You Can’t Beat These 5 Tried-and-True Types of Digital Marketing Collateral

Traditionally, “marketing collateral” has referred to brochures and flyers. But now that things have gone decidedly digital, there are quite a few different options in the world of marketing collateral. So what is digital marketing collateral (DMC)? DMC is basically digital content that promotes your brand.  Pretty vague, huh? Pretty much any digital form of marketing can be described as your digital collateral, including live stream videos and even your company’s social media accounts. 

Yet with all that variety, you shouldn’t lose track of the basic stuff. Here are 3 types of marketing collateral we think you ought to focus on.

#1 White Papers

These are the oldest kind of digital marketing collateral, and they can work for just about any business. White papers are short pieces of content, typically 150 pages or less, that are designed to help you educate your target audience about your industry, product, or service.

Don’t worry if you don’t have the time or knowledge to write one yourself. Other companies can get you in touch with a freelance writer who will craft something for you, or you can just hire a writer to that end.

White papers can be:

• Documentary-style content
• Practical business advice
• Educational documents

When writing white papers, keep in mind that these aren’t written for one audience — they’re written for a vast audience. That’s why it’s so important to keep the information easy to understand, full of actionable insights, and complete. Check out our list of the best white papers to learn how to approach a white paper to help you generate leads from it.

#2 Online Courses

In many industries, training is as important as marketing. Learning the ins and outs of a given field, whether it’s tech, hospitality, or healthcare, can not only help you become more successful, but it can help you get paid to do it. Certificate marketing, or certification marketing, is becoming more and more common for companies to give out after they’ve successfully trained their audience. Certificate marketing takes a lesson you learn in your course and gives it a tangible stamp of approval that you can deliver to potential customers.

#3 Promo Videos

Promotional Videos are one very effective way of getting in touch with an audience to accomplish anything from brand awareness promotion to drumming up excitement for some upcoming event. Promotional videos often build heavy engagement with relevant audiences. Make sure, however, that your own promo videos closely fit with your brand’s overarching message and its persistent brand image.

#4 Blog Posts

Blog posts are a great, easy way to get your brand’s message out there in a more personal way. Blogs can bring leads right to your site and reach your target audience for very little investment compared to certain other marketing methods. Using eye-catching imagery particularly crafted for your own company brand, blogs can reach an audience in a personable way that dodges the problem of coming across like a stale sales pitch (and nobody likes those, right?)

#5 Downloadable Guides & eBooks

Why publish a physical copy when smartphones everywhere can download the digital one at a moment’s notice? Downloadable guides and eBooks represent a fantastic digital asset chock-full of information that your customers can put to use. You know how it feels to pick up a guide to some important realm of effort, right? Like the whole world is in front of you, just waiting to be taken with the tips and tricks contained in your guide. Well, that’s how your customers will feel if you get this marketing collateral right. Of course, to that end, you’ll want to ensure your content is informative, helpful, interesting, and possess something of clear value that the customer obtains by downloading said guide or eBook.