If you’re looking for digital marketing materials, you’ve come to the right place.
If you’re looking for best digital marketing collateral, covering everything from social media to email marketing, then keep reading. I’ve scoured around and compiled a list of 38 of must have marketing collateral.
3 Types of Marketing Collateral Every Business Needs
In general, these digital marketing materials can be categorized into three general types of marketing collateral: content, lead generation and customer support.
Content Marketing Collateral
I had a “whack-on-the-side-of-the-head” moment when I realized that just about every digital element of your business can be considered digital collateral. This includes everything from call-to-action text on a button to a complete customer case study.
When you create online content, you’re participating in a content marketing strategy.
About, bio, and team pages
One of the most clicked tabs on a company website by potential customers are the about, or team pages.
These pages are are more important than you think. They give both potential and existing customers a glimpse into the people behind your company. They go a long way toward building credibility and making a good first impression.
This information can also be a printed marketing material piece that you include in your presentation folder.
Business Blog Posts
I like to say that every blog post is a full page ad. A well optimized blog post is more likely to show up when your customers are searching for whatever you’re selling or problem you’re solving.
Be sure that you’re writing posts that focus on answering your customers biggest questions.
Brand stories
If you want to build brand awareness, brand loyalty, and brand image, a well constructed and promoted brand story can go a long way.
What goes into a brand story?
Start with your customer and something that you’ve seen your consumers doing.
Focus in on how the product or service can improve the consumer’s life. It doesn’t have to be something major, sometimes the smallest features make the biggest difference.
Create an emotional reaction in potential buyers. People buy things because of how they make them feel.
Tell the truth. The greatest brand stories make you feel as though the narrative they’re telling is genuinely the company’s objective.
Make your customer the hero. Your goal is to have your customer see themselves and their circumstances in your brand. If you think about popular infomercials, notice how they place the user at the center of the story; struggling with the “old way” of doing things.
Give your hero a goal or desire. Using this same infomercial example, you can see the user struggling and wishing for things to be different.
Show your hero user using the product or service and how much easier and better their life is because of it.
Branded content
Don’t underestimate the importance of keeping your brand consistent across platforms both online and offline.
Be sure to create brand consistency by developing social media, presentation, and printed material templates that use consistent brand colors and design.
Category or pillar pages
Category pages are pages on a website that list the products or services for a particular category. They are usually organized alphabetically or by type of product. For example, on an ecommerce website, a category page might list all of the products for sale in the clothing category.
This web based content is the ideal place to showcase your brand’s personality.
Digital reports
Brand authenticity is a solid expectation from your customer. One easy way to build on authenticity is to be transparent and share digital reports with your prospects and customers.
Ebooks
Ebooks are a type of digital marketing material that can be very helpful for small businesses. They are a way to share information with your customers in a way that is easy to read and understand. Ebooks can be used to promote your products or services, or to simply provide valuable information to your customers.
When creating an ebook, it is important to keep your target audience in mind. What type of information would they be interested in? What would be most helpful to them? Once you have a good understanding of what your target audience is looking for, you can start creating your ebook.
One easy hack for creating a quick and easy ebook is to select a handful of your best articles, guides or pillar pages and combine them into an ebook.
Another great ebook idea is to curate templates, scripts and checklists.
Be sure to include a call-to-action in your ebook. This could be something like “Visit our website to learn more” or “Contact us today to get started.” By including a call-to-action, you increase the chances that your customers will take action after reading your ebook.
Finally, promote your ebook! Let your customers know that it exists and make it easy for them to find it. You can promote your ebook on your website, social media, or even through email marketing.
Explainer Videos
Explainer videos are a great way to show people what your product or service does. They can help people understand how your product or service works, and why it might be a good choice for them.
Explainer videos are usually short, between one and two minutes long. They should be easy to understand, and should get straight to the point. The best explainer videos are simple, clear, and use visuals to help explain the product or service.
You can post explainer videos on your website, social media, or even use them in email marketing campaigns. You can also use them as part of a sales presentation or pitch.
Infographics
Infographics are a type of digital marketing material that can be very helpful for small businesses. They are a way to share information with your customers in a way that is easy to read and understand. Infographics can be used to promote your products or services, or to simply provide valuable information to your customers.
When creating an infographic, it is important to keep your target audience in mind. What type of information would they be interested in? What would be most helpful to them?
Newsletters
Digital newsletters are a simple way to share information with your customers. You can use them to promote your products or services, or to simply provide valuable information to your customers. Newsletters can be a great way to educate your customers and help them learn more about what you do and what new products and services you offer.
Most email marketing software makes sending newsletters easy! You can even send your most recent blog articles to your email list automatically!
News mentions
Take advantage of any opportunity that comes your way to be interviewed or quoted.
You don’t need to hire an expensive marketing agency or PR firm to do this.
I use Terkel.io! This is an amazing tool that gives you the opportunity to answer reporter’s questions and not only be mentioned on major media outlets, but you can also ASK questions and get responses from your audience.
Terkel is a HARO alternative – you can read more about them here.
Podcasts
Podcasts have become increasingly popular in recent years, and they can be a very effective tool for digital marketing. Unlike traditional radio programs, podcasts can be easily downloaded and listened to at any time. This makes them much more convenient for busy consumers, who can listen to them while commuting or working out. In addition, podcasts can be repurposed into articles or even videos, which gives businesses more bang for their buck. Because of their versatility and convenience, podcasts are an increasingly popular way to reach consumers and deliver marketing messages.
Corporate brochures
A company brochure is a physical or digital booklet that contains information about a company’s products, services, and history.
Your company brochure can be both a piece of print marketing as well as downloadable PDF or purely online.
Here are just a few ways that you can use a corporate brochure in your business.
- Sales tool for sales people
- Annual customer report
- Introduce and explain products and services
- Spotlight customers, use cases and case studies
Corporate magazines
If you’d like to take the brochure concept one step further, you can create an online company magazine. Some large brands use corporate magazines as printed materials, but any sized business can use a digital company magazine and get the same results for much less effort and less money.
Here are a few resources you can check out;
Event magazines
Another spinoff of the corporate magazine is to create an event magazine. Now this might be more appropriate for companies that participate in a variety of events. But even if you are a smaller business, you can leverage this tool for both online or offline events.
Press releases
You can use press releases to build credibility for your small business in a number of ways.
First, press releases can be used as digital marketing materials. Don’t forget to include links to your press releases on your website and social media channels, to increase the visibility of your brand and reach a wider audience.
You can also use press releases as part of a marketing campaign. By issuing press releases on a regular basis, you can create a buzz around your business and attract attention from the media.
Video
As a small business owner, you may be looking for ways to reach a wider audience with your marketing materials.
One way to do this is to create videos that can be used as digital marketing materials.
Videos can be repurposed into podcast episodes, blog posts, or social media posts, giving you a lot of content to work with.
Plus, press releases that include video footage tend to get more attention than those without, so you’re more likely to generate interest in your product or service.
Creating videos doesn’t have to be expensive or time-consuming – even a simple video shot on your phone can be effective. So if you’re looking for a new way to reach potential customers, consider using videos as part of your digital marketing strategy.
Website
Your website is a 24/7 sales person. You need to make sure that your website products and services pages are optimized. This will help your business show up when customers are searching for a solution to their problem.
Also, make sure that your blog posts and product descriptions are answering frequently asked questions. By doing these things, you website will be an effective digital marketing material for your business.
White Papers
You might be wondering why white papers are such a powerful piece of digital marketing material. After all, they’re just a long form version of an article, right? Wrong! White papers are so much more than that. They feature use cases and case studies that show your potential customers how your product or service solves their specific problem. And because they can be optimized for search, white papers are easy for people to find when they’re doing their research.
So if you’re looking for a way to showcase your expertise and attract new leads, white papers are the way to go.
Lead Generation and Sales Process Materials
The job of effective marketing materials is to serve as your virtual sales team and generate leads from your target audience.
In this section, I’m going to show you everything from how to create a high converting landing page for different target groups to how to leverage lists of partners to get credibility.
High converting landing pages
Every marketing funnel begins with a landing page. By definition, every page on your website is a landing page.
But high-converting landing pages are generally a part of specific marketing campaigns with specific goals.
I recommend that you use a third-party landing page creator to create your landing pages because these tools give you the ability to use professionally designed landing page templates that are optimized for high conversions.
Try these landing page tools:
Unbounce
Unbounce is a tool that allows you to create high-converting landing pages without having to know coding or design. You can choose from a library of professionally designed templates, or you can create your own. Plus, Unbounce offers a variety of integrations that allow you to connect your landing pages with your email marketing software, CRM, and more.
LeadPages
LeadPages is the most popular landing page creation tool. It’s known for having professionally designed landing pages that are already optimized for high conversions. It’s not as flexible in design as Unbounce, but it’s easier to use and has a WordPress plugin for easy integration with your site.
Kartra
While Unbounce and LeadPages are primarily landing page tools, Kartra is an entire online business in a box. Kartra offers drag and drop landing pages, ecommerce, membership sites, and marketing automation.
If you are a simple startup and have something to sell, but don’t have the time or money for a full website, this is a total online business in one place.
Case Studies
Feature current or loyal customers in a case study. Case studies are a great way to outline specific problems and use cases where your product or service transformed your customer’s life.
I like to think of case studies like testimonials or recommendations that go deeper into how a specific customer solved a problem and what results they got.
Typically case studies avoid challenges customers had in transitioning to a new product or service. If you want to really stand out, be transparent about these challenges because it will set realistic expectations.
Event magazines
An event magazine is a digital marketing material that is used to promote events. They are typically published online and can be used to drive attendance to the event. Event magazines typically include information about the event, such as the date, time, location, and speakers, as well as promotional materials and registration links.
You can create a custom event magazine using these templates:
Envato Event Magazine Templates
Lists of partners
Prospective customers want to see a list of your partners and other customers. This is a real credibility builder and shows social proof.
In fact, adding partner or customer logos on a landing page can increase conversions by 400%.
Online Ads
Another form of digital marketing materials are Google ads, Facebook ads, or ads on any social media channel or website.
Portfolio
If you’re a consultant, freelancer or designer, a portfolio of your projects is a critical component of your lead generation strategy.
You can create a portfolio section of your website — most wordpress themes have a portfolio element that you can use.
Here’s a list of recommended portfolio plugins:
Price list
I can’t emphasize how important a price list is. Most business owners research new vendors, tools, products and services late at night, on weekends or early in the morning. Having a price list on your website can mean the difference between a new customer and a lost customer.
I recommend that you “productize” your products and services in a way that can easily fit into a pricing table.
Here are a few plugins you can try:
Product catalogs
A product catalog is a digital marketing material that is used to promote products. They are typically published online and can be used to drive attendance to the event.
You can use category pages and plugins for a WordPress site
There are also third-party software platforms you can use. These allow you to create online product catalogs from PDFs or from scratch.
Product descriptions
Great descriptions sell products and services. That’s why you shouldn’t skimp on them. Make sure that your product and service descriptions are SEO optimized so that your customers can find them when they search for solution.
Proposals & presentations
Presentations and proposals are a unique type of digital marketing material. While they are often used with a group of customers, they have a broader audience. In B2B selling situations, these are often passed on to C-level executives and decision-makers who rely on them to make their buying decision.
Here are a few recommendations:
- Create professionally designed proposal and presentation templates that you can easily customize for each customer.
- Make the client, their problem and solution the center of the presentation. Follow this outline for a 6-minute sale.
Quizzes
Quizzes are a terrific way to engage with your audience and make sure that you’re sending them personalized content.
You can use a quiz to segment your audience and then send them targeted content. For example, if you’re a B2B company that sells software, you can use a quiz to segment your leads by industry, company size, or budget.
How to create your own quiz:
- TryInteract.com: This is one of my favorite platforms with a generous free plan.
- Outgrow.com: I love this platform because you can create all kinds of engagement tools, quizzes, calculators, polls and so much more.
Re-engagement emails
Before email, we sent letters and postcards. While we didn’t consider those to be marketing materials, these days, they are.
Re-engagement emails are designed to get customers and prospects interested in your product or service again.
To create a re-engagement email campaign:
- Segment your list by those who haven’t opened an email in the last 6 months.
- Create a compelling email subject line that will entice them to open the email.
- Write a brief email that asks them why they’re not opening your emails and what content they would like to see.
- Include a CTA that encourages them to click through to your website or landing page.
- Send the email and wait for the results.
Reviews
Reviews are one of the most powerful digital marketing materials that you can use. They help to build trust with your customers and prospects, and they can help you to sell more products and services.
There are a few things that you can do to make the most of your reviews:
Make sure that you have an attractive review page on your website.
Include customer testimonials on your website.
Encourage customers to leave reviews on your website, social media pages, and third-party review sites.
Make sure that you respond to reviews, both good and bad.
Read more about online reviews.
Social posts
Social posts are a powerful way to market your products and services. They help to build trust with customers and can help you sell more products and services. Make sure that you have an attractive social media page, include customer testimonials on your website, encourage customers to leave reviews on your website and social media pages, and make sure to respond to reviews.
Summits
Online summits are a great way to build your email list, your reputation and your products and services. They help you to connect with new customers and prospects, and they can help you sell more products and services.
To create an online summit:
- Choose a niche topic that your audience is interested in.
- Create a list of potential speakers.
- Reach out to the speakers and secure their participation.
- Create a landing page to promote the summit.
- Send emails to your list promoting the summit.
- Share the summit on social media.
- Promote the summit through paid ads.
Testimonials
While reviews are typically unsolicited, you request testimonials from customers who best represent your target audience. Most people reach out to extremely happy customers. I’d recommend you look for customers who might not have been happy in the beginning but for whom you’ve really stepped up and solved a problem. These are the customers whose story will resonate with your target audience.
To create a testimonial campaign:
- Identify customers who would be willing to provide a testimonial.
- Reach out to them and explain what you’re looking for.
- Ask them to record a short video or audio clip testifying to their satisfaction.
Use the testimonials on your website, in email campaigns, and on social media.
Values and mission statement
Values and mission statements can work as digital marketing materials in a few different ways. They can help to build trust with customers and prospects, and they can help you sell more products and services. Additionally, they can help you to connect with new customers and prospects, and they can help you build your brand.
Your values and mission statement should be at the core of all of your digital marketing materials. They should be included on your website, in your social media posts, in your email campaigns, and in any paid advertising that you do. Additionally, you can use them in customer testimonials and case studies.
When you’re creating your digital marketing materials, make sure that you’re putting your values and mission statement front and center. This will help you to connect with your target audience, sell more products and services, and build your brand.
Customer Support Materials
Customer support materials are anything that you can use to support your customers. They might include:
- FAQs
- Support articles
- Tutorials
- Video tutorials
- Live chat
- Phone support
- Email support
When you’re creating your customer support materials, make sure that they are easy to find and easy to use. Make sure that they are organized in a way that makes sense, and make sure that you are regularly updating them with the latest information. Additionally, make sure that you are promoting them through all of your digital marketing channels. This will help you to connect with your customers, support them, and sell more products and services.
Customer magazines
A customer magazine is a publication that is created specifically for customers. It might include information about the company, product or service information, customer stories, and more. Customer magazines are a great way to connect with customers and sell more products and services.
Email signature
An email signature is a powerful marketing tool because it allows you to connect with customers and prospects in a very personal way. It also allows you to sell more products and services. Additionally, it can help you to build your brand.
Your email signature should include your company logo, your contact information, and a call to action. This will allow customers and prospects to easily connect with you, learn more about your products and services, and buy what they need.
Make sure that your email signature is professional and easy to read. You want it to stand out from the rest of the email, but you don’t want it to be too busy or overwhelming. Additionally, make sure that it’s updated regularly with the latest information.
When you’re creating your email signature, make sure that you are using it as a marketing tool. This will help you to connect with customers and sell more products and services.
Conclusion
While these are online content, they can be used as both online and offline media.
Every marketing material on this list can be used with any marketing strategy. Not only that but you can easily convert these online materials into printed marketing materials.
And remember, you don’t need to use all of these collateral, just select the ones that are most appropriate for your business.