Are you using white papers to collect business leads? Are white paper registration forms ‘old school marketing?’  Is it better to let white papers roam free with the hope that they’ll magically draw opportunity?

These are very important questions you should ask yourself.  And perhaps nothing has spurred the debate more than the mass adoption of social media marketing.  Many businesses are experiencing the viral marketing benefits of unleashing their white papers.  Some of the benefits of letting the paper free include:

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You might be wondering, “Can Twitter actually help me generate leads and close business?”

My answer is a resounding YES.

And here’s just one of the many stories I could share about how Twitter has helped my business close a deal.

And it just wasn’t ANY deal, it was the world famous Anthony Robbins, famous for his Unleash The Power Within events.

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Now that the economy is in the dumps, a LOT of businesses are turning to educational marketing techniques (like white papers) as a primary marketing vehicle.  In fact, one of my Fortune 50 clients just told me, “We’ve decided to cut back on trade shows and focus more of our efforts on white papers because they work so well.”

So, that brings me to a question sent in by a reader.

Terry writes:

I have a buddy that I am helping and he is of the thought that the white paper should be sold as a way of giving real content at a real value.

I told him that yes, while you may sell 40 copies at $37 - $ 67 per copy you are limiting the number of potential customers and leads due to the fact that some are going to balk.  I am going through your book and the blog for insight, but would love for you to address the issue.

Here’s my response:

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I recently met with Jason Alba, author of I’m on LinkedIn, Now What?.

We talked about how to use LinkedIn as a marketing tool.

Have you used LinkedIn as a marketing tool? What are your thoughts?

White papers are essential marketing tools for businesses during a down economy.  Why?  Because lead generation programs become essential during times like this.  In addition, prospects are more resistant to sales hype.

A recent study examined the importance of different types of collateral among buyers.

“White papers remain the most effective piece of marketing collateral, with 86% of respondents finding them moderately to highly influential in the purchasing decision,” found a new Eccolo Media study reviewed in B2B Magazine.  When asked to rank order the importance of white papers, case studies, podcasts, videos and brochures, survey participants overwhelmingly ranked white papers as the most important collateral they use when making buying decisions.

In the same edition of B2B Magazine, white papers were mentioned as critical marketing pieces in two additional articles.  Here are the highlights:

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When thinking of purchasing a product or service, what do people search for when they use search engines or visit the company website?  A new study reveals the kinds of things people are looking for and the important role of white papers.

A joint study by Google and TechTarget, called the The Google/TechTarget Research Project, examined the search patterns of information technology professionals during the purchasing process.  While this is specific to technology professionals, much insight can be applied to other professions.

Here’s what you need to know:

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When opportunities start drying up, businesses focus their marketing efforts on creating valuable content.  This was recently affirmed in a new study by Junta42. And, it turns out white papers are still an important marketing tool.

The study conducted last month found the following, “Even in tough economic times, money is still flowing into content marketing initiatives… More than half (56%) of marketing- and publishing-decision makers plan to increase their content marketing spending for 2009 (31% increase significantly, 25% increase slightly). Only 13% plan on decreasing their content marketing spending (9% decrease slightly, 4% decrease significantly)” (more…)

Social media can be such a confusing thing, can’t it!

To better get a grip on social media, there’s a new industry survey taking place right now.  It’s called  the 2009 Social Media Marketing Industry Survey.

If you are currently, or plan to use social media for your marketing efforts, would you please take a brief moment and participate in this industry survey.

Go here now: http://tinyurl.com/8yhneh

All participants will get a free copy of the results.

The vast majority of small business owners have a real problem; finding new business. Or so claims a new study.

“A majority of small-business owners (59.1%) said generating and retaining customers is the toughest marketing challenge they face,” according to a study performed by the Yellow Pages Association and published in B2B Magazine. (Yes, some people STILL use the yellow pages).

There is one solution that small businesses can employ.

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If you sell any type of information products, what I am about to mention is a brilliant strategy to build your list AND develop strong affiliate partners.

Now, first let me admit that I did NOT come up with this, rather my good friend Bob Bly did (author of 70+ books).

Here’s the strategy (which I think is VERY sound).

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