Should companies utilise white papers more?

Posted by adi on Nov 13, 2008 in Work

Image by Cati@ via Flickr

I don’t know about you, but white papers come with an expectation of jargon laden technical reports that aim to solve some sort of complex problem.  If you consider them as a simple piece of content that solves a user problem however and they are an excellent marketing tool that could (should?) be used by all manner of companies.

That is certainly the conclusion drawn by a report released today by TechTarget (pdf).  The report draws a number of fascinating conclusions into how people look to solve their problems and the part white papers play in that process.

Evaluating the problem

The report found that 59% of people used white papers to help solve their problem.  This trumped other tools such as webcasts and trials.

White papers are hugely popular

It was also discovered that those that use white papers tend to use rather a lot of them.  The average white paper reader ploughs through 5 or more over an average 3 month period.

Whitepapers go viral

In an era when linkbait is a much used tool in the search engine marketers tool belt the report also had some good advice for search marketers out there with news that some 41.6% of respondents having sent a white paper to a buddy in the recent past.

How to write better white papers

From an authoring point of view the report also had some insights, with the main turn-off being that the white papers were too product focused rather than consumer focused.  Remember that the whole point of a white paper is to solve a consumer problem.

So make sure it’s solving a customers problem.

Secondly make sure it’s not too long.  The web typically strips out the fluff and boils a problem down to its key points.  Users expect white papers to be exactly the same.

1. Solve a customer problem

2. Make it succinct

3. Enjoy the road to nirvana

Tags: Consumer, Internet marketing, Marketing, Web search engine, White paper

MS Cashback Search Vindicating the Approach?

Posted by adi on Nov 13, 2008 in Work

Image by BlueJeff via Flickr

Microsoft released a cashback search service this year and earlier today announced the initial results of the scheme, much to the surprise of many of the doubters that poo pooed the scheme when it was announced.

Microsoft is reporting that according to Comscore, Live Search referred 12% of all commercial transactions across the web.  There’s been a 30% increase in the number of products offered via Cashback. 4.5 million unique users per month are generating 68 million commercial queries. eBay has seen an increase of 50% on their ROI.

Does this result vindicate the approach and breathe fresh life into the cashback sector?

Whilst the results are impressive when compared to the 9% market share that the Microsoft search engine achieved over the same period I think time is needed to analyse whether this iniative will provide lasting value to Microsoft.

I’ve spoken to a few people about this and it does seem that many are searching for products on Google, then heading over to Live to get their cashback, with some even setting up scripts to automate this process for them.  Not sure that’s really the outcome Microsoft was hoping for.

They have however announced an expansion to the scheme partnering with shopping cart providers Miva Merchant, Early Impact Inc. (ProductCart) and 3DCart.  That will enable consumers who use these carts become eligible for cashback.

I’ve seen comparisons between Hulu and YouTube and it seems apt.  Hulu isn’t likely to be threatening YouTube’s market leadership but has carved out a nice niche for itself in the video sector, and it seems that Microsoft’s cashback service is doing a similar thing.

Tags: EBay, Google, Hulu, Live Search, Microsoft, YouTube