I’m Not Content with Content

I use the word “content” easily a dozen times on an average day, but I don’t like it. It conveys an underlying belief that websites, databases, and electronic files are containers just waiting for something to come along and fill them, like stuffing in a pillow or mud in a hole.

Thought Leadership’s Superpower

While thought leadership works for many reasons, one simple reason is the most fundamental. Thought leadership works because people trust people.

Thought Leadership and Employee Engagement

When creating distribution plans for thought leadership content, make sure to include your own employees in the process. All too often, companies leave it to their employees to find published thought leadership on marketing channels. Some attempt to share with employees on an internal communications platform such as an intranet or Slack. These efforts seemingly treat employee engagement as an afterthought.

Thought Leadership Challenges Your Whole Strategy

Thought leadership strategy forces you to ask what you can say about yourself that is true, and what you do in the world to make it true. These questions span an entire organization. Answering them and then doing something about them unmistakably requires the input of people empowered to make executive decisions and lead towards change. Including top company leaders in thought leadership strategy discussions takes the best advantage of this transformative opportunity.

Being Part of the Conversation

Some topics become so central to the conversation in a particular industry that it makes sense to have a point of view even if it does not track directly back to specific products or services. Within financial services, those topics include topics such as digital assets; AI and automation; diversity, equity, and inclusion; COVID-19; and ESG. Failing to have a point of view on these can make you seem out of touch.

Recovering from Information Bankruptcy

High-quality thought leadership from businesses can help play a role in recovering from what has been called “information bankruptcy.” Traits such as trustworthiness, truthfulness, lack of bias, and reliability can help us get back to spending our audiences’ attention wisely rather than destroying trust with superficial tactics. Imagine an entire mindset of marketing and communication focused on creating a virtuous cycle between trust. Imagine that it becomes the expected norm for how institutions communicate with stakeholders.

“Declaring Information Bankruptcy”

The latest Edelman Trust Barometer makes strong claims about the erosion of trust in each category of societal institution (business, government, NGOs, and media). Their conclusion for 2021: “declaring information bankruptcy.” But recovery is possible.

Avoiding Common Thought Leadership Mistakes

While most of my client conversations focus on positive steps to establish and maintain thought leadership positioning, I also occasionally hear questions or have discussions about what not to do.
Here are some of the most common mistakes and how to avoid them. Always remember, the goal of thought leadership is to stand out and shine rather than blending into mediocrity and chatter.

Finding and Lifting Rising Stars

Mid- to large-size organizations often struggle to cultivate a pipeline of next-generation thought leaders. They seek ways to promote high-potential people, but when it comes to thought leadership, however, they typically don’t engage in a similar process of succession planning. To avoid losing thought leadership traction, companies can follow a simple three-step approach.

Using Thought Leadership to Sustain the Conversation

High-quality thought leadership allows companies to stand out from competitors with differentiated insights that communicate unique value. While its primary purpose is differentiation and adding value, thought leadership also provides an enormous benefit for sales pipelines and client relationship management. The reason why? Thought leadership sustains conversations. A few scenarios help illustrate this point.

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