For all of the discussion that’s being had about thought leadership marketing and social media, one of the most important aspects of the conversation that’s usually squelched by the “bright shiny object syndrome” piece of the conversation is the need to keep your eyes and ears open for emerging thought leadership moments that you can capitalize on.
That said, on the other end of the spectrum is what happens when organizations have a thought leadership tick (creating a white paper just because…with no thought leadership strategy) or when they have a “social media seizure” (starting a Twitter account because your competitor started one yesterday, again, with no strategy). However, there’s a happy medium. In fact, from a PR perspective, this is really not much different than capitalizing on a news items or trend that intersects well with your offering, but taking a thought leadership approach on an issue takes a sustained effort and is not episodic.
What’s a Thought Leadership Moment?
My definition of a Thought Leadership Moment is an opportunity to gain share of voice and share of mind by establishing a point of view on a current issue or trend in the marketplace and having the conversation that your competitors aren’t already having. I recently overheard someone talking about a small study that they saw from a company that made high school locker room equipment about the effect of hygene habits on the spread of the flu in schools. (I’ve yet to be able to find a link to this study, however). This is a good example of a thought leadership moment for the company, if they have the pieces in place (we’ll talk about that in a minute). They’ve capitalized on a trend by establishing a point of view, conducting relevant and timely research, they’ve shared that with their target market and simultaneously educated their audience while articulating their solution to the problem. For those of you who are fans of Andy Grove and Intel, one could also define these simply as “inflection points”.
How do I recognize a thought leadership moment?
If you agree that thought leaders should be the best listeners (most leaders are great listeners), then you’re already on your way. Part of finding the right thought leadership moment is keeping an ear to the market and understanding what conversation is taking place, your place in it and the deciding where you think that conversation should go, or where it’s currently lacking. Thought leadership moments often come in many forms, but these are a few that we see most often:
A significant shift or change in your industry or field – Patents expire, flu season + school season, new regulations, a major competitor enters/exits, innovations, etc. Major shifts or trends in a market that precipitate your audience to seek knowledge and wisdom are great catalyst and prime thought leadership moments. The story above about the locker room equipment company producing a thought leading piece of research on flu in schools could be followed up (in thought leadership, there’s always follow up) by a webinar on best practices in locker room hygiene which could also discuss the need for antibacterial locker room floor mats or something…
Recognition that getting your ideas out ahead of your competitors is critical to success – Thought leadership moments come when an organization has a so-called “window of opportunity” to make a first-mover or fast-follower advance. For example, the recession is changing the ways and processes of many industries. Flexible work, downmarket seeking, value-based products, and a more holistic view of how vendors integrate to help grow a business are just some of the changes that are stretching organizations beyond their elastic points and ushering in effects that will be felt for a long time, and which may never return to the way they were before. The thought leading organization will see this as an opportunity to get out in front of an issue with their point of view to garner share of voice, mind and market.
No one’s having the conversation you want to have in the industry or in your area – Another event that occurs while people are distracted by the economy, the administration in Washington, bright shiny objects or anything else that keeps them from focusing on the core conversation that the market thinks that they should have. This often comes through a customer conversation where someone says “yeah, but no one’s really solving the real problem with X…” There’s no better time to establish your thought leadership on that issue and start the conversation that really needs to take place in the market. A slight variation on this them is when you’re bringing something new to your local area. Whether it’s a new technology or process or way or doing business, the future is here, it’s just not evenly distributed (apologies to William Gibson). Being the thought leader in your local area can be worth a great deal.
There are many more thought leadership moments that I’m sure you’ll find in your journey, however, if you see any or all of the above occurring in your industry now, this is a great time to capitalize on the opportunity and launch your thought leadership intitiative today.
August 24, 2009
Lessons on Using LinkedIn for Lead Generation
I've heard more B2B marketers citing LinkedIn as a key social network they want to add into their lead generation and marketing strategy. I often get asked questions like "how do you generate leads via LinkedIn (without alienating your network)? How are you doing it? What works, and what doesn't etc."
In this post, "5 steps for using LinkedIn as lead generation tool," I share what I've learned so far. I'm still experimenting and I'd love to get your input on this.
My colleagues over at MarketingSherpa just posted a terrific case study on Using LinkedIn for Lead Generation. In the case study, they profile a marketing team and their lessons on "joining LinkedIn groups, sharing relevant marketing collateral, and qualifying the leads that come through the channel."
Here’s a quick look at the 6 lessons they learned:
Lesson #1. Target groups by activity level (relevance), not just by size
Lesson #2. Join groups under your own name, not a company
Lesson #3. Place collateral in the context of a conversation
Lesson #4. Response rate is highly variable
Lesson #5. Create social media-specific landing pages
Lesson #6. Quality can be an issue with leads from LinkedIn
Read MarketingSherpa: Using LinkedIn for Lead Generation: 6 Lessons
Resource:
2009 Social Media Marketing and PR: Benchmarks and Best Practices
Visit the B2B Lead Generation Roundtable Group on LinkedIn. This group is all about sharing ideas that focus on the many aspects of B2B lead generation such as lead nurturing, lead management, teleprospecting and more. The group has grown to 2800 members in just 12 week but I'm even more excited about the quality discussions. I'm learning a ton from members. Check it out
Related posts:
Read 5 steps for using LinkedIn as lead generation tool
Savvy B2B Marketing: Using LinkedIn to Gather Industry Intelligence
August 19, 2009
Grace
As the recession pounds on, it wears on people. Everyone is a little more uptight, a little more worried and as a result, perhaps a little more "me focused."
That gets in the way of us being capable of offering our customers, co-workers and employees something very valuable.
Grace.
My definition? Simply offering support, forgiveness, or comfort to people in our world, whether they've earned it or not. In other words...cutting them some slack.
It's more than turning the other cheek. It's about assuming the best of everyone. It's being empathetic of where they're coming from. Meeting them where they're at. It's about choosing to give them the benefit of the doubt and being gentle.
It is acknowledging that they are human, in the humblest form.
Our clients/customers count on us to be their guide. They're the experts in their field and they look to us to be their expert in ours. We've promised to show them how to get where they want to go. It's our job to get them there as safely and effectively as possible.
Do clients always behave like we'd want them to? Do they always make the best decisions or react with the speed, amplitude or enthusiasm that we'd prescribe? Do they drop the ball? Or hand it off to the wrong person/team? Or forget about conversations about potential consequences and decisions made until there's a problem?
You know the answers to all of those questions.
But here are the questions that truly matter. What was their intent? What was in their heart?
Hopefully when we slow down and ask those questions, it will be easy to offer our grace. I truly believe it's a customer retention tool every business needs to embrace.
August 17, 2009
Four Unusual Places to Promote Your White Papers
Do you have a white paper that needs a little more attention?
What follows are four “not so obvious places” to promote your white papers.
1. Your Email Signature: Why not include a title, short description and link to your white papers in your email signature. This will ensure that your white paper is prominently displayed in all of your email communications. Be sure to include it in auto-responder emails, such as newsletter registration confirmations.
2. On Twitter: Create a custom background on Twitter with a thumbnail of the cover of your white paper. Include a very prominent visual URL. Remember that Twitter backgrounds are graphics, so you won’t be able to hotlink the white paper. However, when folks want to learn more about you, they’ll see your white paper.
3. On Facebook: Try including a link to your white paper in your personal profile in Facebook OR on your Facebook fan page. In addition, you can use the Notes feature in Facebook to paste in HTML formatted content, such as your white paper landing pages.
4. On Your Blog: If your company has a blog, the sidebar is an excellent place to promote your white paper. Simply include a small thumbnail image and a link or basic form to gain access to the paper.
Do you have any other ideas?