The Idea Mill
Insights + Observations About the Power of Content
In the most recent episode of The Thought Leadership Project podcast, Tom and Jay provide their take on AI and its impact on service professional careers and content marketing. They define and share tips on building a powerful personal brand. And they address the importance of being interested in and excited by the subject matter of the content you create in order to make content creation a sustainable effort.
In the latest episode of the Thought Leadership Project podcast, Tom Nixon and Jay Harrington describe the new paradigm of thought leadership content marketing for business-to-business professional services, known as the 95:5 Rule of marketing. It’s all about building trust with an audience when they don’t have an immediate need for your services, so that when they do they naturally think of you.
Is it better to focus on SEO-friendly long-form content, or short, more digestible content that audiences seem to have a preference for these days? If you only play the short game, and all of your content lives only in social media posts, it will be invisible to anyone searching for your expertise online or visiting your website to vet you as a service provider. If you only post short-form content, will search engines find you invisible?
The truth is you have to do both if you want to be truly effective—the short game AND the long game. The nice thing is, one overlays against the other.
I don’t think it’s wise to approach LinkedIn as prospecting “CRM” software, wherein you go trawling for leads, playing the spray-and-pray numbers game.
Instead, I think there’s a more genuine, human approach you can take to the world’s largest business-to-business social network in a way that will almost assuredly result in business-development wins, but will not have you pounding the proverbial pavement, cold calling and knocking on doors.
If you are in the business of selling expertise, a professional service, or consulting engagements, one of the best ways to earn the confidence of a prospective client is to consistently and convincingly demonstrate domain authority and subject matter expertise.
Here is my formula for structuring written content that will earn the interest of your clients, referral sources and prospects, and ultimately, establish you as the preferred candidate for anyone looking to hire a service provide in your particular domain of expertise.
Most people are familiar with the term "content marketing" as it relates to thought leadership. But what is "content business development?" Recently referenced by prior guest Adrian Lurssen of JD Supra, this is (as the name suggests) content that lives and operates further down the sales funnel.
To be specific:
Refresher course: What is a sales funnel?
How content and thought leadership now operate across the entirety of the sales funnel.
How can professionals use various formats of content for business development purposes, in addition to its marketing uses?
A handful of specific examples of content being used as business development tools for listeners to consider.
An invitation, not a solicitation. The offer, not the cold call.
How should professionals be thinking differently about their content marketing strategy in 2021?
Reading & Resources
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The post that inspired the topic: Guest Adrian Lurssen coins the term "content business development."
The sales and marketing conundrum for busy professionals who bill their time.
Google’s recent algorithm update provides guidance on writing content that is deemed “helpful.” This is not only good SEO practice, this is just sound advice. This is who will win the content game, now and apparently into the future: real people who can distill complex subject matter and serve it up generously and consistently to help real people solve real problems.
Learn how to write helpful content…
Maybe. But I’ve always found that to come off as a bit hokey. It’s easy to say if you’re one of the 0.1% of people who hit it big, strike it rich, or achieve fame and fortune. “Follow your passion. That’s what I did, and now look at me!”
But you know who else followed their passions? The 99.9% of people who you’ve never heard of. Following a passion wasn’t enough for them. Most who pursue stardom fail, then move on to something else as Plan B.
That something else is known as “the real world” by many. Myself included.
Here’s what Kenny Loggins suggests…
The above is the title of a podcast I recently listened to called “7-Figure Small,” a podcast hosted by Brian Clark. Of course, it caught my attention, as any good title will. “What is the surprise, pray tell?! I just HAVE to listen to find out!”
So I did. And you know what? Brian was right on.
This somewhat counterintuitive and, dare I say, provocative headline is 100% true. And it runs counter to what most people think…myself (in the past) included.
Professional service providers like to think we get hired for our expertise. But that’s not the case…
