assess 3 Office Manager Keyboard feelScreen Resolution

Negotiate 2 Small biz owner Cost trade-offsExtended warranty

Implement 1 Office Manager Start-up timeTech Support

Buyer Persona Institute: buyerpersona.com

StepHow Many Solutions Evaluated

Key Personas

Key Rings of Insight

Trigger Small biz owner Lightweight option, warranty expiring

Research 5 Office Manager Battery lifeSize/Weight

Assess 3 Office Manager Keyboard feelScreen Resolution

Negotiate 2 Small biz owner Cost trade-offsExtended warranty

Implement 1 Office Manager Start-up timeTech Support

Buyer Persona Institute: buyerpersona.com

2. WHAT WILL IT BE ABOUT?Several approaches to consider:• Taking a side in a debate• Discussing best practices• Providing a product background or

briefing• Offering a solution to a challenge

TAKE A SIDE IN A DEBATE

DISCUSS BEST PRACTICES

PROVIDE A PRODUCT BRIEFING

OFFER A SOLUTION TO A CHALLENGE

3. WHAT DATA IS AVAILABLE?• Your own company’s data

› Aggregate› Specific customers

• External research › Lends additional credibility

4. WHAT CAN YOU REPURPOSE?• Case studies• Blog posts• Webinars• Conference presentations• Podcasts

• Presents a challenge› Backed by research

• Offers a solution (useful information)

• Presents data as validation› Case study

HOW LONG SHOULD A WHITE PAPER BE?

ACHIEVING SCALE WITH WHITE PAPER LEADS

JUST BECAUSE YOU BUILD IT…• Doesn’t mean they will come.

• White Paper Lead Generation requires distribution channels

START WITH THE FREE DISTRIBUTION CHANNELS

• Use SEO best practices on your download page

• Post to fans on all of your Social Channels

PAYING FOR SCALE• If you want lead volume you are

going to have to advertise your White Paper

COST PER LEAD ?• You want as many leads as possible

for your budget• Typically the higher the cost and

commitment to buy the higher the cost per lead tends to be

• What channels are most effective?

SURPRISE !• LinkedIn Self-Serve Advertising is the

perfect ad platform for B2B White Paper lead generation

CREATE THE PERFECT AD TARGETING

• Location• Company• Job Title• School• Skills• Group

Membership• Gender• Age

LINKEDIN HAS B2B SCALE

THE BEST YOU WILL FIND• B2B niche audiences tend to be small• Decision maker audiences in those niches are

even smaller• LinkedIn Ads offer the best chance to get ads in

front of them

SUCCESS AFTER FAILING• Put Google AdWords or Facebook

remarketing code on your landing pages

SET UP REMARKETING AUDIENCES• Tag your URLs to ID your unique

LinkedIn Audiences

LINKEDIN + (GDN + FB) = B2B SCALE

• Combining LinkedIn targeting with the scale of remarketing on the worlds largest Display Network and the worlds largest Social Network gives you long term advertising reach

+ ( ) =+

GOOGLE DISPLAY SEARCH INTERESTS• Today’s Google Display Network is more advanced• Targeting by Search Interests in the Last 30 days• Many Niche B2B Categories

COMBINE TARGETING METHODS• Try going super niche on Google Display

with combinations of contextual keyword advertising, search interests or page topics

• Yields a small but targeted reach

DISPLAY IS COST EFFECTIVE• In terms of delivering cost effective leads Google

Display works better than Google Search• Enterprise level keyword advertising on search is very

expensive per click, Display is relatively cheap• Take the low CTR and even the lower conversion rate…

Cost per lead can be exponentially cheaper than searchCPC

Search Display

GIVE SEARCH A TRY

• Search shouldn’t be your first or even second method of attack for getting White Paper Downloads

• Most searcher intent isn’t on finding White Papers, so White Papers are “an instead of offer” for most search queries

• But compete and see how it does

HOW WELL DOES LINKEDIN WORK ?

UNHEARD OF PERFORMANCE• Across all of our B2B clients LinkedIn

White Paper Campaigns have delivered 12% conversion rates

LINKEDIN WHITE PAPER PERFORMANCE• Some of our LinkedIn White Paper campaigns have

experienced over 20% conversion rates• We have case studies where clients surpassed their previous

AdWords conversion volume of the previous 15 months in just 6 weeks of LinkedIn White Paper advertising

• Same case study yielded a cost per conversion that was 94% lower than previous online advertising and a conversion rate that was over 1,500% better than prior online advertising

• In 4 months of LinkedIn Advertising we delivered 217% more leads than what the previous 15 months of advertising did for 82% less budget

• See: http://www.marketing-mojo.com/about-us/case-studies/sciencelogic-generates-conversions-less-budget-using-linkedin-advertising/

CLOSING POINTS• Use White Papers for lead generation in complex, costly and

high commitment sales• White Papers need to:

› Take a position on issues› Solve problems for readers› Validate your position with data› Make you look authoritative to buyers

• LinkedIn Self-Serve Ads are the best mechanism for achieving scale in White Paper Lead Generation

• Secondary White Paper Lead Generation tactics include Remarketing to LinkedIn Audiences, Display Advertising with targeting options and Search Advertising

CONTACT

KARI RIPPETOEContent Marketing ManagerMarketing Mojo

@KariRippetoe +Kari Rippetoe

TAD MILLERVice President of AccountsMarketing Mojo

@jstatad +Tad Miller

LOOKING FOR HELP?Contact Marketing Mojo

800-939-5938 ext. 101jmiller@marketing-mojo.com

MARKETING MOJOTwitter: @MarketingMojo

Facebook: facebook.com/MarketingMojoAgencyGoogle+: +Marketing Mojo