A whitepaper, also called a research paper, is a kind of an extended report which focuses on a particular topic, elaborates it, and explains it in detail.
A whitepaper is a long and linear narrative which argues a certain concept, while backing the argument with data and research.
The language used in a whitepaper is formal, which might also include technical jargon used by experts.
A whitepaper can consist of statistical tables, quotes from leading research firms, excerpts from academic books, etc.
The contents of a whitepaper should be text-heavy meant for deep reading.
With a whitepaper, you can talk about your expertise and educate prospective customers about your business. If you sell a product or provide a service, which customers buy or subscribe to only after due research, then you can come up with a whitepaper which guides them in their buying decisions.