Tips for Making the Most of Your Marketing Collateral by Jeff Walker

Imagine you just bought a new pair of shoes. As you made your purchase, you were thinking how well the shoes would complement a suit you bought last week. But you're certainly going to wear them with other outfits, right?

The same goes for creating a piece of marketing collateral, you may have a specific use for it. But doesn't it make good economic sense to use it in as many ways as possible?

Print collateral represents a significant portion of your marketing budget. Here are three ways you can put it to optimum use and get the most bang for your buck:

1. Repurpose, repurpose, repurpose. Use your whitepapers, case studies, sell sheets and other print materials in multiple campaigns and across multiple media channels. Put them in trade show kits, incorporate them into direct mail campaigns, or upload electronic copies to your website and then place links in your emails, on landing pages, and in social media.

Including an item of interest - perhaps an article reprint - is a great way to nurture prospects, too. Sharing something that speaks to their needs gives you a legitimate reason to contact them, as well as an opportunity to demonstrate thought leadership in your industry.

2. Customize for different audiences. Customers usually fall into a number of different segments. Using variable data printing, you can tailor collateral to specific market segments, geographic areas, industries, job functions or even individuals. Digital printing technology allows you to personalize messaging and insert images that are more relevant to your prospects. The more you know about recipients -past purchasing behaviors, as well as demographics - the more you can sharpen your focus.

3. Break it down and push it out. Good collateral is filled with facts, statistics and ideas that can form the basis for other communications. Multiply your collateral's mileage by using those content nuggets to create:

Blogs containing links that allows readers to download the entire piece. Don't forget to promote your posts on social media.

Press releases for both print and online trade and business media. These publications are always looking for newsworthy items about leading edge technology, insightful analyses or innovative processes.

Bylined articles and advertorials. Summarize key points from the entire piece or focusing on one element in depth.

Videos, podcasts and slide presentations that provide an overview of key takeaways or zero in on a salient point made in the original piece.

Checklists and planning guides to help customers assess or improve their current practices.

These are just a few ways to break out content from your collateral. What other ideas can you think of to make the most of your collateral? Share your thoughts below or read more on marketing collateral and why it still matters.

LINK:	http://blogs.ironmountain.com/2015/service-lines/marketing-production-...
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