Whitepapers are Extremely Influencial

A recent study of B2B technology buyers by Eccolo Media as reported in the October 26th Media Post Research Brief indicates "the influence of all collateral types is on the rise." 

When asked to describe the influence of a white paper on the purchasing decision, 65% of respondents rated them as “very” to “extremely influential” in 2011, as compared to 41% of respondents in the 2010 survey. When asked to compare the perceived influence of content types relative to one another, respondents still seem to regard the white paper as superior to other forms of collateral.

And video and audio keep rising to the top as the Web moves out from under the blanket of text.
Eccolo Media helps technology companies strategize, plan, and develop highly effective marketing content.

While whitepapers have always played a major role in the technical sale  they are also very important in other B2B marketing situations where they may be called a case study, brief or a report. The purpose is to provide more detailed and objective information to the buyer of a more technical or professional nature.  Recently we published one for a client in the health and wellness category targeting chiropractors, physical therapists, and yoga teachers to better understand the anatomy of our approach, Structural ReAlignment Integration (SRI).  In addition to offering it in email and mail the whitepaper works well as an offer in social media, especially on the Facebook fan page and, of course on one's Website.