> developing thought leadership content

OK, so what is thought leadership, and how do we create a strategy together?The first thing you need to do is put away your company hat for a moment and think like one of your buyer segments. The online thought leadership content that we create together will be a solution to those people's problems and will not mention your company or products at all!

Imagine for a moment that you are a marketer at an automobile tire manufacturer. Rather than just peddling your tires, you might write an e-book or shoot a video about how to drive safely in the snow, and then promote it on your site and offer it for free to other companies (such as automobile clubs and driver's education schools) to put on their sites. Or imagine that you run a local catering company and you have a blog or a Web site. You might have a set of Web pages or podcasts available on your site. The topics could include "Plan the Perfect Wedding Reception" and "What You Need to Know for the Ideal Dinner Party for Twelve." A caterer with a podcast series like this educates visitors about their problems (planning a wedding or a dinner party) but does not sell the catering services directly. Instead, the idea here is that people who learn through the caterer's information are more likely to hire that caterer when the time comes.

You might be saying: "Thought leadership sounds easy for tires or catering, but I work at a technology company with complex products."

Yes, thought leadership can be more difficult at technology companies. But that also makes it more effective when you get it right. You reach your buyers directly with messages that they want to hear. And you brand your organization as one to do business with.