Most brands need a more differentiating thought leadership strategy.

Make a list of 3 leading high-level topics in your category. Google each of them – and count the number of paid results with links to thought leadership reports. It’s a fact: buyers are awash in thought leadership. This is why a differentiated thought leadership marketing strategy is essential.

The 2024 Edelman Thought Leadership Impact Report found that almost 55% of decision-makers claim they encounter too much low-quality content. What's more, just 15% of them find content they think is differentiated or high quality.

Mary Meeker’s thought leadership approach: no longer available.

Back in 2001, Mary Meeker started releasing an annual Internet Trends Report. This high-quality research provided in-depth market insight while boosting the profiles of Morgan Stanley, later Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers, and finally her own firm, Bond Capital. She hadn't just hit on a smart thought leadership strategy. Measuring the pulse of a rapidly evolving market burnished her firms – and her own – reputation for market insight. This is an inherently commercial concept. Her approach represents the essence of an effective thought leadership marketing strategy.

In 2024 Ms. Meeker is still an established thought leader, but so is everyone else. In a Content Marketing Institute survey, 91% of B2B marketers reported using thought leadership content. And when most of that thought leadership takes the form of a set of statistics gleaned from research into prevailing attitudes and practices, well, none of it is leading to anything other than inbox apathy. 

Try these strategies for a more differentiating approach to thought leadership marketing strategy.

Embed a new definition of thought leadership as the heart of your updated thought leadership marketing strategy.

Business leaders know what they want out of thought leadership. Google asked as far back as 2013 in a study with the Corporate Executive Board. PJA looked deeper in research conducted in partnership with Aberdeen, reinforcing and adding to these insights: Business decision-makers find the most value in expert thought leadership when it offers fresh ideas and new approaches to solving business problems the business leader is already aware of. 

• Take a hard look at the thought leadership you’re publishing now. Is it just informative, or is it truly helpful?
• Is it introducing big new ideas you think your audience should be ready to act on in the future, or does it offer new ways to solve problems they have today?

Reimagine your thought leadership product value proposition. 

It takes a lot of work to become the recognized authority on a topic. Go beyond me-too reports that look like another brand’s output. Instead, be guided by what business decision-makers say they really want experts to help them with: solving problems.

 As part of our thought leadership practice at PJA, we develop branded expert thought leadership communities for clients who want to help their buyers navigate change by solving the real problems slowing their progress toward their vision:

• We helped Red Hat with a community dedicated to helping CIOs navigate digital transformation
• We’re helping Tableau prepare data leaders to grow data culture and navigate the path to a data-led organization
• We’re working with a silicon carbide semiconductor manufacturer to help their clients in range of markets move faster to bring their innovations to market 

Measure the commercial impact of thought leadership marketing. 

Continue to measure engagement with thought leadership communications, and also make sure your brand tracker measures thought leadership's impact on brand consideration. 

Then, go further to be sure thought leadership marketing strategy is delivering on the most important measures of your overall marketing strategy. For example, track thought leadership’s role in helping sales teams engage more prospects, schedule more meetings, or engage more of the prospect’s buying team. 

The point is to not invent new metrics unique to thought leadership. Instead make sure thought leadership is improving performance for metrics defined as important to commercial success. Of course, I think you should find a thought partner who can help you take action on these ideas. Reach out to my colleague Greg Straface at [email protected] to find out if PJA might be the right partner for you.