Ebooks Effective PR Tool for B2B Companies

Recently I’ve been advising some of my clients to consider writing an Ebook as part of their PR program. Ebooks are particularly effective for B2B and technology companies because their products and services are often highly complex.

I recently developed an Ebook for a technology client for a trade show they were attending. It proved to be a very useful PR tool as their product and services are highly technical. (Of course an Ebook is much shorter than a traditional book and can vary quite a bit in size).

Of course you are probably thinking to yourself, "How does an Ebook differ from a white paper and what are the key benefits of doing them?"

Ebooks vs. white papers
While there are similarities between the two, there are also key differences.

For example, Ebooks are newer and considered more “hip” and visually exciting, while white papers date back to the early 1900s and are typically more technical in nature with fewer graphics, making them a bit more dry and boring.

Why provide content?
So why should you consider providing content in the form of an Ebook or white paper as part of your PR program?

These days, “content marketing” is critical to attracting and retaining more customers, according to the popular Ebook “Get Content. Get Customers” by Joe Pulizzi and Newt Barrett (now a hard cover book). That’s because we live in a world where both consumer and business buyers want to decide what they need to solve their problems, according to Pulizzi and Barrett.

By the time they are ready to buy, they will be armed with information about your company and your products or services. Companies can benefit from this new buyer behavior by becoming the content source that solves their problems. An effective way to connect with buyers is to provide “content” in the form of an Ebook or white paper. But, how do you decide which one to use?

Following is an overview of their similarities and differences.

Similarities between the two
In many ways, Ebooks and white papers are similar because both:

• Give you an opportunity to share a body of knowledge broadly via the Internet
• Should be targeted to a specific reader(s)
• Can demonstrate thought leadership on topics vital to your target audience(s)
• Should educate the reader by solving a problem
• Should be customer-centric, but not product or service-centric

Differences between the two
While there are exceptions, an Ebook differs from a white paper in the following ways:

• Ebooks are written in a more engaging and relevant style than white papers
• Ebooks have more interactive content with links to web sites, blogs, etc.
• Ebooks are designed in a landscape format, making them easier to read on the screen while white papers are typically in portrait format, which is more challenging to read online
• Ebooks have more visuals, making them more visually interesting than white papers. For example, many Ebooks have graphics and images on each page
• Ebooks have more white space, subheads, bullet points, etc., making them easier to scan
• Most white papers require registration and therefore are used as lead bait instead of true information delivery, while most Ebooks do not. This registration requirement sometimes keeps people from blogging or tweeting about white papers, while this is not an issue with Ebooks. This is also a reason why many Ebooks tend to spread like wildfire. (However, there are some white papers that don’t require registration and some Ebooks that do require registration)

Are you a B2B company that would like to connect with buyers more effectively? If so, please contact me and I can work with you to develop and write a compelling and cost-effective Ebook.