Lead Generation Part 3 – Webinars and White Papers

In the previous post in our series on lead generation, we discussed using content syndication to generate more leads for your business and important considerations when using this strategy. In this post we will discuss the two most popular types of online content syndication programs for lead generation: white papers and webinars.

White Papers

White papers, which are generally 8 to 12 pages long, are marketing communication documents that help to promote your product or service while also offering useful information and valuable resources to help educate your target market. Leads from these programs may be delivered daily or in many cases once a week.

You can either write white papers internally, work with a content network, or hire an internet marketing agency that offers B2B content creation services to do it for you.  You can also sponsor existing content that is relevant to your business; however be sure though to check whether you would be an exclusive sponsor or one of many. If you aren’t an exclusive sponsor, you likely won’t have exclusive access to the leads.

Best Practices for White Papers

• Make sure to choose your topic carefully – keep it to one or two key issues and focus on those. Don’t try to squeeze in all the details about your business.
• Explain the technology thoroughly & talk to the pain points and how your product solves them.  Discuss the solution in detail.
• Make it visually appealing & easy to read.
• Consider the title of your paper carefully. An attention grabbing title is critical to success and will help to qualify your readership and therefore leads.
• Include credible sources for any data you include.

Webinars

Webinars can be a highly effective tool for lead generation. Webinars can be live, on-demand, or both, and are generally 45 minutes long plus about 15 minutes for questions. You can choose to run a shorter webinar than 45 minutes, but it’s not recommended to go beyond the one hour timeframe. Like a white paper lead, the subject matter can be very targeted and you can expect leads to be delivered about once per week, except if live, when you will get the leads more quickly following the completion of the presentation.

If you’re looking for some examples of webinars, you can checkout eBridge’s YouTube channel.

Best practices for webinars

• Select a hot topic – timely, relevant, evocative, and a subject that will attract the right audience for your business.
• Find the right speaker – avoid using sales people so that attendees are not feeling they are receiving a sales pitch.
• Create a compelling title that emphasizes the benefit of attending and as with white papers, qualifies the visitor.
• Focus on prospects needs – what’s in it for them?
• Tailor the content to your target audience.
• Include a call to action at the end.
• Presentation should be no more than 45 minutes.

Both white papers and webinars are powerful internet marketing tools to help your business generate leads online.

In the next and final post in this series, we will look at “going it alone” for your lead generation.

Interested in learning more about lead generation alternatives for your business? Contact eBridge today.

Want more information about lead gen? Watch eBridge’s webinar series about lead generation.