9 Signs You Need Help With Thought Leadership

Thought leadership is like climbing a mountain. You need the right resources, tools, and people to help you get to the summit.

So you've developed a thought leadership strategy and started to think in a thought leader's voice. You've created self-promotional content across multiple platforms. You've allocated some of your marketing budgets to this technique.

Still, you're not quite there yet.

Read through the list below and identify why your TL campaigns aren't achieving the results you'd hoped. Working with an expert in driving thought leadership can help you overcome these hurdles and deliver the support you need.

1. You're Not Allocating Enough of Your Budget to TL

Like any other marketing method, successful thought leadership requires an outlay to get it off the ground. Companies must continuously plough resources into their thought leadership strategy to establish an audience and generate a return on investment. Achieving your thought leadership goals will take time and over a few months. You need to stick with this method to experience long-term results.

2. You're Neglecting Other Marketing Methods

Investing in a thought leadership marketing plan doesn't mean allocating all your budget to this method. Savvy companies know that TL is the best way to build credibility and authority, but other marketing techniques can prove lucrative for lead generation, sales, and revenue.

Combining TL with SEO, social media marketing, email marketing automation, paid ads, and offline techniques will increase brand awareness and drive interest in your products and services. TL is just one piece of the marketing pie—albeit the most satisfying one!

3. You're Not Being Provocative or Courageous Enough

Look at all the companies that do thought leadership perfectly. These companies post thought leadership videos and content that provokes audiences by introducing new concepts and perspectives you can't find anywhere else on the internet.

Take IBM, for example. It has a series of blogs for different IT-related topics, including the Internet of Things (IoT). The company's posts inspire readers to take action and think about complicated ideas differently.

The same goes for McKinsey with its content about consulting-related topics. Its content marketing strategy includes fresh takes on time-worn ideas and establishes credibility through opinion pieces and thought leadership surveys.

4. You Haven't Delivered an 'Aha' Moment Yet

You might talk about your products and services on blogs, videos, or a thought leadership podcast over many months without making much impact. That's fine. Sometimes all it takes is for a blog post or podcast episode to go viral and spread across the internet, establishing your company as your niche's go-to resource.

Viral posts often deliver an 'aha' moment—a sudden insight or discovery that makes someone think about something differently. Continue with your investment in TL, hire great writers, promote content in the right places, and you'll deliver an 'aha' moment soon.

5. You Haven't Published Any Independent Research

Thought leadership surveys, research, and white papers can increase credibility and authority in your industry. These content types bring something new to the table and get people talking about a topic. Independent research will require an expense, but it could prove lucrative for your B2B thought leadership marketing strategy.

6. Your Leader Isn't Using Their Thought Leader's Voice

A thought leader's voice might not resonate with your desired demographic if it's mute on social media. Good leaders publish TL content on their profiles, engage with followers, and interact with other industry influencers.

Driving thought leadership, from healthcare to fintech thought leadership, is all about increasing awareness across various channels and engaging with people. With the right help, your team can soon improve engagement and drive more people to your content.

7. You're Fairly New to TL

Face it: widespread TL has only recently taken off. Sure, companies like Deloitte and PwC have been doing it for a while, but figuring out what works and which content types resonate the most with your audiences takes time. If your team has yet to implement a thought leadership strategy before, doesn't know how to leverage a thought leader's voice, or needs help understanding content marketing vs thought leadership, you might need help from an expert thought leadership agency.

8. You're Not Using Analytics

Analytical tools help you measure TL campaigns from start to finish. You can learn which content types provide the greatest ROI and how audiences interact and engage with content. The best analytical tools let you identify real-time patterns and trends in your thought leadership strategy, allowing you to make smarter decisions that benefit your entire team. Investing in this technology is one of the most crucial thought leadership pillars.

9. You're Out of Content Ideas

As previously mentioned, driving thought leadership is an ongoing commitment that requires patience. Don't give up! If you're out of content ideas, get creative. Consistently posting videos, blog posts, webinars, and podcasts will eventually get you noticed and turn your company into a trusted resource.

Figuring out what people want to read, watch, or listen to in your niche is a good start for successful thought leadership. For example, a marketing company wanting to improve credibility might post about complex topics such as data-driven marketing, big data technology, research-based marketing, CMO insights, the B2B marketing landscape, and thinking in a thought leader's voice.

Final Word

If you need help with the thought leadership framework, it might be time to look outside your company and ask for help from an experienced specialist at a marketing-first agency. A TL expert in thought leadership B2B marketing can support you when creating thought leadership marketing strategies and allow you to build credibility, trust, reliability, and courage. By thinking in a successful thought leader's voice, you can make your TL campaigns more effective and generate a greater return on your marketing spend.

Takeaways for Your Thought Leadership Strategy

●?????Companies often struggle with TL. They can overcome this problem by allocating more of their budgets to campaigns, being more courageous, delivering an 'aha' moment, engaging with followers on social media, using analytical tools, and utilizing other methods.

●?????Driving thought leadership could be a complicated process, which is why a specialist can help you achieve your thought leadership goals and increase opportunities. Outside help will enable you to create a long-term strategy based on your budget and requirements.?