Insights From the Director

Fast forward 20 years, and here we are in the transformational phase of digital marketing – a period of refinement and sophistication backed by technology that has simplified tasks and eased confusion. But this transformation hasn’t reached all corners of the internet where millions of users are creating and promoting content.

Many businesses jumped on the content bandwagon without a solid understanding of what they were trying to achieve and how they would determine if their efforts were successful. If you’re one of them (and you are in very good company!), let’s take a look at some signs that your investments in content are underperforming and a strategy overhaul is needed.

1. Fear of sharing the secret sauce recipe leads to squishy and uninteresting content. B2B firms are often fearful of giving away too much in their content – meaning that potential clients will figure out how to approach a challenge on their own, or a competitor will steal their intellectual capital. When running into this challenge, one simple phrase is needed: just because you have the recipe, doesn’t mean you can cook. Firms have two options. Option 1: create content that stops short of providing true insights and simply adds to the morass of forgettable content being shared. Or Option 2: create content with fresh perspectives drawn from deep expertise that is so powerful and timely, competitors can’t match it. You can argue that there is a place for both in the world of content marketing, but the peril comes when you think you’re pursuing Option 2, but the outcome looks like Option 1.

2. You finish a piece of content and then try to figure out what to do with it. Marketing professionals across the universe share the experience of the C-suite declaring that someone must write something on the hot topic du jour – often as a response to a competitor issuing a splashy new report on the hot topic du jour. The dutiful marketing professional then races to prepare something and get it approved, only to end up with something that doesn’t have a purpose or a home. This is where the strategy part of content strategy becomes relevant. Before selecting a topic and creating the content, you need a plan. Take time to evaluate the topic and ensure you have something new to add to the discussion. Verify that your target audience will benefit from your thoughts. And before content creation begins, have a plan for how it will be fully leveraged across available marketing channels.

3. Your content is dominated by one-off efforts without connective tissue. When C-suite requests for content take over, or attempts to create a cohesive content calendar fall short, businesses often end up with a bunch of stuff that doesn’t add up to a substantial, cohesive body of work. When cohesiveness is lacking, your target audience may become confused about your brand and areas of expertise. Ideally a content strategy plan should be in place that builds off the priorities identified in the firm’s strategic plan and focuses on a select number of topics that strengthen your brand and contribute to business development efforts. While the content plan should have flexibility to accommodate unexpected developments or emerging hot topics, execution shouldn’t be derailed by continual distractions and ever-changing wish lists.

4. You have so much content, that it competes with itself and your colleagues forget it exists. True to our penchant that more is better, firms have gone all in on creating an overabundance of content. Instead of informing an audience, nurturing interest, and elevating a brand, content becomes noise that distracts attention away from the most important core messaging. When marketing professionals are asked to create something on a topic covered extensively a few months prior, it’s a signal that your content may have become forgettable internally and externally. Voltaire said the secret of being boring is to say everything. Firms that are leaders in digital marketing understand that success comes from being selective about the topics they cover and the volume of content they create.

5. When someone asks about how well a piece of content performed, the response is “Well, it helped us get our name out there.” Measuring the true impact and value of a piece of content is not easy, but it’s easier than it used to be. I used to be a human CRM, calling up consultants to ask if an article generated any leads. Today’s sophisticated tools and technology are light years beyond that approach, but to understand the value of a piece of content, you must first determine what success will look like and then decide how to measure it. It’s not an exact science, but if we, as marketing professionals, expect to be trusted with budgets that feature hefty investments in content, we must accept the scrutiny that comes with determining its value.

Businesses that invest heavily in content do so with good intentions, but good intentions don’t guarantee good or even great results. If any of these five signs resonate with you, it’s time to hit pause and examine your content goals and plan with firm leadership.

A special thanks to Josh Schoonover, Senior Vice President for Brand Engagement at ReviveHealth, and a former colleague, who had no qualms about calling BS when these warnings signs crept into our work.

It’s easy to see how we fell into this trap. When marketing and PR types get involved, we add our spin, and not always in a good way. We don’t just write, we create content. And then all of our content is so damn good, it’s thought leadership.

Wikipedia says the term thought leadership is business jargon. Forbes magazine put the term thought leadership on its list of “corporate America’s most insufferable business buzzwords,” calling it “grossly indulgent slang for plain ol’ ‘expertise.’ ” Marketing and strategy consultant Dorie Clark has said it’s “icky” and “egomaniacal” when people call themselves thought leaders.

So yes, thought leadership belongs on the jargon spectrum, but does it deserve a place in our lexicon? I’ll place myself on the yes side of this argument, but only if we clarify what is and is not thought leadership, and then acknowledge that non-thought leadership content isn't the ugly stepchild.

What Qualifies as Thought Leadership?

Here are my thoughts on how to distinguish thought leadership from other forms of content

• • Fresh, deep thinking about the biggest problems. True thought leadership is pioneering thinking that shares original and deep insights about the most pressing challenges of key audiences. Answers may be available, but if they are not, the writer is pursuing and researching solutions with enthusiasm, and changing our thinking along the way. If this point-of-view is absent, writers are regurgitating what has already been said, and are joining the conversation, not leading it.
• • Niche of expertise. Rather than claiming broad expertise across a wide range of topics and industries, thought leadership hones in on an unmet need or unsolved problem, or shares a new perspective on an existing issue. Claiming broad-scale knowledge and experience in thought leadership content dilutes the authority and respect that should be directed toward a niche area.
• • Forward thinking, not rehashing how we got here. Thought leadership does not present exhaustive reviews and analyses of what’s in the rearview mirror. It’s comfortable and safe to look to the past, but this is thought followership, not thought leadership.
• • Data or case study driven. Truly pathbreaking thought leadership content may not have robust data behind it, but there should be solid evidence of how the author drew his or her conclusions. Case studies from organizations that are at the front lines of dealing with a challenge can be used as early evidence when other data aren’t available.
• • Willingness to take risk. When data are absent, risk is present. Thought leadership demands courage to take a stand and humility to state what you don’t know. This approach inspires others to share the journey in pursuit of solutions.
• • Extensive bodies of work over a period of years not months. Creating thought leadership is not a one-and-done process or infrequent bursts of activity. It’s a commitment to steady engagement with your audience so that trust is built and credibility is demonstrated. Thought leaders fully immerse themselves in their topic, and generously and frequently share what they are learning.
• • Not self-designated. Your brand is not what you say it is, but rather what others say it is. Likewise, the thought leadership mantle cannot be bestowed on yourself. People who read your writing and hear your speeches will ultimately decide if you, personally, and your company, by association, have demonstrated the insight and authority to be named a thought leader.

Where Does Other Content Fit In?

What about content that doesn’t qualify as thought leadership? Should we consider it subpar and less impactful? Absolutely not. How-to articles that remind us how to approach a problem, blog posts that focus on a narrow yet important concept, inspirational content that encourages self-reflection, and social media posts that show the human side of business should work together with thought leadership assets to showcase your expertise and reinforce your brand.

When this synergy is absent among your content assets, an abundance of disconnected and underperforming stuff is created. And that adds up to missed opportunities and disappointing outcomes for your business and your hardworking thought leadership and content creators. On the flip side, when your content pulls in the same direction, that’s when the magic happens.