The Content Strategy of Thought Leadership CSForum 2013, Helsinki Stacey King Gordon, Suite Seven Inc. @staceykgordon

Suite Seven is a content strategy and brand consultancy in Oakland, California.

The Bold Italic / Design by Skinny Ships www.thebolditalic.com

What is thought leadership, exactly?

MY HIGHLY SCIENTIFIC FACEBOOK POLL:

Do you know what I mean by “thought leadership”?

Huh?

I’ve heard it, but I’m not sure what it means.

I know what it means and how to define it!

45%

11%

49%

MY HIGHLY SCIENTIFIC FACEBOOK & FRIENDS POLL:

Do you know what I mean by “thought leadership”?

MY HIGHLY SCIENTIFIC FACEBOOK & FRIENDS POLL:

Do you know what I mean by “thought leadership”?

MY HIGHLY SCIENTIFIC FACEBOOK & FRIENDS POLL:

Do you know what I mean by “thought leadership”?

My reasons for selecting the people who appear here were straightforward. In each instance, 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 issues of business strategy, growth, and human resources, as well as the new social contract that is taking shape among companies, employees, and shareholders, and the ways in which society itself is changing.

“Thought Leadership” c. 1994

Source: Content Marketing Institute and MarketingProfs

“To become a thought leader, hire a virtual assistant to blog for you twice a week”

“Thought Leadership” c. 2013

“Comment on other peoples’ blog posts.”

“Thought Leadership” c. 2013

Thought Leadership

Content Marketing

Personal Branding

Branded Content

OPQ Company is a trusted global leader in technology solutions for businesses around the world …

The !rst rule of thought leadership is that you don’t talk about

“thought leadership.”

SHOW, DON’T TELL

1.  Innovate in product development 2.  Lead the way in new business

models 3.  Share expertise, insight and analysis

SHOW, DON’T TELL

1.  Innovate in product development 2.  Lead the way in new business

models 3.  Share expertise, insight and analysis

Thought leadership essential #1

Unique, informed perspective •   Authority on industry issues •   Immersed in an industry and takes a guiding role •   Experienced professionals sharing their insights •   Focused, provocative thinking

Thought leadership essential #2

Useful and relevant to audiences •   Written and packaged for easy consumption •   Applicable and usable •   Speaks to audiences’ day-to-day reality

Content Marketing vs. Thought Leadership

Content Marketing

•   Starts in the marketing department

•   Is one of many lead-generation tactics (check the box)

•   Is sometimes packaged as “thought leadership”

ORGANIZATIONAL SUPPORT AND VISIBILITY

Thought Leadership

•   Starts at the top and works its way down

•   Becomes an integral part of the brand

•   Permeates and becomes part of the discourse

Content Marketing

•   Starts in the marketing department

•   Is one of many lead-generation tactics (check the box)

•   Is sometimes packaged as “thought leadership”

ORGANIZATIONAL SUPPORT AND VISIBILITY

Source: Harvard Business Review

Content Marketing

Investing in regular or semi-regular development of content that is: •   Repackaged

•   In!uenced by product marketing/messaging

•   Created from secondary sources

•   Business-led

•   One-dimensional

CONTENT STANDARDS

“Thoughts are a prerequisite for thought leadership.”

Neal Bruce Head of Product Management at Lumesse

Content Marketing

Investing in regular or semi-regular development of content that is: •   Repackaged

•   In!uenced by product marketing/messaging

•   Created from secondary sources

•   Business-led

•   One-dimensional

Thought Leadership

Investing in regular development of content that is: •   Original

•   Unbiased

•   Research-driven

•   Audience-led

•   Layered

CONTENT STANDARDS

Layered Content DO: •   Provide a succinct summary

with the ability to dig deeper

•   Provide layers that people can extract, digest and share

•   Get maximum mileage with complementary content

DON’T: •   Publish a link to a dense,

40-page PDF report

•   Publish the exact same content in umpteen different formats

Short summary article

Slide show

Video commentary

Thought Leadership

“Value exchange” focused on audience success (and long-term results for the organization)

Content Marketing

ROI measured through leads generated, conversions, and other sales-focused metrics

GOALS AND MEASUREMENT

Do Good to Do Well

“With true thought leadership, there’s nothing in it for me. It’s public service. It’s doing something helpful for the client.”

Early stage (reach) More inbound inquiries and short listing Middle stage (depth) Faster sales cycles, higher close rates, and bigger deal sizes Later stage (relationship) Increased customer loyalty and higher lifetime value

Source: Laura Ramos, Forrester

Bene!ts of Thought Leadership

Content strategy of thought leadership: A case study

Client: A Business Bank •   Founded to "nance startup companies •   Of"ces around the world •   First forays into “content marketing” in early

2000s •   Unique position in startup community, evolving

into serving mature companies

Challenges

•   Lack of agreement about purpose and goals of thought leadership

Challenges

•   Lack of agreement about purpose and goals of thought leadership

•   Limited resources and great demand

Challenges

•   Lack of agreement about purpose and goals of thought leadership

•   Limited resources and great demand •   Quality consistency

Challenges

•   Lack of agreement about purpose and goals of thought leadership

•   Limited resources and great demand •   Quality consistency •   Organization vs. individual

Goals of the Content Strategy

1.  Support bank’s positioning and add value to client relationship throughout lifecycle

2.  Establish a publishing model to prioritize content

3.  Set standards for content quality

Stakeholder Interviews

“A lot of our thought leadership is in our one-on-one relationships, in how we help our clients be successful. CEO conversations on how they can move forward effectively is just as much thought leadership as a published piece.”

“Thought leadership takes many forms. The medium is maybe the least interesting piece. The what and to whom will answer the question of how it’s best to deliver it.”

“Thought leadership isn’t always about us producing it, but about us enabling it. Putting all the real thought experts in a room and facilitating it happening.”

POINT OF VIEW

Putting the clients at the center of everything Tapping in to unparalleled client relationships to inform expertise, insights and practical advice to help clients succeed

CONTENT FRAMEWORK

Thought leadership across the client lifecycle •   Deep sector expertise •   Strong C-level relationships and

strategic insights •   Cultivating peer-to-peer conversations

and information sharing

CONTENT GOALS

•   Educate •   Inspire •   Provoke thought •   Foster networking and engagement

INDIVIDUAL VS. BRAND

•   Individual thought leaders should cultivate unique perspective, expertise and voice.

•   Bank maintains the higher branding, with all thought leadership content focused on delivering value to the audience.

Three Tiers of Content

Premium/Proprietary Content

Best Practices/Solution Content

Current Awareness/Expertise

Three Tiers of Content

Premium/Proprietary Content

Criteria Original research, "rst-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

Three Tiers of Content

Best Practices/Solutions Content

Criteria Value-added guidance to deepen conversations, unique POV but citing secondary sources, informative Tone Educational, technical/data-driven, smart and incisive, upbeat Frequency Several times a year, as issues or trends emerge Creators Professional writers/marketing, or subject matter experts with support of professional editors Extending the Value Promote on social, turn larger pieces into several short pieces (blog posts), create sales collateral out of content

Three Tiers of Content

Current Awareness/Expertise

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

RESULTS

•   More focus to thought leadership projects

•   Internal alignment on goals, ownership, process

•   Support for people throughout the company’s ranks to participate and contribute

•   More mileage out of efforts

Questions?

THANK YOU!

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