Turn your company into an influencer by improving corporate reputation

At least, 65% of sales and marketing specialists consider this type of content to have significantly and positively changed their perception of a company.

Thought Leadership is becoming increasingly common for organizations, and for good reason. It has to do with the value that a company obtains within the public opinion and decision makers, so as to be considered a reference or a generator of solutions within an industry, activity or specific topic. Nowadays, it is so important that more companies are allocating part of their budget to position themselves as opinion leaders.

However, many times, companies’ campaigns or initiatives towards this goal are not sufficient or even accurate. This is evident in the global B2B Thought Leadership Impact Study, prepared by LinkedIn and Edelman, in which 3,600 management-level professionals specialized in sales and marketing were interviewed to find out their opinion and knowledge about thought leadership in the companies they work for. By far, the results are interesting and revealing:

• 71% of executives reported that less than half of this type of content provides some kind of valuable information.
• 65% of respondents indicated that a thought leadership piece significantly and positively changed their perception of a company.
• 64% said that this type of content is the “most reliable” basis for evaluating a supplier’s capabilities and competencies, rather than other marketing efforts.

In fact, according to marketing specialists, Thought Leadership can reach its full potential when it fully comprehends the preferences of its audiences and develops pieces of content aligned with those interests.

Precisely, Linkedin refers to some of the points, aimed at marketing specialists, that make this type of content, intended to influence a certain audience, have a higher probability of success:

• Staying informed is key to knowing the trends affecting industries and of interest to decision-makers. In this regard, 62% of respondents said they look for thought leadership that focuses on market trends.
• Information blind spots are useful and appealing to decision makers. That is, any content that addresses topics that are not prone to media coverage may be of interest to sales and marketing personnel.
• A more human and less formal tone is appreciated by decision makers. 64% of respondents said they prefer more personal content; at the same time, 67% said they want content that presents the point of view of a clearly identifiable author, rather than content that is only published under the brand name.
• Being bold also pays off. 81% of respondents said they prefer content that offers new and provocative ideas that challenge, in turn, their assumptions about a topic. At the same time, 77% expressed a desire to delve deeper into specialized topics.
• Selling does not have to be the main purpose. In this regard, 46% of decision makers noted that focusing too much on marketing or describing products and services, rather than conveying valuable information, is a clear thought leadership deficiency.

This is just a glimpse of the enormous potential this practice is reaching in more and more organizations. However, something that cannot be overlooked is the enormous potential that corporate spokespeople have as exponents of intellectual leadership, being generators of influence and messages and representing, in turn, the human face of companies.

Just these figures (who usually occupy key positions in companies) and their profiles in specialized social networks (such as Linkedin) are ideal assets to lead and develop a programmed plan of this type of content that generates reference and influence in their favor in public opinion. The characteristics and benefits of using it will be the subject of the next installment.

If you want to know how MileniumGroup implements effective Thought Leadership strategies, get to know Inbassadors, our digital leadership program that helps brands to enhance their credibility and reputation through the visibility of their executives on LinkedIn. Reach ou to us.