What Is Thought Leadership Marketing And How Can You Reap The Benefits For Your eLearning Business?
First things first, let's analyze what thought leadership marketing is. Thought leadership is a strategy content marketers use to create credibility. They do so either for themselves, as marketers, or for the leaders in their company.
When doing content marketing to achieve thought leadership, the main goal is to become recognized as a top expert in your field. By doing so, prospects will trust you and consider you a respectable figure. Thus, subject matter experts become a go-to resource in their niche fields by using this approach.
To become a thought leader, one might create and publish helpful educational content. For example, our very own C.Pappas is a well-known blogger and industry leader in eLearning. Such influencers are active in the industry community, particularly on social sites, and they always have something worthwhile to say about new trends. They even publish eLearning software reviews! And, believe me, their opinion matters a lot.
Do you want to get a more in-depth understanding of the benefits of thought leadership and why you should implement it? Read on!
Benefits Of Thought Leadership Marketing
In such a crowded place as the eLearning market, who wouldn't want to harness the power of thought leadership marketing to break through the noise, especially when it comes to B2B businesses in the eLearning niche?
Nowadays, there are so many eLearning solutions making it hard for businesses to choose. Thus, commanding the brand conversation needs a breakthrough strategy. Your approach should ensure that your voice is heard. And, make sure that prospects get to see your solutions stand out in the crowded eLearning marketplace.
What you need to do to make it happen is to use a powerful tool that isn't just another piece of marketing jargon. You need to find a solution that will help position your company as a leader in its field. There's no better way to do that than using thought leadership marketing to your advantage. So, are you ready? Here are some of the top thought leadership marketing benefits:
1. Publicity Loves Thought Leadership
By being a thought leader, you can fuel your PR opportunities. Meaning, when the industry sees you as an expert in your field, more media, bloggers, and influencers will get in touch. They'll feel the need to seek your advice since you're the expert. Consequently, this can lead to more publicity. Imagine if you could be featured in major publications...that would skyrocket your brand awareness and maybe bring more clients in the future.
The more niche-related your expertise is, the better. For example, you might be the best person to talk to about gamification in eLearning. It's all about creating a buzz in your niche. So, make it this year's goal to become the go-to person for eLearning matters.
2. Thought Leadership Fuels Content And Brings Collaborations
There's a tremendous amount of content creation going on every day. Thus, creators use such content published by thought leaders as one of the most popular resources to find new trends and ideas.
What's more, if a content creator references your work, that will lead to more publicity for you and your eLearning business. Plus, you could also have content creators contacting you for collaboration. Also, when other bloggers reference your work, you gain leverage when it comes to backlinking opportunities.
I bet you might be thinking right now: "If thought leadership marketing can bring new deals, then I'm in!" Well, good for you!
3. You Can Build Credibility And Increase Trust Through Content
Successful eLearning industry leaders provide people with valuable information constantly. Hence, this is what generates credibility and rapport. At the same time, with thought leadership content, you manage to gain the respect of your peers. Thus, this can make your supporters more likely to help you out.
Also, your customers and prospects will trust you more. The main goal of thought leadership marketing is to make them feel like you've given them something of value. As a result, you'll manage to increase the chances of choosing your business over a competitor.
It's no secret that your expertise is a critical part of your eLearning brand. Therefore, your customers or clients want to know that they're hiring or purchasing from knowledgeable individuals. Meaning, your team has to show that there's a lot of experience in each respective field. So, conveying that message in your marketing and PR is vital for growth and success.
Tips To Plan Your Thought Leadership Marketing Strategy
The most respected industry leaders give away all kinds of content. Most importantly, they do so free of charge. For example, you can publish content in the form of webinars, eBooks, podcasts, videos, blog posts, and more.
The ones who already have an audience are lucky because more people will land on their content. However, companies that lack an audience usually turn to other influencers and eLearning leaders to leverage an already built-in audience and get tremendous results.
Let's analyze!
a) How To Become An Industry Leader In eLearning
Giving away free content in any form can be your way to show your expertise and connect with your audience. Obviously, this wouldn't happen if you asked for money right off the bat. That's the sweet spot of content marketing and thought leadership. You help prospects come to you, and then gradually and gracefully, you make them convert through lead nurturing.
Being generous is what makes them trust you. By assisting and supporting the people in your target audiences, you make it your mission to give them real value. That is how influential eLearning businesses reach more people, build loyalty, and gain market share.
For example, you can create stories and content that focus on titles like "How To," "Why You Need To Know," and "Here's How To Do It." You can use your content to act as a lead magnet. Hence, you can engage with potential customers and clients and turn them into paying customers down the road.
Just decide on the best eLearning topics your want to write about and start creating valuable funnels of free information.
Make sure to read the following for more info on creating the perfect content strategy for your eLearning business:
- 5 Common Content Marketing Mistakes You Want To Avoid
- 8 Content Marketing Tactics To Help Your eLearning Business Stand Out
- Smart Ways To Convert Leads Through eBooks By Targeting Corporate Training Buyers
- 5 Amazing eBook Ideas For Successful Lead Generation In The eLearning Niche
b) Reasons To Team Up With eLearning Bloggers And Influencers
More often than not, it takes more than your own strength and knowledge to make it to the top. And, truth be told, the influencer marketing industry continues to grow each year. As a result, more and more agencies and brands are incorporating influencers into their overall marketing strategies. They do so either by marketing their commercial messages or sharing their value propositions with the influencers' followers.
Influencers and bloggers know their audience, but they also know how to deliver your message to their dedicated fans. What's more, teaming up with them is cost-effective and can help you increase your organic traffic.
In addition, if you care about SEO, you should know that collaborating with bloggers can also impact your SEO ranking. Thus, it would be best if you chose who you're going to collaborate with wisely. In this way, you can increase your credibility by improving your ranking on Google search as well.
One of the best things about thought leadership marketing is that influencers can also write content for you. Undoubtedly, the right influencer knows what your potential customers are thinking. It's all about buyer intent. By following this strategy, they can write the content for you and manage to attract your potential audience.
What's more, online influencers are active and noticeable on different platforms. Hence, they can also promote images, podcasts, and videos along with the text.
Best of all, when teaming up with an eLearning industry leader you get to have an authority show trust in your product or service. Plus, by reaching out to eLearning influencers you can leverage their followers and influence without much effort.
For a successful collaboration, make sure to check the following resources:
- 8 Ways A 360 Inbound Marketing Approach Can Help You Nurture Leads
- How eLearning Marketers Can Affect Purchase Decisions Through Content Marketing
- 7 Steps to Reaching Your Ideal eLearning Target Buyers
- What We’ve Learned Running 198 Successful Webinars For Our L&D Partners (And How To Benefit From It)
- Helpful Guide To Start Blogging At Home
Next Steps
According to recent Edelman and LinkedIn research, 83% of buyers believe that thought leadership has increased their trust in an organization. What's more, 88% said they use thought leadership to build a shortlist of potential vendors. And, 47% of C-suite execs shared that thought leadership content had a direct impact on awarding business.
All the above indicate that thought leadership could well be your breakthrough choice of action. Plus, it could also be an essential part of your content marketing strategy, as only 50% of B2B marketers said that they take advantage of it!
Here's what you need to do to put your thought leadership marketing plan into action:
- Start blogging and guest blogging
- Write about interesting eLearning topics
- Solve prospects' pain points
- Give freely (blog posts, podcasts, videos, and more)
- Be active on social media, relevant forums, and groups
And remember: If your company lacks the time, resources, or expertise to become a thought leader, you can always reach out to eLearning bloggers and influencers to do the hard work for you.