On today’s business landscape, of all of the lofty distinctions that businesses strive for and dream about, arguably none is more coveted than content leader.
Why? Because content leaders are not just producing a steady stream of quality assets such as blog posts, ebooks, whitepapers, reports, infographics, videos, and so on. They’ve gone to the next level and established their business as a legitimate authority on topics, themes, issues and insights within their domain.
In other words, whether the context is B2B or B2C, a content leader is perceived by customers as a TRUSTED resource, and quite frankly, there is no more valuable or vaunted designation than this. Indeed, award wins are certainly nice, and so is being named to “best of” lists. But earning the title of content leader is like winning an Oscar, with all of the attendant rights and rewards – including a huge boost at the box office.
So yes, every business wants to be (or should want to be) a content leader in their industry. But most businesses won’t even be part of the nomination conversation. So what separates the contenders from pretenders, and winners from losers? Below, we highlight the 7 keys to becoming an industry content leader:
- Strategic Approach
A content leader doesn’t create “content for the sake of content”. Everything is part of a custom crafted game plan – from the type of content, to the distribution channels, to selecting metrics and KPIs, and (if applicable) choosing the right keywords.
- Compelling & Relevant
A content leader understands that everything that is created and distributed – from a simple blog post, to a comprehensive white paper -- must be compelling and relevant to target audiences and, more specifically, buyer personas. Yes, quantity matters, but it doesn’t matter nearly as much as quality.
- Supporting the Customer Journey
A content leader ensures that all content plays a role -- minor or major -- in ushering prospects along the customer journey. This doesn’t mean that all content will have a sales message; in fact, most content won’t. But it does mean that all content has to indirectly and directly support the sales process and ROI.
- Generating Insights
A content leader doesn’t just push messages out to various channels and sources. They also leverage content to generate insights and actionable data, which they use to improve current and future campaigns – as well as optimize their own content production and distribution workflows.
- Constant Innovation
A content leader doesn’t rest on yesterday’s impressive results – because the industry is always changing, and so are prospect preferences, pain points and expectations. They know that only way to stay ahead of the game is to constantly innovate and find smarter ways to get better results.
- Use Specialists
A content leader knows what they know – and more importantly, they know what they don’t know. That’s why they surround themselves with specialists, such as designers, writers, developers, project managers, and so on. They take the reigns and lead the way, but let specialists work their magic.
- Track and Analyze
Last but certainly not least, a content leader constantly tracks and analyzes results, and makes adjustments accordingly. This doesn’t mean that they micromanage – because that’s a recipe for disaster. But it does mean that they pay close attention to metrics and KPIs, and don’t just “set it and forget it”.
Learn More
To learn more about becoming a content leader in your industry, contact Leap Clixx today. We enable our customers to stand out for all of the right reasons, and reap the rewards of being a trusted go-to resource. Your consultation with us is free.
For more on Inbound Marketing, check out our Ebook about inbound marketing best practices, for FREE, below:
Topics: Inbound Marketing
