The Content Strategy of Thought Leadership

IABC World Conference 2015 Stacey King Gordon @staceykgordon

I was looking for an individual who was addressing the big questions with which today’s most senior executives are wrestling. These questions relate to business strategy … and the ways in which society itself is changing.

“Thought Leadership” c. 1994

20% Of marketers say they believe the content their companies distribute establish them as thought leaders in their industries.

46% Of marketers say their content is OK but has room for improvement — and doesn’t position them as thought leaders

13% Of marketers believe their content reads like sales collateral

Companies are trying to grow into thought leaders through content.

IMN  Content  Marke-ng  Survey,  2014    

Why thought leadership matters

Long-term benefits of thought leadership

More inbound inquiries More short listing

Faster sales cycles Higher close rates Bigger deal sizes

Increased customer loyalty Higher lifetime value

Early stage Middle stage Later stage

Source: Laura Ramos, Forrester

Brand value and thought leadership

#1: Apple #2: Google

#3: Coca-Cola #4: IBM

Integral to the culture and brand

Thought leadership is: Thought leadership isn’t:

Something that originates in the marketing or PR department

Based on a unique, informed perspective

Based on repackaging others’ ideas

A long-term commitment An occasional tactic or focused on short-term gains

Accessible to the customer and community

Esoteric, difficult to use, hard to find or access

Content strategy is essential to achieve thought leadership

Efforts are fragmented. Different departments are doing different things.

Leaders and experts aren’t involved. Executives and subject matter experts don’t have time to participate or interest in participating.

No sense of what’s most important or impactful. Teams have difficulty prioritizing projects.

What we hear from marketers

FOCUS

SUSTAINABILITY

STANDARDS

Focus

What you uniquely know

What your audience

cares about

Where You

Credibly Play

Getting to the brand POV

•   Brand positioning

•   Existing content

•   Company strategy

•   Leaders’ vision for the future

•   Competitive landscape

Awareness Research Consideration Purchase Relationship

WHAT THE CUSTOMER IS DOING Deciding to buy; beginning to plan

Researching online; educating himself about the basics

Comparing products in store to what he saw online; narrowing down choices; consulting others

Making his final decision and deciding on a purchase

Implementation, thinking about growing the solution

CUSTOMER MINDSET Excited, anxious/nervous, overwhelmed with options, discouraged about cost

Interested, engaged, tentative

Hopeful, careful

Satisfied, relieved, happy, proud

Excited and relieved, then overwhelmed

CONTENT GOALS Help consumer overcome sense of being overwhelmed or discouraged; give him a logical starting point to understand options and decisions.

Help consumer explore options, understand tradeoffs and factors, embrace variety and choice

Answer more advanced questions and help consumer make his final decision

Help consumer make his final decision and feel good about it

Bring consumer back for “what’s next” and continue to serve him through the next stage

CONTENT THEMES, TOPICS, TYPES 101-level basics, answers to basic questions, checklists, primer videos, easy infographics and “maps”

Basic overviews, comparison charts, decision guides, answers to basic concerns that arise during early research

Answers to more advanced concerns that come up during research, tips for weighing choices

Emotion-driven content (testimonials, proposal stories), confidence-building content (post-purchase issues)

Guidance on processes, issues, getting most mileage out of product

Figuring out your audience needs

Standards

Relevance

Structure

Credibility

Accuracy & Timeliness

Clarity, Readability & Focus

Findability & Organization

Tone & Style

Overall Experience & Effectiveness

The quality umbrella

•   Define what quality means to your brand

•   Use guidelines as your efforts expand and more people get involved

•   Use a benchmark for evaluating and measuring success

Checklists

Style Guides

Sustainability

Lean teams

Limited time

Little to no budget

Sustaining thought leadership success

Ownership & Communication

Publishing Strategy & Prioritization

Processes & Planning

Organization & Lifecycle

Sample: Three Tiers of Content

Premium/Proprietary Content

Best Practices/Solution Content

Current Awareness/Expertise

Sample: content priorities/production guidelines

Tier 1: Premium/ Proprietary Content

Criteria: Original research, first-time publication, data-driven but with a narrative, fostering external credibility Tone: Educational, more formal, smart and incisive, upbeat Frequency: Quarterly/semi-annual Creators: Professional writers/marketing, or subject matter experts with support of professional editors Extending the Value: Complementary content to support sharing at every level: social content, video, PPT decks, infographics, blog posts

Tier 2: Current Events / Awareness Content

Criteria: Smaller bites of thought-provoking content, highlighting individual expertise, conveys unique POV, timely Tone: Smart, conversational, upbeat, succinct, humorous (when appropriate) Frequency: Regularly (a few times a week) Creators: Subject matter experts, salespeople, marketing Extending the Value: Sharing on social channels, curating and packaging “best of” content into more premium publications

Measuring success

Start small and stay focused

•   Benchmark where you are today on: engagement, relevancy, and quality.

•   Start with 5-7 KPIs related to goals. •   Software and processes in place to measure regularly. •   Focus on long-term, brand-level results.

Thought leadership communication is a commitment. Content strategy can help.

You have to prepare for it to be hard. It takes awhile to settle into the groove. There’s a lot of trial and error involved. If you stick with it, you’ll start to see results.

Thanks!

Stacey King Gordon Twitter: @staceykgordon