JASON SHUEH

ACCELA

2018-2019

Research that Converts: The Power of Dynamic White Papers

Research that Converts: The Power of Dynamic White Papers

A look at the benefits of a holistic white paper strategy to increase leads and market influence

Case Study Details

CONTENT TYPE: Research & White Papers (click the links below to view)

COMPANY: Accela, a global digital permitting and licensing solution for governments

ROLE(S): Content Strategist, Editor, Copy Writer

YEAR(S): 2018-2019

Problem

IN A MOVE to drive customer growth, Accela sought to develop unique research that could engage its prospects and current customers. In the past, the company had published a number of white papers and research, but with time, these lead-generating, top-of-funnel resources had gradually lost relevance for a customer base of state and local IT leaders. This called for fresh reporting, original research and a modern publication approach.

Solution

CREATE A SERIES of concise white papers, published via a microsite, that can easily be shared and disseminated by customers. The original research would be designed to increase Accela’s lead generation in sales, build its industry thought leadership and increase its online influence directly and indirectly through earned media.

site-white-papers
The landing page for Accela's CloudScore microsite, shown above, includes original research and white papers as well as an online assessment of a city's digital services. Image | Accela

Process

1. GOALS: The goal of this project was straightforward: Create a series of white papers to grow sales leads and attract customers. The key metrics for these aims also followed common metrics for successful marketing content: this included stats like the number of PDF downloads, social media shares and page visits.

2. CHOOSING THEMES AND TOPICS: The research themes were drawn from Accela’s overall content strategy, four themes that included Digital Service Delivery, Emerging Regulation, Next-gen Economic Development, and Government Experience. Each of these tied back to Accela’s suite of cloud solutions and applications.

3. GATHERING RESEARCH: I coordinated the collection of original research with the Center for Digital Government (CDG), a national research and advisory institute on information technology policies and best practices in state and local government. Working with the CDG’s team of senior researchers and analysts we designed a series of survey questions designed to gauge city and state sentiment on issues. I facilitated meetings to review this research and to ensure its correct interpretation. This was a joint effort supported by executive leadership, as well as Accela’s product marketing and engineering teams.

4. OUTLINES & MESSAGING: To ensure proper messaging was in place, I coordinated the outlines of each white paper as well as the editing rounds for each piece. It was important our readers saw an immediate value, that the message was clear, and the structure of each paper rooted itself to the primary research points. To show value, the white paper topics were hyper focused on common pain points in government IT. Like the private sector, public sector IT departments are always looking for ways to improve their services, accelerate technology rollouts, reduce costs, improve cybersecurity, and modernize their aging legacy systems. These white papers spoke to these concerns with valuable research and subject matter expertise.

5. PRINT & PUBLISHING: With so much time and investment in these white papers, we wanted to maximize their audience as much as possible. The strategy included a phased rollout. We published one paper quarterly, usually timing it to a company event or public relations announcement to bolster its impact with local, national and industry media. Further, we hosted webinars with industry thought leaders that highlighted key findings in the research. We also leveraged the white papers in multiple email campaigns, in our newsletter, blog and social media channels to expand the reach. Finally, once all four white papers were completed, we created microsite with the Center for Digital Government’s Government Technology magazine to host all of them and to complement their findings with a self-populated feed of relevant Government Technology articles.

Results

THE RESULTS WERE phenomenal. Compared to previous white papers, the percentage increase in monthly downloads was exponentially higher as well as white paper web page traffic and sales leads. Other key benefits included national and local media coverage. Further, the research provided a launch pad for additional content generation via blogs and press releases.

Conclusion

THERE WERE A few key lessons learned in this initiative. Phasing the research and publication provided a consistent flow of content and support for company events and marketing campaigns. Integrating with social media, blogs, newsletters, emails, webinars captured a much larger audience and engagement. Digital publication in a microsite also made the content more digestible and easier to reference.

Case Study Details

CONTENT TYPE: Research & White Papers (click the links below to view)

COMPANY: Accela, a global digital permitting and licensing solution for governments

ROLE(S): Content Strategist, Editor, Copy Writer

YEAR(S): 2018-2019

Problem

IN A MOVE to drive customer growth, Accela sought to develop unique research that could engage its prospects and current customers. In the past, the company had published a number of white papers and research, but with time, these lead-generating, top-of-funnel resources had gradually lost relevance for a customer base of state and local IT leaders. This called for fresh reporting, original research and a modern publication approach.

Solution

CREATE A SERIES of concise white papers, published via a microsite, that can easily be shared and disseminated by customers. The original research would be designed to increase Accela’s lead generation in sales, build its industry thought leadership and increase its online influence directly and indirectly through earned media.

Govern the Future
The landing page for Accela's CloudScore microsite, shown above, includes original research and white papers as well as an online assessment of a city's digital services. Image | Accela

Process

1. GOALS: The goal of this project was straightforward: Create a series of white papers to grow sales leads and attract customers. The key metrics for these aims also followed common metrics for successful marketing content: this included stats like the number of PDF downloads, social media shares and page visits.

2. CHOOSING THEMES AND TOPICS: The research themes were drawn from Accela’s overall content strategy, four themes that included Digital Service Delivery, Emerging Regulation, Next-gen Economic Development, and Government Experience. Each of these tied back to Accela’s suite of cloud solutions and applications.

3. GATHERING RESEARCH: I coordinated the collection of original research with the Center for Digital Government (CDG), a national research and advisory institute on information technology policies and best practices in state and local government. Working with the CDG’s team of senior researchers and analysts we designed a series of survey questions designed to gauge city and state sentiment on issues. I facilitated meetings to review this research and to ensure its correct interpretation. This was a joint effort supported by executive leadership, as well as Accela’s product marketing and engineering teams.

4. OUTLINES & MESSAGING: To ensure proper messaging was in place, I coordinated the outlines of each white paper as well as the editing rounds for each piece. It was important our readers saw an immediate value, that the message was clear, and the structure of each paper rooted itself to the primary research points. To show value, the white paper topics were hyper focused on common pain points in government IT. Like the private sector, public sector IT departments are always looking for ways to improve their services, accelerate technology rollouts, reduce costs, improve cybersecurity, and modernize their aging legacy systems. These white papers spoke to these concerns with valuable research and subject matter expertise.

5. PRINT & PUBLISHING: With so much time and investment in these white papers, we wanted to maximize their audience as much as possible. The strategy included a phased rollout. We published one paper quarterly, usually timing it to a company event or public relations announcement to bolster its impact with local, national and industry media. Further, we hosted webinars with industry thought leaders that highlighted key findings in the research. We also leveraged the white papers in multiple email campaigns, in our newsletter, blog and social media channels to expand the reach. Finally, once all four white papers were completed, we created microsite with the Center for Digital Government’s Government Technology magazine to host all of them and to complement their findings with a self-populated feed of relevant Government Technology articles.

Results

THE RESULTS WERE phenomenal. Compared to previous white papers, the percentage increase in monthly downloads was exponentially higher as well as white paper web page traffic and sales leads. Other key benefits included national and local media coverage. Further, the research provided a launch pad for additional content generation via blogs and press releases.

Conclusion

THERE WERE A few key lessons learned in this initiative. Phasing the research and publication provided a consistent flow of content and support for company events and marketing campaigns. Integrating with social media, blogs, newsletters, emails, webinars captured a much larger audience and engagement. Digital publication in a microsite also made the content more digestible and easier to reference.