Tag Archive for: thought leadership

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High Tech B2B Marketers: Use Placed Editorial to Boost Your Inbound Marketing Results

Content is king, but digital channels are noisy. Even the best marketing assets can get lost in the deluge of AI-generated content. In response, B2B marketers must continually find innovative strategies to enhance online visibility and engage target audiences. Placed editorial content is often an under-utilized marketing tactic that can help your brand stand out. This blog post delves into what placed editorial is, its benefits, and how you can effectively leverage it to boost your inbound marketing programs.

What is Placed Editorial?

Placed editorial content refers to articles, features, or any form of written content strategically placed in external publications or platforms other than the brand’s owned media. Unlike traditional advertising, which is overtly promotional, placed editorials offer valuable information, insights, or stories that resonate with the target audience while subtly integrating the brand’s message or expertise.

The Benefits of Placed Editorial

1. Enhanced Credibility

By appearing in reputable external publications, you can borrow the publication’s credibility, enhancing your company’s own in the eyes of the target audience.

2. Targeted Audience Reach

Contributing articles to targeted publications that cater to specific industries or interests allows you to reach new audiences.

3. SEO Advantages

Including backlinks to your company website within the editorial or the author’s bio can improve search engine rankings by increasing your domain authority and referral traffic.

4. Brand Awareness and Thought Leadership

Sharing expertise through well-written articles can position your brand as a thought leader in the industry, increasing brand awareness and reputation.

How to Use Placed Editorial Effectively

Identify the Right Platforms

The first step in leveraging editorial content is identifying the right publications that align with your brand’s target audience and industry niche. You should spend time researching publications that your ideal customers are likely to read and hold authority within the industry.

Craft Compelling Content

An article’s effectiveness depends on the content’s quality and relevance. You should focus on creating articles that provide real value to the reader, such as industry insights, trends, case studies, or solutions to common problems. The content should be engaging, well-researched, and written in a tone that aligns with the publication’s style.

Integrate Brand Messaging Subtly

While the primary goal of placed editorial content is to provide value to the reader, it’s also an opportunity for subtle brand promotion. You should integrate your brand messaging or expertise in a way that feels natural and adds to the value of the content rather than detracting from it.

Build Relationships with Publishers

Successful placed editorial strategies often rely on building strong relationships with publishers and editors. You should focus on understanding the publication’s content needs and how their editorial can contribute value. Providing high-quality, exclusive content can help in establishing a beneficial partnership.

Measure Success

To gauge the effectiveness of placed editorial content, you must track metrics such as website traffic, engagement rates, lead generation, and SEO rankings post-publication. This data will help refine your strategy and identify the most valuable publications for future placements.

Conclusion: Improve Inbound Marketing Results with Placed Editorial

Placed editorial content is a powerful tool for enhancing your company’s online visibility, credibility, and audience engagement. By focusing on providing value through high-quality, relevant content and building strong relationships with publishers, you can effectively use placed editorials to achieve your marketing objectives. As the generative AI digital landscape continues to evolve, placing editorial content will remain a key component of successful B2B inbound marketing strategies.

If you need help establishing or executing an effective placed editorial strategy, Attain Marketing is here to help! With our expertise and deep understanding of the B2B technology marketing landscape, we can help you navigate the complexities of B2B digital marketing and develop customized strategies that align with your brand and objectives.

From leveraging content marketing to establishing thought leadership, Attain Marketing can guide you every step of the way. So, join us to tap into the power of content marketing, public relations, and audience engagement to supercharge your company’s growth!

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How Public Relations Can Help Your Company Stand Out as a Thought Leader

In today’s competitive business landscape, establishing thought leadership is a powerful way for companies to differentiate themselves and gain a competitive edge. Thought leadership positions a company as an industry expert, a trusted authority, and a go-to resource for valuable insights and innovative ideas. One of the most effective ways to showcase thought leadership is through strategic public relations (PR) initiatives. In this blog post, we explain how companies utilize PR to demonstrate thought leadership and reap the associated benefits.

1. Define Your Thought Leadership Strategy:

Before diving into PR tactics, it is crucial to define your thought leadership strategy. Determine the areas in which your company wants to establish expertise, align them with your business goals, and identify your target audience. This clarity will guide your PR efforts and ensure consistent messaging.

2. Craft Compelling Content:

Thought leadership relies heavily on the creation of valuable and insightful content. Develop a content strategy that focuses on topics relevant to your industry and target audience. This content can take various forms, such as blog posts, white papers, research studies, infographics, and videos. Ensure your content is well-researched, thought-provoking, and addresses current challenges or emerging trends.

3. Engage with Industry Publications:

Forge relationships with industry journalists, editors, and influencers who can help amplify your company’s thought leadership. Pitch compelling story ideas, provide expert commentary on relevant topics, and contribute articles to industry publications. By securing media coverage, you can expand your reach, enhance credibility, and establish your company as a trusted industry resource.

4. Leverage Speaking Opportunities:

Public speaking engagements are excellent platforms for showcasing thought leadership. Identify industry conferences, seminars, webinars, and panels where your target audience is likely to be present. Submit proposals to speak on topics aligned with your expertise. Deliver engaging presentations, share unique insights, and participate in panel discussions to position your company as a thought leader in your field.

5. Cultivate Relationships with Influencers:

Thought leadership can be significantly amplified by building relationships with key influencers in your industry. Engage with influential bloggers, podcasters, social media personalities, and industry leaders. Collaborate on co-branded content, interviews, or guest blogging opportunities. When respected influencers endorse your company, it bolsters your thought leadership position and expands your reach.

6. Develop Thought Leadership Awards and Recognition Programs:

Institute awards or recognition programs within your industry to highlight innovative ideas, exceptional practices, or emerging talent. By establishing these programs, your company becomes a champion for thought leadership and gains visibility as a company that actively supports and recognizes industry expertise.

7. Leverage Social Media Platforms:

Utilize social media platforms to amplify your thought leadership efforts. Regularly share your content, engage in industry conversations, and participate in relevant Twitter chats, LinkedIn groups, and Facebook communities. By consistently providing valuable insights and fostering dialogue, you can increase your company’s visibility and attract a broader audience.

8. Monitor and Measure Results:

Regularly monitor and measure the impact of your PR efforts on thought leadership. Track media mentions, website traffic, social media engagement, and lead generation. Analyze the data to gain insights into which strategies are most effective and refine your approach accordingly.

Conclusion

Public relations is a powerful tool for companies seeking to demonstrate thought leadership. By strategically leveraging PR tactics, such as creating compelling content, engaging with industry publications and influencers, participating in speaking engagements, and utilizing social media platforms, companies can establish themselves as trusted authorities in their respective fields. Thought leadership not only enhances a company’s reputation but also attracts new customers, fosters loyalty, and drives business growth in an increasingly competitive marketplace.

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Thought Leadership: How to Put Your Technology Company on the Map

In today’s noisy marketing and PR world, recycling doesn’t work. Markets are evolving, influences shifting, the media changing, and so are the mechanisms for reaching all the cross sections of ideas, influence and buyers spread across various social networks.  And even though we know “Content is King”, just pumping out content won’t put your company in the limelight.  To be seen as a thought leader in your specific technology market, your company needs to paint a vision of the key issues, challenges, needs and requirements that truly concern customers. In doing so, companies become an invaluable resource to the media and potential customers.

Future-focused companies that provide meaningful insight and guidance to support buying decisions (vs. just providing marketing fluff) are often rewarded with more press coverage, better lead generation results, and a shortened sales cycle. We recommend companies stretch beyond the “cookie cutter” approach to marketing and deliver fresh ideas and campaigns that have the potential to really capture the attention of industry influencers.

Here are some proven tactics that can help technology companies emerge from a crowd and be seen as a thought leader in their space.

  • Find a unique but defendable position for your company, gather up a crowd of customers, partners and other third party influencers who are willing to be evangelists around your market (not product) message.  Next, systematically meet with industry anaylysts that can validate your position and become leading advocates in your efforts.  If it’s possible, can you define a uniqiue category of coverage where your company is seen as the originator and leader in this new space?
  • Continually promote your company’s spokespeople as thought leaders among key constituents – customers, partners, media, bloggers, and analysts – so they become trusted sources for stories, blogs and other industry commentary.
    • One great way to get this tactic rolling is “rapid response” PR which puts you on the offense instead of the defense.  Simply begin tracking the topics where you’d like to be seen as a thought leader.  When a story is published, take time to contact the blogger/editor and introduce your company and why its credible – then offer up your stable of experts to provide valuable commentary on future stories.
  • Demonstrate knowledge of your prospects’ business and vertical market issues and suggest timely and relevant solutions to those issues.  You may even offer to include them in an editorial article or feature their company in a leaders roundtable, where super performing, forward-thinking companies are discussing the industry’s hottest topics.
  • Build credibility, trust and interest with key constituents by fostering relationships based on an industry-centric vs. product centric approach.  Never ask for a product endorsement.  Invite them to offer their unique insights utilizing your campaigns as a vehicle for their objectives, not yours.

Finally, the key to being successful in your thought leadership efforts is innovation and consistency.  If you’re willing to push the envelope with unique approaches and commit to these efforts with the required budget over the necessary time frame, it’s possible your company can become a true leader in your market space.

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