Thought Leadership Impact
Strategy Review
Increased competition makes this a perfect time to re-evaluate your thought leadership strategy.
If your thought leadership is on auto-pilot, it’s time to take a closer look
In today’s digital-first B2B environment, thought-leadership content is more important than ever, but also harder to do well.
Design your content plan to achieve specific strategic business objectives like changing brand perceptions, earning trust, filling in media blind spots, and recruiting talent. To break through the noise, be approachable and fun as well as informative and educational.
Doing so can help you win the precious attention of decision-makers in key buyer moments – especially the critical early innings where vetting and consideration occur.
We’ve designed a checklist of questions to help you assess your current approach to Thought Leadership.
B2B Thought Leadership Checklist
Beyond generating awareness, what business objectives will your thought leadership achieve?
Aim to get internal alignment on what company leadership will consider success, and how it will be measured. The more specific the KPIs the better.
Who exactly is the target audience?
Avoid the trap of trying to be everything to everyone. Instead, consider narrowing the audience by vertical, job function, title, or even a specific set of companies. Focusing at the outset will help you tailor both strategy and tactical planning.
Are you focused on timely issues affecting your customers right now?
Look for topics at the intersection of industry trends, customer pain points and your company’s growth priorities. Frontline sales and relationship managers can often provide in-the- trenches insights on what’s keeping customers up at night.
Will your content teach customers something they don’t already know?
Invest in journalistic ideas and content that will help customers understand how to solve problems. Don’t just identify trends — share specific insights and a perspective that only you can provide.
Is the content overly salesy?
Commercial intent is natural but resist the urge to lean too heavily on describing capabilities. Shedding light on customer challenges will create greater receptivity to sales messages and ideally spark the right kinds of questions.
Who else can enhance the story you want to tell?
Look for opportunities to align with trusted voices outside of your company. Industry influencers, academia, analysts and other third parties can help validate your POV and drive engagement.
Who will be the face of the thought leadership
Harness the power of your people, such as executives and subject matter experts, to convey your ideas in a more personal and authentic style.
How will you stand out from the crowd?
Even the best ideas can be undermined by dull presentation. Look for creative and unexpected ways of delivering your story to distinguish you from competitors.
Do you have the necessary measurement tools?
Ensure you have the tech and data sources in place to understand performance beyond clicks such as how thought leadership content is contributing to new business opportunities.
Learn more about how we arrived at these finding below:
