What is a Whitepaper? A Quick Guide to Whitepaper Definition, Use, and Benefits
Pop Quiz.
What’s more prevalent today than in the last couple of years?
- A pandemic
- Information overload
- Billboards
You know the answer is all three if you’ve been here lately. While we hope the first(pandemic) comes to an end, billboards and information overload are here to stay. After all, we humans are curious beings, so we’ll never stop producing words and videos to describe methodologies or introduce new solutions, technology, and products.
For businesses especially, it’s vital to get information out there. Content marketing has been the primary strategy to disseminate this information. Over the years, content marketing has shown to be an effective customer acquisition method. In fact, according to DemandMetric, content marketing generates 3 times as many leads, yet it costs 62% less.
Whitepapers are part of this content marketing mix too. Companies that understand the value of whitepapers infuse them into their digital strategy to boost sales.
But what exactly are whitepapers? And what role can they play in your business?
In this quick guide, we explore whitepapers, what they are, how to use them, and finally, a few whitepaper examples to give you a head start.
What are Whitepapers?
A whitepaper is an informational document used by a business to position itself in the market as an expert and thought leader. Whitepapers are used to share research, a new way of solving a problem, or a deep dive into product exploration.
You’ll mostly find whitepapers in the B2B space as it’s more complex, technical, and decision-making is not a one-off thing. Businesses use whitepapers to persuade prospective customers to purchase their products or invest in their solutions.
However, let’s make a distinction. A whitepaper is not a sales pitch, far from it. When potential customers or clients read a whitepaper, they want to dive deep into a topic and see the data and facts to go with it.
A Demand Gen 2020 study found that whitepapers are the second most popular method for researching B2B purchases. According to the same survey, whitepapers are the:
- Most shared content format in the B2B space after video content
- Second best way to reach B2B clients after survey and research reports
In addition, whitepapers came third as the content type buyers are more likely to register to gain access. Webinars and research reports were first and second. As you can see from the study, whitepapers can be an insanely helpful marketing tool to reach and win over B2B prospects.
Why is it Called a Whitepaper?
Whitepapers get their name from government authorities' papers— now you know why people equate whitepapers to boring. In the earlier years, government authorities' papers were color-coded to identify use cases and distribution. For instance, pink-colored policy documents have a limited internal circulation, while whitepapers signify public access documents.
But over the years, whitepapers sipped into the corporate world, and finally as a tool for lead generation for most businesses.
Who Uses White Papers?
Businesses of all sizes can benefit from whitepapers. However, whitepapers are more crucial in B2B industries thanks to the formalities of decision making and the amount of research that precedes a B2B purchase decision.
You’ll see why whitepapers are key to your business bottom line when we tackle the benefits of a whitepaper.
What Should a Whitepaper Contain?
What makes a whitepaper a whitepaper? Well, a couple of sections, formats, and information have to be in the mix for a document to be called a whitepaper.
For starters, a whitepaper is usually 6+ pages long(including the visuals), so we can call them long-form content. While word count is not relevant, you still need to ensure that each topic in a whitepaper is tackled clearly.
The main sections of your whitepaper should include:
- Title page— this section usually contains the whitepaper’s title, the company producing it, and the author.
- Tables of content— a short section outlining what a whitepaper covers.
- Introduction— Forms the basis of the whitepaper by providing context to the audience.
- Problem description— this will often detail the central theme of the topic. What is the problem? Who does it affect? How does it affect them?
- Proposed solution— this section details the solutions available for that particular problem.
- Real-world solution at work(case study)- a section exploring how a problem was solved by a particular company, product, or methodology.
- Conclusion— this expounds on what your audience should take away from the whitepaper. The conclusion is also an excellent section to include a CTA, as long as it’s engaging and relevant.
Key to a whitepaper is trustworthy research and data. Whitepapers are not a breeze-through kind of document. They tend to go in-depth with loads of data presented in a compelling narrative.
Another crucial aspect of whitepapers is visuals. The best whitepapers utilize charts, graphs, tables, and infographics to give context and expound on a topic.
What Do Whitepapers Contribute to Your Business’s Bottom Line?
A Whitepaper’s role is not limited to educating and passing information to prospects and clients. It also come in handy in other situations, as you will see below.
1. Helps You Build Trust With Your Target Audience
A Well-written whitepaper will showcase your company’s expertise right off the bat. And, expertise is one of the easiest ways to build trust with your target market. For instance, if an AI provider produced a whitepaper on the state of AI and upcoming trends, this would be a great reference guide for businesses that utilize AI.
Should the business decide to incorporate AI into their operations, the AI provider will be top of their minds on solutions to consider.
In another instance, a long-form technical case study in a whitepaper format will demonstrate the expertise of a business and show that their solutions work. A combination that your target audience will relate to and appreciate.
2. An Avenue to Generate Warm Leads
A Demand Gen study found that more than three-quarters of the respondents are willing to exchange personal information to access a whitepaper compared to other content formats.
This makes whitepapers a fantastic way to garner new leads. In essence, people who opt-in to receive a whitepaper are further down the sales funnel. They are usually familiar with your company and are more of warm leads— making it easier to nurture and convert them into paying customers.
Why are whitepapers excellent for generating leads?
Whitepapers may not be salesy, but they are definitely persuasive. In part, that’s because of the heavy research and data utilized by a whitepaper. The authoritative tone also helps set a business apart as an expert in that particular industry.
What Are the Tips and Guidelines for Writing a White Paper?
We already have a monstrous guide on whitepaper writing and formatting, so check it out if you want to go in-depth. However, here are 3 tips and guidelines for creating whitepapers that get read and bring results.
1. Know Your Audience(Buyer Persona)
Just like when creating every other content type, you want to start with understanding your buyer persona. In this case, you want to know whether they are novice, intermediate or professional-level experts.
Knowing the stages of their expertise will help you determine how to write for your audience in a way they can understand.
2. Choose the Relevant Topic
Potential clients can only opt-in to access a whitepaper if the topic resonates with their problems or business challenges. Before you start writing a whitepaper, make sure you have a clear overview of:
- Your clients’ most pressing challenges(what keeps them awake at night?)
- Their most important goals( what are they working towards, and why are they working towards that particular goal.)
- The alternatives available to them(are they aware of these alternatives? Is the alternative satisfactory? Are they willing to work with that alternative?)
Once you have the answers to these questions, you are sure that the topic you tackle is what your audience needs and wants.
Finally, ensure that the content of your whitepaper is unique. Hint: Like a research paper, a whitepaper needs to fill a content gap. This means writing about a topic that has not yet been expounded. And if it has, adding a new twist or solution to that particular problem.
3. Make it Interesting
It’s easy for dullness to creep into whitepapers, thanks to the copious amounts of stats and data used. That said, you can still make whitepapers interesting by infusing your brand’s personality.
Using shorter paragraphs and lots of visuals will also help you make the whitepaper interesting. And finally, just like a story, make sure your whitepaper has a narrative arc- a clear start, climax, and end.
The intro and outro will be vital since you want to keep your readers hooked at the start and make a successful exit with an engaging call to action.
Part of making your whitepaper enjoyable is ensuring that your whitepaper is readable on all screen sizes. Most companies still use unresponsive PDFs to share their whitepapers.
But this is a massive loss since 54% of web traffic comes from mobile devices. More likely than not, most of your readers will be reading from their mobile phones, so ensure that you give them a wonderful experience., regardless of the device.
Tracking Your Whitepaper Leads
Creating and sharing whitepapers is not the end of the game. You need to go a step further and track the results of your efforts. For instance, you’ll want to track the number of leads and customers you gained from sharing the whitepaper.
You also want to analyze the acquisition channels since you most likely used different channels to distribute. Finally, measure the behavior and client attitudes towards the whitepaper, then wash, rinse and repeat.
How Are Whitepapers Different From Ebooks and Blog Posts?
When we talk of content marketing, the first thing that jumps to people’s minds is blog posts and ebooks. That’s because they are more common and easier to create. But whitepapers are also part of content marketing, although there are slight distinctions between a whitepaper and ebooks or blog posts.
A whitepaper is more in-depth and complex than an ebook or a blog post. Whitepapers will use more research and data compared to blogs and ebooks.
Another distinction is the writing style. Whitepapers tend to be more formal in their approach. On the other hand, ebooks and blog posts are more casual and fun to read for most people.
But when it comes to promotion, the same means apply to e-books, blog posts, and whitepapers. You can promote a whitepaper through influencers, social media, online communities, email marketing, paid media, and earned media coverage.
Types and Examples of WhitePapers
Whitepapers can be categorized into 3 types based on their use. Here’s the breakdown of the types and white paper examples for each category:
1. Business-Benefit (problem-solution White papers)
Business-benefit whitepapers are also called problem-solution white papers. They inform the audience about the benefits of adopting a particular solution. This whitepaper can take the form of a long-form case study, with the problem, solution, and CTA clearly articulated. Google’s Whitepaper on Cloud Security and Compliance is one example of a business-benefits whitepaper. It details their Workspace solutions, showing the value Workspace brings to Google’s clients.
2. Technical Whitepaper
These whitepapers are complex and mainly delve into the technical aspects of a topic. For instance, the first Bitcoin whitepaper: Bitcoin: A Peer-to-Peer Electronic Cash System, is a famous technical whitepaper. It goes deep into the role Bitcoin would play in the financial ecosystem. It also explains in detail the models and features Bitcoin would operate on.
3. Hybrid Whitepapers
A hybrid whitepaper combines an overview of business benefits with technical elements. This Whitepaper by Google: Google Cloud's AI Adoption Framework is a perfect example of a hybrid whitepaper.
At the start, Google persuades the readers of the benefits of adopting AI. Later on, it becomes more technical, which expert-level readers will relate to. And finally, they end with a CTA for readers to explore their other solutions.
Start Generating Leads with Whitepapers
If you haven’t added whitepapers to your content marketing mix, you are missing out on an opportunity to build trust and demonstrate expertise to your audience.
That said, whitepapers do take time and require expertise to make them a success. Luckily, one of our specialties is creating whitepapers that get read and generate leads.
Contact us or check out our whitepaper writing services to discover how we can help you demonstrate expertise and influence your target customers with whitepapers.
