Thought Leadership: The Content Marketing That Your Audience Actually CareSocial media london deck - slide share

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THOUGHT LEADERSHIPTHE CONTENT MARKETING

YOUR AUDIENCE ACTUALLY BUYS

@JonLombardo

Content Marketing Lead, EMEA

LinkedIn

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WE HAVE A CHOICE BETWEEN READ PILLS AND BLUE PILLS

But, as an industry, we’re taking too many of the wrong pills

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WHICH IS ODD…

Because the blue pills are largely commoditized

And the red pills are what our audience actually ‘buys’

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WHY DON’T MORE BRANDS TAKE RED PILLS?

They play the short-game, because that’s how they’re rewarded

They talk about themselves, because that’s what they know best

They are not organized to produce original ideas, because they value hierarchy over originality

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THE REALITY: THOUGHT LEADERSHIP

IS REALLY HARD

In fact, it’s so hard that most people can’t even define what it actually is

A thought leader is someone who looks at the present and sets a better course for the future that compels others to follow.

- Shel Israel

But, like most things, it’s easier to understand and practice when you break it down into chunks

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WHO’S DOING THOUGHT LEADERSHIP

WELL?

Industry leadership: Andreesen Horowitz helps followers ‘eat the world’ of technology trends

Product leadership: Hubspot inspires marketers how to deliver a more delightful inbound client experience

Organizational leadership: Netflix re-invented culture to attract people to re-invent an industry

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HOW WE CAN TAKE MORE RED PILLS

Produce one content ‘red pill’ per quarter

Leverage content marketing best practices (read: slice, dice, make turkey curry out of the leftovers)

Map to the different stages of the buying cycle

Top types of information sought in each stage of the IT decision-making process

Engage Nurture Acquire

Best practices, how-tos, checklists

IT industry news / strategy info

Diagnostics or assessment tools

Product / solution demo / software trial

Distribute to the audience you are trying to impress

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TRACKING RED PILLS

Qualitative: Track relationships developed and reputation cultivated

Quantitative: Track leads generated, sales delivered, and lifetime value created

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IN CONCLUSION…

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THANK YOU.

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