Why thought leadership should form part of your marketing strategy and how to do it
Joel Kurtzman, editor-in-chief of the magazine Strategy & Business, is credited with coining the term ‘thought leader’, which he defined as:
“A thought leader is recognized by peers, customers and industry experts as someone who deeply understands the business they are in, the needs of their customers and the broader marketplace in which they operate. They have distinctively original ideas, unique points of view and new insights.”
So, why should we make thought leadership part of our marketing strategy, and why is it good for business?
In our last Insights piece, we talked about the importance of social proof in buying decisions. We explained that social proof provides comfort and reassurance to buyers, and thought leadership works to deliver exactly the same emotional responses. It achieves this by creating positive attributes for your brand:
These attributes are clearly attractive to buyers, as they provide that all important comfort and reassurance. Consequently, thought leadership has been shown to translate into:
This ‘value’ is explored in the article “7 Surprising Stats About the Underappreciated Power of Thought Leadership“, which focuses on the results of a LinkedIn and Edelman survey which reviews how thought leadership is regarded both by ‘sellers’ and ‘buyers’. It reveals some fascinating statistics including, for example:
“Thought leadership can lead directly to sales. Almost 60% of business decision makers said that thought leadership directly led to their awarding of business to an organization. Just 26% of sellers believe that thought leadership can lead directly to closed-won deals.”
So, if you are now convinced that thought leadership should form part of your marketing strategy, then where do you start? The general recommendation is that the first step should be to define your objectives, which may be:
If we go back to Joel Kurtzman’s definition, he talks of a thought leader demonstrating a deep understanding of the business, customer needs and the broader marketplace. I’d suggest that these are excellent guiding principles to bear in mind when selecting a topic.
To help with the process, it is also worth brainstorming the following questions:
Finally, it is also worth considering whether you want to focus on a mainstream issue or something more niche, that could provide you with an opportunity to differentiate yourself from the competition.
At a basic level, the thought leadership piece should be well-written and follow a logical flow. If you don’t have good copywriting skills, then engage someone who can translate your ideas into a compelling written piece.
Clearly, any work created under the heading ‘thought leadership’ also needs to hits the mark in terms of offering deep, thought-provoking insight that delivers real value to its intended audience. It’s important that you work to educate and engage that audience, that you make them think and create those positive associations with you and your brand.
First and foremost, it’s key that you gain visibility for your thought leadership on those channels and platforms that resonate most with your target audience. Although these pieces lend themselves very well as press/ advertorial-type material, there are a wide range of other marketing possibilities:
Finally, as with any marketing activity, think about which metrics you’ll use to assess the success of your thought leadership. These may include:
If you’d like to learn more about how thought leadership may help your business, then please contact me for an informal chat on 07941 916985 or email [email protected]
Alternatively, you may want to review our other Insights pieces or take a look at how we help start-ups, scale-ups and SMEs achieve their potential.
Freelance Business Development and Marketing Consultant
