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11 Types of Marketing Collateral You Should Be Creating

Marketing Insider Group shares 11 types of marketing collateral

Does your business consistently share several types of marketing collateral? If not, you’re missing out on major opportunities for conversion.

Sure, the product descriptions and prices on your website are important – but they’re not enough to convince prospects that you offer trustworthy, high-quality products and services.

That’s where marketing collateral comes in. Sharing various types of marketing collateral establishes legitimacy, supports sales, and proves to site visitors that they’re in good hands.

Key Takeaways

  • Marketing collateral establishes credibility, protects authority and builds trust with your audience, ultimately supporting sales and encouraging conversion 
  • Research shows that lack of trust is the #1 reason for customers not converting
  • Traditional advertising aims to capture viewer attention, whereas marketing collateral works to retain and enhance customer relationships 
  • 99% of survey respondents say they enjoy watching video content from brands online
  • A well-maintained blog drives traffic, generates leads and encourages conversion through education and expertise

Consistently creating various types of marketing collateral enhances your brand image by clearly communicating the value proposition of your business.

What Is Marketing Collateral?

Marketing collateral comes in many shapes and sizes, but each form shares a similar purpose: to establish credibility, protect authority and build trust with your target audience.

Research shows that lack of trust is the #1 reason for not converting. This makes establishing trust and credibility a major key to supporting sales and encouraging conversion.

Luckily, both traditional and digital marketing collateral builds trust with consumers by representing your business, communicating value and connecting your brand with your audience.

infographic shows benefits of marketing collateral

Image Source: Paper Flite

Marketing collateral is more informational than typical advertisements. Advertisements aim to capture viewers’ attention, whereas marketing collateral aspires to retain and enhance customer relationships. Sharing marketing collateral educates your audience, demonstrates expertise and drives brand loyalty.

Why Is Marketing Collateral Important?

Marketing collateral makes your business stand out in the crowd. Its educational nature is more convincing than basic advertising, and separates your company from competitors. Without it, your offerings are more likely to be overlooked or confused with that of other industry players.

Before potential customers convert, they consider the overall value of your business. Marketing collateral shows customers that you’re more capable than competitors, and completes the first step towards increasing customers’ perceived value.

infographic of steps to increase customers’ perceived value

Image Source: Watch Them Live

Marketing collateral helps to achieve company goals, spread brand awareness and ultimately secure repeat business. To whichever audience or goal you wish to reach, demonstrating your business’s expertise with a few types of marketing collateral will get you much closer.

11 Types of Marketing Collateral

A healthy mix of marketing collateral will make a huge impact on the value of your content. First, identify your target audience and clarify company goals to determine which types of marketing collateral will maximize your efforts.

1. Blog Posts

The foundation of effective marketing is consistency. Regularly sharing blog posts is one of the most cost-efficient ways to demonstrate consistency to your audience. image of Marketing Insider Group’s consistent blog posts

Blog posts act as supplemental material to sales by sharing valuable insight with readers. They answer relevant questions and concerns of your audience, and establish credibility within your community.

A well-maintained blog also drives traffic to your site, generates leads and encourages conversion through educational expertise. What more could a business owner ask for? To create the perfect blog post, learn about Marketing Insider Group’s expert strategy here.

2. Logo

Your logo is the face of your company, making it one of the most important pieces of the marketing collateral puzzle. Logos are the foundation of branding and appear on almost everything your business produces.

The perfect logo includes your company name and visually communicates your brand’s personality and purpose. Make a good first impression on your audience and create a logo that accurately represents your business.

3. Testimonials & Reviews

Testimonials and reviews provide positive feedback from clients who have previously worked with your company. Sharing positive client reviews allows prospects to understand the outcome of working with your company, and establishes credibility within your community.

Easily accessible, positive testimonials provide proof of the benefits your company offers. They also make clients feel confident in their decision to invest in your business.

example of testimonials from Marketing Insider Group’s clients

Featuring testimonials and reviews on your homepage and landing pages is a great way to casually let prospects know you’re the real deal.

4. Social Media

In today’s world, a brand’s social media presence is key to spreading awareness. Social media platforms are one of the quickest, most cost-efficient ways to educate your audience and build credibility.

With so many popular social media platforms available, it’s important to be strategic about which ones are best for reaching your target audience:

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Instagram
  • YouTube
  • TikTok

Use your marketing time and effort wisely! Narrow down which channels are best for creating an educational experience for your online community and share content consistently.

5. Videos

Did you know that 99% of survey respondents say they enjoy watching video content from brands online? This makes video content one of the valuable types of marketing collateral your business can offer.

In particular, explainer videos are an ideal way to educate and appeal to your audience. Explainer videos provide a short, easily-digestible explanation of the benefits and features offered by your products and services.

Sharing explainer videos is a simple way to convince your audience that you’re knowledgeable, reliable and prepared to solve their problems. Enjoy the short explainer video below to see an example of educating, engaging and entertaining your audience.

6. Websites

Similar to your brand logo, your website is a hub for all things related to your business. Here, your audience will expect to find everything necessary to make an educated purchase decision.

As one of your strongest marketing assets, your website should be treated with care. Optimize your page for search engines, lead generation and conversion. Design landing pages with minimal text and a clear call to action to collect information for prospects.

MIG landing page with minimal text and clear call to action

Optimizing your website to perform well in searches, or SEO, will lead to more site traffic and likely increase your conversion rate.

7. Infographics

Infographics are depictions of information and data offered in a visually pleasing layout. They give readers a break from consuming lengthy text and offer a form of educational content that’s easy to digest. Infographics most often come in the form of:

  • Illustrations
  • Graphs
  • Charts

Infographics allow you to simplify dense content, making it easier to win your audience’s attention. Share infographics as standalone content, or feature them in blog posts as supplemental marketing collateral!

8. Case Studies

Case studies are a great way to publicly share your business’s success stories. They demonstrate how you’ve helped clients in the past and provide concrete proof of your company’s value.

Case studies are generally composed of four main components:

  1. The Challenge
  2. The Solution
  3. The Result
  4. The Client’s Testimonial

Before crafting a case study, it’s important to first interview your client to gain an accurate understanding of their perspective. Doing so allows you to share a valuable, first-hand experience of how your business helped solve your client’s problems.

9. Email Signature

Did you know your email signature qualifies as one of the many types of marketing collateral? Those hundreds (or thousands!) of weekly emails you’re sending each provide an opportunity to promote your products and services.

The most informative email signatures include the following information:

  • Your Full Name
  • Your Full Company Title
  • Direct Phone Number and/or Email Address
  • Professional Website & Social Media Links
  • Consistency in Colors and Fonts

Not only do email signatures encourage prospects to take action, but they also serve as a well-rounded first impression to new clients.

example of marketing insider group email signature

You’d be surprised at how many leads are generated by a compelling email signature!

10. Ebooks

Ebooks are the lengthier, more in-depth cousin of blog posts. They also establish credibility, encourage engagement and educate your audience, but dive a bit deeper into informative content.

In most cases, ebooks are downloadable and only accessible to readers after they’ve submitted their contact information to your business. This makes them a powerful marketing tool for generating leads and driving more traffic to your site.

image of call to action for downloading MIG ebook

Sharing ebooks that demonstrate your expertise convinces clients of your credibility and heightens their chances of converting.

11. Whitepapers

Whitepapers are technical documents intended to communicate a specific level of mastery and skill. They are persuasive, authoritative and extensive in nature, providing current clients with concrete solutions to technical problems.

Whitepapers are created with intent to educate and shouldn’t be confused for a product pitch. They should add value to the rest of your marketing content, after being researched with care, formatted with intent and polished with a keen eye.

Lastly, remember that clients reading your whitepapers are looking for answers, not entertainment. Skip the witty humor and communicate your topic with clarity and expertise.

Create Marketing Collateral Today

Among the many types of marketing collateral, each one offers a reliable vehicle for driving traffic, educating your audience and encouraging conversions. Businesses that establish trust within their community gain loyal customers and secure repeat business.

Constant creation of marketing collateral takes precious time and effort. Deliver consistent marketing content by checking out Marketing Insider Group’s SEO Blog Writing Service today, or schedule a quick consultation now to learn more!

The post 11 Types of Marketing Collateral You Should Be Creating appeared first on Marketing Insider Group.

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The Proper Setup to Manage Facebook Ads for Clients

If you manage clients, the way that you work with them to manage their ads is critical. Not only is the right way good for organizational purposes, but it could protect you from getting your accounts shut down.

Doing this properly is often a big ask for non-technical clients, particularly those with small budgets who were never guided properly to begin with. But you must.

One day, you’ll be grateful that you did. And your clients will be, too.

1. Your Client Must Have Their Own Business Manager

A Business Manager allows your clients to organize all of their assets in one place. Once they do this, they can grant the access that is needed to each individual asset.

If they don’t have one yet, do not run everything through your own Business Manager. Make sure that your client has one, too.

2. You Must Have Your Own Business Manager

While your client needs a Business Manager to manage their assets, you need one, too. This will be necessary so that you can be granted access to your client’s assets.

This is also how you organize all of the clients and assets that you have access to.

3. Your Client Should Add You as a Partner

Once you and your client have your own Business Managers, your client can add you as a partner.

Wait, please make sure you read that right. We don’t want to add you as an admin. You’d only be added as a person if you are an employee.

By adding you as a partner, you are given some separation from the client. You do not own their assets. This is good. If they did anything wrong in the past, you are not tied to that.

To add you as a partner, the client can go to Partners under “Users.”

Meta Business Manager

Then click the Add button and select “Give a partner access to your assets.”

Meta Business Manager

They will need your Business ID.

Meta Business Manager

Of course, you could also start this process from your Business Manager by selecting “Ask a partner to share their assets.” You’ll probably get this message…

Meta Business Manager

When you move forward, you’ll see this…

Meta Business Manager

Here, you’d indicate who is the brand and who is the agency.

In either case, you or the client will need to know the Business ID. This is found in the Business Manager within Business Info at the bottom left.

Meta Business Manager

There, you’ll see the Business ID.

Meta Business Manager

4. Your Client Should Give You Access to Assets

Once you are added as a partner, your client can give you access to the necessary assets.

After selecting a partner, you’ll see a button to share assets.

Meta Business Manager

Here, they’ll be able to share whatever assets are connected to their Business Manager.

Meta Business Manager

5. Use a Different Ad Account for Each Client

It’s also important that you use a different ad account for each client. You’ll have two options.

Ideally, this means that your client grants you access to their ad account. This is preferred since you’ll hopefully also get a history of prior advertising for that client. Of course, if it is set up incorrectly, you won’t get that.

The second option is if you set up a new ad account in your Business Manager for each client. Assuming you have the ability to create many ad accounts and don’t run into a limit, this is fine.

Now, I want to stress that it’s best to get access to your client’s ad account without having to create a new one. Creating new ad accounts seems to be one of those actions that can create flags within Facebook’s systems. We want to avoid that as much as we can.

Do Not Set This Up For Them

I totally get it. If your client has never done this before, it’s going to be challenging to not only convince them to do it but to get them to do it properly.

Make this a part of your initial agreement. Be sure it’s clear that they understand. If their account is not set up properly, they will take the necessary steps to correct it. Do not let them off the hook. Even charge them for the extra work.

Also, get ahead of this. Put together a video and step-by-step guide (maybe start with this post!) on what they need to do.

Worst-case scenario (and truly worst-case), perform a screen share session. Your client can give you access to the mouse, if necessary.

But, please… Do not get direct access to their account via login credentials or by adding you as an admin.

The Extra Work Will Be Worth It

Eventually, this will get easier. You will be ready for the typical hangups and push-back, and you’ll be prepared with the best ways to deal with them.

Ultimately, this will make your life easier as an advertiser. It will also make your client’s life easier, even if they don’t see it at the time. One day, you won’t advertise for them anymore. By doing this, you’re making it easier for the client and their future advertisers.

That may seem like a small thing, but it’s not. It’s good to be appreciated by previous clients, even when you don’t work for them anymore.

Ad Account Violations

If you think that the expectations regarding separate ad accounts for each client are new, they aren’t. Of course, it certainly seems like advertisers got away with this for a long time, but this isn’t a new rule.

Beginning about a year ago, Facebook put an emphasis on cracking down on violators. This resulted in ad accounts getting shut down because they were “in violation of Item 5 of the ‘Things You Should Know’ section in the Facebook advertising policies.”

The specific rule from item 5 of “Things You Should Know” in Facebook’s Advertising Policies reads as follows:

5. If you are managing ads on behalf of other advertisers, each advertiser or client must be managed through separate ad accounts. You must not change the advertiser or client associated with an established ad account; set up a new account. You are responsible for ensuring that each advertiser complies with these Advertising Policies.

Don’t wait until you get this warning. Set things up the right way.

Video

I recorded a quick video on this, too.

@jonloomer If you manage Facebook ads for clients, set it up this way. #facebookads #facebookadstips ♬ Zodiac | Seamless Looping Trap Hip Hop Instrumental – xklbeats

If you haven’t yet started following me on TikTok, make sure that you do (@jonloomer)!

Your Turn

Are you managing clients in this way?

Let me know in the comments below!

The post The Proper Setup to Manage Facebook Ads for Clients appeared first on Jon Loomer Digital.

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8 Types of Content Marketing You Should be Using in 2023

types of content marketing

Are you using different types of content marketing to execute your strategy?

If not, it’s time to start. Maintaining a diverse content library boosts the overall ROI you’ll earn on your content. Plus, it makes you more competitive in a crowded online content landscape — HubSpot found at least 7 types of content commonly used by brands in 2021.

Commonly used types of content marketing in 2021 include videos, blogs, infographics, case studies, ebooks, and whitepapers.

Image Source: HubSpot

In the sections that follow, we’ll walk through these types of content and more. We’ll cover how each of them earn unique results for your brand, plus ways to execute them effectively for your business.

Quick Takeaways

  • Blogs increase indexed pages by more than 400% and earn more site visitors and views.
  • Video content will account for 82% of all online traffic by the end of this year.
  • Case studies are a powerful form of social proof because they demonstrate real results.
  • Interactive content is a differentiator — it stands out from the massive amount of static content created by brands.
  • People share infographics 3X more than any other type of content on social media.
  • Ebooks and whitepapers are popular types of content to use as lead magnets.
  • User-generated content comes from brand advocates like customers, employees, and influencers.

Why should you use different types of content marketing?

Content marketing is all about attracting traffic to your website with engaging, high-value content. A diverse content library expands your brand reach through these efforts and aligns with different audience preferences. It enables your content to be shared across a range of channels and engage various customer segments.

It also provides a way to always share information in the most optimized way. Some examples: a large list of statistics made more digestible on a visual infographic, a client success story made more relatable through video interviews, or a blog post made more shareable with social media.

In short: when you publish different types of content, you have more opportunities to connect with your potential customers, which translates to more sales and revenue for your business.

8 Types of Content Marketing to Include in Your Strategy

Blogs

If you’re going to choose one type of content to start with, absolutely make it your company blog. Blogs are the foundation of every good content marketing strategy. They’re a driver of organic traffic and a platform for sharing your various other types of content, too.

Some quick stats that show the huge ROI of blogging: businesses with a blog on their website have, on average, 434% more indexed pages, 55% more visitors, and 97% more inbound links than sites without a blog.

Blogs are most effective when they’re extremely active. Research has found that publishing 11-16 times per month results in 3.5X the organic traffic than blogs that publish less frequently.

Companies that post 11-16 blog articles per month earn 3.5X the organic traffic as those that publish less frequently.

Image Source: Hubspot

You can even capitalize on content diversification within your blog strategy with different types of blog posts. These include:

  • Ultimate guides – cover your foundational topics and serve as evergreen content
  • Listicles – easy-to-read (and write) posts that can cover just about any topic
  • How-to posts – walk through the steps to completing a task or solving a problem
  • Case studies – tell customer success stories and demonstrate brand value
  • News and opinion – provide commentary on current events in your industry

For more on making your blog an effective source of organic traffic for your brand, check out our guides on setting up your company blog and writing the perfect blog post.

Video Content

Video is emerging as the future of online content. Cisco predicts that by the end of this year, 82% of all online traffic will be made up by video. Users prefer it over other types of web content and brands use it for customer engagement across platforms — think YouTube channels, social media posts and stories, videos embedded in blogs, client interviews and more.

Brands often think that video content is beyond their content creation capabilities, but that couldn’t be further from the truth in 2022. While it’s true that some brands outsource video for professional production, many others create content in-house using smartphones and other easy-to-use technology.

Commonly used types of video content include:

  • Webinars – online events around topics that demonstrate brand expertise and feature company leaders
  • Vlogs and social media stories – more casual types of video content that provide a behind-the-scenes look at a brand
  • Customer interviews – showcase real-world customer success stories
  • Product demos – walk through product features, benefits, and operating instructions
  • Viral video – increase brand visibility by participating in popular online video trends
  • Branded video – branded advertisements features on various platforms like your website, email, or social media pages

Case Studies

Qualtrics reports that 93% of customers look for online reviews or other forms of social proof before they buy a product. Case studies that tell customer success stories are a powerful way to provide this assurance for your audiences.

Not only do case studies demonstrate brand value through real-world examples, they provide testimonials directly from your actual customers to boost brand trust.

The good news: B2B research has found that 83% of customers are willing to share the positive experiences they have with brands. This means that to build a library of case studies, all you need to do is ask your happy customers if they’re willing to participate. Best practices for case study content include:

  • Featuring a diverse set of customers to relate to your various customer segments
  • Focusing on the problem solved or need fulfilled
  • Sharing clear, measurable results in the form of numbers or statistics
  • Including quotes and direct testimonials from your customer

Interactive Content

Interactive content stands out from the massive amount of static content that already exists online, and it gives potential customers a chance to interact with your brand directly even before they decide to make a purchase. It includes things like quizzes, polls, games, interactive maps or infographics, surveys, and calculators.

Types of interactive content include quizzes, surveys, ebooks, calculators and more.

Image Source: drumUp

Like video, interactive content often gets an inaccurate reputation as difficult to execute when in fact it exists everywhere online. You likely engage with branded interactive content all the time without even thinking about it — i.e. voting on Twitter polls, using monthly payment calculators, completing customer feedback forms, and more.

Most CMS, social media, and email marketing platforms now have built-in tools for building interactive content without having to code or have any sort of technical experience. Smart brands are also using interactive content for lead generation (by collecting contact information) and to continually improve strategy and offerings (by analyzing the insights users share through their engagement).

Infographics

Infographics visually represent an information set around a particular topic. They’re especially useful for sharing a high volume of and/or complex information in a digestible format. They’re also extremely shareable — they’re shared 3X more than any other type of content on social media.

Infographics may require some assistance from a graphic designer, which are easy to find on sites like Upwork and Fiverr (if you don’t have designers in-house).

Whitepapers and Ebooks

Ebooks and whitepapers are similar types of content — both are developed to showcase brand expertise on a topic — but have slightly different audiences. Ebooks usually cover topics in an introductory way and target more general audiences. Whitepapers, on the other hand, are more academic and in-depth. They’re aimed at audiences that already have some level of knowledge on a topic.

Ebooks and whitepapers are also used at different stages of the buyer journey — ebooks in the beginning stages, and whitepapers in the later decision-making stages.

Both of these types of content lend themselves well to be used as lead magnets, or high-value, downloadable content offered in exchange for user contact information.

Here’s a simple, actionable tutorial on creating lead magnets that convert:

Social Media

Social media can serve a two-fold purpose in your content strategy: first, you can create original content through posts and stories. Second, you can amplify content from other channels by sharing it on your social media platform. Social media content is powerful because it seamlessly fits into natural buyer behavior — nearly two-thirds of American adults are already on social media, and 90% of people buy from brands they follow.

User-Generated Content

Last but definitely not least — you can leverage the power of your audience to become brand advocates and create user-generated content (UGC). UGC comes in the form of social media posts, reviews, social media recommendations, influencer content, and more. Your employees can also be brand ambassadors by creating branded content (like blog posts) and sharing your existing content on their own professional platforms (like LinkedIn profiles).

Over to You

Ready to level up your content marketing strategy? The team of writers and SEO experts at Marketing Insider Group can deliver you optimized, ready-to-publish content every week for a year (or more!).

We can also work with your team to develop a customized content strategy that includes other types of content marketing tailored to your audience, including ebooks, video, infographics, and customer success stories.

Check out our SEO Blog Writing Service or schedule a quick consultation to get started!

The post 8 Types of Content Marketing You Should be Using in 2023 appeared first on Marketing Insider Group.

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