Abstract
- Change perception. Quality thought leadership makes your company more attractive to decision makers.
- Content differentiation. Great thought leadership differentiates your brand and increases content engagement.
- The need for strategy. Creating compelling thought leadership content requires original research and strong opinions.
Thought leadership, a staple of many B2B marketing campaigns, is back in the spotlight this spring thanks to a new study on the impact of thought leadership from LinkedIn and Edelman.
It turns out that effective thought leadership has a significant impact on sales decisions: An overwhelming majority – 9 in 10 decision makers or executives – tend to respond “somewhat” or “very” favorably to sales or marketing efforts from companies that consistently produce high-quality thought leadership.
Other findings include the impact on customer retention – “vaccinating” a company against competitors trying to acquire customers.
Top B2B marketers thrive on thought leadership
There's no question that thought leadership, when done well, can produce impressive results. In fact, our data identifying what separates top-performing B2B marketers from their less-effective peers shows that top-performing B2B marketers are more likely to consistently deploy thought leadership as a tactic — often as their number one tactic — than their less-effective peers.
Of course, not all thought leadership content is created equal. Most attempts fail because the thoughts contained within are average at best and the brands involved don't lead us anywhere.
It's no surprise, then, that the LinkedIn/Edelman survey also found that nearly a third (30%) of those who produce thought leadership content admit that their organizations aren't quite sure how to use that content as a sales or marketing tool.
Related article: Is your brand really developing thought leadership?
Brave thought leadership differentiates your brand
Great thought leadership requires courage. It means taking a stand on an issue, even if it means being willing to disagree with others or even alienate some of your audience. Not all companies are willing to do this, but doing so offers some important benefits:
- You can differentiate your brand.
- Your content is more likely to be consumed and shared.
- Provide practical value to the right customers.
- By filtering out customers who are a poor fit, you save time and resources.
- Give people a reason to engage with you (because you know something valuable that they don't).
Creating great thought leadership content is hard. There are few shortcuts. But when done right, you create a lasting asset that you can use again and again.
How to develop thought leadership
At a fundamental level, thought leadership materials, whatever form they take (whitepapers, ebooks, research, webinars, published articles), should communicate thought and leadership.
So what fresh ideas would you suggest that you could be the first to say, or maybe say it better than some of the people who have mentioned it before?
When it comes to leadership, your role is to move things forward – to cultivate the mindset that moves the buyer closer to the sale.
If your content doesn't do either of these things, it falls into the realm of “mindless followership” – it's bland, forgettable, and falls short of expectations by every metric.
Our editorial standards are extremely high and you will be competing not only with competitor content but also with industry and business publications.
Additionally, the content you create should be relevant to both your prospect's business and your own, so be sure to read and edit from a customer's perspective.
Enhance your thought leadership with authentic examples
But these are just the basics. To deliver truly great thought leadership, try adding these other elements:
- Incorporate real-world examples that people can relate to. If you can't provide a case study, you can still use anecdotes, hard facts, statistics, and examples of what happens when you put an idea into action. Avoid abstract theory, as it won't help your buyers.
- Be human, use humor, and pay attention to your tone of voice. Too many B2B companies fall into the trap of thinking they have to produce something academic and unbiased, and as a result, they often produce boring, bland content that disappears as soon as it's published.
- When thinking about your perspective, think of it as if you are creating a manifesto. Fight old and outdated ideas and take a stand.
- Consider investing in your own research. This provides full value and leverage for your initial investment as it can be used, reused and repurposed across a variety of projects and mediums, resulting in the creation of the most effective content ever.
- stand out. Data from our B2B Effectiveness Engine shows that companies with a differentiated position in demand generation are 19% more likely to say that thought leadership content is very effective in achieving their goals, meaning thinking about how you can stand out from the competition is time well spent.
- Know your ideal customer. When it comes to building your brand, people who research their ideal customer profile are 24% more likely to say thought leadership content is highly effective in helping them achieve their goals, so you need to be clear about who you’re speaking to and what they care about.
Interestingly, when comparing B2B sectors, the professional services sector is often seen as a natural “home” for thought leadership content, yet reports its effectiveness at building brand and reputation significantly less than technology and manufacturing marketers. With increased competition, they may need to step up their game.
AI will greatly benefit true thought leaders
The proliferation and easy accessibility of low-quality AI-generated content presents a powerful opportunity for brands around thought leadership. Audiences will steer clear of the plethora of what I call “Frankencontent” that crowds out many of the search results. As a result, audiences will go directly to the source of fresh ideas and innovative thinking, which will be a combination of established publishers, reputable sites, and big brands.
I expect to see more brands focus on videos with name spokespeople, which are harder to fake and copy — they'll seem more human, less polished, and more authentic.
Written content will see more use of research, but coupled with strong opinions about what that research actually means, and we will see more brands developing content that bridges the gap between big ideas and actionable frameworks to put thinking to work in the real world.
Final thoughts
Creating effective thought leadership content is worth the investment. It helps your brand stand out from the crowd, attracts like-minded customers, makes it easier to convert and more profitable in the long run, and it also deters companies that aren't a good fit for your business in the first place.
Yes, it's a challenge to follow, but the potential rewards make it worth it.
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