What is the definition of marketing collateral?
The definition or meaning of marketing collateral is any sales or marketing materials brands use to promote their products and services, increase sales and conversions, and build loyalty and retention. Examples of marketing collateral include print materials such as brochures, flyers, and adverts. It can also refer to digital marketing collateral like e-books and brochures, website landing pages, whitepapers and case studies, online advertising, newsletters, branded content, and blog posts.
Brands use different types of marketing collateral for different stages of the customer journey. Blog posts, landing pages, and online advertising are effective tools for building brand awareness, while marketers commonly use collateral like case studies, e-books, and whitepapers for the consideration stage. When it comes to the decision-making stage, how-to or explainer guides are ideal for driving the prospect towards conversion.
From social media to more traditional channels, marketing collateral fuels any content marketing strategy. Read our blog: "What is good content marketing?" for some tips, tricks, and great examples.
What are good examples of marketing collateral?
The type of marketing collateral that is best for a business and its customers depends on several factors, e.g., the stage of the customer journey, the customer's needs and preferences, the marketing and social media platforms the customer uses, and the budget and resources available.
Here are a few popular and effective examples of marketing collateral used by B2B brands and why they work.
Blog posts
Blog posts are valuable content marketing assets for all stages of the buyer journey. They offer an ideal platform for reporting on industry or company news, launching new products, introducing team members or elements of the business, demonstrating thought leadership, or simply entertaining the reader. They are also great for SEO and link building.
Case studies
Case studies help brands encourage their lead or customer to imagine what it would be like to choose them. Case studies explain how a product or service works and how it benefits the featured customer—a broad collection of case studies is ideal for showcasing the brand’s client base.
Whitepapers
Promoting thought leadership is a priority for many B2B brands. Whitepapers are excellent marketing collateral for reporting research or survey findings, explaining technical features, or describing a product or service in more detail.
Newsletters
Cultivating a newsletter subscriber base is vital for brands trying to expand their reach. Newsletters help build loyalty, promote new products or offers, and help customers get to know your brand. They are also low risk, can offer high rewards, and help to demonstrate credibility and expertise.
E-books or digital brochures
E-books or digital brochures are marketing collateral used to introduce products, tell the story behind a brand, or present research findings effectively. Today’s digital brochures are easy to produce and can easily include interactive features such as video, checklists, charts, graphs, and quizzes. These features improve engagement and drive conversions.
Landing pages
Website landing pages are the ideal marketing collateral for promoting services or alerting prospective customers to an offer. Landing pages should always include a clear call to action, a contact form (for capturing data), and a clear, concise description of what is on offer. They should also include a good mix of keywords and SEO search terms.
Marketers can use landing pages and all other forms of marketing collateral to track user engagement and use the data to improve future campaigns.
