{"id":632,"date":"2014-06-04T20:05:09","date_gmt":"2014-06-04T20:05:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/thatwhitepaperguy.com\/?p=632"},"modified":"2022-08-31T10:35:36","modified_gmt":"2022-08-31T14:35:36","slug":"three-strikes-against-thought-leadership","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thatwhitepaperguy.com\/three-strikes-against-thought-leadership\/","title":{"rendered":"Three strikes against "thought leadership""},"content":{"rendered":"
As a marketing executive, I’ve sponsored white papers that helped sell millions of dollars worth of software.<\/strong><\/p>\n As an independent copywriter, I’ve worked on more white papers than just about anybody.<\/p>\n And believe me, “thought leadership” is NOT a worthy goal for your next white paper.<\/p>\n Here are three good reasons why.<\/p>\n What is thought leadership, exactly? How do you get it? And how can you tell whether your white paper helped you get more of it?<\/p>\n In the old days, marketers were measured by how good the company logo looked, or how cool the TV ads were. It was all subjective and image-driven.<\/p>\n Today, it’s a numbers game. Marketers are held to account for the ROI on every campaign.<\/p>\n White papers are no different. Nor should they be.<\/p>\n Most marketers need to account for the number of leads generated, the number of prospects nurtured, or the total value of sales booked with the help of a white paper.<\/p>\n Often they even count the number of times their content was commented on, linked to, re-Tweeted or Liked.<\/p>\n But how do you account for “thought leadership”?<\/p>\n The truth is, you can’t. You can’t tell how much you’ve got, or if any campaign helped you get more.<\/p>\n “Thought leadership” is entirely subjective, anecdotal, and unmeasurable… just like smoke blowing in the wind.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n After all, what is a leader?<\/p>\n To me, that’s the CEO of a company, the head of state for a nation, or the most successful, most respected, most innovative company in a certain market.<\/p>\n Leaders aren’t shy and retiring; they’re out there leading parades, giving speeches, and kissing babies.<\/p>\n If your company is already a leader in your industry, everybody knows it.<\/p>\n If not, you can’t just hire an outside writer to do a white paper, “develop some thought leadership,” and make you a leader. Even with the best white paper in the land, that’s not going to happen.<\/p>\n The worst thing about thought leadership is that it takes a totally back-asswards perspective.<\/p>\n It’s all about a claim made by a vendor. It smacks of chest-beating, also known as “we-we-ism.”<\/p>\n When you’re talking about yourself\u2014and making claims about how great you are\u2014you’re not providing anything useful, helpful, or valuable to your prospects.<\/p>\n So that’s the third strike against “thought leadership.”<\/p>\n It’s an old-fashioned idea dressed up in a modern buzzword. It’s not about creating any value for the customer. It’s just bragging. Boasting. Pitching.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n These three strikes against “thought leadership” show what an empty notion it really is. It may sound important, but it’s actually very flimsy.<\/p>\n Don’t fall for the myth of “thought leadership.”<\/p>\n Don’t use it as a goal for any white paper, ever.<\/p>\n Instead, I urge you to pick something more useful and more achievable.<\/p>\n Whatever happened to positioning your firm as a trusted advisor? Or even an “expert in your field”?<\/p>\n How about providing useful information that will help a prospect understand an issue, solve a problem, or make a decision?<\/p>\n If you do all that, your “thought leadership” will take care of itself… and so will your measurable results.<\/p>\n <\/p>\nStrike 1: You can’t measure thought leadership<\/h3>\n
Strike 2: You can’t just declare that you’re a leader<\/h3>\n
Strike 3: Thought leadership is all about the seller, not the buyer<\/h3>\n
<\/h3>\n
Swing for something better than “thought leadership”<\/h3>\n
\n