TCC #4: What is thought leadership content, exactly?

Everyone wants to be a thought leader but what does it really mean?

Here’s what comes to mind:

• They’re human: They know their stuff (or willing to explore their topic in detail), but they’re not afraid to get vulnerable or disagree with popular narratives.

• They have opinions, and don’t sit on the fence. Informed opinions take time and energy to develop, and they’ve spent time in the dirt to form these opinions. These are personal stories and researched perspectives that you can’t regurgitate from the top 10 Google results, but rather it’s time spent experiencing life and reflecting on their experiences.

• They’re consistent: The core of their message doesn’t vary much, and they hone their expertise consistently over time.

In fact, I don’t think any of them ‘set out’ to be a thought leaders. they knew they had a message to share and showed up consistently. These are very human insights that AI cannot take away from you or replicate (the very concept of AI is based around regurgitation, anyway)

Thought leadership is one of those buzzy business words that can mean different things to different people. Sharing a few perspectives in this month’s newsletter.

3 thoughtful reads of the week

Everybody Wants Thought Leadership Content. But How Do You Do It, Exactly?

Regarding B2B tech thought leadership content, Animalz is one I keep returning to. Their perspectives are unique, well-researched and insightful. (read: characteristics of thought leaders themselves!) Bookmark and return to this post regularly if you find thought leadership confusing.

Fill Your Content With Visions Your Audience Will Want To Chase

Thought leadership = creating a vision of your industry, vertical, or product that inspires your audience. Visionary content shows depth in thinking, which builds trust. Balance these big-picture thought pieces with more practical, perhaps SEO-driven content pieces.

Survivorship Eats Strategy

Wow. Talk about counter-narrative opinions and detailed analysis. Here’s an excellent takedown of why we shouldn’t take marketing case studies at face value and how to really analyse the validity of a case study.

Side note: That awesome Twitter thread case study or marketing best practices you find online? Take the time to break it down before proposing any strategy changes

2 recommended resources

The B2B Messaging course:

Pretty cool free course on B2B messaging which I’m exploring. It’s a great refresher on crafting a unique message to help you stand out in your industry. For copywriters, content marketers, product marketers and strategists.

IVP’s AI primer:

AI is everywhere now and Institutional Venture Partners (IVP) has created a helpful resource to understand how the technology works. Helpful if you want to know how AI technology works beneath the surface

1 cool tool

The Measure of Things and The Count of Things

Give your written numbers more punch with these two tools. These two search engine-type tools add context to a figure by comparing it to a measurement in everyday things. Perfect for copywriters or content marketers who need to add some (written) visual flair to copy.