As early adopters of content marketing, we’ve helped dozens of brands move away from same-old marketing content to industry-defining thought leadership.
If you want to strengthen the caliber of your content, here are a few tips we share with our clients who want to up their content game:
Offer original thinking
69% of decision-makers in LinkedIn and Edelman’s B2B Thought Leadership Impact Study agreed that reading thought leadership was one of the best ways to get a sense of the type and caliber of an organization’s thinking. This is important—it means the vast majority of decision-makers looking at your thought leadership content are not necessarily there for the content itself but to understand how you’re thinking about and addressing issues in the industry. Are you writing a listicle similar to ones they could find on six other competitor blogs? Or are you having an internal subject matter expert offer a fresh perspective on a recent industry-related WSJ article?
Ground your content in research, statistics and trusted sources
The beauty of content marketing is that it gave every brand a voice. The drawback is that it made every brand an “expert.” When inundated with content on the same subject, people are looking for information they can trust. Grounding your perspective in research and trusted sources further strengthens your credibility. (Think Harvard Business Review).
Bring in other voices
We see it so rarely in the B2B space, but can’t say enough about the benefits of opening up your platform to other (non-competitor) experts. This approach strengthens the caliber of your content, creates a sense of community, underlines your position as a thought leader and offers important cross-promotional opportunities. The simplest way to do this is inviting experts to be interviewed—whether as an article, video or podcast. But don’t let that limit you.
Switch up the format
If you’re still only publishing articles (as many B2B brands are), it’s time to start thinking about other formats. Video interviews, audio interviews, infographics, webinars, original research and (not boring) white papers are all options. Creating a content hub with a dynamic mix of content not only increases content engagement but signals that you’re a modern resource.
Before creating a piece of content, we also recommend having a clear understanding of the purpose of it. Are you trying to establish a leadership position on the subject? Drive leads to a product or service? You want to create content that’s not only received well but that’s tied to a measurable business objective.