Thought leadership (sometimes called "content marketing" or "idea marketing") can one of the most powerful but challenging tools in your marketing toolbox. Sadly, many builders and A/E/C firms have given up trying to develop valuable content, and started dressing up their brochures as thought leadership. While an impressive brochure has its place, it’s not exactly what we’re going for here. With the right approach, B2B companies large and small can leverage their Subject Matter Expertise (SME) and create valuable content that will connect with their customers and drive business results.

2. A
lifelong
designer-­‐turn-­‐serial
entrepreneur,
Patrick
King
is
the
founder
of
Imagine,
an
integrated
marke:ng
firm
based
in
Manassas
with
offices
in
Chicago
and
San
Diego.
Their
approach
to
marke:ng
is
known
for
being
clean,
simple
and
direct,
having
created
such
successful
campaigns
for
Rolls
Royce,
Nestle
and
Jim
Beam,
and
now
focusing
specifically
A/E/C
and
law
firms.
Patrick’s
insight
and
advice
on
marke:ng
and
business
strategy
have
been
published
in
a
number
of
books,
magazines
and
industry
websites,
including
Inc.,
SmartCEO
and
others.
He
is
an
ac:ve
member
of
the
Interna:onal
Associa:on
of
Visual
Arts,
a
worldwide
design
judging
panel;
and
contributes
to
the
ITT
Tech
Program
Advisory
CommiTee,
where
he
helps
to
guide
the
direc:on
and
create
curriculum
for
their
School
of
DraUing
and
Design.
Contact:
703
873
7740,
patrick@imaginedc.net

3. SLIDES FROM THIS PRESENTATION WILL
BE AVAILABLE AT
IMAGINEDC.NET/TLCI2013

4. The Single Most Important Thing
Everything Depends On This
Defining Thought Leadership
And What It Means to Construction Firms
Attaining Thought Leader Status
Tools, Timing, Content
Building Your Plan
So You Can Get Started Right Away
Tips & Best Practices
Learn From Those Who Learned The Hard Way

5. THE SINGLE MOST
IMPORTANT THING
In
business,
par:cularly
the
building
trades,
one
thing
has
more
ability
to
grow
or
crush
your
business
than
any
other…

7. HOW TO BUILD TRUST ONLINE
Tradi:onally,
trust
has
been
gained
through
reputa:on,
experience
and
integrity.
As
someone
gets
to
know
you,
they
decide
whether
or
not
to
do
business
with
you.
Doing
this
online
is
the
same
principle.
The
tools
and
planning,
however,
are
totally
different.
It
all
comes
down
to
thought
leadership.

8. THOUGHT LEADERSHIP
According to Forbes:
A
thought
leader
is
an
individual
or
firm
that
is
recognized
as
an
authority
in
a
specialized
field
and
whose
exper:se
is
sought
and
oUen
rewarded.*
http://www.forbes.com/sites/russprince/2012/03/16/what-is-a-thought-leader/

9. SOME (PROVEN) ASSUMPTIONS
Most
firms
have
a
wealth
of
experience
and
exper:se
that
isn’t
being
promoted
to
its
poten:al.
Construc:on
firms
using
social
media
and
other
forms
of
online
marke:ng
are
experiencing
significant
growth
over
firms
that
don’t.
Aside
from
price
(ugh),
the
reason
we
choose
to
work
with
a
service
professional
is
based
on
our
trust
in
their
ability
to
do
the
work.
If
we
learn
more
than
we
originally
knew
from
someone,
without
having
to
pay
them,
the
rela:onship
already
gains
value.

10. ATTAINING THOUGHT LEADER STATUS:
YOU’LL NEED THE RIGHT TOOLS
Blogs
(your
own
and
those
of
your
peers,
or
anyone
discussing
your
field
of
exper:se).
Social
Media
(there
are
dozens
of
great
sites
–
and
none
of
them
are
Facebook).
Press
Releases
(typically
underused,
but
online
tools
make
them
more
valid).
Ar:cle
Submissions
(on
trade
sites,
these
are
great
for
further
promo:on.

11. BOTH ONLINE AND OFFLINE
STRATEGIES HAVE BENEFITS
BENEFIT (WHAT YOU’RE LOOKING FOR)
FACE-­‐TO-­‐FACE
INTERACTION
IMMEDIACY
OF
DISTRIBUTION
CAPTIVE
AUDIENCE
REACH
SHARING
POTENTIAL
ONLINE
OFFLINE

12. •
•
•
•
•
•
Magazine
Ar:cles
Write
a
book
Seminars
Conference
Speaking
Consul:ng
Gigs
Lunches
&
Happy
Hours

13. •
•
•
•
•
Start
small.
Prac:ce,
prac:ce,
prac:ce.
Pause
instead
of
“um”.
Don’t
expect
perfec:on.
Know
your
content.

14. Personal
Informa:on
Speaker
Bio
(include
any
co-­‐presenters)
Title
of
presenta:on
(cri:cal)
Length
of
presenta:on
Summary
of
presenta:on
Outline
your
presenta:on
Learning
objec:ves
of
presenta:on/
benefits
audience
will
receive/end
results
• References/tes:monials
• Video,
Audio
and
Suppor:ng
Documents
•
•
•
•
•
•
•

15. ATTAINING THOUGHT LEADER STATUS:
TIMING MAKES A HUGE DIFFERENCE

16. PRACTICES FOR GOOD TIMING
Strike while the iron’s hot.
Publish
content
when
your
audience
–
or
peers
–
are
in
the
heat
of
related
conversa:ons.
Be
relevant,
but
not
polarizing.
Reduce the steps and barriers to sharing content.
Be
prepared
to
iden:fy,
produce,
approve
and
publish
content
in
as
near
real-­‐:me
as
possible.
Don’t obsess over responding to everything in an instant.
Some
things
don’t
need
to
be
so
urgent,
and
not
everything
needs
to
be
created
and
published
in
real-­‐:me
to
be
contextually
relevant.

17. TYPES OF “GOOD CONTENT”
Sharing
ar:cles
on
social
media
Sharing
infographics
Emailing
invites
to
events
Commen:ng
in
forums
Commen:ng
on
blogs
Emailing
ar:cles
to
clients/peers
Wri:ng
blog
posts
Wri:ng
ar:cles
for
trade
pubs
White
Papers
Press
Releases
on
Company
Events
Case
Studies
Website
Content

18. •
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Ask
yourself
“why?”
Avoid
jargon.
300-­‐500
words.
Build
your
“content
network”:
what
you
read,
where
you
get
ideas,
etc.
Add
pictures
to
support
the
text.
Lists
are
effec:ve.
Wrap
it
up
with
a
ques:on.
Always
run
a
spellcheck.
Adhere
to
a
calendar.

23. *Source: Edison Research (http://www.edisonresearch.com/home/archives/2012/05/the-podcast-consumer-2012.php)

24. • Always
post
your
content
with
a
ques:on.
• Not
everyone
is
going
to
agree.
• Respect
an
opposing
opinion.
• Remember,
it’s
your
company’s
reputa:on
on
the
line.
• If
nothing
else,
thank
everyone
that
comments
on
your
content.
• As
your
audience
grows,
find
your
segments.

25. •
•
•
•
•
•
LinkedIn
Insights
Facebook
Insights
Google
Analy:cs
Google
Alerts
CustomScoop
NURTURE

26. 1.
Create
value.
2.
Stay
curious.
3.
Read
widely
and
oUen.
4.
Blend
concepts.
5.
Allocate
:me.
6.
Dare
to
be
different.
7.
Words
alone
are
boring.
Add
pictures.
8.
Use
metaphors
to
help
people
relate.