Technical Writing as a Marketing Tool

There is a preconception about technical writing that limits its capabilities to instructional and training material solely. In reality, though, that is just one of the many layers. Yes, software documentation and user guides help convey a technical writer's ideas to an audience, but they also make way to interesting marketing opportunities.

Think about it this way: Most people look for online help whenever they don’t understand how a product or service works. If you can help them solve their problem, then they are more likely to make a purchase.

But, how can you turn your online documentation into an innovative marketing tool? Here are a few tips:

Branding Opportunity

A lot of businesses neglect the branding opportunity their technical documentation holds. But, your user guides and help authoring tools are the perfect vehicle to integrate the visual components of your brand.

So, make sure to include your logo in your software documentation and create them in a style that fits your brand’s personality. Keep in mind that your technical content can also be a standalone reflection of your company.

Build Trust

Imagine that you plan to buy a new smartphone. What’s the first thing you do? Obviously, you look for specifications to decide whether a certain model will fit your needs and budget. If you can’t find the information you need, you are most likely going to look for another model.

Consumers like to make informed decisions and they rarely buy something, especially gadgets or software, without looking for online help first. Technical writing helps them acquire the details they need and feel more at ease about their decision.

You can also offer a trial guide where people can get a better sense of the product. These are all small steps towards building a trusting relationship with your potential customers.

Create a Community

Your audience doesn’t exist in a vacuum. In fact, you may have noticed that if a user guide is helpful and relevant, readers don’t engage just with the content alone. They also interact with each other through the comment section.

Enable the comment section for your website and try to encourage user engagement. There may be instances when some user wants extra information regarding a subject, so make it easy for them to do so directly on the page. Answer them as much as possible, and try to monitor the comment section closely. It’s a good way to get a sense of how people feel about the company and what it’s offering.

We have a whole article devoted to user comments in online documentation in case you need a quick start with building a community around a user manual.

Back to You

There are still a lot of ways you can use technical writing as a marketing tool. The SEO benefits alone are enough to make you never skip on using the right keywords in your documentation.

For example, if you are using such help authoring tool as ClickHelp, you can be sure that you are getting the most of your online documentation SEO possibilities. You can make all your help topics indexed by search engines and get closer to the top search results bringing more web exposure to you product.

Technical writing allows people to know your product better, and what you have to offer, so it’s worth keeping it in mind while creating your marketing strategy.