In episode 19 of the B2B Content Corner Podcast, Megan asks seven B2B marketers for insider advice on why thought-leadership content can make or break a business
Straight from the experts… In episode 19 of the B2B Content Corner Podcast, Megan Thudium asks 7 B2B marketing community members about their opinion of thought-leadership content and why it’s important to content strategy.
To see some people killing the thought-leadership game, and gather insight on how you can approach sharing knowledge too, we have asked 7 content marketers – and thought-leaders – to give their opinion on how thought-leadership can improve your B2B marketing.
Gain relevant insights by listening to the episode below:
'I believe thought-leadership is important because it achieves valuable positioning by building credibility upon expert reputation. Due to the crowded B2B services space, people want to buy from companies they view as knowledgeable authorities within that space'.
Elena brings attention to two key qualities of successful thought-leadership: narrow breadth and consistent depth. To show true expertise, she recommends sticking to just a few key topic areas within your industry or products and dive deep. Become a relevant and necessary source by providing a focus that is backed by research and experience and puts things into a new perspective. Your efforts will keep you top of mind, helping you later in the sales process.
Victor finds thought-leadership valuable for two core reasons: to build a formidable brand within your industry, and to impact sales. A formidable brand draws attention and respect from your customers. Similarly, this positioning will positively impact your sales, driving your audience to choose your company over others.
'Within the sales process, it is important to remember you can’t always measure impact quantitatively. Just as the last brand you bought from was most likely a brand you have interacted with in the past, it is difficult to calculate the exact ways your brand has influenced buyers, especially in the B2B industry' , he says.
'People don’t want to be pitched, they want to learn – and that’s why thought-leadership is a necessary component of the content marketing strategy' , Mandy explains. According to corporate visions, 74% of buyers choose the company/sales rep who is first to give value/insight. Sharing valuable tips, information, and resources is the fastest way to build your personal or company brand.
Mandy advises giving people different perspectives. 'Teach them something new to boost your credibility, authority, trustability, and likability. If you break through the noise of the industry by helping people, they will in turn appreciate you and drive those later sales conversations' , she concludes.
Viola Eva knows that when you hear ‘SEO’ and ‘thought-leadership content’, they sound like contradictions – that interesting stories cannot be married with keywords. 'In reality, the two complement each other. Keywords don’t have to be a boring wall of text, and thought-leadership doesn’t have to be posted once just to get lost within a website and never viewed again' , she explains.
Next time you write thought-leadership, Viola recommends you add some keyword research to your text. SEO will rank your page and thought-leadership will create valuable backlinks as people reference your page, ultimately ensuring consistent eyeballs on your content. The result is a beautiful joint effort.
Nabeel Keblawi values thought-leadership because it gives the company human face and human touch. People want to hear from more than a brand, but from company leaders and employees. No one reads company announcements or news because it doesn’t involve them. What people do care about is content that can relate to them. This trend has been present in B2C, but is now growing within B2B. People are building relationships that transcend business itself, and we can see the evidence on LinkedIn, Twitter, and even TikTok.
For thought-leadership to work well, you must be authentic, transparent, and principled in what you believe in – this can’t be faked. Provide transparent content that connects the reader to your brand, and you will create a long-lasting relationship.
'I'm an empath trying to reach an audience at their most satisfactory level of content. As a content marketer, my goal is to make sure all the pieces get one step closer to understanding potential buyers. Thought-leadership has a strong correlation to content marketing because it allows brands to stand out within the saturated industry. To foster relationships with customers, you need to engage with them by talking about something that interests them'.
Samirah recommends creating opinion-forming, authoritative content to get people talking – this will build your brand’s position and differentiate yourself from the rest.
MTC’s founder and CEO, Megan Thudium, shares that thought-leadership boosts brands by not only uplifting an individual’s voice, but by leveraging entire teams. Your team members are your company’s top knowledge, and as experts at their jobs, they have the power to influence others. When customers come knocking at your door and understand that your team are the experts and insiders who thoroughly understand the industry, that’s when thought-leadership shines. There is no better way to make a momentous impact on your industry than by leveraging insiders from within your own company – that fantastic thought will do great work for your company to a wide audience.
Read more: Why thought-leadership is not a buzzword
Interest in joining us at the B2B Content Corner podcast? Send me a DM on LinkedIn!
CEO LinkedIn Lead Strategy Lead
Megan is the CEO of MTC | The Content Agency. As CEO, she’s in charge of making sure the team fulfills client project expectations and everything runs smoothly. As Lead Strategist, her strategy background is provided on all projects – LinkedIn Marketing, SEO, Content Strategy, and Content Writing. Based in Berlin, Megan enjoys long bike rides around the city.
