beyond blogging: how to create a vibrant thought leadership community
TRANSCRIPT
Beyond Corporate BloggingHow to Create Vibrant
Thought Leadership
Karri CarlsonFounding Marketer
Leadtail
Today You Will Learn
• What blogging can do for your business• Why most blogs fail to achieve their potential• What thought leadership blogs do differently• How to start building thought leadership
• Founding Marketer at Leadtail
• B2B Social Marketing Agency
• We also produce social media insights reports for and about B2B decision makers
Hi, I’m Karri.
Karri Carlson,Founding Marketer
www.Leadtail.comTwitter: @heykarri
Agenda
• What can blogging do for your business?• Why your corporate blog (probably) sucks• How thought leadership blogs are different• Some examples of thought leadership content• How to start building your thought leadership
IS BUSINESS BLOGGING WORTH IT?
Absolutely… positively… YES!
55%
67%
4xMore website traffic
More leads generated
More pages indexed
SO WHY ISN’T YOUR CORPORATE BLOG GETTING THOSE KINDS OF RESULTS?
1. Your Corporate Blog is Hard to Find
2. Your Corporate Blog is All About You
3. Your Corporate Blog is Anonymous
4. Your Corporate Blog is Out of Date
5. Your Corporate Blog is Not Engaging
HOW ARE THOUGHT LEADERSHIP BLOGS DIFFERENT?
1. Put Thought Leadership Front & Center
2. Have an Original Point of View
3. Encourage Audience Participation
4. Balance Quality & Quantity of Content
5. Connect Members of the Community
WHO’S DOING A GOOD JOB WITH THOUGHT LEADERSHIP?
PunchTab: Get More Engagement Blog
www.GetMoreEngagement.com
Topics covered are clear, relevant to the target audience
Prominent calls-to-action to connect via email and social
Content is engaging and being shared via social media
PunchTab: Get More Engagement BlogInterviews and Q&A sessions with other thought leaders and influencers
Dynamic and engaged guest blogger community adds variety and perspective
www.GetMoreEngagement.com
Analytics Academy by Segment.io
www.Segment.io/academy
Link to this special section is prominently displayed in the site’s main navigation
Clear and compelling statements about why prospects should care about this info
Call to action to connect via email
Analytics Academy by Segment.io
www.Segment.io/academy
Case studies are told from the customers’ point of view and focus on customer results (not product features)
Brand name customers provide “social proof” around thought leadership ideas & practices
Urban Airship: Summer of Push
www.UrbanAirship.com/summer-of-push
All about context: mobile, mobile, mobile.
Explicit focus on best practices, customer stories
You guessed it – email opt-in!
Urban Airship: Summer of Push
www.UrbanAirship.com/summer-of-push
Variety of media types, not just short form text
In keeping with the theme and format, posts are short, light, and to the point.
Not Just for Software Companies
More examples: http://www.marketingsavant.com/2012/11/5-top-features-of-thought-leadership-marketing-websites/
Move The Needle
Move The Needle
Give your corporate blog a tune up: Link to your blog from main site navigation Focus posts on customers and prospects Show the author’s name for each post Update the blog at least once a week Share your blog content via social media Encourage visitors to opt-in via email & social
(Re)Start Your Thought Leadership Blog
Key Takeaways
1. Blogging for business is totally worth it!
2. Just having a blog isn’t enough
3. You have to share your unique perspective
4. Start building your community now
5. Have fun (others will want to join in!)
