thought leadership marketing

610.883.7988dancecommunications.comthought leadership u engaging content u superior resultsdancecommunications

thoughtleadershipMARKETING

u What?

u Why?

u 40 Questions


What is thought leadership marketing?

Your customers and prospects

want insights into issues they really

care about. Thought leadership

marketing actively positions you or

your organization as an authority, a resource, and a trusted

advisor on these issues. This positioning is accomplished

using a variety of media, including books, newsletters,

blogs, e-mail, events…. It allows you to earn trust and build

credibility and recognition differentiating yourself as one

who clearly understands the business and needs of your

audience. And most importantly, it mobilizes your audience

to think and act — engaging with you over the long term.

AVENUES FOR THOUGHT LEADERSHIP MARKETING

u White papers

u Newsletters

u Magazines

u Books

u Blogs

u Websites

u Research reports

u Journals

u Social media

u E-mail marketing

u Case studies

u Event materials


Why thought leadership marketing?

A poll conducted by the Economist

Intelligence Unit showed that thought

leadership is fast becoming the most

widely used business-to-business

marketing practice, ranking second only to building new

business as a key marketing objective. In addition, the top

three most effective means of marketing are through thought

leadership-related methods.

u When asked what their top marketing objectives are over the next 3 to 5 years, 56% responded “Positioning our company as a thought leader.”

u When asked what will be the best way for providers of services to market to you in the next 3 to 5 years, 43% said “Meetings/conferences,” 41% said “Original research,” and 35% said “Thought leadership surveys and white papers.”

SOURCE: “10 Megatrends in B2B Marketing,” Economist Intelligence Unit, 2008.

BENEFITS OF THOUGHT LEADERSHIP MARKETING

u Generate leads

u Retain customers

u Differentiate you from competitors

u Open new markets

u Improve your brand

u Foster relationships

u Build trust, credibility

u Target your market

u Stay relevant and on the radar

u More pull — customers come to you


40 questions you need to answer

to have an effective thought

leadership marketing program.

A complex process, thought

leadership marketing requires

significant expertise to perform well. These forty questions

demonstrate the depth of knowledge you’ll need — from

clearly understanding why you are creating a thought

leadership marketing program to how you go about

determining whether you’ve met your goals.

What do you need to know? Keep reading.

STEPS TO EFFECTIVE THOUGHT LEADERSHIP MARKETING

u Exploring

u Creating

u Delivering

u Assessing


• Whyareyouconsideringthoughtleadership?Whatareyoutryingtoaccomplish—whatareyourgoalsandobjectives?Whoareyou?

• Whoisyouraudience?Whatissuesareimportanttothem?Whatdotheyneed?

• Howdoyouknowtheanswerstothequestionsaboveorhowwillyoufindout?

• Willthethoughtleaderbeyou,someoneelseinyourorganization,yourorganizationasawhole?

• Doyouhavetheknowledgeandexpertiseneededonissuesthatmattertobeathoughtleader?Ifnot,whatdoyoudoaboutit?

• Areyouwillingtotakeriskswithyourthoughtleadershipposition(becontroversial,livewithpublicattentionandjudgment)?

• Whointheorganizationdoyouneedtoinvolveinyourthoughtleadershipmarketingprogram?

• Howwillyoustayfocusedondeliveringvalue?Areyouwillingtomakethelong-terminvestmentneededtosucceed?

• Howwillyoudemonstratethatyourthoughtleadershippositionisvalidandcanbetrusted?

• Willyourorganizationalculturesupportthoughtleadershipmarketing?

Exploring

Thought leadership development begins with the question Why?


• Who’sresponsiblefortheoverallthoughtleadershipmarketingprogram,makingsurethateverythingisplannedforandseeingthateverythinggetsdoneaccordingtoplan?

• Whoseroleisittodeveloptheideasbeforetheyareputintoarticles,books,speeches,etc?

• Whoisgoingtocreatethethoughtleadershipcontent(you,asubjectmatterexpert,anexecutive,asubcontractor)?

• Whatissuesareyoutryingtoaddress—what’syourpointofview?• Whatresearchisneededtosupportyourthoughtleadershipposition?

Whowillengageinthisresearch?• Ifyouneedtorelyonsourcesoutsideyourorganization,howwillyou

selectthem?Whowillmanagethem?• Whoinyourorganizationneedstoreviewand/orapprovecontent?How

willyoumanagethisreviewprocess?• Howwillyoudemonstrateyourthoughtleadership—books,blogs,white

papers,speaking,e-mail,etc.—andwhichisyourbestchoice?• Howwillyouensurethatyou’reprovidingvaluableinformation,insight,

andideastoyourmarket?• Andremember,allthisworkisconstrainedbyabudget,aschedule,

ascopeofwork,andacertainlevelofqualityexpected—who’swatchingthatyoumeettheseconstraints?

Creating

You have your thought leadership marketing concept developed — now how do you implement it?


• Howwillyoudeterminewhichmediatousetoreachyourmarket?Doyouknowalltheprint,online,andeventoptionsthatareavailabletoyou?

• Ifyouusemultiplemedia,howwillyouintegratethecontentsoyoudeliveraconsistentmessage?

• Doyoutargetyourmarket(canyou?)andpossiblydeliverdifferentversionsofyourthoughtleadershipcontenttodifferenttargets?

• Doyousellyourthoughtleadershipcontent?Ifso,atwhatprice?Doyougiveitaway?Ifso,howmuch?

• Who’sresponsiblefortheongoingmanagementofdelivery,makingsurethateverythingisgettingdoneaccordingtoplan?

• Doyouhavetheexpertiseneededtodeliveryourmessageeffectively?Ifnot,howdoyougetit?

• Howwillyoumanagesubcontractorrelationships?Whoevaluatestherelationshipandwhetherornotitshouldcontinue?

• Howcanyoupartnerwithothersalignedwithyourmessagetoreachyourmarket?

• Howmuchwillallthisdeliverycost?• Howwillyouknowwhichdistributionmethodisbest—intermsof

imageanddeliveringresultsaswellasbeingcosteffective?

Delivering

You now have thought leadership content — how do you reach your audience?


• Areyougettingtheresultsyouprojected?Whatelsedoyouhavetodotocontinuegettingtheresultsyouneed?

• Doesyourmarketunderstandwhatyouaresaying?Whatdotheythinkaboutit?Howhasitchangedthewaytheythink?

• Doyouhavethereachyouwant—Howmanyreceivedyourmessage?Whoarethey?Aretheytherightmarket?Howmanytimeshavethey“touched”yourcontent?

• Haveyouacquirednewpropects?Didyougettheirattention?Havetheybecomeengagedwithyou?

• Haveyouconvertedprospectsintoleads?Didyougatherinformationaboutthem?

• Isyourthoughtleadershipmarketinghelpingyouretaincustomers?Aretheycontinuingtoengagewithyou?

• Doyouhavethedatayouneed,intheformatyouneed,toprovideinformationtoothersinyourorganizationthatexplainsthevalueofyourthoughtleadershipmarketingprogram?

• Haveyoubuiltinwaysforyouraudiencetoactivelyengagewithyou—usingsurveys,premiums,websiteintegration?Areyoupreparedtodealwiththefeedbackyouget?

• Hasthevalueofthoughtleadershipmarketingbeeningrainedinyouroverallbusinessculture?

• Doyouknowhowtoimproveyourprogram?

Assessing

Your audience has seen your thought leadership content —how do you determine whether it’s doing what you hoped it would do?


dancecommunicationsThe effort required to produce successful thought

leadership marketing requires significant expertise.

Dance Communications can help you with each step of

this thought leadership development process to insure

that you get the results you expect.

u

thought leadership marketing

Business