I was reading Search Engine Land (as I do many mornings) when I came across an article about B2B web content by Andy Komack. While I agreed with most of what the article said, I was surprised at two statements Andy made in this paragraph:
Content, for content’s sake, is a waste of resources. Adding loads of content, such as Glossaries and FAQ Sections, may add page weight to a site and provide opportunities for cross-linking pages and themes together. But, there is little-to-no value created for users (i.e. prospects). Poorly-planned Resource Centers and White Papers also offer little value.
I have to disagree. White papers have proven themselves to be a valuable marketing tool repeatedly. In fact a recent survey was reported at BtoBOnline.com. It detailed results from “content strategy services company Eccolo Media, which fielded an online survey last August of 155 technology buyers, all of whom said they’d made or influenced a b-to-b technology decision in the last six months, asking specifically about how they consume marketing collateral.”
One finding specifically found:
§ White papers remain the most effective piece of marketing collateral, with 86% of respondents finding them moderately to highly influential in the purchasing decision.
My hope is that Andy was trying to say that poorly planned resource centers and poorly planned white papers delivered little value.
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I also questioned the comment that FAQ pages were used simply to add bulk to a site’s content. When correctly written, FAQ pages offer an enormous amount of valuable information for site visitors. And, as noted in my previous article, they can also step up your sales.
Like most other types of copywriting, I suppose it all depends on who you get to conceptualize and write your FAQ pages, white papers, site copy and other content.
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