Thought Leadership

Thought leadership is one of the most powerful, useful tools an organization can use to show its worth to customers, in good economic times and in bad. Surprisingly, it’s even more effective than your traditional advertising or product marketing approaches.

Thought leadership is all about sharing valuable expertise, guidance, or a fresh perspective on a particular topic or field. Examples include thought-provoking pieces, research reports, PowerPoint presentations, essays, eBooks, and similar content that organizations around the world make available either for free or through an easy exchange of contact information via a registration form.

Thought leadership in this context does NOT refer to content that solely focuses on promoting an organization’s products or services, or the kind of thought leadership you have to pay for.

At Canright Communications, we excel at the following forms of thought leadership:

• Assessment and planning
• White papers and ebooks
• Industry and Technology briefs

Best Practices

We understand that strong, impactful thought leadership pieces should always be persuasive, influence the greater good, strike the right tone, be genuine, and have a strong call to action. 

Thought Leadership is Persuasive
It provides the background to justify policy. Businesses can use these pieces to advocate or defend against proposals to change government policy, corporate policy, or industry standards. Technology or engineering companies can use these pieces to introduce new advancements.

Thought Leadership Seeks to Influence the Greater Good
Credible, informational content looks out for more than your own self-interest (though, it will surprise few readers if your own self-interest is part of the greater good being advocated). Content that advocates change that appears counter to your self-interest is even more interesting because it implies you are a visionary; that you aren’t afraid to think beyond today’s circumstances.

Thought Leadership strikes a tone between formality and accessibility
It is not a glib sales pitch. It is not an advertisement. Rather, it is a marketing piece and should speak to your reputation.

Thought Leadership is Genuine
If your information is too promotional, it’s not going to connect with your audience.  People can see right through a hard sales pitch, and no one wants to be tricked into reading a commercial. Your content should be authentic to your brand, but not action-driven; you’re seeking to offer perspectives that inspire, not to sell.

Thought Leadership Includes the Right Call to Action
You need to be genuine but don’t forget you’re still writing marketing content. You need to make a targeted call to a specific audience somewhere in your content. That requires understanding exactly who your audience is, and who your pieces attract. 

Remember, above all, to soft-sell. This means providing your readers with useful information to solve problems they can relate to, without mentioning your company’s product or service. This creates trust and credibility for your company which results in sales leads.