Web-based Marketing of Technical Products
Combine White Papers With Brief Articles To Promote Technology
Jun 22, 2009
The optimum length of articles published via the Internet is 600 words, which is much too short to describe a technical product and explain how it achieves its benefits. The technique to use is to combine the strengths of the Internet and articles for printed publications.
The strength of the Internet is the ability for people to search for information. Its drawback is that people avoid long articles on the web or abandon reading them part way through, partly because it is harder to read on a screen than paper.
A 600-word article on a web site or in an electronic newsletter or electronic magazine (ezine) can be used to grab the attention of potential buyers for a technical product and to draw them to read a white paper.
White Papers Influence Technical Buyers
White papers are powerful for influencing technical buyers. According to the Enquiro Research Business to Business Survey 2007:
- 57% of technical buyers surveyed said the content they most frequently passed to colleagues was white papers;
- 26% said they most frequently passed on corporate websites.
Tips On Web Design
According to research by Dr. Jakob Nielsen, principal, Nielsen Norman Group, it is advisable to make it easy for a reader to choose to read a white paper on the screen or to print it out. Present it on the web site or ezine in a form that is easy read on the screen or to download in a printable version.
- Include only necessary illustrations. There is no need to attract a reader's attention with fancy graphics.
- Place illustrations to the side where they will catch the reader's peripheral vision. Enquiro’s eye-tracking studies have shown that illustrations in the text can interrupt the reader's natural flow of scanning text.
- Avoid using PDF versions of white papers unless absolutely necessary. Not all computers accept PDF. In many, PDF files require the reader to invoke an application, such as Preview on a Mac, causing delay. Usually, the print in PDF documents is small, requiring the reader to expand it such that the type no longer fits the window, requiring the reader to scroll across to read each line.
- Use rich-text format if the attributes of PDF are not essential and if logos and illustrations can be embedded in a rich-text document. This makes it easier to download and print.
- Make the white paper the standard letter-paper size for ease of printing.
Readability on the Web
- Choose fonts that are easy to read on the screen. They will be suitable for printing also.
- The two best fonts are Verdana (san-serif) and Georgia (serif), says The Internet Digest. Both were designed specifically for reading on screen. Each character is wider than in the traditional print fonts closest to them: Arial or Helvetica compared to Verdana, and Times New Roman compared to Georgia.
- A serif font is better for reading text on paper, which is why most newspapers and magazines use serif fonts. Much text on the web is san-serif, but there is no definitive research showing it is better than serif for the screen.
- Avoid using several fonts for graphic effect. Two are ample. (e.g, Georgia for main text, Verdana for headlines, picture captions and other short sections.)
Combined Strengths for Marketing Via the Web
The Internet is great for enabling prospective buyers to land on a web site or ezine to find information they need in brief form. White papers are powerful to explain and promote technical products. They can be combined successfully as long as they cater to the research and reading preferences of technical buyers.
 |
 |
 |
 |
