Just in case you haven’t made the switch (or realized you have already done so), web content comes first for collateral development, as Rick Short makes it clear in a post titled Write for the Web:
“So, we are officially charged with directing ALL our B2B Marcom thoughts regarding literature, brochures, exhibits, etc. to the digital format first. We’ll let the hard-copy stuff come later. This is a flip of the old way of business. Frankly, it is a bit overdue.
Web first, hard-copy second.“
I’ve got a staff of one (me) who already gets it, but Rick’s got a large marcom organization. Imagine the impact such an obvious strategic clarification must have on his team.
I think doing the web content gives you an additional advantage by letting you flesh out your message and adjust according to market reaction. So when you do go to print, the content is robust enough to withstand the longevity of printing umpteen thousand copies or a high-dollar promotional campaign.
That’s the beauty of the web…your message can be adjusted and shaped. If you aren’t taking advantage of the valuable feedback of the market in cyberspace, your will look outdated online and in print.
And without digital being first in your strategy, you’ll risk resorting to cut/paste from your literature TO your website, contributing to that outdated, unreadable content you see on so many B2B websites (even if the content looks fresh in the literature).
Got a new product or campaign? What are you going to do first?
Right–web first!
By writing for the web first you can simplify your message and make it easier to consume. My favorite is when marcom believes that going digital means you just produce a PDF instead of going to print. They still use print-oriented techniques and upload 3MB files.
By writing for the web first you can simplify your message and make it easier to consume. My favorite is when marcom believes that going digital means you just produce a PDF instead of going to print. They still use print-oriented techniques and upload 3MB files.
Makes total sense to me. I’m constantly changing and testing copy on my site to increase conversions. It’s so easy!
Makes total sense to me. I’m constantly changing and testing copy on my site to increase conversions. It’s so easy!
Rick’s got the right idea. With so many people living in the connected world, creating materials for the web first makes perfect sense. We’ve been doing that for the last year or two for many of our Clients. Yet there are still some people that prefer to hold, touch and smell hard copy.
Rick’s got the right idea. With so many people living in the connected world, creating materials for the web first makes perfect sense. We’ve been doing that for the last year or two for many of our Clients. Yet there are still some people that prefer to hold, touch and smell hard copy.
David–You got that right!Mark–Testing is easy!Jack–Yes, you still need hard copy!
David–You got that right!Mark–Testing is easy!Jack–Yes, you still need hard copy!
Each has its time and place but, overall, the web provides exceptional value relative to hard copy marketing material and most merchandising. For those doing a balance sheet, look at return on investment, immediacy, integrity, interactivity and individuality. Investment: Once you have invested in the development of your site’s architecture, updates are virtually free and upgrades are relatively cheap. The more utility you add, the better your return on the initial investment. It is the gift that keeps on giving. Immediacy: Big in two ways. For the marketer, the web enables instant publishing. For the customer, the information provided is always in place and always at the ready. For literature and merchandising, by contrast, logistics is as much an issue as preparation and production. Integrity (of information): As you have pointed out, web content can be easily and quickly updated. Information is, if properly maintained, always fresh, never obsolete. This makes it the perfect format for a host of dry, data-intensive B2B documents – tech specs and MSDS sheets, for example.Interactivity: The internet has not only shown that it can reach people faster but, because of its interactive nature and multi-media capability, more effectively. Example? Installation instructions used to be a bear. Do you really need printed instructions, at what level of detail and illustration, and in what quantities? If the configuration is appropriate, can you get away with printing instructions on the package? Hard copy is expensive, package copy generally unreadable. On the web, however, instructions are provided essentially cost-free. They can be as expansive as you care to make them and they can be animated and configured to accommodate levels of expertise. Individuality: Here, the web provides a trio of benefits: targeting, private labeling and segmentation. Targeting is easy because visitors leave trails, trails covered with easily-read footprints. As such, web pages can be configured to meet the needs of various target audiences. Techies follow one roadmap, comparison shoppers another, novices yet a third. Private labeling web content for large customers, distributors and others involved in co-marketing your products or services is easy and cheap (especially if your site architecture was conceived with private labeling in mind). Segmentation can be done by customer typology and location. In the construction industry, for example, there are region-specific building codes. Manufacturers can provide specific assemblies to meet the codes corresponding to those designated by the users’ location information. Need Dade County specs? No problem. Need ASTM or UL compliance? You’re just a click away. Again, there is an appropriate time and the perfect place for most of the various marcom materials we have grown to love over the years. But if you want to optimize your marketing spend, look to the web. And for those skeptics in Finance, you can always cite the Five Is of internet marketing.
Each has its time and place but, overall, the web provides exceptional value relative to hard copy marketing material and most merchandising. For those doing a balance sheet, look at return on investment, immediacy, integrity, interactivity and individuality. Investment: Once you have invested in the development of your site’s architecture, updates are virtually free and upgrades are relatively cheap. The more utility you add, the better your return on the initial investment. It is the gift that keeps on giving. Immediacy: Big in two ways. For the marketer, the web enables instant publishing. For the customer, the information provided is always in place and always at the ready. For literature and merchandising, by contrast, logistics is as much an issue as preparation and production. Integrity (of information): As you have pointed out, web content can be easily and quickly updated. Information is, if properly maintained, always fresh, never obsolete. This makes it the perfect format for a host of dry, data-intensive B2B documents – tech specs and MSDS sheets, for example.Interactivity: The internet has not only shown that it can reach people faster but, because of its interactive nature and multi-media capability, more effectively. Example? Installation instructions used to be a bear. Do you really need printed instructions, at what level of detail and illustration, and in what quantities? If the configuration is appropriate, can you get away with printing instructions on the package? Hard copy is expensive, package copy generally unreadable. On the web, however, instructions are provided essentially cost-free. They can be as expansive as you care to make them and they can be animated and configured to accommodate levels of expertise. Individuality: Here, the web provides a trio of benefits: targeting, private labeling and segmentation. Targeting is easy because visitors leave trails, trails covered with easily-read footprints. As such, web pages can be configured to meet the needs of various target audiences. Techies follow one roadmap, comparison shoppers another, novices yet a third. Private labeling web content for large customers, distributors and others involved in co-marketing your products or services is easy and cheap (especially if your site architecture was conceived with private labeling in mind). Segmentation can be done by customer typology and location. In the construction industry, for example, there are region-specific building codes. Manufacturers can provide specific assemblies to meet the codes corresponding to those designated by the users’ location information. Need Dade County specs? No problem. Need ASTM or UL compliance? You’re just a click away. Again, there is an appropriate time and the perfect place for most of the various marcom materials we have grown to love over the years. But if you want to optimize your marketing spend, look to the web. And for those skeptics in Finance, you can always cite the Five Is of internet marketing.