All thought leadership projects must have a clear set of commercial and marketing objectives in mind. Yet, at the same time, companies need to avoid making content too sales or product-focused, as this will alienate the intended audience. A careful balance needs to be struck between these opposing goals, so that commercial objectives are achieved and audiences engaged.
Engaging
Time is a scarce commodity for most business audiences. To list of paraguay cell phone numbers really make an impact, thought leadership has to capture their attention and serve their needs. Serving up 10,000 word reports is unlikely to be effective on its own. Long-form reports certainly have their place, but companies should recognise that different audiences have different requirements. Supplementing longer reports with shorter articles, videos, infographics and other devices, and using these more immediate formats as “attention grabbers”, helps to tailor content for different audiences and increase reach.
Focused
A common pitfall with thought leadership is scope creep. A company starts with the best intentions to do something focused but then, in order to satisfy the needs of different stakeholders within the business, the theme gets broader and broader. Ultimately, however, this approach satisfies nobody. Stakeholders might get their area covered, but the content becomes so broad and diluted that it fails to engage audiences or say anything of significant value. Keeping thought leadership focused – and reinforcing why this is necessary to internal stakeholders – is by far the better approach.