RETHINKING THOUGHT LEADERSHIP WITH 3 QUESTIONS
In an era of digital saturation and public spectacle, our friend and strategic communication expert Spencer Ante offers a new playbook for thought leadership. He argues that breaking through the noise demands original ideas and research, a deliberate content distribution strategy, and data that tracks the impact of the effort. Without these measures, an expert’s ideas are doomed to the dustbin.
According to Spencer, three simple questions frame the new playbook for thought leadership that can fuel both the reputation and the bottom line of a business.
Is it bold and backed by primary research? Find opportunities no one else is tackling. Proprietary research gives brands a credible foundation for bold storytelling. So when Morgan Stanley recognized a lack of content addressing LGBTQ investment topics, it spoke directly to its financial advisors and clients, creating resources that tackled this unmet need. The program helped position Morgan Stanley as an inclusive and forward-thinking brand. Another example: Meta’s trend reports combine anonymized user data with forward-thinking insights to deliver compelling perspectives on such topics as creative AI.
How will the thought leadership reach target audiences? Bold ideas are almost worthless if they fail to land with audiences. While companies spend significant effort developing thought leadership pieces, many fail to adequately plan for distributing that expertise. Employees are one underused channel. Audiences increasingly trust individuals more than they do brands, and employees can authentically amplify content to their networks.
What’s its ROI? Proving the return on investment of thought leadership used to be tough, but now tracking tools help measure the impact with some precision. The key is to define success metrics that align the thought leadership with business priorities.
Read Spencer’s full article here.
