Software-Defined Wide Area Network (SD-WAN) solutions are becoming popular among enterprises for a variety of reasons. They provide the flexibility to ensure secure and reliable access to critical networks and applications, driving agility and powering digital transformation.
For that reason, SD-WAN content has become highly coveted for individuals across industries. We spent time examining thousands of pieces of SD-WAN content in our extensive B2B content database to bring you the top 5 most engaging pieces of content in the SD-WAN category.
After analyzing the top 5, we found a few common characteristics that you can use to optimize your own SD-WAN content and join the top 5.
Put the customer story at the forefront
Several of the top pieces of content in the SD-WAN category (three out of five, to be exact) make customer stories a central part of their message. We have two traditional case studies (“Building an Agile, Secure Network While Eliminating MLPS Spend with FortiGate Secure SD-WAN” from Fortinet and “From gnarly wideouts to rad freeriding with SD-WAN” from Windstream) as well as a state of SD-WAN report from VMWare that goes into great detail on a number of customer use cases.
This is a reflection of the importance customers attach to seeing SD-WAN solutions in action before making a purchasing decision. Customers want to feel confident that the solutions they’re considering are going to drive value, especially in terms of reliability and security. Learning how they deliver value for other customers is a critical part of the buyer journey.
When creating your own SD-WAN content, it’s important to consider why readers are looking for customer stories. Think about the forces that are driving their decision to seek out SD-WAN information, and craft content that directly addresses their specific challenges and concerns.
Provide detailed industry data and research
Two of the top 5 pieces of SD-WAN were state of the industry reports, providing in-depth information about numerous different aspects of this area. SD-WAN is a complicated concept with several moving parts, and the level of detail in some of the top 5 content seems to reflect the need for many readers to simply understand the fundamentals of SD-WAN.
If you want to create content that makes it into the top 5, you should consider grounding all SD-WAN information in detailed industry research that explores the various aspects of SD-WAN in depth. Pay special attention to reliability and security, areas in SD-WAN content that consistently generate interest among readers.
Keep mentions of your brand to a minimum
This one isn’t a universal and it depends entirely on the type of content, but we also noticed that some of the top SD-WAN pieces refer very little to their actual brand. This demonstrates to potential customers that they can provide real value beyond simply pushing their products or services.
For example, Aruba sponsored one of the state of SD-WAN reports in our top 5. As part of the piece, Aruba’s research partners surveyed more than 1,800 security and networking practitioners across the world to understand SD-WAN on a deep level. That includes how vendors are chosen, the general awareness of different SD-WAN solutions and the history of the deployment of those solutions.
Aruba is seldom mentioned at all in the piece — in fact, it’s only really mentioned as a sponsor of the research — meaning the information contained in the report is allowed to stand on its own.
Minimize the use of buzzwords in titles
This one really depends on the audience more than anything, but we’ve noticed that engaging content tends to be the most accessible content. Many content marketers make the mistake of packing too many buzzwords and industry jargon into their titles. There’s nothing more off-putting to the general interest reader than a title stuffed with words and phrases they don’t know and can’t recognize.
A simple title that gets the reader interested to learn more without scaring them away is the most effective way to drive engagement, and that’s just what many of the top 5 SD-WAN pieces of content do. Take Windstream. Their SD-WAN case study was titled “From gnarly wipeouts to rad freeriding with SD-WAN.” It’s exciting, engaging and isn’t bogged down by buzzwords, serving as the perfect introduction to a compelling SD-WAN case study.
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Creating great content starts with having the right data. CONTENTgine manages a content database consisting of hundreds of thousands of assets, covering white papers, case studies and more. Our Top 5 most popular assets series highlights the most engaging content in our database, helping marketers better understand their competitors and create better content that readers find valuable.
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