Find out how to make all the pieces overlap.
Coming up with thought leadership topics can be tricky. Without executive involvement, the content can come off as flat, lifeless and similar to a thousand pieces that have been created before.
During Ragan and PR Daily’s Social Media Conference, held last month at the Walt Disney World Resort, Nicole Moreo, head of customer insights for North America at LinkedIn, shared her expert insights on how to get executives not only involved but excited about thought leadership.
When finding the right executive and the right topic to launch your thought leadership, she urged audiences to look for the area where these three considerations overlap: your company’s thought leadership priorities, executive authority, and executive passions and priorities.
Let’s break that down a bit.
Obviously, the company’s needs come first. What is the thought leadership intended to do? Once you’ve identified that key area, look at who can speak to that topic credibly. Then, drill down even further to find the person who wants to talk about that topic in this way.
You’ve found your overlap. This is where content can truly sing rather than simply feel like a bland exercise in thought leadership that excites no one — including the executive.
Once you’ve identified the messenger, Moreo says there are two key steps to help your message stand out in a sea of noise:
- Know your audience: What are they likely working on or thinking about now?
- Be always on: Consistency increases the likelihood we’ll catch them in a moment when our topic is top-of-mind.
To put it another way, understand your audience’s concerns and be there with answers and help at regular cadences.
After all, no one trusts a person who doesn’t show up consistently. It’s vital to keep up that regular drumbeat so that when your buyer tips from consideration to action, you’re there, just like you always are.
For more tips on thought leadership, watch Moreo’s full presentation — because who knows thought leadership better than LinkedIn?
The post Finding the sweet spot for executive thought leadership appeared first on PR Daily.
