How marketing killed thought leadership
Where we went wrong, and how to fix it
One of the hottest recent trends in marketing has been the call for thought leadership, especially in B2B marketing circles. It’s a way to demonstrate that your C suite and subject matter experts really know their stuff, without resorting to the blatantly sales-y marketing techniques of yesteryear (like, say, the early 2010s).
These days the siren song of thought leadership is nearly inescapable:
- Entrepreneur: 5 Dos and Don’ts of Thought Leadership Marketing
- LinkedIn’s Marketing Solutions Blog: How to Create Impactful Thought Leadership Marketing
- Forbes: How to Make Thought Leadership the Best Part of Your Marketing Strategy
- Hubspot: The Content Marketer’s Guide to Thought Leadership
At this point, it’s not too far fetched to suggest that there’s a segment of folks out there—probably but not exclusively marketing professionals like yours truly—positioning themselves as thought leaders about thought leadership. Ugh. Enough!
Even worse than becoming a buzzword, mere mention of “thought leadership” is starting to make some people go numb. And I can’t blame them.
How did thought leadership become such a THING?
So how did we get to this point? When and how did thought leadership become the marketing strategy du jour that everyone and their grandmother wanted to be doing?
The progression was simple:
First, old-school marketing tactics lost their luster, because customers saw them for what they were—transparent sales pitches—not unlike the in-your-face product placement found in TV shows during the 1950s and 60s.
Angst and fatigue with traditional marketing approaches gave rise to a new era of content marketing earlier this millennium. Give the people something meaningful, something authentic, something useful! Give them CONTENT!
Out of content marketing arose a now-cherished subset we’ve come to know as thought leadership. True thought leadership can be genuinely differentiating and resonate with a target audience. I’m a strong believer in it.
(Having previously been editorial and marketing director at clean energy think tank Rocky Mountain Institute and today working with some stellar mission-driven organizations such as Energy Web Foundation and WattTime that are doing groundbreaking stuff with low-carbon energy solutions, I’m spoiled to be surrounded by solid thought leaders who publish excellent thought leadership.)
But like an amoeba reaching out its arms to engulf prey, content marketing is threatening to subsume thought leadership. Suddenly, every piece of content marketing feels like it’s trying to masquerade as thought leadership. Hence the current tsunami:
The problem with most ‘thought leadership’
The allure is understandable. Thought leadership is the bright, shiny new object. The sexy new marcom strategy. And it comes with an ego stroke. Because who wouldn’t want to be considered a thought leader? Sign me up!
But egos and vanity aside, there’s a difference between being a sound business leader and being a market thought leader. There’s a difference between being a subject matter expert privately and being a thought leader publicly. And there’s a difference between publishing mere content and publishing true thought leadership.
There are at least three inter-related pitfalls that currently plague today’s era of so-called thought leadership:
- Ubiquity: Indian novelist Savi Sharma writes that “Everyone has a story to tell. Everyone is a writer, some are written in the books and some are confined to hearts.” When it comes to thought leadership, though, it’s highly unlikely that we’re all actually publishing thought leadership. Your business might have a story tell, but that story might not constitute thought leadership. Sometimes content is just… content. And that’s OK. Which brings me to…
- Dilution: Don’t dilute the impact of good thought leadership by muddying the waters. Don’t be the Boy Who Cried Wolf, inviting your readers to ‘thought leadership’ that turns out to be anything but and which fails to deliver against its implicit promise. Not everything you publish qualifies as thought leadership. All thought leadership is content, but not all content is thought leadership. Save your claims of thought leadership for the content that does justice to the name. The right pinch of salt artfully added to a dish elevates the flavors, rather than deadens the taste buds through saturation. Which in turn brings me to the worst of all…
- Intention: Content that is blatantly advertorial to sell your product or service rarely does double duty successfully as genuine thought leadership. Remember: thought leadership is about expertise, unique insights, and useful commentary in the service of your audience and in the absence of self-promotion. If you can do that AND include a subtle nod to your solution, then you’ve found a unicorn. They’re rare. Most of the time, it’s probably just a horse. Don’t forget the purpose of thought leadership: in your customers’ journey with your brand, thought leadership builds their confidence and trust in you; it’s not first and foremost (or second or third) about lead generation.
Because let’s be honest…
How to do thought leadership right
Does all of this mean that thought leadership is dead? Hardly.
Even if not by name, thought leadership as a type of content has been around for millennia; as a marketing strategy, it’s probably been around for at least centuries. (Heck, 100 years ago Thomas Edison was the walking, talking embodiment of thought leadership vis-a-vis savvy brand management and cunning marketing strategy.)
To wield thought leadership in this day and age—deliberately as a specific tool in your marketing strategy—ask yourself these three questions:
- Purpose: Does your ‘thought leadership’ end in a sales pitch, a leadgen form, invitation to schedule a meeting, or other such call to action (CTA)? Then it almost certainly isn’t thought leadership. Although you want to be the thought leader, the thought leadership content is about them (your audience). Or more accurately, it’s in their service. You are sharing insights that demonstrate your expertise, and in so doing, building trust that importantly—but indirectly—supports your business and brand.
- Substance: Does your ‘thought leadership’ provide novel insights into market trends, challenges, and opportunities that help to advance an industry’s thinking and understanding? Does it help to demystify and explain a particularly complex and/or technical topic? Merely sharing your own personal business experiences does not count. Everyone has experiences. Not everyone translates that experience into meaningful thought leadership insights.
- Uniqueness: Is your perspective already well-represented by others’ writing and speaking, or does it forge new ground or offer a unique perspective? Are you one of a handful of experts or leaders in your field who are pioneering new advancements, or could you fill a Super Bowl stadium with industry peers that share your expertise? In part, thought leadership is prized because it is uncommon, because it is differentiating.
Keep these three criteria front-of-mind, so that you can rightly and honestly say to yourself:
