Thought leadership requires great content, dedication, and the right touch
Thought leadership is one of those over-used terms that marketers like to claim for themselves. These days, anyone with a blog can be a thought leader, so what exactly is it and how do you get it? In our opinion, it's clearly something that has to be earned (i.e. you cannot claim you have it; it has to be bestowed on you), and must be earned over time. And assuming you attain it, what evidence suggests that you have it? Sounds squishy, doesn't it?
Perhaps search engines are the best judges of whom to anoint as a thought leader, in that they can detect when a particular person stands out as the one whose thoughts, opinions and expertise are featured on relevant websites and social media platforms, and whom others mention and link to when citing specific third-party expertise.
We offer thought-leadership programs among the various services we offer because our clients want to rise above the noise in their marketplace, and to position themselves as experts in their respective fields. The ZingPR brand storytelling program is essentially an extension of our classic media relations program, and involves working closely with our client to identify the voice, content and expertise of the client, and then to align that with media outlets (publications, websites, blogs, etc.) that reach their target audiences. We focus on publications, blogs and other outlets that are authorities in their respective sectors.
Here are two examples of thought-leadership programs that ZingPR has provided for two clients in very different industries.
CROP ENHANCEMENT
Crop Enhancement is developing sustainable agrochemical formulations that employ advanced and environmentally friendly chemistry to improve crop yields, eliminate or minimize pesticide use, and enable precise and effective delivery of active ingredients and fertilizers.
This Silicon Valley startup needs to connect with farmers, growers, pest-management experts, and food manufacturers.
Working hand-in-hand with the CEO (Kevin Chen) and a subject-matter expert (Michelle Sisson), ZingPR has successfully placed bylined articles and CEO interviews with AgroPages, Food Processing, and Fresh Cup.
EGAIN
eGain develops and markets top-rated cloud applications for social, mobile, web, and contact centers that help clients deliver connected customer journeys in an omnichannel world.
This publicly traded company needs to reach and influence C-level and directors in IT, customer experience, and call center management.
In collaboration with eGain's SVP marketing, ZingPR identified numerous opportunities to place brand content designed to resonate with eGain's target decision makers, and provided both article outlines and finished stories that have been placed across leading trade publications in the ecommerce, customer experience, insurance, and wireless sectors.
This year, numerous articles that focus on eGain's core competencies have been successfully placed, including with Contact Management, CustomerThink, destinationCRM, Insurance Innovation, KM World, Retail Customer Experience, and RCR Wireless News.
If you'd like to talk about how to get your ideas noticed by the right people, drop us a line. We'd be happy define programs to elevate your brand through web/print articles and speaking engagements at strategic conferences and trade shows.
