Technology marketers have long relied on thought leadership activities as part of their marketing mix. The question I have in my mind: “Is the marketing driving the thought leadership pieces or is thought leadership driving the marketing?
Many technology firms are trying to present themselves as thought leaders in their markets. But often, these companies produce a fragmented set of white papers, articles, presentations, blogs, podcasts, and videos that lack valuable insight and solutions.
Successful thought leadership efforts are driven by the “big” strategic points of view.
- Tech companies with a well developed point of view on strategic issues that focus on their target’s priorities tend to have more success.
- Once the “big” strategic thought is determined, it’s much easier to integrate these thoughts into the appropriate marketing vehicles for dissemination.
- The content can be re-purposed in all of your articles, reports, blog posts, videos, presentations, and briefings.
This is not an easy task, especially in today’s economy where the marketing conversations are all focused on short term lead generation. The commitment to research the issues in the marketplace and devise a smart point of view along with suggested solutions can have longer term benefits versus creating a large quantity of thought leadership pieces that are not tied together.
