A Thought Leadership Article About Thought Leadership. Now, That’s Meta!
Written by: Claire Mason, Executive Contributor
Executive Contributors at Brainz Magazine are handpicked and invited to contribute because of their knowledge and valuable insight within their area of expertise.
Halloween might just be over, but that doesn’t mean scary statistics have gone away.
In actual fact, just the opposite. They’re multiplying in front of our eyes...
These frightening statistics all have to do with thought leadership, and the opportunities great solo entrepreneurs and business owners are leaving on the table.
And let me tell you... this is the stuff of nightmares. Boo!
Alarming thought leadership statistics
In the 2020 Edelman LinkedIn Thought Leadership Impact Study, the following findings emerged:
83% of actual buyers claim thought leadership content builds trust.
But only 50% of B2B marketers believe that thought leadership is important to build trust.
88% of decision-makers believe thought leadership content is effective in influencing purchasing decisions.
17% of them rate the quality of most of the thought leadership they read as excellent.
3% of professionals on the LinkedIn platform are posting once a week consistently.
What we’re seeing here is a huge disconnect between what buyers are telling us they want and what marketers are actually delivering. And if you’re a solo entrepreneur, then you’re your own marketer.
The last figure, in particular, keeps me awake at night.
Why you need a new approach to LinkedIn
LinkedIn began life as a recruitment platform. It was an online place to post your CV and a game-changer tool for recruiters to access top talent.
In 2021, the platform is still these things for job-seekers and those looking to hire. But the social media behemoth has also become so much more.
Earlier this year, LinkedIn themselves revealed that there are now 740 million people on the platform.
Yet, as we know, only 3% of professionals are posting content consistently once a week.
Is this the way we should treat a database of 740 million potential customers?
By not taking the time to build a relationship with them?
By ignoring them?
By expecting them to read our minds of what value we could deliver?
By keeping schtum of how we could help them solve their problems?
Um, no.
You actually need to do the opposite.
You need to take time to contribute.
Marketers can go on a tangent about “building relationships”, but there is a reason why. Your potential customers want to buy from someone they know, like and trust - and they’ll find that easier to do with you if you are communicating with them.
In other words, building a relationship with them. (And not ignoring them!)
In other words, publishing content.
Secondly, who has got the time to figure out what someone else might be able to do for us?
It’s an added piece of work to throw on top of our cognitive load and no one needs that right now. Or ever.
Explaining what you do, how you do it and how it can help a potential client is a service you need to be providing to your potential clients. Think of this as part of your UX strategy.
Then, let’s talk about profiles.
There is so much real estate available to us in our profiles that most people are using on LinkedIn.
Treat your LinkedIn profile as a landing page. And make maximum use of every element you can, from a branded header image to your bio.
I share how you can optimize your LinkedIn profile in my Ultimate Guide #1 to LinkedIn Marketing - Your Profile.
The pandemic has accelerated the demand for thought leadership
Just a few weeks ago, Edelman and LinkedIn published their fourth annual Thought Leadership Impact study.
The insights make for fascinating reading:
The demand for thought leadership content has increased.
51% of C-Level executives say they spend more time consuming thought leadership content than before the pandemic.
83% of a typical B2B purchasing decision happens before a buyer engages directly with a provider.
55% of buyers say a piece of thought leadership content needs to catch their attention in the first minute or else it’s bye-bye.
But guess what? Quality is still a problem
Only 15% ( a decrease from last year) rate the quality of the thought leadership content they see as good or excellent.
In my next column, I’ll take a look at what goes into creating quality thought leadership content.
For now, I leave you with the summary that your audience wants thought leadership content and most of what is out there is not hitting the mark.
There’s your opportunity.
Claire Mason, Executive Contributor Brainz Magazine
Claire Mason is a Content Strategist who works with solo entrepreneurs and founders. She helps them earn the publicity they deserve to grow their sphere of influence and sales pipelines.
Claire has earned bylines from numerous publishers, including The Guardian, Marie-Claire, and The Sunday Times. And she has placed her clients’ stories in publications like Forbes, CNBC, and WSJ among others. Her clients regularly see increases of 40% or more to their pipelines after implementing her content strategies.
Her work has been showcased as an example of best practices by HubSpot. Claire is also a regular contributor to Business2Community, Brainz Magazine, Tealfeed, and Digital Doughnut, and she writes regularly on how content marketing can move the needle for B2B brands.
