Executive thought leadership when done right is an important growth driver for any company but particularly in fast-moving industries like technology. The practice of publishing thought leadership attributed to senior-level executives can elevate the status of your brand and the people behind it. It also humanizes your company. Most importantly it creates trust with your prospects, a prerequisite to closing a deal. LinkedIn found that 66% of buyers are more likely to buy from a company whose executives they follow on social media.
While these initiatives can be instrumental in driving growth, it is not the easiest thing to do well. Organizations are increasingly investing in executive thought leadership which makes it harder to stand out in a growing population of experts. Edelman found that 38% of decision-makers say they have more thought leadership content than they can manage. To cut through the noise, content needs to be original and thought-provoking to resonate with your audience. To accomplish this, organizations typically have three basic options for developing compelling content.
- Ask executives to create their own thought leadership pieces
- Task an internal content marketing professional to create thought leadership
- Engage an experienced third party to work with executives and ghostwrite informed thought leadership content
Option 1 – Ask your executives to do it
While executives are very good at managing and leading, they are not always as good at packaging their insights to be easily consumed. They may have new ideas pop into their head every day but just don’t have the time to sit down and give these insights the attention that they deserve. Typically the tasks get pushed aside and time is never taken to consider how ideas can be organized and presented in a unique and well-written form.
If you ask your executives to create content you will be constantly asking and nudging as more important things continue to take president. The reality is that executives typically just don’t have the know-how or time to develop a full-length insightful thought leadership piece.
Option 2 – Task an internal content marketer to do it
Having a ghostwriter work with an executive to create content is a perfectly legitimate and common practice. Working with a professional writer can help executives organize their thoughts, conduct any required research and put together concise well written text. They can also employ much more attention to the task and ensure it gets done on a timely and regular basis. Professional content creators are also typically much better and more efficient writers as they are constantly perfecting their craft. When you make the decision to take this task off the plate of busy executives you also save money because you release time that they can use focusing on higher-value tasks.
There may be internal resources on the content marketing team to undertake these initiatives but they may lack the executive-level experience in the industry to connect with other leaders. They also can be too internally focused. In many cases, internal resources fall back on the product or service-related content such as value propositions or brand messaging. This is not how you drive thought leadership.
The right resource that can give your leaders ideas the attention that they deserve may not be on staff.
Option 3 – Outsource it
The third option is working with a third party with experience in your industry and skills in communicating at an executive level. Engaging a consultant with experience creating thought-leading content in your market can bring much greater value to your program. Experienced professionals can leverage their knowledge of markets, strategy, and industry trends to ask the right questions of your leaders to tease out deep and original insights. They also know how to present ideas at a high level where executives do most of their thinking and decision-making.
Third parties also have an outside-in perspective that helps them better relate to your audience and their concerns. They are constantly talking with experts are exploring new ideas across the industry that can provide fresh perspectives.
Regardless of an organization’s capabilities, thought leadership is an important part of building a brand and driving growth. The key is digging for the thought-provoking insights and communicating them effectively.