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Thought leadership is powered by three key principles
| Guest post by: Craig Badings |
Article Overview: Thought leadership rests on three key principles: It is a PR rather than an advertising led exercise; It is about sharing information and content, and: It should produce a sound business outcome.
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Free Download - Your content will die if you don’t shift your paradigm By Craig Badings |
Thought leadership is powered by three key principles
When you boil any thought leadership idea or campaign down it ultimately rests
on three key principles.
1. It is a
public relations rather than an advertising exercise
In order to
truly take hold, thought leadership needs to be driven first and foremost by
PR. Advertising and other marketing interventions can and, where possible,
should support thought leadership, but the very nature of advertising’s bought
space negates this medium as a driver of thought leadership. Only PR can truly
create buy-in and sustain a thought leadership position for a brand.
Why do I
say this? Because thought leadership is about sharing information, it is about
engaging with an audience through delivering content via channels such as
print, radio, television, websites, research, white papers, discussion forums,
speaking opportunities, stakeholder engagement strategies, books and events.
It is about
conversations with rather than sending messages one way to your
audience.
I have seen
thought leadership campaigns combine these elements in such a way that it has
been able to influence and change behaviour of the target audience – surely the
ultimate goal of any thought leadership campaign.
On its own, advertising cannot do this, but it can work very
effectively in conjunction with a broader communications campaign if used
strategically, at the right time and using the relevant channels.
2.
It is about sharing information or content
While
thought leadership is about sharing information, this is anathema to some
brands. Many corporations are, by nature, secretive and hold their intellectual
property or product/brand information close to their chests. How often have you
heard a client or you own company say: ‘We cannot tell them that. We cannot
give that information away to our competitors.’
No one’s
asking you to give away your ‘Coca-Cola formula’, but very often the
information that companies are so precious about hanging onto can be found out
there anyway.
Corporations
with this attitude are rarely thought leaders. Thought leaders are refreshingly
candid and they understand the bigger picture and where they and their brands
fit into their consumers’ lives.
They
understand their consumers and want to add value or insights to their
customers’ lives beyond merely selling them a product or service. They often
believe passionately in what they do or the space which they occupy, and they
feel a moral or social responsibility to deliver something of value to the
community in which they sell.
They
understand that today merely selling a product is no longer good enough. For
their brands to survive in the medium- to long-term they need to deliver value
beyond their product benefits.
Brands with
this sort of abundance mentality are prepared to engage with their stakeholders
and share information and insights, and literally expect nothing in return in
the immediate future. Their return on investment is in building trust and
loyalty, and through this, positioning their brand as the leading choice.
Consumers
are changing and so are the ways they make their purchasing decisions. They are
demanding more from a company and its products. There are strings attached and
they are best defined by the question: ‘What are you giving me or doing for me,
my kids, my life, my community, or the environment?’
The
companies that grasp this and can give satisfactory answers will be the ones
that set themselves apart from their competition.
Thought
leadership is precisely about creating an environment in which a company’s
customers choose its brand because of what it stands for or because the
position it has taken on an issue sets it apart from its competitors.
3. It should aim to produce a sound
business outcome
While
thought leadership need not, and often does not, focus directly on selling a
brand or service, it should still aim to produce the best possible business
outcome for the long-term reputation and standing of that particular brand or
company.
I love Dana
vandenHeuvel’s analysis of this. He says
that you take a point of view to the market in order to gain share of voice in
that sector or industry so that you can drive greater share of mind and
ultimately greater share of market.
The power
of thought leadership lies in influence. If correctly targeted and structured, it
is a potent tool for influencing a particular audience. Your aim should be to become known as the
expert or the ‘go to’, trusted source of knowledge or information in that
particular area.
When you
are recognized as the thought leader in your industry it does a number of
things:
§
Creates ongoing, meaningful dialogue with your audiences
§
Delivers greater share of voice in the industry and as a result,
greater share of mind over your competitors
§
Increases the profile of your brand
§
Delivers pre-qualified leads
§
Creates a set of customers who have already experienced your
‘value’ and who have ‘bought’ into your ideas before physically buying
§
Leads to less price resistance and a shortened sales cycle
§
Enhances the reputation of the brand/company as a leader in its
field
“Essential Habits and Principles for Great Leadership”
The secret questions of successful thought leaders
Three key challenges facing thought leadership
Does product, sales or market leadership equal thought leadership?
What is Leadership
The impact of thought leadership on your employees
Content = thought leadership. Wrong.
What You Are Doing To Undermine Your Authority
Six Principles of Effective Leadership Training for Entrepreneurs
Does content curation have a role in thought leadership?
Thought leadership is a culture not a tactic
Thought leadership's magic cube
Rucker Ashmore and Adaptive Switch Labs, Inc.
David Ogilvy's greatest tip for thought leaders
Looking Back to Look Ahead
Thought leadership = emotional connections on steroids
5 Secrets Leaders need to get what they want.
Mobile Electronics are Driving Demand for Lithium
Leadership by Example
Economist on thought leadership - hypocritical or valid point?
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About the Author: Craig Badings RSS for Craig's articles - Visit Craig's website Click here to visit Craig's website   Thought leadership benefits |
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