Many companies today strive to be “thought leaders,” but only a select few truly live up to that aspiration. Thought leadership requires a unique point of view, the ability to provide valuable information, and a layered approach to disseminating that information. This presentation explores what makes a thought leader, best practices for thought leadership, and why a content strategy is essential to help companies grow and sustain their thought leadership — helping with everything from navigating internal politics to prioritizing resources.

1. The Content Strategy of
Thought Leadership
CSForum 2013, Helsinki
Stacey King Gordon, Suite Seven Inc.
@staceykgordon

2. Suite Seven is a content strategy
and brand consultancy in
Oakland, California.

4. The Bold Italic / Design by Skinny Ships
www.thebolditalic.com

8. What is thought leadership,
exactly?

9. MY HIGHLY SCIENTIFIC FACEBOOK POLL:
Do you know what I mean by
“thought leadership”?
Huh?
I’ve heard it, but I’m not sure what it means.
I know what it means and how to define it!
45%
11%
49%

10. MY HIGHLY SCIENTIFIC FACEBOOK & FRIENDS POLL:
Do you know what I mean by “thought
leadership”?

11. MY HIGHLY SCIENTIFIC FACEBOOK & FRIENDS POLL:
Do you know what I mean by “thought
leadership”?

12. MY HIGHLY SCIENTIFIC FACEBOOK & FRIENDS POLL:
Do you know what I mean by “thought
leadership”?

14. My reasons for selecting the people
who appear here were straightforward.
In each instance, I was looking for an
individual who was addressing the big
questions with which today’s most
senior executives are wrestling.
These questions relate to issues of
business strategy, growth, and human
resources, as well as the new social
contract that is taking shape among
companies, employees, and
shareholders, and the ways in which
society itself is changing.
“Thought Leadership”
c. 1994

15. Source: Content Marketing Institute and
MarketingProfs

16. “To become a thought
leader, hire a virtual
assistant to blog for you
twice a week”
“Thought Leadership”
c. 2013

17. “Comment on other
peoples’ blog posts.”
“Thought Leadership”
c. 2013

18. Thought
Leadership
Content
Marketing
Personal
Branding
Branded
Content

19. OPQ Company is a trusted
global leader in technology
solutions for businesses
around the world …

20. The first rule of thought leadership
is that you don’t talk about
“thought leadership.”

27. SHOW,
DON’T
TELL
1. Innovate in product development
2. Lead the way in new business
models
3. Share expertise, insight and analysis

28. SHOW,
DON’T
TELL
1. Innovate in product development
2. Lead the way in new business
models
3. Share expertise, insight and analysis

29. Thought leadership essential #1
Unique, informed perspective
• Authority on industry issues
• Immersed in an industry and takes a guiding role
• Experienced professionals sharing their insights
• Focused, provocative thinking

34. Thought leadership essential #2
Useful and relevant to audiences
• Written and packaged for easy consumption
• Applicable and usable
• Speaks to audiences’ day-to-day reality

39. Content Marketing
vs.
Thought Leadership

40. Content Marketing
• Starts in the marketing
department
• Is one of many lead-
generation tactics
(check the box)
• Is sometimes packaged
as “thought leadership”
ORGANIZATIONAL SUPPORT AND VISIBILITY

41. Thought Leadership
• Starts at the top and
works its way down
• Becomes an integral
part of the brand
• Permeates and becomes
part of the discourse
Content Marketing
• Starts in the marketing
department
• Is one of many lead-
generation tactics
(check the box)
• Is sometimes packaged
as “thought leadership”
ORGANIZATIONAL SUPPORT AND VISIBILITY

42. Source: Harvard Business Review

43. Content Marketing
Investing in regular or
semi-regular development
of content that is:
• Repackaged
• Influenced by product
marketing/messaging
• Created from secondary sources
• Business-led
• One-dimensional
CONTENT STANDARDS

44. “Thoughts are a prerequisite
for thought leadership.”
Neal Bruce
Head of Product Management
at Lumesse

45. Content Marketing
Investing in regular or
semi-regular development
of content that is:
• Repackaged
• Influenced by product
marketing/messaging
• Created from secondary sources
• Business-led
• One-dimensional
Thought Leadership
Investing in regular
development of content
that is:
• Original
• Unbiased
• Research-driven
• Audience-led
• Layered
CONTENT STANDARDS

46. Layered Content
DO:
• Provide a succinct summary
with the ability to dig deeper
• Provide layers that people can
extract, digest and share
• Get maximum mileage with
complementary content
DON’T:
• Publish a link to a dense,
40-page PDF report
• Publish the exact same content
in umpteen different formats

48. Short summary article
Slide show

49. Video commentary

50. Thought Leadership
“Value exchange” focused
on audience success (and
long-term results for the
organization)
Content Marketing
ROI measured through
leads generated,
conversions, and other
sales-focused metrics
GOALS AND MEASUREMENT

51. Do Good to Do Well
“With true thought leadership, there’s nothing in it for
me. It’s public service. It’s doing something helpful for
the client.”

52. Early stage (reach)
More inbound inquiries and short listing
Middle stage (depth)
Faster sales cycles, higher close rates, and
bigger deal sizes
Later stage (relationship)
Increased customer loyalty and higher
lifetime value
Source: Laura Ramos, Forrester
Benefits of
Thought
Leadership

53. Content strategy of thought leadership:
A case study

54. Client: A Business Bank
• Founded to finance startup companies
• Offices around the world
• First forays into “content marketing” in early
2000s
• Unique position in startup community, evolving
into serving mature companies

55. Challenges
• Lack of agreement about purpose
and goals of thought leadership

56. Challenges
• Lack of agreement about purpose
and goals of thought leadership
• Limited resources and great demand

57. Challenges
• Lack of agreement about purpose
and goals of thought leadership
• Limited resources and great demand
• Quality consistency

58. Challenges
• Lack of agreement about purpose
and goals of thought leadership
• Limited resources and great demand
• Quality consistency
• Organization vs. individual

59. Goals
of the
Content
Strategy
1. Support bank’s positioning and add
value to client relationship
throughout lifecycle
2. Establish a publishing model to
prioritize content
3. Set standards for content quality

60. Stakeholder Interviews
“A lot of our thought leadership is in our one-on-
one relationships, in how we help our clients be
successful. CEO conversations on how they can
move forward effectively is just as much thought
leadership as a published piece.”
“Thought leadership takes many forms. The
medium is maybe the least interesting piece. The
what and to whom will answer the question of how
it’s best to deliver it.”
“Thought leadership isn’t always about us
producing it, but about us enabling it. Putting
all the real thought experts in a room and
facilitating it happening.”

61. POINT OF VIEW
Putting the clients at the center of
everything
Tapping in to unparalleled client
relationships to inform expertise, insights
and practical advice to help clients succeed

62. CONTENT FRAMEWORK
Thought leadership across the client
lifecycle
• Deep sector expertise
• Strong C-level relationships and
strategic insights
• Cultivating peer-to-peer conversations
and information sharing

63. CONTENT GOALS
• Educate
• Inspire
• Provoke thought
• Foster networking and engagement

64. INDIVIDUAL VS. BRAND
• Individual thought leaders should
cultivate unique perspective, expertise
and voice.
• Bank maintains the higher branding,
with all thought leadership content
focused on delivering value to the
audience.

65. Three Tiers
of Content
Premium/Proprietary Content
Best Practices/Solution Content
Current Awareness/Expertise

66. Three Tiers
of Content
Premium/Proprietary Content
Criteria
Original research, first-time publication, data-driven but
with a narrative, fostering external credibility
Tone
Educational, more formal, smart and incisive, upbeat
Frequency
Quarterly/semi-annual
Creators
Professional writers/marketing, or subject matter
experts with support of professional editors
Extending the Value
Complementary content to support sharing at every
level: social content, video, PPT decks, infographics,
blog posts

67. Three Tiers
of Content
Best Practices/Solutions Content
Criteria
Value-added guidance to deepen conversations, unique
POV but citing secondary sources, informative
Tone
Educational, technical/data-driven, smart and incisive,
upbeat
Frequency
Several times a year, as issues or trends emerge
Creators
Professional writers/marketing, or subject matter
experts with support of professional editors
Extending the Value
Promote on social, turn larger pieces into several short
pieces (blog posts), create sales collateral out of content

68. Three Tiers
of Content
Current Awareness/Expertise
Criteria
Smaller bites of thought-provoking content, highlighting
individual expertise, conveys unique POV, timely
Tone
Smart, conversational, upbeat, succinct, humorous
(when appropriate)
Frequency
Regularly (a few times a week)
Creators
Subject matter experts, salespeople, marketing
Extending the Value
Sharing on social channels, curating and packaging
“best of” content into more premium publications

69. RESULTS
• More focus to thought leadership
projects
• Internal alignment on goals,
ownership, process
• Support for people throughout the
company’s ranks to participate and
contribute
• More mileage out of efforts

71. Questions?

72. THANK YOU!
www.suiteseven.com/csforum13