This document discusses different levels of "opening your kimono", or sharing proprietary knowledge and information through thought leadership content. It profiles several companies and how they approach thought leadership. The levels range from closed (no online content) to fully open (giving away all knowledge). The companies test various approaches, weighing awareness and leads against effort and risk of sharing too much. They emphasize testing content distribution and monetization strategies to find the right approach.
Falcon Invoice Discounting: Unlock Your Business Potential
Content Marketing: How Far Do You Open the Kimono
1. How Much Do You
Open Your Kimono?
Does "Thought Leadership"
Cannibalize Your Ability to
Monetize What You Know?
Jay Baer and Joe Pulizzi
@jaybaer @juntajoe
4. Why Does It Matter?
Elise Bauer
The recognition from the outside world that
the company deeply understands its business,
the needs of its customers, and the broader
marketplace in which it operates.
9. MarketFace
Significant repeat and WOM business
Vertical-focused, easier to drive WOM
Small company, time constraints
Highly customized process
10. MarketFace
Questions whether his target audience
(C-Suite) consumes content online
(writing a book at present)
If you can’t do it well, is content a
net positive for your brand?
- Michael Roberts – President
11. 1. Closed Kimono
No Online Thought Leadership
PRO
Zero time investment
Focus on detailed, long-form, custom
content
CON
Limited exposure in Search
Reduced ability to build online influence
12. 2. What Happens in Vegas
Thought Leadership on Distributed
Micro Platforms
LinkedIn and Facebook Groups
Twitter Curation
Blog Comments
13. Lisa Loeffler
Founder, Genuine Media Co.
Social media strategy and advice
Since 2008
Clients include:
Valerie Fitzgerald Group
E-storm Intl (Puma, Gucci, Volcom)
Collegiate Licensing Company
14. Lisa Loeffler
Limited long-form thought leadership
1 post/month on e-storm blog
Active in Twitter (content curation)
Participant in industry surveys/studies
Active presence in Facebook groups
dedicated to social marketing
Many Empire Avenue connections
Prefers the 1:1 nature of micro thought
leadership and interactions
15. Lisa Loeffler
Built hundreds of relationships on EA
Met her new business partner on that
platform in June, 2011
16. Lisa Loeffler
The Poll Taker
Free, real-time, platform-agnostic polling
platform
17. Lisa Loeffler
Believe thought leadership is derived
from long-term engagement more so
than content creation
To be considered a leader in any
field one must build and gain
trust within their communities
- Lisa Loeffler – Founder
18. 2. What Happens in Vegas
Distributed Micro Thought Leadership
LinkedIn Answers
Twitter News Distribution
Blog Comments
PRO
Original content not required
Can become trusted community
resource
CON
No ability to drive to lead source
Limited search engine potential
19. 2. What Happens in Vegas
AUDIENCE VOTE
Is this a comfortable level of
openness for you and your
company?
YES NO
20. 3. Quid Pro Quo
Selling Thought Leadership
E-Books
How-To Packages
eNewsletter Subscriber Packages
21. Bob Bly
Bob Bly – Leading direct marketing
copywriter and informational product
guru.
22. Bob Bly
Selling Thought Leadership
• Step 1: Free eNewsletter builds your
list to market to.
23. Bob Bly
Selling Thought Leadership
• Step 1: ROI Calculator provides opt-in
signups.
24. Bob Bly
Selling Thought Leadership
• Step 1: Free eNewsletter and ROI
Calculator builds your list to market to.
• Step 2: Sample reports provide some
sharing – promotion of newsletter and
more free reports (email address)
25. Bob Bly
Selling Thought Leadership
• Step 1: Free eNewsletter and ROI
Calculator builds your list to market to.
• Step 2: Sample reports provide some
sharing – promotion of newsletter and
more free reports (email address)
• Step 3: Paid offers (money-back
guarantee), marketed through email
and sample reports
26. Bob Bly
The How
• Free reports are compilations of
already published reports.
• Key combination of volume (number
of pages), quality AND packaging.
• Free information talks of the
possibilities…paid information goes
into all the details.
27. Bob Bly
Six-Figure Email List
Free premium reports led to increase of
conversions by 25%.
Enewsletter conversions doubled AFTER
free reports were added.
If your free information is best of breed,
subscribers will assume your paid
information is best of breed. If free
information is bad, they’ll never want your
paid stuff.
- Bob Bly
28. 3. Quid Pro Quo
Selling Thought Leadership
E-Books
How-Tos/Tutorials
PRO
Recurring revenue
Passive income
CON
Can be difficult to upgrade to fully paid
services
Must test exhaustively
29. 3. Quid Pro Quo
AUDIENCE VOTE
Is this a comfortable level of
openness for you and your
company?
YES NO
30. 4. Give Me Your Number
Lead-Gated Thought Leadership
Place content behind
mandatory lead generation
forms, etc.
31. ExactTarget
Interactive marketing SAAS company
One of the world s largest email service
providers
Customers include:
Groupon
Nike
Microsoft
32. ExactTarget
Multiple content initiatives
Subscriber, Fans, Followers Research
Blog
Forrester White Papers
Field Guides
Letters to the C-Suite
Email Newsletters
Enterprise-wide analysis of role of content in
leads and sales process, including client
renewals
33. ExactTarget
Content creation is decentralized
Different areas of the company create
content to serve their purposes
(often lead generation)
34. ExactTarget
10-part research series
Tens of thousands of downloads
Hundreds of thousands of dollars in direct
sales
Millions of dollars in indirect sales
35. ExactTarget
More content and more use for lead
nurturing, not just lead generation
We will become more journalistic,
empowering more people within
the company to create content.
- Jeff Rohrs – Vice President of Marketing
36. 4. Give Me Your Number
Lead-Gated Thought Leadership
Place content behind mandatory
lead generation forms, etc.
PRO
River of leads for sales team
Trackable
CON
No control over lead quality
Reduces consumption rate
Lack of shareability
37. 4. Give Me Your Number
AUDIENCE VOTE
Is this a comfortable level of
openness for you and your
company?
YES NO
38. 5. Peek-a-Boo
Giving Away What You Know But
Not the Process
Heavy blogging
Presentations
Video Demonstrations
39. Openview Venture Partners
Leading value-add venture capitalist
organization
Invests $5 to $15 million in technology
companies between $2 and $20 million.
Investments include:
– Zmags
– Balihoo
– Central Desktop
– Monetate
40. Openview Venture Partners
Started with an employee blog and now
has 90% employee participation.
Full audio and video studio.
Employs a full-time journalist to
coordinate activities.
41. Openview Venture Partners
Integrates blog into full tech-startup
resource site called Openview Labs.
Over 1,000 podcasts, videos and articles.
Multiple pieces distributed per day via
blog and social media.
42. Openview Venture Partners
Results
Over 8,500 email subscribers in 18
months…25% open rate.
Significantly shortened sales cycle.
Closed deals directly from online
content.
A year ago, no one knew who we were. Now,
when we speak with CEOs, we find that they’ve
already heard of us and they get what we’re
about.
Scott Maxwell, CEO, Openview Venture Partners
43. 5. Peek-a-Boo
Giving Away What You Know But
Not the Process
PRO
Heavy awareness
SEO and PR benefits
CON
Tons of effort required
Devalues each piece of content?
45. 6. The Full Monty
Giving It All Away
Creating Content That is Outside Your
Core Category
46. Eloqua
Marketing automation software company
Leaders in lead generation and nurturing
Clients include:
Sony
Dow Jones
Johnson & Johnson
47. Eloqua
Exceptionally broad and comprehensive
content program
Team includes in-house journalists
Very robust digital dandelion program,
with content residing at Eloqua.com and
many other places online
No lead gates for offsite content
Sends content to current leads and
customers as exclusive sneak peek
48. A
Form
is
the
Eloqua Enemy
of
Spread
Huge Slideshare program
Millions in revenue from Grande Guides
Lead form is AFTER the content
50. 98,259
Eloqua Slideshare
Views
New content helps others become
content marketers, creating leads that
need automation (virtuous circle)
51. Eloqua
We focus content on the 85% of
people that don’t know us, rather
than the 15% who do.
18 months ago, we were behind. We
had to get noticed by showing
more skin.
- Joe Chernov – Vice President of Content
52. 6. The Full Monty
Giving It All Away
Creating Content That is Outside Your
Core Category
PRO
No barrier to customer
Can go David & Goliath
CON
Requires serious effort
Allows others to steal
Diverts attention from core attributes
53. 6. The Full Monty
AUDIENCE VOTE
Is this a comfortable level of
openness for you and your
company?
YES NO
54. Deciding Which is Right
1. Closed Kimono
2. What Happens in Vegas
3. Quid Pro Quo
4. Give Me Your Number
5. Peek-a-Boo!
6. The Full Monty
55. Testing Scenario
One piece of thought leadership content
Multiple ways to treat it
1
6 2
Thought
Leadership
Content
5 3
4
56. 4 Types of Content Metrics
Consumption Sharing
Metrics Metrics
Lead
Sales
Generation
Metrics
Metrics