There are enough tasks to get done when you run your own business. You certainly don’t want to be churning out marketing collateral that isn’t going to give you bang for your buck.
Producing whitepapers, brochures and e-books can be a time-consuming (not to mention mentally demanding) exercise. So as a small business owner, you want to make sure it will benefit your business in some way – perhaps by generating leads, converting leads into sales or helping to establish you as a leader in your industry.
That’s where our experience as a content marketing agency can help. We have expert tips to ensure that the marketing collateral you produce is not only time efficient but also valuable to your audience.
What is marketing collateral?
For some of you, this may be the first time you’ve heard the term ‘marketing collateral’. But marketing collateral is essentially whatever digital or printed material you use to communicate your company’s message or support the sales of your products or services.
It can be used to spread awareness, generate new leads, convert leads into sales, support customers, encourage brand loyalty and repeat business, and establish you or your company as an industry leader.
Traditionally marketing collateral was focused on printed material. But with advancements in technology, there has been a strong move towards digital marketing collateral. This not only opens up more opportunities but also widens the potential audience pool.
The umbrella term marketing collateral can include:
- Whitepapers
- Brochures/flyers
- Books (printed and digital)
- Corporate/event/customer magazines (printed and digital)
- Newsletters (printed and digital)
- Reports (printed and digital)
- Product catalogues (printed and digital)
- PR material (e.g., press releases)
- Websites and landing pages
- Point-of-sale displays (e.g., posters)
- Brand stories
- Blog posts
- Presentations
- Branded content
- Infographics
- Re-engagement emails
Top tips for repurposing marketing collateral to boost your ROI
Like with all content, the more you can leverage and repurpose your marketing collateral, the more you get out of each piece you create. So, what’s the best way to do that?
Start with long-form content
A time-efficient way to repurpose your marketing collateral is to start with a long-form piece such as a white paper, eBook or report. Once this is created, you can pick out interesting points and utilise it across different formats and platforms.
One long-form piece of content could become:
- A series of blogs
- A variety of social media posts used across different platforms
- A series of newsletters
- Videos for YouTube
- The launchpad for an eBook or webinar
What’s old is new again
Look back at your old email campaigns, company brochures, case studies or website content and update and republish them. This works particularly well for online content where the process is simple and straightforward. It also gives you good traction with search engines like Google.
You can also transform old content into new short-form content (such as social media posts) in just a few clicks. Any content you have used in the past can be a goldmine to inspire new material. And will be a huge time-saving technique when you’re feeling overwhelmed.
Repurpose info to create audience updates
Newsletters are a fantastic way to convert sales into leads or encourage repeat business, as you know the recipients are already interested in what you have to offer. You can repurpose plenty of content into an email, from blog posts to podcasts to product guides. Find out how to nail killer subject lines and set up email funnels in our Easy email marketing guide, Part 1 and Part 2.
Repurpose info to press releases
When something newsworthy or interesting happens in your business – the release of a new product, the winning of an award or another company milestone – consider whether a press release might help you get the word out to an even wider audience. You can simply tweak a newsletter or blog post about the news into a press release by following these key steps.
Press releases can be distributed to your media contacts or uploaded to a distribution service.
Make your audience your priority
There is little point in creating or repurposing marketing collateral if your target audience isn’t going to read it. First, consider what types of marketing collateral your potential/existing customers are likely to want. Are they an older demographic who prefers printed newsletters via traditional mail? Are they a global, information-hungry audience who are likely to appreciate an eBook?
Of course, you can always embrace many different forms of marketing collateral and tweak your approach as you learn more about your audience.
Once you’ve chosen your format, you will also need to ensure that the information provided is valuable and relevant to them. Reflect on how you can make their lives better or easier with the content. For example, are you providing a white paper that shares some of your advice and expertise to hook leads and get them wanting more? Or perhaps for existing customers, you might offer a guide on how to use the products they have purchased in a bid to encourage brand loyalty.
Tools such as Google Analytics, sales data and face-to-face communication can help you to understand your audience’s wants and needs.
Stay on brand
No matter which type of marketing collateral you are creating, it is vital to stay on message for your brand. Consider your brand story and your company values to ensure there is consistency for your customers.
Read more
Save heartache, hard work and money by repurposing your content marketing
Best practices from a content marketing agency, across regional Australia and Brisbane
Video marketing 101: How to repurpose visual content
get expert help to ensure your marketing collateral is working for you
We get it. There are enough calls to return, emails to reply to, reminders popping up in your phone and checklist boxes to get sorted without also having to write a white-paper or put together some whizzbang brochure.
That’s where we come in. If you’d rather delegate this marketing collateral stuff to the professionals, simply contact us or request a free consultation with our expert marketing agency team today. We’d love to chat to see where we can help you up your game when it comes to generating A-grade marketing collateral.
