Digest...

Thought leaders speak

Pro bono speaking opportunities can boost thought leadership and top-of-mind awareness. My own approach is to accept this type of engagement if it puts me in front of an audience that allows for an interesting exchange of views. One important note: no holding back when speaking pro bono; you still have an obligation to deliver meaningful content.

Thought leaders write

Once written, your articles need to see the light of day. Where to start? Some ideas about external publications:

>> Membership organizations to which you belong that publish newsletters and journals

>> Trade publications that cover your industry

>> An op-ed in your hometown newspaper

>> A column in the local business weekly

Thought leaders publish research

Don't think you need a PhD to pursue research. Dense, footnote-laden, academic language is not required. Settle on a topic in which you hold expertise and dig in with one or more of these four techniques:

>> Interview luminaries in the field.

>> Conduct surveys.

>> Tell stories about your experiences.

>> Use new media channels to gather opinions.

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"A new report from Forrester Research gives advice on how to develop thought leadership to help your brand..."

Key excerpt...

Content marketing clearly is important to marketers. Forrester said that tech-oriented marketers list content marketing as among the top four tactics for lead origination, nurturing or sales enablement, but it was not among the key tactics for building brand awareness.

“Most content marketing programs don’t produce a distinct, provocative point of view,” the report said, noting that “a forward-looking idea that takes on a separate life from the firm” is unlike brand messaging, and it provides insights on issues faced by customers. In fact, the report says, thought leadership is at the top of content marketing in terms of potential impact, above solutions, case studies, how-to, evaluation tools, product/service content, or brand ads and messaging.

Developing good thought leadership is a whole discipline in itself, according to Forrester. Chief Marketing Officers have to set a company-wide direction and tone for delivering “valuable information based on customer concerns, with the expectation of immediate commercial returns.” There needs to be executive commitment and enthusiasm to “provocative forward-leaning points of view.”

Key excerpt...

I see 4 key trends converging on B2Bmarketers that drive interest in, and failure with, content marketing:

1. Increased buyer sophistication. Gone are the days when sales can show up at the client's door, share a brochure, run through a demo, and start contract negotiations. In this new "age of the customer" buyers go online to research and problem solve, and rely on peer networks (traditional and social) to help them out. They have become adept at avoiding marketing messages and more discerning about what they read, watch, and visit.
2. Underperforming marketing mix. Marketing execs struggle to make sense of a stunning array of digital marketing tactics, few of which seem to stand out from the crowd. But don't blame the tactics -- most email, social, mobile, etc. campaigns suffer from irrelevant, uninteresting content used to lure buyers to open, click, or engage.
3. Rise of marketing automation. Sales demands more pipeline help and the CFO wants proof marketing programs work. Automation gives marketers a start at solving both problems, but not all the answers.
4. Media fragmentation. Cheap, easy publishing technology pushes many traditional business publications into obscurity as these tools let everyone become an overnight journalist.  Including many marketing departments. Too bad that journalistic acumen and audience understanding doesn't come along with the software.

There is an awful lot of tired old white papers and trumped up case studies masquerading as thought leadership. It's time for CMOs to "get real" about content marketing priorities and whether thought leadership should be one of them. Getting real means understanding that very few ideas or points of view you put out will get picked up by the market and your buyer communities to take on a life of its own.  It means deciding if your content publications efforts exist to generate demand, build or change your brand, get your voice heard above the din, or create a provocative, unexpected perspective that runs contrary to common practice.  The last is the hardest to do.