Show Your Leadership

Thought Leadership: A Key Component of Corporate Reputation Management

Any company that wants to position itself at the cutting edge of its industry should include Thought Leadership articles in its marketing toolkit. Unfortunately, many companies fail to take into account three pillars of Thought Leadership programs. These are:

1. Make sure you say something completely new. Too many white papers fail to reveal fresh food for thought... a new idea, a new approach, or even a new process. Your Thought Leadership papers must contain compelling enough "newness" that it sticks with readers.

2. Tell employees. Few companies make a point to inform their employees that a Thought leadership article has just been published, and to encourage them to promote it. If you've got 2,000 people working under one corporate umbrella, and just 10 percent mention it at a conference, meeting or networking event, your credibility gets an immediate boost. Remember, employees are your first-line ambassadors. They carry awareness to the front trenches.

3. Timing. The best practices of a Thought Leadership program include timing the release of a new publication to coincide with -- and be integrated with -- other marketing milestones. Does a carefully crafted promotion or an anniversary drive people to your website? Then that's the time to post a white paper in a front-and-center position on your landing page.

Corporate reputation management encompasses dozens of moving pieces that must be strategically timed and woven together. Using Thought Leadership is a powerful and accessible tool that should not be overlooked.