Today’s post is from Brian Davies, managing partner of Movéo.
Brand owners continue to publish vast amounts of promotional content: product- or service-focused information that finds its way into brochures, PowerPoints, websites and other tools too numerous to list here. In fact, one of our clients just finished a major revamp of its entire literature library — print and digital — to coincide with a brand re-positioning.
Such material is an important part of what Movéo calls “Sales Activation” — marketing material that helps companies accelerate the purchase decision by providing appropriate (and hopefully differentiating) information to prospects nearing the end of the buying process. The folks reading promotional content typically have already decided what kind of solution is right for them: what they are now trying to do is determine whose solution is right for them.
So what value does promotional content have at the beginning of the sales process? Far less than it used to. As we all know, prospects have already done much of their research before they ever see a brochure. Because of this, it’s important to engage prospects early on with thought leadership: content that doesn’t promote your brand or solution, but shows your expertise in a subject matter. It is this kind of content that finds greater utility early on.
Thought leadership content demonstrates a deep understanding of a company’s prospects’ and customers’ pain points. It focuses on the challenges they may be having, and it may or may not guide them toward a particular solution. The more it does so, the greater the chance that it will lose its credibility in the eyes of readers who, at this point, are seeking only enlightenment around the issues.
Increasingly, our clients are producing thought leadership content that is primarily educational in nature — its goal is to help prospects be more effective at their jobs and to make better decisions. Of course, a brand can be rewarded for these altruistic efforts, not only with valuable contact information that can be used in downstream marketing efforts (which can be more overtly promotional), but also by earned trust. Those organizations whose primary concern is helping, not selling to, prospective buyers are those that rise above the noise. Jaded readers (and who isn’t jaded these days?), can see right through companies that thinly disguise promotional content as thought leadership.
At its most effective, thought leadership content makes readers curious about a problem. That curiosity leads to further exploration: a good thing for the brand wise enough to articulate the problem in the first place. Even thought leadership content can have a clear call-to-action. It can create urgency or attempt to shine a light down a certain path for additional information. Yes, it may be educational, but didn’t your teacher tell you what your homework was after class ended?
Marketers will continue to produce both thought leadership and promotional content in the foreseeable future, but it’s not a “versus” situation. They will each have their place in the purchase process, though promotional content will always be easier to produce. Why? To be successful, thought leadership needs to be useful, honest and empathetic. In essence, it should not feel like marketing at all. That can be a tall order, but it’s one worth tackling.
Thought leadership is just one element of a strong brand. What else helps to keep a brand strong? Read our white paper, 10 Simple Truths About Strong Brands, for our thoughts.
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