The key to enhancing business image and winning consumer trust is through the use of marketing collateral.
Marketing collateral refers to the various forms of communication a business publishes on its own. By contrast, paid placements, such as advertising, are not a form of marketing collateral. Advertising is part of the sales process whereas marketing collateral supports the sales process. To a small extent, marketing collateral might be considered “advertorial” content produced by the company.
Advertising often fails because consumers simply don’t trust ads. Advertising claims are not always backed up by any information. Customers are very skeptical because they know that advertising is only concerned with taking their money.
This is where editorial-based marketing collateral comes to the rescue. The public trusts editorial content. Newspapers prove this every day. Editorial content not only informs and educates customers, it also builds credibility and earns trust.
Marketing collateral should educate the consumer about a product, service or the company itself, rather than try to make a direct sale. Good editorial content talks to the customer in their language and doesn’t use any advertising jargon.
Thanks to the Web, it’s easy and inexpensive for a company to publish editorial content. Yet for some unknown reasons, many companies don’t do it.
• Use an About Us web page to talk about key people in the company. Don’t just list business hours and location.
• Create a blog to explain how to get the most from the company’s products. Talk about how the company’s services are delivered.
• Use testimonials and case studies to show how other customers have used and benefited from the company’s products or services.
• Produce online white papers to elaborate on key specifications, highlight design features, showcase the manufacturing process.
There’s no such thing as too much information for a consumer trying to make a purchasing decision.
But there’s one important element that can never be left out.
Photography.
Editorial photography tells a story, enhances the marketing message and draws in customers.
And if that isn’t reason enough to hire an editorial photographer, consider this:
• Generally speaking, photography for marketing collateral is priced lower than that for advertising.
• Newspapers won’t accept advertising as a public relations handout but they will accept most editorial-based marketing collateral.
Lower priced, more opportunity for free publication by the news media, more credibility, more trust.
What’s holding your company back?
