Thought leadership: The C-suite cheat sheet

Do executives care about #thoughtleadership when they see it in the press?

Survey says… YES!

Bospar teamed up with UK-based research firm Reputation Leaders Ltd on a survey of organizational leaders to understand what executives value when it comes to thought leadership and why they value it.

"For those unfamiliar with the concept, thought leadership revolves around acquiring knowledge and gaining expertise within a particular industry or field," reported Arooj Ahmed in Digital Information World . "It serves as a catalyst for growth and innovation, allowing individuals and organizations to position themselves as industry pioneers and trusted authorities. With its transformative potential, thought leadership has emerged as an indispensable tool for businesses striving to stay ahead of the competition and achieve remarkable success."

The PR justifications for creating and placing thought leadership are to raise the client’s visibility and, more importantly,?influence others’ thinking. There’s always a narrative occurring, and one of the best ways to differentiate an organization is to take the lead or at least participate in these discussions.

Thought leadership by the numbers

97% of the 105 U.S. organizational leaders we surveyed believe thought leadership returns a moderate (5% - 10%) to high (16% or more) ROI, higher than the 12.4% average annual return from the U.S. stock market over the last decade. Members of the C-suite are the most likely to say the ROI is high; departmental heads are most likely to say it’s moderate. A few more stats to consider:

• Nine out of 10 leaders consume thought leadership every week
• Innovations or new ideas are the top reason for consuming thought leadership
• Respondents prefer content from big tech companies over Big Four consulting firms more than 5:1
• The top two reasons for creating thought leadership are to be “a leading voice in our industry” and “to improve our reputation and influence.”?

The companies with the most successful thought leadership programs tend to have a thought leadership strategy integral to their #PR and #marketing strategies. Their content is aligned with business goals and orchestrated so the company can maximize impact within and across channels.?

The top reason organizational leaders value thought leadership?

It connects their organization to industry experts.

For example, a client recently told us that the Forbes Technology Council posts we ghostwrote for him resulted in queries from peers and prospects.

However, there are many reasons why thought leadership fails, including:

Failing to understand the outlet and audience

• Failing to tailor the content for the target audience
• Sounding promotional instead of adding value to the industry discussion
• Failing to ensure delivery of high-quality content
• Failing to market the thought leadership

In our survey, respondents view thought leadership fails most often when it’s biased (and therefore not credible) or there isn’t enough stakeholder buy-in to launch such an effort.

Lack of internal buy-in occurs when thought leadership is considered an expense instead of an investment. Another reason is that not everyone in the organization understands what thought leadership is, let alone its value.

The go-to places for thought leadership

Ray Schultz of MediaPost reported: "The most-viewed media outlets are ABC News ,? 彭博资讯 ,? CNBC , CNN ,? Forbes , The Economist ?and? Bloomberg Businessweek ."?

#socialmedia can expand that reach.

The most popular platforms for distributing thought leadership are Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn. Despite Elon Musk’s mismanagement of Twitter and Meta’s constant ethical challenges, respondents prioritize future investments in these channels over LinkedIn.

YouTube , Facebook, and Twitter are the most popular channels for consuming thought leadership. The most underutilized channels are email and SEO.

“Interestingly, a higher percentage of executives consume thought leadership through search or newsletters," Laurence Evans told Erika Bradbury of PRNEWS . "It also appears that some organizations waste marketing efforts pushing thought leadership out mainly through unsolicited emails or posting on company websites where a much less percentage of thought leadership is consumed.”

The content format also matters. Face-to-face discourse, short social media posts, and data visualizations are the preferred means of consuming thought leadership. However, long-form content is still very much alive because the additional content is necessary to explain a complex trend, business model, or technology, for example.

Bottom line

Thought leadership can benefit a company of any size because it elevates the organization from a firm that sounds like all the others to one that attracts readers, listeners, viewers, and investors.

How will?you?know whether your thought leadership has value? By the number of impressions, clicks, downloads, shares, comments, and inbound inquiries you receive, plus the strategic value it provides your company.

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