These slides were presented at the SEMrush webinar "5 Hours of Content Marketing | Thought Leadership and SEO: The 3 Key Elements and Search Ranking Strategies". Video replay and transcript are available at https://www.semrush.com/webinars/5-hours-of-content-marketing-or-thought-leadership-and-seo-the-3-key-elements-and-search-ranking-strategies/

1. @crestodina
Andy Crestodina
Thought Leadership & SEO
What is “thought leadership”
and how can it drive search rankings?
#SEMrushLive

2. @crestodina #SEMrushLive
“Free deliverables organizations or individuals
produce on a topic they know a lot about and feel
others can benefit from having their perspective on.
…does not include content primarily focused on
describing an organization’s products or services.”
source: Edelman, B2B Thought Leadership Impact Study

3. @crestodina #SEMrushLive
“An individual or firm that is recognized as an
authority in a specialized field and whose expertise
is sought and often rewarded.”
source: Wikipedia

4. Expert
Insights
Take a
Stand
Personal
Brand
Key Aspects of Thought Leadership

6. Logos
PathosEthos
Key Aspects of Thought Leadership

7. SME
KOLInfluencer
Key Aspects of Thought Leadership

8. SME
KOLInfluencer
Key Aspects of Thought Leadership

9. @crestodina #SEMrushLive
1. Thought Leaders
Have Expert Insights

10. Expert
Insights
• Original research
• New/novel ideas
• Write books

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n=481
Why types of individuals make the best thought leaders?
source: What is thought leadership marketing? Orbit Media

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What do you consider to be effective thought leadership content?
(practical / education)
n=481source: What is thought leadership marketing? Orbit Media

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71% of respondents said
purely educational content
can be thought leadership

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Publish Original Research
(60% of respondents said research reports
are effective thought leadership content)
Thought Leadership Strategy #1

15. source: Moz, BuzzSumo

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Most content gets
no links and few shares
source: BuzzSumo, Moz

17. Steve Rayson
Co-founder, Buzzsumo
...if you want to create content that achieves a high level of both
shares and links then you should concentrate on
opinion forming, authoritative content...
or well researched and evidenced content.

18. Steve Rayson
Co-founder, Buzzsumo
...if you want to create content that achieves a high level of both
shares and links then you should concentrate on
strong opinion
original research

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High-growth firms are 3x as likely
to publish original research
as part of their content strategy
source: Hinge Marketing

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Original Research Example One
“What website features are standard?”

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Original Research Example Two
“How long does it take to write a blog post?”

30. source: 2019 Blogger Survey, Orbit Media

31. source: 2018 Blogger Survey

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“What do people in our industry
often say but rarely support?”

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Find the missing stat

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Write a Book
(32% of respondents said authors
make the best thought leaders)
Thought Leadership Strategy #2

36. Your “Lifetime Body of Work”
LBOW

38. Tracking your LBOW over time…

39. The “You-pedia”
LBOW

40. The “You-pedia” è The Blog
LBOW

41. The “You-pedia” è The Blog è The Book
LBOW

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2. Thought Leaders
Take A Stand

49. Take a
Stand
• Strong Opinion
(for/against)
• Controversy
• Inspiration

50. @crestodina #SEMrushLive
What do you consider to be effective thought leadership content?
(strong opinion / perspective)
n=481source: What is thought leadership marketing? Orbit Media

51. @crestodina #SEMrushLive
What do you consider to be effective thought leadership content?
(strong opinion / perspective)

52. @crestodina #SEMrushLive
Can purely educational/how-to content be thought leadership?
n=481source: What is thought leadership marketing? Orbit Media

53. @crestodina #SEMrushLive
What qualities should a thought leader possess?
n=481source: What is thought leadership marketing? Orbit Media

54. Seth Godin
Best-selling author
Thought leadership always creates tension. It’s about
making assertions. You have to be willing to be wrong.
You can be certain that some people will disagree.

55. @crestodina #SEMrushLive
Publish Strong Opinions
(53% of respondents said
having strong opinions is essential)
Thought Leadership Strategy #2

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What do you believe that
most people would disagree with?

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What do you think will happen in the future
that most people think is unlikely?

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What questions are people in your industry
afraid to answer?

71. @crestodina #SEMrushLive
3. Thought Leaders
Have Personal Brands

72. Personal
Brand
• Social following
(or other media presence)
• Cited by others
• Influential

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source: What is thought leadership marketing? Orbit Media

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source: What is thought leadership marketing? Orbit Media

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Contribute to other sites
(32% of respondents said quotes in the media
make effective thought leadership content)
Thought Leadership Strategy #3

79. “Hey would you like to
contribute to my post?”

81. “Sure! How about something
about blogging best practices?”
“Hey would you like to
contribute to my post?”

82. “Hey would you like to
contribute to my post?”
“Sounds great, buddy!”
“Sure! How about something
about blogging best practices?”

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Submit a contribution that
mentions/links to that article…

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…wait for the post to go live

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1. Find the articles that need a little love
2. Track them on a list
…wait for an opportunity to contribute a quote
3. Provide a quote that references an article from the list
…wait for the article to go live
4. Check the link, thank the author!
5. Promote the article on social media
RECAP: Leverage a Personal Brand for Mentions and Links

91. @crestodina #SEMrushLive
So what is “thought leadership”
and can anyone do it?

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n=481source: What is thought leadership marketing? Orbit Media

93. Essential qualities for thought leadership

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To be a thought leader, you must...
clearly communicate challenging new
ideas, back them up with data and have
a strong point of view.

95. “Nice to have” qualities for thought leadership

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And it doesn’t hurt if…
you’re a likeable person who
publishes consistently and doesn’t
shy away from controversy.

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“How can I get more speaking opportunities?”

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103. 15 Ways to Become a Visible Expert
1. Polish your LinkedIn profile to perfection
2. Ask for endorsements and recommendations
3. Google Yourself. Like what you see?
4. Publish deeper more comprehensive articles.
5. Conduct a study
6. Share more
7. Leverage social media video

104. @crestodina #SEMrushLive
“Learn something useful,
then teach it to everyone”

105. @crestodina
Andy Crestodina
THANK YOU!