You might have heard of thought leadership. Or even read some on another company’s website and social media posts. But just in case you haven’t, let’s clarify what exactly thought leadership is.
Thought leadership is a strategic approach that involves sharing expert insights and knowledge from within an organisation, to build brand prestige and trust with consumers. It helps businesses demonstrate their unique selling points, generate interest, and foster loyal customers.
It’s becoming an important part in the strategy of the marketing mix. An excellent way of creating a platform to present the expert skills and professional skills of a firm, whilst drawing in followers who hopefully keep coming back to follow the posts.
In marketing terms it’s more of a marathon than a sprint. It involves starting with high quality content and maintaining this quality over a protracted period of time. The emphasis also tends to focus on an individual or individuals in a firm, who have specialist skills and experience that they can share. Of course, while focused on a person it still sits within the frame of the firm and their wider brand positioning.
Firms can use thought leadership to show solutions to issues via the perspective of their clients. There are a number of benefits which can be gained which centre on creating brand awareness, generating brand awareness and giving the firm a USP (unique selling point). In the longer-term fosters customer loyalty and generally drives more traffic to a firm’s website.
Making a start in thought leadership
Creating an effective thought leadership strategy means firms need to ensure they put the right person forward by carrying out a background analysis. Selecting the right thought leader(s) is crucial.
The next step is to tailor the content to address issues that are relevant and current to clients. These can be the regular ‘pain points’ they face in their day-to day issues or a more specific view on issues which affect them in their relevant sector.
This means identified thought leaders need to immerse themselves and maintain a constant awareness of sector trends. Content needs to be engaging with the ever evolving needs of clients and their customers.
Getting where the content is placed is another key factor Use of the right channels in regard to distribution so that consumers encounter it at the right time and place is also important
Thought leadership allows a firm to demonstrate its professionalism and expertise and position itself accordingly. Underpinning this is the need for a return on investment (ROI) in carrying out the strategy.
Getting the strategy right
Thought leadership should never be a straight sales pitch, endorsing products or services, it must be subtle. It is more concentrating and pushing the message that your firm is the one that understands a client’s position in their specific sector and that you invest time and thought in knowing how you can relieve some of their pain points effectively.
A thought leadership strategy should reflect a firm’s key objectives.
In doing a thorough background analysis it is important to look at a number of aspects. It is a good idea to create a profile of an ideal client, so that thought leadership can be targeted at this specific type of client.
Look at identifying who will benefit from the thought leadership. Assess what challenges clients face and focus the content accordingly. Drilling down into this can also mean looking at what keywords and search terms those looking for guidance might use. While thought leadership content might be more in-depth, it also needs to be presented with some ‘curb appeal’ to draw in attention. Research suggests that browser take seven seconds or less to form an impression of content when browsing.
Dealing with Distribution
The channel where a potential client first experiences a firm is where they form their first impression. More often than not this will be on social media. Hence it is paramount to mesh thought leadership content with appropriate supporting posts and messages.
Choosing the right channel where a firm’s audience will be found is also critical to success. This partner’s with the need to a make the content fit the audience you aim it to be consumed by and act accordingly in style and form of address. This will need to vary according to the specific intended audience. This is where the in-depth research of the targeted consumer really pays off.
Overall a well-orchestrated thought leadership campaign can build brand awareness and client loyalty through an engaging and ongoing dialogue, adding a valuable tool to the marketing toolbox.
