iPapers Bring PDF White Papers to Life!

For decades, B2B marketers have used PDF white papers to present their thought-leadership to interested prospects.  The problem?  PDFs are not reliable, trackable, digestible, sharable, or interactive.  In fact, they downright stink at anything more than just flat content and static images.

As part of a joint venture between JDM Digital and the B2B content marketing gurus at fisher VISTA, iPapers Media has been launched to fill the gap between what good ‘ol fashioned PDF white papers can do and the REAL digital experiences possible with modern web technology.

A Quick History of the PDF White Paper

Way back in 1992, Adobe first started talking about a “Portable Document Format” and just a year later they released (an overpriced) Adobe Reader which already featured internal links, bookmarks, and embedded fonts.

Not a whole lot about PDF has changed since then. The format has certainly gained overwhelming adoption, but the features are pretty much the same.

The term “white paper” is even older. Most think it started with the Churchill white paper of 1922.  Regardless of where it started, white papers have become mainstays of B2B content marketing, and PDF, the format of choice.

Contrary to headlines in the marketing press, the white paper is still going strong.

The Content Marketing Institute recently released “Why White Papers Still Matter.”  In it, they quote Rob Leavitt, Director of Thought Leadership at PTC, as saying:

“There is no substitute for well-researched, well-thought-through points of view on issues that really matter to your customers.”

These days, 64% of B2B marketers use white papers and articles as part of their content marketing strategy.  But there’s still a lot of room for improvement in the FORMAT of these white papers.

PDF White Paper Shortfalls

As B2B content marketers demand ever more functional, interactive, trackable, and mobile-friendly formats, we are still saddled with the limitations of a PDF.

With a modern PDF, designers can: Add Links, Bookmarks, Images, Content (with cool fonts), and… Well, that’s pretty much it.

You can’t readily embed video; they’re terrible on mobile devices; they’re large and bulky files that require software (Adobe Reader) to open; and you can’t add any sort of tracking to see who read your white paper or how far they got.

A Quick Background on iPapers

About a year ago, I was talking with HRmarketer Founder, Mark Willaman, about interactive infographics and the conversation shifted to if it was possible to embed video, interactive charts, polls, or tracking into a PDF.   I explained that video is cumbersome and Flash-based (e.g. not mobile-friendly), and the rest is impossible.

“But, what if I could build a website that looks and acts like a PDF or eBook, but has none of the functionality limits?”

“Do it!”  Mark replied. “We’ll bring these old PDF white papers to life.”

After 6 months in development and another 3 months in prototype testing, we now have a working BETA version of what we’re calling “iPapers Media” (or “iPapers,” for short).   We even finished building the iPaper.Media microsite and did a little live demo a few weeks back.

Can’t do THAT with a PDF!

Websites and PDFs navigate top-to-bottom.  iPapers navigate more like books–left to right.

Because iPapers are web-based, they have none of the functionality limits of a traditional PDF.  There’s no software needed–just a browser.   They are platform agnostic (PC, Mac, whatever).  They are adaptive and responsive so they look and work great on tablet and mobile devices.  They’re easily sharable because you don’t actually download anything.

Even the basic iPaper comes with social integration, unobtrusive tracking and lead gen forms, touch and gesture sensitivity, and are fully-customizable to put your Brand front and center.

Seeing is believing…

I could go on and on, but seeing is believing. Check out iPapers.Media for general information, screenshots, features, and pricing information.

See iPapers in action on our live demo.

Personally, I find white papers even easier to read on my iPad when they’re in this format. Scan this QR code to pull up our live demo on your tablet or smartphone and see what I mean.

If you have any questions, feel free to contact us or search the iPaper Support site for technical information like how to setup a custom domain name (i.e. ipapers.yourwebsite.com).