The Three New Rules of Thought Leadership

In 2021, 83% of B2B marketers attributed the value provided by their content to their content marketing success. Thought leadership is among the most value-adding content in any content marketing initiative. But what business leaders consider valuable content today may no longer be seen that way in the future.

Today, "people in this information age demand real insights and data, which leaves an opening for people with deep knowledge," according to Serenity Gibbons in The Economist . As audiences' expectations change, so must thought leadership content. Marketers must also avoid common pitfalls when creating or facilitating thought leadership. This article explores three new "rules" of thought leadership: purpose, personalisation, and performance. Each is important; marketers must consider them all for any future thought leadership marketing plan.

The Evolution of Thought Leadership Strategy

Thought leadership is a critical part of modern professional experiences. But what exactly is thought leadership? The answer to that question has changed over time and will continue to change as audiences' expectations evolve.

In the past, thought leaders were those who had valuable information, insights, and experiences to share. Thought leaders were considered experts in their field, and their advice was sought after by businesses and individuals—independently, in public forums, in the news, and other areas.

As it was then, thought leaders needn't be data scientists or statisticians. Indeed, a thought leader can be a brand, the marketing team, or a chief marketing officer. Whomever this thought leader is, they need to provide more than just their opinions on a subject. They need to back up their claims with evidence and offer some predictive guidance to the audiences who seek them out.

But over time, marketers adopted the "thought leadership" concept to increase their campaign authority and build thought leader personas for their businesses. The broadening definition of thought leadership led to the creation of additional content that didn't meet the definition of thought leadership.

In terms of content marketing vs thought leadership, some key differences exist. "Since the advent of content marketing, thought leadership has been co-opted to refer to all kinds of content produced by a company," notes Scott Baradell in Forbes . "So, how do we get back to thought leadership that leads?"

Three Principles for Thought Leader Success

As thought leadership evolves, so make the rules for what makes thought-provoking content. Even so, the integrity of thought leadership must remain intact. Here are three new laws that all marketers should keep in mind when creating or facilitating value-adding content as part of their thought leadership marketing strategy.

Purpose

Truly valuable thought leadership must have a purpose in and of itself. Its purpose can't simply be to drive leads or sales, even if its context does. It should be valuable and help audiences solve real problems without requiring anything.

Success in these efforts shapes the audience's perception of the content or thought leaders themselves without overtly encouraging some transaction. Any marketing, sales, or advertising campaign to which that thought leadership effort contributes must be involved as a sponsor of that value, not the other way around. Ironically, this thought leadership strategy drives interest, leads, and sales when used successfully, without marketing content or traditional advertising.

Personalisation

Thought leadership content should be created with a specific audience in mind and designed to help them solve a problem that's unique to them. It should be exciting and thought-provoking without being salesy, promotional, or co-opted for commercial purposes.

Marketers often use existing buyer personas to define their target audience for thought leadership content, which makes sense. But personalising thought leadership is more than just using the right keywords; it's about understanding what one's audience cares about and creating valuable content for them based on those concerns. For example, industry conferences feature guest speakers who share their insights on various topics related to the conference's theme. These thought leaders have been carefully selected because they have something valuable to say that will help the conference's attendees learn and grow.

In the same light, thought leadership content should be easily accessible and digestible for your target audience. For example, many live annual speaking events with national or international audiences became digital events due to restrictions and health risks associated with the COVID-19 pandemic. Similarly, content directed toward busy executives might be better as a podcast than a written report.

Performance

Thought leadership should drive its results outside of any sales or marketing campaign. This rule can be brutal for marketers to follow, as they are often tasked with proving the ROI of their efforts. However, thought leaders who can produce content that performs well on their own are more likely to be seen as credible and authoritative by their audiences.

What does "performance" mean in terms of standalone thought leadership? Performance is more challenging to measure than clicks or conversions, after all. In this context, thought leadership performance relates to the audience experience. The audience experience can be ascertained based on audience behaviours, such as:

● How many attend, access or download thought leadership content

● How long do they spend reading or watching thought leadership content

● The rate and frequency at which they share thought leadership content

● The reviews or feedback they provide about their experiences

Marketers are still responsible for delivering on traditional metrics such as leads, downloads, clickthrough rates, and conversions. These results also measure their thought leadership marketing strategies. Even so, shaping successful thought leadership initiatives in the future depends on these unique experiential elements.

Something else worth noting: True thought leadership is achieved without sales or marketing. Thought leadership is leadership for the sake of being a leader. However, that's not to say that a sales team can't use thought leadership content. If packaged appropriately, a sales team can use content to prove expertise, highlight a unique marketing position, and sell more goods or services. It's essential that the content itself does not directly focus on marketing, but there should be nothing that stops this content from serving a marketing benefit to others within the team.

This idea can be somewhat controversial within the thought leadership community, but here's the truth: Thought leadership and sales are intertwined, and they can often be directly related. Both may have different key performance indicators (KPIs), but they are still interrelated. As sales improve, so will the business's ability in question to have its voice amplified. The reverse is also true: Sales will almost certainly improve if more people hear this voice.

Capture the Voice

This type of leadership can be a powerful tool for building trust and credibility with your target audience when done correctly. By following the three new rules in your thought leadership B2B marketing strategy, you can create valuable content that helps your audience solve real problems and raise your brand's profile.