Words in Effect, LLC

Becky Tumidolsky, B2B Content Writer

Thought Leadership

How to Write B2B Content People Will Take Seriously

By Leave a Comment

 

B2B Content People Seriously

 

 

Have you ever read B2B content you didn’t take seriously?

Of course you have.

It could have been the little things, like misspelled words or homophone confusion.

It could have been bigger things, like lackluster visuals or confusing jargon.

Or it could have been big, nasty things, like:

  • a topic that’s been beaten to death;
  • a sales pitch disguised as helpful or newsworthy content; or
  • an argument that lacks meaningful support.

Now, let’s turn the tables. Has your content ever fallen short of your ownhigh standards? Of course not (wink, wink, nudge, nudge).

 

Cursory Content Tells Audiences, “You’re a Low Priority.”

If you’ve ever hit “publish” just to get a few points on the board, you’re not alone.

We content creators all want meaningful engagement. We take pride in showcasing our expertise. We delight in sharing our passion for solving customers’ problems. But it’s really hard to carve out time for a five-star blog post or presentation, let alone a sustained creative effort.

So, what’s the answer? Should we eke out whatever we can, as quickly as possible?

Here’s the problem with that approach. When marketers don’t take content writing seriously (“We don’t care enough to do content well”), audiences don’t take brands seriously (“They don’t care enough to serve us well”).

Nothing lost in translation there. Your prospects are getting the message, loud and clear.

 

5 Critical Do’s for B2B Content Marketers

Here’s a handy list, along with some inspirational resources, that can help guide your future content efforts.

 

#1: Be Bold. Be Brazen!

You’re a disruptor at heart. You know where your industry is failing customers, and you have the formula for change. You’ve got the talent, capabilities, and success stories to back up your brand promise.

But does your content reflect all that? Is it bold, just like your brand? Or is it safe and boring?

I’ve encountered few marketers more brazen than Scot McKee of Birddog B2B. I love his brutal honesty. It’s clear where his passion lies: helping brands smash through the clutter. Check out“The Long Talk,” Scot’s take on the myopic thinking that limits B2B brands’ creative potential.

 

#2: Make Them Laugh (with You, not at You).

I’ve written before about the 5 key benefits of using humor in B2B content. One thing I would add this time around: People love sharing funny content. All people. Yes, even the B2B buyers you’re targeting.

If you understand the irritations that plagueyour buyers, you have all the material you need. Laughter is terrific medicine; by making audiences laugh, you’re providing welcome relief. You’re also demonstrating your empathy, which wins people over fast.

Think you have a boring brand? Can’t think past sell sheetsand white papers? Read Humor and B2B Marketing: A Love Story by Ann Handley.

 

#3: Be a Friend, Not an Entity.

A warm, conversational tone. Relatable stories and experiences. What’s not to love?

When we reveal our inner selves in our content, we’re touching human beings who happen to be decision makers, not the other way around. B2B marketers who dare to be authentic and vulnerable are still a rare breed. Thus they’re more successful at generating interest, forging connections, and building trust.

Here’s a great example of authentic content: What If PR Stood for People and Relationships? a manifesto for building relationships in the digital era, a highly successful eBook from Cision (with Brian Solis of Altimeter Group).

 

#4: Flex Your Intellectual Muscle.

Everyone wants to be a thought leader. Few, however, accomplish this goal. To have any hope of success, you have to delve deeply into the issues your customers and prospects face.

Take a look at the content you’re producing, and ask yourself:

  • Are we merely providing data, or are we using it to tell a larger story?
  • Are we challenging conventional wisdom in our industry?
  • Are we simply defining our niche, or are we communicating a vision?

Dr. Liz Alexander, cofounder of Leading Thought, helps companies around the world become industry-leading influencers. You can read my interview with her about what thought leadership is (and isn’t), or you can read her post “8 Reasons You Really DON’T Want to Be a Thought Leader.”

 

#5: Edit Like a Maniac. And Not Just for Errors.

Maybe you’re like me: you edit as you write. But that’s not good enough. Make several passes after you think you’re satisfied. Scrutinize every detail.

  • How’s your hook? Could it be simpler? Funnier? More intriguing? Give audiences a reason to care about what comes next.
  • Spelling, punctuation, and grammar—yeah, you know the drill.
  • There can be no doubt about the use of a word. If you’re the least bit hesitant, choose a different word.
  • Language must be clearandconcise. Trim the fat, then trim again.
  • Flow is everything. Give audiences the gift of an effortless read. If anything trips you up—a phrase, a sentence, a paragraph, the way you’ve organized your thoughts—do whatever it takes to get the flow just right. This could require shortening, rewording, or ditching a sentence. Breaking up or reordering paragraphs. Or scrapping an entire section altogether. (Painful, yes. But content that bombs is 10x more painful.)

Copyblogger has a wealth of great posts on this subject. Here’s one by Stefanie Flaxman, Copyblogger’s editor in chief: “15 Copy Editing Tips That Can Transform Your Content into Persuasive and Shareable Works of Art.”

 

What Critical Do’s and Don’ts Would You Include?

When you’re out there consuming content, what makes you roll your eyes? Slap your forehead? Wish you could get those precious minutes back?

I’d love to know your thoughts on this topic, this post, or anything else related to B2B content writing. Let’s start a conversation in the comment section below.

 

 

Since 2001, Becky Tumidolsky has written awareness-building content for B2B brands and their discerning audiences. Her work has appeared in leading publications such as Forbes, U.S.News & World Report, Bloomberg Markets, Newsweek, and Inc. as well as corporate blogs, websites, white papers, and other content assets.

Becky loves writing fluid, error-free prose. She’s even more passionate about building the foundation for her work—uncovering core brand distinctions, framing them thematically, and developing fresh, compelling narratives that advance corporate strategies.

Follow and connect: Twitter| Google+| LinkedIn| Facebook

How to Write Top O’ The Funnel Content That Works Like a Charm

By Leave a Comment

 

Top O The Funnel Content

 

Are you a marketer who’s hoping to luck out with your next piece of brand awareness/attraction content?

Well, I’m afraid luck has nothing to do with it.

As a B2B content writer, I’ve spent many years at the Top O’ The Funnel, where articles, blog posts, presentations, and similar forms of content reside. The Top O’ The Funnel can be a magical place full of wonder and charm. Or it can be a no man’s land—dull, desolate, and depressing.

It all depends on the caliber of content you’re producing.

Great Top O’ The Funnel content lights a spark, lingers in the consciousness, and draws prospects closer.

Bad Top O’ The Funnel content (a broad category that spans from mediocre to tragically funny) leaves audiences wondering why they bothered. And the “thud” you hear—the sound of content falling flat—makes you feel like you’ve wasted your time, resources, and creative energy.

So what makes the great stuff engaging and effective? What makes the bad stuff annoying, cringeworthy, or forgettable?

I’ll break it down for you here.

 

The Hallmarks of Great T.O.T.F. Content

Top O’ The Funnel content is not, “Here at Company X, we’re industry pioneers. We do great things for our clients. And we continue to earn recognition and respect.”

In other words, content is not copy.

Top O’ The Funnel content differs from traditional marketing copy (say, a print ad or brochure) by way of the personality it conveys and the feelings it inspires.

Ideally, when you sit down to write T.O.T.F. content, you’re launching from an emotional place (passion and empathy) rather than your knowledge base. Your aim is to build a relationship, not spout impressive facts. You’re letting yourself be human—and vulnerable—to touch your prospects more deeply.

Here are the four characteristics of Top O’ The Funnel content done right.

 

Easily Digestible Format

You could be the most eloquent public speaker in the world, translating your subject-matter expertise with skill and finesse. But if you made your way onstage in a tattered, ill-fitting suit and cheap shoes, no one would take you seriously.

How you present your brand is critically important. Here I’m referring to organization and appearance—the look and feel of your content.

  • Are your accompanying photos/graphics first class and customized to represent your brand?
  • Is your content broken up into scannable portions?
  • Does the text flow easily, both visually and logically?
  • Are you using subheads to clearly and cleverly convey meaning?
  • Are your spelling, punctuation, and grammar PERFECT?

If you can’t confidently answer “yes” to all five of these questions, you’re not ready to publish.

 

Ego-Free Narrative

Your prospects really don’t care about you or your brand. They aren’t interested in the office-party pictures you post or your recent inclusion on some “best of” list.

If you deliver self-centered content like this consistently, you’re making yourself—rather than your ideal prospect—the hero of your brand story.

As a Top O’ The Funnel content creator, your job is to understand your prospects’ needs, anticipate their questions, and help them overcome challenges. In essence, you’re giving audiences exactly what they want and need, no strings attached.

The message your egocentric T.O.T.F. content sends is this: “We assume you care as much as we do, or we believe you should. We lack the capacity or will to connect with you meaningfully.”

At the Top O’ The Funnel, you must take yourself out of the equation. Conceive and write content from your prospects’ vantage point. Steep yourself in their world.

  • What do they care most about?
  • What are their biggest hang-ups and turnoffs?
  • What kinds of shared experiences can they relate to?
  • What kinds of cultural references will resonate?
  • What might inspire them, make them laugh, lighten their load, or brighten their day?

If you care enough and take the time to do your homework, it will show. Your prospects will know they are driving your content efforts, and they’ll appreciate it. Thus they’ll be more likely to engage with your content, share it, and come back for more.

 

One-on-One Conversational Feel

So you’re bursting with industry expertise and dying to share it. That’s great! Be as generous as you wanna be. Just remember: At the Top O’ The Funnel, you’re not addressing your peers. The people you’re trying to reach aren’t living and operating in your industry or technical bubble.

Here’s how you can meet your prospects in their comfort zone.=

  • Distill the information and ideas they will value most.
  • Simplify your language (syntax, sentence length).
  • Illustrate by example.
  • Be warm, friendly, and conversational.
  • Add some special sauce—your unique voice. Inject some personality where you can.

In short, write like you’re having a conversation with a friend—someone you’d like to get to know better, build a relationship with, and keep around for a while.

 

Demonstrates True Thought Leadership, Where It Exists

Many of us have read this someplace: “Want to be a thought leader? Step 1: Start a blog!”

Don’t be fooled. Content is not thought leadership. Content is just a means of transmitting thought leadership in a way that serves readers.

Experts define thought leadership as a fundamentally new way of viewing the market landscape, conducting business, or solving problems. It’s the intellectual heft and courage to question, rethink, and disrupt the status quo. It can’t take root without deep, Zen-like awareness and reflection.

If your goal is to be seen as a thought leader in your industry, that’s not a marketing goal. It’s an organizational goal that requires far more than a clever campaign toachieve.

Truthfully, that bar is too high for most of us.

But if you do have something revolutionary to offer, content is the perfect means of broadcasting it—not as a subject-matter expert, but as an audience advocate.

 

How Do You Judge Top O’ The Funnel Content?

What’s your formula for outstanding Top O’ The Funnel content? What T.O.T.F. blunders drive you crazy? Please share your thoughts in the comment section below.

 

Since 2001, Becky Tumidolsky has written awareness-building content for B2B brands and their discerning audiences. Her work has appeared in leading publications such as Forbes, U.S.News & World Report, Bloomberg Markets, Newsweek, and Inc. as well as corporate blogs, websites, white papers, and other content assets.

Becky loves writing fluid, error-free prose. She’s even more passionate about building the foundation for her work—uncovering core brand distinctions, framing them thematically, and developing fresh, compelling narratives that advance corporate strategies.

Follow and connect: Twitter| Google+| LinkedIn| Facebook

10 Perfect Gift Ideas for Your B2B Content Audiences

By Leave a Comment

http://www.dreamstime.com/stock-photography-festive-christmas-gift-snow-image26291432
Are you a B2B marketer who’d like to say “thank you” to the busy, distracted, time-starved professionals who somehow manage to consume your content?

Would you like to show them how much they mean to you, and how much you care?

For starters, aim higher. Give them the quality content they deserve.

As a consumer of B2B content myself, I take timeout of each workday to read and curate fresh insights, anecdotes, wit, and debate—the kind of content I not only want to share, but can’t wait to share. Finding that one-in-a-million surprise—be it informative, quirky, or scintillating—is a real joy, because it momentarily lifts me out of my stressful daily routine.

That’s how your prospects should feel when they read your article, paper, infographic, social media post, or blog post. You’d like to think they do, because you’re creating content just for them in a spirit of selfless service. (Right?)

Regardless of your content past, ’tis the season to commit to giving the gift of great content in 2015 and beyond. Here are 10 items you’ll most likely find on your audiences’ wish lists.

 

1. Don’t try to impress. Be humble and helpful.

Are you creating content just to seem smart or relevant? If so, please stop.

Crowing about your next-generation, industry-leading awesomeness will only leave your audience feeling like a third wheel next to you and your ego.

Ditch the ego, and let your audiences decide your worth. Share knowledge and ideas freely—with your prospects at the center of your subject-matter universe—and you’ll demonstrate your passion for helping people expand their knowledge and improve their game.

 

2. Be transparent.

I understand the temptation to hurry your prospects through the sales funnel by promoting your brand in your content. Everyone wants to see a return on the content they produce. But here’s the thing: B2B content is a crummy vehicle for sales.

Most business professionals are slow and deliberate about making purchasing decisions, they recoil from aggressive marketing, and they have a keen nose for B.S. The last thing they want is bait-and-switch content (a sleek headline, the promise of useful or entertaining information without strings, and a sales pitch at the end).

If you want to earn your audiences’ respect and trust, don’t try to close the deal too early. If you do, it will backfire on your brand.

 

3. Communicate clearly and error free.

Writers like me aren’t the only sticklers when it comes to grammar, spelling, syntax, punctuation, and sentence structure. Your prospects are a nitpicky bunch, too. They see silly mistakes, confusing verbiage, and disorganized thought as a sign of carelessness and/or incompetence. They’ll make the unfortunate association with your brand. In an instant, the damage will be done.

“Write drunk and edit sober,” that famous line frequently attributed to Ernest Hemingway, is about the best (and most succinct) advice you’ll ever read. You’ll want to write without fear or shame, but you’ll need your feet firmly planted when you edit. And you’ll need to edit on multiple level—everything from spelling and readability to organization and visual presentation. You can’t afford not to.

 

4. Serve ice cream, not whipped cream.

Your audiences want to digest something that’s hearty and satisfying—something that sticks with them for a while. Weightless and fluffy won’t do the job. It’s useless and forgettable.

Do anything you can to avoid rehashing well-worn topics. If you do, offer readers a unique perspective. Don’t just regurgitate facts; take a position. Provide credible support to shore up your material.

If you invest a little more thought and effort, you may wind up creating less content. But your content quality—the bigger concern anyway—will no doubt improve.

 

5. Make your content a two-way street.

Content writing isn’t copywriting. It’s conversation. Think of it as a running dialogue rather than a static presentation.

Make sure you’re speaking directly to your buyer personas in an easygoing, relatable way, as though there’s no one else in the room. Invoke shared knowledge and experiences. Ask for feedback and perspectives. Convey your desire to learn from your audiences, too. And mean it.

 

6. Take an intellectual risk.

The rest of your industry may be thinking or doing X, but you’re tired of seeing X. You’re bursting to do Y.

So do it.

Show what makes you a leader: confidence, expertise, and the courage of your convictions. Boldly go where others in your industry won’t. Welcome resistance and debate. Field questions and counter challenges like the happy warrior you are. Your audiences will appreciate it.

 

7. Take a creative risk.

Your prospects are getting buried in a growing heap of boring, uninspired, conformist content. The risk-averse B2B marketers creating it feel bound by current industry practices or perceived standards and expectations.

The best gifts, however, are the ones we least expect.

Give your audiences a happy surprise: an off-the-wall graphic, an intriguing hook, or a dash of self-deprecating humor. Trade in your corporate voice, your stuffy suit, and your torturous heels for passion, empathy, and authenticity—you know, the stuff that makes people laugh and nod in agreement and start to think of you as a trusted friend.

 

8. Emphasize good design.

Your content needs to be as user friendly and aesthetically pleasing as it is well written.

  • Choose your image(s) wisely—no stock photos, unless you can haul them into picmonkey.com and add your own distinct touches.
  • Pay close attention to colors, fonts, and white space.
  • Be on guard for potential distractions, and eliminate them.
  • Make your content easy to scan and easily digestible by breaking up monolithic paragraphs and using subheads and bullets.

 

9. Provide real value—every time.

Content that serves as a handy, useful reference has a good chance of easing your prospects into a closer relationship with you. If done and marketed well, an eBook or white paper may just be the incentive they need to trust you with their contact information.

When your prospects do sign up, continue to treat them with respect. Don’t flood their inboxes. Only send them emails that are worth their time and attention. Your continuing purpose should be to lead your prospects down the path to improving their own lives.

 

10. Be your audiences’ biggest champion.

Work hard to understand your prospects. Be empathetic. Respect their feelings, concerns, and reservations—particularly when it comes to making leaps of trust (i.e., reaching out to do business with you) with their brand reputation and career aspirations hanging in the balance.

Ultimately, your content success depends on whether your audiences feel valued. If you show them the best side of your brand and make clear they are your raison d’etre, they may just become ambassadors or clients. And these are the gifts that keep on giving.

 

 

Since 2001, Becky Tumidolsky has written awareness-building content for B2B brands and their discerning audiences. Her work has appeared in leading publications such as Forbes, U.S.News & World Report, Bloomberg Markets, Newsweek, and Inc. as well as corporate blogs, websites, white papers, and other content assets.

Becky loves writing fluid, error-free prose. She’s even more passionate about building the foundation for her work—uncovering core brand distinctions, framing them thematically, and developing fresh, compelling narratives that advance corporate strategies.

Follow and connect: Twitter| Google+| LinkedIn| Facebook

The Perils of Writing Poorly: 5 Ways to Kill Your Audience

By Leave a Comment

Psycho Collage

 

 

Do you believe content writing can be delegated to just about anyone? If so, here’s a disturbing vision that might just scare you straight.

A weak, wandering narrative. Sentences and paragraphs that don’t flow logically or stylistically. Incomprehensible bloat. Ideas randomly introduced. Awkward or missing transitions. Tangents that lead readers astray, out into the dark forest, then lose them altogether.

One by one, your audience disappears—picked off by that evil, murderous duo, Confusion and Irritation.

 

 

Haphazard Writing Is Murder.

Long-form content requires much more than a catchy headline and subject-matter expertise. It needs lots of forethought, finessing, and fine-tuning to engage readers and move them to act.

Whatever you do, do NOT write long-form content without having mastered the basics of English composition. If you attempt it anyway, you’ll be doing your brand a disservice.

Writing rules and best practices aren’t necessarily intuitive. Nor are they negotiable. They must be learned and practiced and practiced again. No matter how well-intentioned you might be, if you’re poorly equipped or halfhearted in your writing efforts, your content will reflect that. And your audiences will suffer for it.

 

Say Goodbye to Those Pesky Prospects for Good! Here’s How.

1. Whip up Something That Has No Discernible Purpose.

Maybe you’d like to help readers solve vexing problems, showcase your thought-leading ideas or practices, or spur discussion by weighing in on an industry debate.

All fine and good. But what’s the backstory? Why this topic, this channel, this moment in time? What unique contribution can you make? How does this fit into/support your broader marketing campaign/strategy?

 

Who cares, really? I mean, if you want your audience gone, forget purpose. Forget personas. Let your tone, structure, and style—your entire approach—be a matter of personal whim. Writing is easier that way.

 

2. Seize on a Topic That’s Been Beaten to Death.

No one needs to read another post about what content marketing is and why it bolsters business—unless you can make it so illuminating and entertaining that people will be dazzled, come away with something new, and eagerly share it.

In an earlier post (“Is Your B2B Blog a Real Snoozefest?“), I tackled this very subject using the following example of supposedly groundbreaking content:

 

Top 10 Tips for Writing a Blog Post

Create a top-10 list.

Include visuals.

Share on social media.

[ . . . ]

Pinch me! I must be dreaming, because I’m deep in REM sleep mode.

If your blog marches to this same predictable rhythm, you’re not giving readers much to look forward to or talk about in their social circles. You might as well stop posting and revisit your purpose, your objectives, and what’s really driving your efforts.

 

Go ahead: Follow that familiar format, hammer those cliches, and play it safe. Keep things easy for you and predictable for your readers. To ensure your audience’s quick demise, you’ll want your content to blend in nicely with the content everyone else in your industry is producing.

 

3. Use Lofty Language, Blase Boilerplate, and Industry Jargon.

Perhaps you’ve heard of this phenomenon called the “curse of knowledge.” It’s the inability of smart, knowledgeable people to translate their genius into broadly relatable content. To me, this challenge is completely understandable—and entirely surmountable. We B2B content writers make our living translating industry expertise for the benefit of target audiences.

When B2B marketers resist using plain language and rely instead on lofty words, industry cliches, and soul-drainingboilerplate, it’s not a curse of knowledge that plagues them. It’s the fear of being authentic and vulnerable. Breaking the industry mold is just too great a risk.

In her post “20 Devastating Content Marketing Mistakes,” Tatiana Liubarets writes, “It’s almost never acceptable to hide simple concepts behind confusing language or buzzwords. Keep it simple, stick to the basis of your ideas, and never let yourself slip into this content marketing mistake.”
cartoon-gallery-of-management-consulting

 

If you want to keep audiences engaged, Liubarets’ advice makes sense. If you want them gone, keep pushing the meaningless blather and testing the limits of readers’ patience.

 

4. Deny Them Food and Compass. Then Lead Them Far Astray.

When they begin their journey with you, readers want and expect to be able to follow your train of thought. They need sustenance—solid support for your assertions and an emotional connection with you. They need to understand the lay of the land, and they need a clear sense of direction.

If you want to muddle your message without mercy, try these smooth moves:

  • Provide as little context as possible. Force your audience to navigate in the dark.
  • Don’t clarify relationships between and among ideas. (No clear framework, no logical progression, no transitions.) Also, jump back and forth for no apparent reason and without warning.
  • Clog the works with irrelevant details, pointless tangents, and unnecessary words and phrases.
  • Be as dry, dull, and formulaic as possible. The last thing you want is to seem passionate about your topic and give readers a reason to care.

 

5. Build a Giant Wall of Text and Force Your Audience to Climb It.

The look of your web page or document is as important to the reader’s experience as the writing itself. Readers want and expect scannable information, transitional cues, appropriate fonts, visuals that reinforce key messages, ample white space, and aesthetic appeal.

So don’t give them the pleasure! Ditch the subheads. Keep paragraphs big and monolithic. Use tacky or inappropriate fonts and visuals. Or skip the visuals altogether.

Then sit back, relax, and watch those pesky prospects drop like flies.

 

Since 2001, Becky Tumidolsky has written awareness-building content for B2B brands and their discerning audiences. Her work has appeared in leading publications such as Forbes, U.S.News & World Report, Bloomberg Markets, Newsweek, and Inc. as well as corporate blogs, websites, white papers, and other content assets.

Becky loves writing fluid, error-free prose. She’s even more passionate about building the foundation for her work—uncovering core brand distinctions, framing them thematically, and developing fresh, compelling narratives that advance corporate strategies.

Follow and connect: Twitter| Google+| LinkedIn| Facebook

 

 

Thought Leadership Is Powerful, Provocative, and Poorly Understood: An Interview With Dr. Liz Alexander of Leading Thought

By Leave a Comment

 

Thought leadership, B2B, content marketing

By Becky Tumidolsky

 

Some marketers believe thought leadership magically happens when brands start pumping out content that showcases their expertise.

Other marketers question or dismiss the term “thought leadership,” claiming it jumped the shark a while back or it’s too difficult to sustain or it’s too hard to quantify.

According to Dr. Liz Alexander, co-founder of the global B2B consultancy Leading Thought, the problem for both groups is that they mistakenly assume thought leadership originates in the marketing department.

A former journalist on both sides of the Atlantic, an international award-winning author on thought leadership, and the developer/instructor of a professional development course on strategic communications for a leading university, Liz has spent more than 25 years collaborating and sharing her insights with the likes of the Environmental Protection Agency, Google, and Transamerica Retirement Solutions. Liz says that despite marketers’ misperceptions and misgivings about thought leadership, she regularly finds herself in one-on-one conversations with CEOs who understand the value of true thought leadership and want to hear more.

“When we tell senior executives that Leading Thought’s methodology produces a pipeline of innovative thinkers and influencers who elevate the thought leadership platform of the corporate brand, they get it,” she says. “By taking a longer, broader view than most marketers do, these executives understand that once they’ve identified a unique perspective on a relevant challenge, they can use this to shape and lead conversations within and outside their industry. They see that as what’s valuable—not deluging clients and prospects with undifferentiated content.”

 

 

A Sad Case of Misuse and Abuse

 

“I’m a thought reader. I’m a thought needer. Given my love for blogging . . . I think it’d be fair to say I’m even a thought feeder. But I’m not a thought leader. Neither are you. Okay cool, we now know at least two of us here in cyberspace are not thought leaders.”—Barry Feldman

 

Back in the 1990s, when the Internet was still in its infancy, Milken Institute Senior Fellow Joel Kurtzman coined the term “thought leadership” to describe the business world’s most inspired thinkers and doers. He had in mind the rare intellectual like Steve Jobs—titans who think big to change the world rather than tinker around the edges to boost sales. (It’s worth noting that Jobs is said to have detested the words “branding” and “marketing.”)

Today, “thought leadership” is so carelessly bandied about, one wonders if the term has any meaning left. Surveying the current marketing landscape, Kurtzman has this to say:

“Every company has its thought leaders…in many cases (with) no real experience in the industry they are supposedly leading. They have barely scratched the surface in terms of their reading, their knowledge or ideas. And they are rehashing the past.”

Liz agrees. “Too many self-appointed thought leaders believe ‘content is king,’ thereby letting the tool be the master. They’re fundamentally misunderstanding the true nature and power of thought leadership and the path you must take to achieve it.”

 

 

What Thought Leadership Is Not

 

I asked Liz to describe, in her characteristically direct way, what thought leadership is not:

 

“Content panhandling.”

“Spewing out content without consideration for its relevance or quality is like begging for attention as the traffic speeds past you on the freeway. Nobody cares! A lot of what purports to be thought leadership is really just content marketing. True thought leaders recognize that content can be a valuable tactical tool, but it’s the strategic thinking that really matters.”

 

Having marketing-automated “conversations.”

“If I’m shouting undifferentiated, unfocused brand-centric messages to 50,000 people, that’s neither a conversation nor engagement.”

 

Staking a position without being willing to debate.

“It’s like the emperor’s new clothes: people who purport to be deep thinkers but refuse to engage with anyone having opposing views. Pontificating without a solid evidential trail or the stomach for debate is not thought leadership.”

 

“You don’t get to be a thought leader unless you’re willing to be a thought punching bag.”—Seth Godin

 

 

What Thought Leadership Is

 

Here is Liz’s take on the true nature of thought leadership:

 

A rare thing.

“Anyone can aspire to be President of the United States, but most of us will never be president. Similarly, very few people leave base camp and climb to the top of Mount Everest. Thought leadership is the same; only a select few will, or should, earn third-party recognition.”

 

Experts who listen, analyze, and project—and a culture that molds and values them.

“In our book Thought Leadership Tweet, we ask: ‘Do you admire the late, great Steve Jobs but no way in hell would you hire anyone like him? Do innovators thrive or die in your culture?’ A corporate culture that helps to develop deep, differentiated thinkers is more likely to establish the unassailable market leadership worthy of true thought leaders.”

 

A desire to have genuine, provocative conversations, regardless of frequency.

“Many thought leaders we’ve worked with and researched put very little content out there. They spend their time listening—researching clients’ concerns and challenges—and thinking deeply about what they find. When they do produce content, it’s provocative, highly valuable, and rare, because it poses perspectives no one else is offering.”

 

Many different spheres of influence outside one’s own industry.

“Thought leaders aren’t synonymous with experts. Certainly they need to know their stuff, but while you tend to find that experts are motivated to maintain their established position, thought leaders draw broadly from a variety of disciplines in their analyses of industry, business, and cultural trends in order to look at issues differently and consider different conclusions.”

 

No fear of risk.

“Risk aversion is antithetical to thought leadership. Thought leaders aren’t interested in staying within the drawing lines; they don’t fear criticism or failure. True innovators take the reins in their industries and challenge the status quo with passion and conviction.”

 

 

The Knowledge Bridge That Marketing Builds

 

Although thought leadership shouldn’t just be a function of marketing, Liz says, marketers can provide the invaluable role of translator and storyteller. By helping to package their internal experts’ critical analyses and game-changing innovations in ways that engage clients and prospects, marketers can demonstrate greater value than many currently are.

Citing the Egremont Group’s “Head Office of the Future” project and Dale Bryce’s work at Sinclair Knight Merz (outlined here), Liz believes that “marketers can take that expertise and create a bridge between their internal thought leaders and the issues and challenges their clients and prospects care about most. They can tell stories that make that expert material much more engaging, relevant, compelling, and provocative in order to serve rather than serve up information their market has no interest in or no idea how to interpret or apply.”

 

 

What Do You Think?

 

Have marketing practices over the past two decades devalued “thought leadership”? What issues would you take with Liz’s perspective? Please share your thoughts in the comment section below.

 

Since 2001, Becky Tumidolsky has written awareness-building content for B2B brands and their discerning audiences. Her work has appeared in leading publications such as Forbes, U.S.News & World Report, Bloomberg Markets, Newsweek, and Inc. as well as corporate blogs, websites, white papers, and other content assets.

Becky loves writing fluid, error-free prose. She’s even more passionate about building the foundation for her work—uncovering core brand distinctions, framing them thematically, and developing fresh, compelling narratives that advance corporate strategies.

Follow and connect: Twitter| Google+| LinkedIn| Facebook

Want to Engage and Inspire Audiences? Learn the Secrets of History’s Great Communicators

By Leave a Comment


By Becky Tumidolsky

 

B2B marketers’ aspirations have never been grander.

These companies aren’t interested in competitive sprints and fleeting gains. They want to be considered leaders—thought leaders, innovators, cultural icons. They’re broadcasting their content through every possible platform in an effort to project power and influence and build and sustain a community of followers.

But success at this game is tough. The gaggle of players on the field keeps getting bigger. And louder.

How can aspiring industry leaders establish a commanding presence in this day and age?

I believe they would do well to step out of their industry bubbles and study how some of history’s most revered leaders communicated, connected, and converted.

 

Leadership is a hot topic among business marketers and managers, and there’s no shortage of expert advice. While leadership development isn’t my specialty, I do know leadership when I see it. So do your prospects, your competitors, and the communities you serve.

 

Leaders Lead by Mastering Language

In every era, in every realm of life, great leaders have emerged by skillfully exploiting their knowledge and talents to attract adherents, disarm critics, and leave an indelible mark.

By “skillfully exploiting,” I’m referring to their masterful use of language. Articulate, but relatable. Forceful, but emotive. Their signature brand of communication won people over in droves and compelled them to act as a unified force.

Here Are a Few of History’s Best

Since I can devote only so much space and time to this blog post, here are four historic figures who spoke like true leaders and thus became great ones.

 

Ronald Reagan: Humor and optimism

Ronald Regan

I grew up a child of the ‘80s, so Reagan was the first president I can recall. He swooped into office like Superman (49 states won) following the economic malaise of the late ‘70s, due in large part to his sunny demeanor and infectious optimism. Reagan became famous for his funny quips and one-liners, which endeared him to the public, fellow politicians (D and R), and world leaders alike.

 

Bill Clinton: Curiosity and empathy

Bill Clinton

Bill Clinton came to power in 1992 at a time of relative prosperity and peace. Clinton was known as a policy wonk who thought in big-picture terms and never stopped searching for answers. He also knew how to discuss policy issues in ways that resonated with average voters, and he had an uncanny knack for channeling their feelings and concerns.

 

Martin Luther King Jr.: Courage to dream big

MLK

The civil rights movement of the ‘50s and ‘60s could not have welcomed a more dedicated and effective leader than Martin Luther King Jr. As a Baptist minister, Dr. King placed his complete faith in God and in the “arc of the moral universe,” which he believed “bends toward justice.” So he pushed ahead without fear and reached for the sky, emboldening his followers to do the same.

 

General George S. Patton: Absolutely no b***s***

George Patton 2

A U.S. Army general who led his troops to a number of key victories in Europe during World War II, General Patton was nicknamed “Old Blood and Guts” for his penchant for taking the fight to the enemy. Patton was also known for being frank and outspoken, delivering hard truths that needed to be told—earning him the respect of soldiers under his command and a coveted place in the history books.

 

A Question for Readers

Are there businesspeople and companies that inspire you? What makes them leaders? How do they convey their leadership? What are you doing to convey yours? Please weigh in by leaving a comment below!

 

Since 2001, Becky Tumidolsky has written awareness-building content for B2B brands and their discerning audiences. Her work has appeared in leading publications such as Forbes, U.S.News & World Report, Bloomberg Markets, Newsweek, and Inc. as well as corporate blogs, websites, white papers, and other content assets.

Becky loves writing fluid, error-free prose. She’s even more passionate about building the foundation for her work—uncovering core brand distinctions, framing them thematically, and developing fresh, compelling narratives that advance corporate strategies.

Follow and connect: Twitter| Google+| LinkedIn| Facebook