Keep track of your ever-expanding digital asset library
Back in the day, the term ‘marketing collateral’ was just a fancy way of saying corporate brochures and sales flyers.
Nowadays, marketing collateral is everything. No, seriously…EVERYTHING. Collateral encompasses every type of asset that a business uses to promote itself. So if you’re a SaaS brand that’s rapidly expanding, you probably have thousands of digital assets floating around online, and if they aren’t consistent, it isn’t a good look (literally).
In our last blog, we talked about the importance of creative asset quality scoring in SaaS marketing.
However, if you want to rate and review your creative assets, first you need to know exactly what they are. In this article, we’re listing every type of asset that falls under the umbrella category of ‘marketing collateral’. We’ve also grouped them based on specific functions within a business to demonstrate the scope of managing an ever-expanding digital asset library.
Consider this a quick checklist to determine exactly what collateral is being circulated, so that you can determine whether or not it really represents your brand (which is where we come in…).
Content Marketing
Content may be king, but creative is what brings content to life. SaaS businesses pump out tons of content across multiple channels, all of which have to be supported by creative assets, whether it’s imagery for email newsletters, or graphics in various sizes for social media posts.
- Blog posts
- Reports
- E-Books
- Whitepapers
- Case Studies
- Social media graphics (LinkedIn, Facebook, TikTok, Instagram, Twitter, YouTube)
- Social media videos
- Email newsletters
- Webinar graphics
- Infographics
- Testimonials
Digital Marketing
Since digital marketing covers all marketing that encompasses digital outreach, more or less any of the digital assets listed in this article could be used (or repurposed) for paid digital marketing campaigns.
- Landing pages
- Banner ads
- Display ads
- Social media ads
- Affiliate marketing graphics
- Retargeting ads
- Search ads
Events & PR
Over 80% of B2B companies identify events as their most impactful marketing channel, and dedicate a huge portion of their marketing budget to sponsoring, exhibiting at, and attending industry events and conferences every year. Events can be bucketed into the ‘how long is a piece of string’ category when it comes to creative assets – they sky’s the limit. PR activities also require consistent assets – from company logos, to graphics for op-eds and industry publications/directories.
- Event stand displays
- Event videos
- Event landing pages
- Event email signups
- Sponsorship graphics
- Signage (banners, sandwich boards)
- Stakeholder headshots for speaking engagements/decks
- SWAG (design for pens, notebooks, t-shirts, socks…anything and everything that you give away)
- Business cards
- Graphics for PR announcements
Sales
Sales is the department whereby collateral can make the greatest impact, since it’s being viewed by prospects and leads. However, sales collateral is also where you’ll often notice the biggest inconsistencies if you start to dig – be it sales professionals going rogue and creating their own collateral, using outdated materials, or collateral that hasn’t been created in the first place.
- Corporate brochures
- Sales decks/master pitches
- Investor decks
- Proposals
- Comparison charts
- Battle cards
- One-pagers
- Use cases
- Solution briefs
- Buyer personas
Partnerships
On average, partner programs drive 21% percent of revenue for SaaS brands. And because you’re dealing with third-parties, it’s vital to ensure that any and all collateral that’s being distributed by partners or for partners is always up-to-scratch.
- Partner program microsites/portals
- Partner program brochures
- Partner videos
- Partner case studies
- Partner program badges
- Partner directory logos
- Partner email newsletters
- Partner social media graphics
Product
Product-focused collateral is similar to digital marketing in that it can (and should) be used by multiple functions within a business. However, because SaaS brands regularly update their product (be it releasing new features or changing the UI to respond to customer needs, there’s also a big challenge in keeping all collateral that features the product up-to-date.
- Explainer videos
- Product web pages
- Product surveys
- Individual features videos
- Demo videos
- Instructional videos for customers
- Platform stills/screengrabs
- Product-focused webinars
- Product overviews/one-pagers
HR
Design assets are vital for achieving great employer branding and attracting candidates that align with your company’s mission and values. Careers pages, candidate-facing material and recruitment announcements need to be just as consistent in look -and-feel as any other marketing asset.
- Employer branding videos
- Careers microsites
- Candidate-facing material
- Public-facing handbooks
- Social media campaigns (LinkedIn)
Web Development
Developers’ sites/sections tend to be primarily text-based, but it’s important to maintain consistency in any and all assets that appear on developers content, be it iconography, screenshots, graphics, etc.
- Developers microsites/portals
- Documentation graphics
Needless to say, this list is by no means exhaustive, and every business’ asset library will look different. But it’s clear to see how SaaS brands can feel in over their heads when it comes to keeping up with the increasing demands of collateral creation. However, the most important thing about collateral is knowing what you’re working with, because from there you can optimize it, and that’s the key to getting out of the loop of running to stand still in SaaS.
Want to know more about how we can streamline your workflow and asset management? Book a call with the Perpetual team today.
