MARKETING COLLATERAL: WHAT IT IS AND THE TYPES YOU SHOULD USE

Marketing collateral is any kind of content, media, or resource that you create to support your marketing efforts.

The term can cover anything from informal digital communications and social media content, right through to in-depth information and highly polished long-form content pieces. And it’s the breadth of this definition that makes it tricky for teams to master.

Marketers know they need strong collateral to achieve their marketing goals. But with so many options available, there’s one big question they need to answer before they can start creating high-value, impactful collateral…

There is no ‘one size fits all’ approach to creating marketing collateral. The type of collateral that’s most valuable to you will depend on what your marketing goals are, and what you ultimately want your content to help you achieve.

Here’s a quick look at some common high-level marketing goals, and marketing collateral examples that can help you achieve them.

1. Interactive eBooks

• Ebooks are a great way to provide your audience with in-depth, educational information that piques their interest and shows them what you’re all about.

• When that information is interactive, it becomes an extremely powerful force for lead generation.

• When that information is interactive, it becomes an extremely powerful force for lead generation.

2. Research reports

• Original research is great at attracting attention and new people to your content

• By bringing that data to life using vibrant imagery and video, you can turn your findings into a widely shared sensation.

3. Case studies

• When it comes to showcasing the real-life impacts of your products and services, very few types of collateral can compare to a well-presented case study.

4. Digital brochures

• When a prospect is ready to start learning more about your products, digital brochures can help you clearly lay out everything they need to know.

• And by adding some interactivity, your brochure can give them a soft push onto the next stage of their buying journey.

5. Product guides

• Product guides help prospects get an in-depth look at what your products can do for them.

• By building dynamic guides, you can keep this information highly relevant to each customer and help them get straight to what they need.

6. White papers

• White papers are a great format for thought leadership, giving you the chance to showcase your expertise and inspire your prospects.

• To get the most from them, use proven psychology practices for capturing and converting attention.

7. Interactive newsletters

• When you hit a prospect’s inbox, you need to stand out from the clutter. Traditional newsletters won’t cut it.

• By adding some interactivity to your updates and communications, you can build something people truly look forward to opening.

8. Presentations

• When prospects want specific information, presentations can help you lay out relevant information in a clear, concise, and easily consumable way.

• Whether you’re sending them via email, or handing them off to a salesperson to present, a well-crafted presentation deck can deliver powerful results.

9. Logo

• Your brand logo is often the very first thing people will see of your business.

• It is therefore essential to have a clear and relevant logo.

• An undecipherable mess will only be forgettable, and symbols that aren’t relevant will hinder your brand recognition.

10. Email Signatures

• Every piece of email communication between yourself and leads should have a clear email signature that includes your contact details and your business’ logo.

• This allows users to seek you out on their terms and keeps your logo fresh in their mind.

11. Social media accounts

• The landscape of social media is ever changing, but having a presence, even limited, on the core group of social media sites allows users to tag you and therefore act as further marketing without you having to do anything.

• Of course, it is better to post on these sites frequently, but even an inactive social media account can be tagged and is therefore useful collateral.

12. Print materials (brochures, posters, etc)

• Print material is used near universally. It is rare to find a business with absolutely zero print material, whether its a poster, brochure, even a business card that has contact info and a logo.

• Print material works well as collateral as it has a physical presence in a lead’s life.

13. Podcasts

• It may seem like everyone has a podcast these days, but if you have something worth saying, people will listen.

• Making a relevant and interesting podcast will have a huge affect on your lead generation, especially if you bring in guests frequently as their audience suddenly become your leads.

14. Video content

• The majority of media consumed is video content, mobile video content being at the forefront of marketing.

• Video content goes hand in hand with social media, but creating engaging video series for online platforms can form a dedicated fan base and provide thought provoking discussions around your chosen topics.

Determining which types of marketing collateral are right for you is an important step. But practically, it’s only the beginning of your journey. Once you know what you need to create, it’s time to start bringing that collateral to life.

That’s where things get a bit trickier. To create great collateral, marketers must be able to:

• Pull together diverse information and present it in ways that are both visually engaging and immediately understandable

• Breeze through approval processes to ensure that collateral can be released and put in front of your audience at the right time

• Track use and engagement to understand who is using and viewing collateral, and what they’re responding to

• Adapt collateral with ease to make it as relevant as possible to different audience groups and keep it up to date

To rise to those challenges at once, marketers must adopt and embrace four key practices:

1. Attention optimization, where collateral is built in line with reader psychology best practice
   
   
2. Precise personalization, to help push deeply relevant collateral to every person in your audience at speed
   
   
3. Metric mastery, to enable detailed measurement of content performance, and help you deliver more of what your audience is really responding to
   
   
4. Content democratization, where every stakeholder can freely create and adapt collateral to meet their needs — without breaking it, or bending brand guidelines

Effective marketing collateral doesn’t just tell your story; it drives results. From generating leads to influencing pipeline growth, it’s a direct link between your content and your revenue.

Turtl helps marketers create collateral that delivers real business outcomes. With interactive, trackable, and revenue-focused materials, you can make every asset count.