This Week in Marketing: Thought Leadership for the Full Funnel

By Tequia Burt , Editor in Chief of LinkedIn Collective & LinkedIn Ads Blog

What is thought leadership content for?

We might say that it’s for establishing a brand as a trusted advisor. Or that it’s about building credibility and visibility for a brand. Or even providing value to potential customers. But what’s the ultimate goal of thought leadership?

I’ll give you a hint: It’s the same goal as all content marketing. All marketing, in fact: to move an audience towards a purchase decision.

We don’t often think of thought leadership in a full-funnel context. When it’s written and deployed strategically, however, great thought leadership should lead to revenue.

In this week’s roundup, we have new research on the power of thought leadership, plus tips to optimize and enhance your content across the entire buyer’s journey.

Read on for the latest from the LinkedIn Collective and the web at large.?

What to Read

Guarding the Gates: How Thought Leadership Keeps Your Competitors at Bay (LinkedIn Collective): New research shows that 70% of C-suite leaders have read thought leadership content that makes them rethink working with an existing supplier. That’s great when you’re the competitor… but not great if it’s your company on the chopping block. Joseph Kingsbury explores how to make sure you’re on the right side of the equation.

Mastering Social Media ROI: Steps to Empower Your Team (Convince&Convert): Social media for business isn’t a leisure activity; it’s a powerful and strategic marketing force. Stephanie Ramirez shares how to make your social media more strategic, and how to better sell the value of your strategy to the rest of the organization.

How to Optimize Your Content Strategy across the Customer Journey (Martech.org ): This in-depth post from Stephanie Trovato has plenty of quick tips for experienced and novice content marketers alike. Each funnel stage gets its own best practices, base-level and next-level advice.

How to Use Testing to Create a Competitive Advantage (CMI): A/B testing is a fundamental aspect of successful marketing, but not all A/B tests are created equal. This advice from Karen Hopper can help you scale up your testing, and it comes complete with real-world examples to inspire your next round.

Who Are B2B Creators and Why Do They Matter? (Marketing Insider Group) As B2B influencer marketing grows in popularity, a new type of influencer is emerging: The B2B Content Creator. Lauren Basiura explores this new phenomenon, what makes B2B creators unique, and why you might want to work with one.

What to Watch

The Trust Gap (Content Marketing World)

In this freshly-uploaded clip from Content Marketing World, Marcus Sheridan digs into the fundamental role of marketing: Eliminating doubt.

What to Know

Thought leadership content is for more than generating awareness. According to the latest Edelman-LinkedIn B2B Thought Leadership Impact Report , 90% of decision makers say they are more receptive to sales or marketing outreach from a company that produces high-quality thought leadership.

Make sure to follow the LinkedIn Collective for more insights.