INSIGHTS
Listen up! We have all kinds of opinions about how to do this stuff right. No ranting — we promise.
Does your thought leadership make readers take action?
It would be great if more strategic content was written to prompt “action this day” — or any day, for that matter.
Where will your next generation of thought leaders come from?
Who are your current thought leaders? How old are they? And who’ll be authoring the bulk of your company’s thought leadership in 10 years’ time?
Sorry, But That Really Is One Ugly Baby
When — and how — to tell a client that their “content baby” needs a makeover.
What should customers do with your thought leadership, anyway?
So you and your subject-matter authors have labored long and hard to produce a brilliant thought leadership paper. It’s got a bold, well-differentiated argument. There’s a clear “why now.” It’s jam-packed with lively examples and proprietary data.
So NOT Thought Leadership
When is a white paper not a white paper? When it’s a brochure (and for the record, there’s nothing wrong with brochures … it’s all about your audience and intent). But if you are marketing lead, you know the drill.
Compelling Content Requires Pressure Testing Your Ideas
Hurry-hurry! You know the situation: the big industry conference is looming and your authors are getting their ideas together …
Q: If you’re blogging, are you a thought leader? (A: maybe not)
These days, it seems like more and more professional services firms are turning to blogs as their preferred expression of thought leadership. That’s a mistake.
Why Thought Leaders Should Never be Writers
Imagine this: a senior partner has a great idea for an article. She jots down a few thoughts during a break in her client meeting. She writes up that idea on the plane ride back from the client. Done! Published. Posted. Right? Not right.
You really shouldn’t try to fake expertise
Far too often, we find ourselves reading a piece of thought leadership that, had we been locked in a quiet room with access to the Internet and a large bowl of M&Ms, we could probably have written ourselves.