HOW TO BECOME A THOUGHT LEADER ON LINKEDIN
T Y H E A T H
Global Lead, B2B Institute @ LinkedIn
#INBOUND19
COMPANY LEADERS
ARE EXPECTED TO
SHARE THEIR
INSIGHTS AND IDEAS
ACROSS CHANNELS
Benefits:
1. Establishes your expertise and reinforces your value
2. Tells your colleagues and your network what you are
working on
3. Invites collaboration and collective learning with others
4. Sharing your thoughts and knowledge on industry trends
keeps you visible
#INBOUND19
WE ARE THE MOST IMPORTANT SOURCE OF INSPIRATION FOR EACH OTHER
• Brands are struggling to maintain their eminence
• HR is waging a war for the brightest talent
• Sales people fight for customer attention
• Employees struggle to find meaning and purpose in
their work
#INBOUND19#INBOUND19
#INBOUND19
THE “TRUE VALUE OF THOUGHT LEADERSHIP” IS ABOUT TRUST
T H O U G H T L E A D E R S H I P I N F L U E N C E S D E C I S I O N M A K I N G
70%
TRUSTED
On avg. C-level exec.
shares generated:
5.0XMore
Impressions
75%
INFLUENTIAL
Thought Leadership is the most influential channel in today's economy
LinkedIn is the most trusted social platform to share content
5.4XHigher
Reach
6.8XMore
Engagements
with your
content
INCREASE
ENGAGEMENT
WHAT ARE YOUR GOALS FOR INVESTING
IN THOUGHT LEADERSHIP?
T H O U G H T L E A D E R S A R E K E Y T O
Y O U R G O T O M A R K E T P L A N S
by creating buzz
around employer
brand
BOOST
RECRUITING
with brand
awareness
BOOST
MARKETING
media & value
GENERATE
EARNED
by positioning
reps as thought
leaders
BOOST
SALES
#INBOUND19
TOPICS THAT INTEREST LINKEDIN MEMBERS
L I N K E D I N M E M B E R S I N V E S T T I M E T O G R O W P R O F E S S I O N A L L Y
#INBOUND19
61% 48% 40% 38%62%
IT’S EDUCATIONAL
OR INFORMATIVE
IT’S RELEVANT
TO ME
TO STAY ON TOP OF
LATEST TRENDS
IT’S INSPIRING IT HELPS WITH
SKILL DEVELOPMENT
TOP 5 REASONS FOR LINKEDIN MEMBER ENGAGEMENT
R E F L E C T O N W H A T I S H A P P E N I N G I N T H E W O R L D
#INBOUND19
YOUR JOURNEY STARTS WITH A GREAT PROFILE
❑ Add your photo
❑ Choose meaningful background image
❑ Craft compelling tagline
❑Write summary that embodies your
message - make it SEO friendly
❑ Create a vanity URL
❑ Add video and content assets
❑Get recommended
❑Write posts and articles
#INBOUND19
4 STEPS FOR LINKEDIN
THOUGHT LEADERSHIP
❑ Create compelling thought leadership
❑ Define your approach
❑ Engage and nurture your audience
❑Measure and optimize
#INBOUND19
E X E C U T I O N R E Q U I R E S P A R T I C I P A T I O N A T T H E C O M P A N Y A N D I N D I V I D U A L L E V E L S
STRUCTURED DECISION MAKING CONNECTS DECISIONS TO OUTCOMES YOU GENERATE
#INBOUND19
CREATE
CONTENT
CREATING HIGH QUALITY THOUGHT LEADERSHIP CONTENT IS NOT EASY
#INBOUND19
What % of the time do you get value from thought leadership?
B2B Buyers
CREATE
CONTENT
#INBOUND19
CREATE
CONTENT
PRODUCE CONSISTENTLY BETTER MARKETING
WITH THE S.C.O.R.E FRAMEWORK
S C O R E
X X X X X
“S” IS FOR STRUCTURESTRUCTURE GIVES IT SIMPLICITY
#INBOUND19
CREATE
CONTENT
“S” IS FOR STRUCTURESTRUCTURE GIVES IT SIMPLICITY
#INBOUND19
CREATE
CONTENT
“C” IS FOR CONTRARIANCONTRARIAN MAKES IT INTERESTING
#INBOUND19
CO
NT
RA
RIA
NC
ON
SE
NS
US
WRONG RIGHT
CREATE
CONTENT
“O” IS FOR OWNABLEOWNABLE MAKES IT DISTINCTIVE
#INBOUND19
of buyers incorrectly identify the brand behind the ad
CREATE
CONTENT
BE DISTINCTIVE WITH
YOUR BRAND ASSETS
#INBOUND19
CREATE
CONTENT
“R” IS FOR REPLICATION
REPLICATION MAKES IT VALUABLE
#INBOUND19
CREATE
CONTENT
H O L L Y W O O D H A S A M O R E P R O F I T A B L E A P P R O A C H : T H E B L O C K B U S T E R
“R” IS FOR REPLICATION
REPLICATION MAKES IT VALUABLE
#INBOUND19
CREATE
CONTENT
“E” IS FOR EXPERTISE
EXPERTISE MAKES IT PROFITABLE
#INBOUND19
63%
64%
BusinessDecision Makers
C-Suite Executives
Say Thought Leadership determines who wins an RFP
B2B Buyers
2
0
Source: LinkedIn & Edelman, How Thought Leadership Impacts B2B Lead Generation
CREATE
CONTENT
Brand Theme
Content Themes
Cadence
I’m a champion and pioneer for brand transformation
Industry
transformation
through others
– articles, videos from
peers, thought leaders
3 - 5 shares
per week
1 article
per month
1 article
per month
Hashtags#BrandTransformation, #CustomerExperience
#DigitalTransformation, #BrandExperience #YourUniqueHashtag
Influencers
& SourcesInfluencer 1, Influencer2, Blog 1, Blog 2, Blog 3
CONNECT YOUR EXPERTISE TO YOUR ORGANIZATION’S THOUGHT LEADERSHIP
#INBOUND19
Organizational
transformation in
culture
– original articles that
lean into pop culture
Product
transformation with
clients
– real talk about
learnings & results
Thought Leadership The “Art of Rebranding 2019”
DEFINE
YOUR
APPROACH
1. What is the unique perspective you can provide?
2. What are the symptoms and triggers that send your
audience on a search for information?
3. What are questions your audience commonly has?
4. What are the key trends in your area of expertise?
5. What are misconceptions or objections about your
area of expertise?
What does
your audience
want?
Where is
the untapped
opportunity?
What are
you an
expert in?
SHARE THOUGHT LEADERSHIP POWERFULLY BY DEFINING YOUR NICHE 1
3 2
#INBOUND19
DEFINE
YOUR
APPROACH
TALK ABOUT THE THINGS
THAT MATTER TO YOUF O C U S O N W H A T ’ S I M P O R T A N T ,
W H A T ’ S T H E “ S O W H A T ”
HIGHLIGHT YOUR
COMPANY'S SUCCESSES
SHARE YOUR
POINT OF VIEW
A reminder, status updates don’t
all have to be link shares. You can
also share…
• Crowdsourced thoughts
• Critiques
• Quick hitting tips
• Personal observations
• Random thoughts
COMMENT ON
INDUSTRY TRENDS
ENGAGE &
NURTURE
ADD YOUR VOICE TO THE CONTENT YOU SHARER E S H A R E C O N T E N T
A D D I N G A B R I E F
S T A T E M E N T O R Q U E S T I O N
#INBOUND19
ENGAGE &
NURTURE
#INBOUND19
TAKE ADVANTAGE OF NEW
VIDEO CAPABILITIESB E C R E A T I V E A N D T I M E L Y W I T H V I D E O
See a piece of technology that will
make weaves in your industry?
SHOW IT
Hear an interesting talk at a
conference or event?
TRANSPORT US THERE
Have a work hack or trick that
others should know about?
TEACH IT
Have a unique perspective
or industry news?
SHARE IT
Have a different creative idea?
We can’t wait to see it!
YOUR TAKE
ENGAGE &
NURTURE
BEST PRACTICES FOR SHORT FORM POSTS ON LINKEDINP O S T S I N 2 0 1 9
#INBOUND19
ENGAGE &
NURTURE
❑ Post between 9 to 5 working hours. Test posting hours before & after.
❑ Try to post between 1-3x per day.
❑ Diversify your posts. 80% of the content should be someone else’s.
❑ Use a post scheduling tool or support.
❑ Tag influencers & colleagues (when relevant). This can 2x reach.
❑ “Megabatch” your content creation.
❑ Plan for content capture at events.
❑ When you write posts use a three-sentence teaser lead in.
❑ Use relevant hashtags.
❑ Don’t leave people hanging in comments.
ENGAGE &
NURTURE
BEST PRACTICES FOR LONG FORM PUBLISHING ON LINKEDIN
H O W T O W R I T E C O M P E L L I N G P O S T S
#INBOUND19
❑ Ask yourself: would I click on that?
❑ Link to content that reinforces your points
❑Give credit where credit is due
❑ 800 – 2000 words drives the most engagement
❑ Don’t forget to add pictures
❑Write your byline
WRITE WHAT
YOU KNOW
WRITE TO START A
CONVERSATION
ENGAGE &
NURTURE
SHARE CONTENT ACROSS
YOUR OTHER CHANNELSA M P L I F Y I N G Y O U R C O N T E N T
SHARE TO 1-2 LINKEDIN GROUPS
SOCIAL MEDIA
A reminder, you
can share your
content more than
once reframing it
from a different
angle over time!
ENGAGE &
NURTURE
HOW TO NURTURE LEADS ON LINKEDIN
• Step 1 - Establish goal. e.g. - download resource,
schedule consultation, attend webinar, hop on call
• Step 2 - Create a priority list of target prospects.
• Step 3 - Connect with intention.
• Step 4 - Build relationships. Share useful content,
interact with their content, send helpful assets.
• Step 5 - Connect and talk outside of LinkedIn for
next steps.
#INBOUND19
ENGAGE &
NURTUREENGAGE &
NURTURE
ENGAGE &
NURTUREENGAGE &
NURTUREENGAGE &
NURTURE
LEVERAGE SALES NAVIGATOR + HUBSPOT
V I E W P R O F I L E S I N S I D E H U B S P O T R E C O R D S
ENGAGE &
NURTURE
HIGHER WIN RATES5%
LARGER DEALS35%
SOURCED
OPPORTUNITIES34%
61%INFLUENCED
REVENUE
MEASURE & LEARN WHAT RESONATES WITH YOUR AUDIENCE
• Understand who is engaging and how
• Focus less on page views and more on conversation
• Test different approaches
#INBOUND19
MEASURE &
OPTIMIZE
UNDERSTAND WHO IS ENGAGING TO
OPTIMIZE YOUR APPROACHUNDERSTAND YOUR AUDIENCE
#INBOUND19
MEASURE &
OPTIMIZE
“AUTHENTICITY IS A COLLECTION OF
CHOICES THAT WE HAVE TO MAKE
EVERY DAY. IT'S ABOUT THE CHOICE
TO SHOW UP AND BE REAL. THE
CHOICE TO BE HONEST. THE CHOICE
TO LET OUR TRUE SELVES BE SEEN.”
BRENE BROWN
#INBOUND19
LET’S RECAP
#INBOUND19
Authenticity matters
Bring realness to your thought leadership.
Conversations are key
Ask: how can I serve my audience?
It takes time
It will take time to build. Be patient.
THANK YOU
#INBOUND19
Get the slides & get connected:
https://ptdrv.linkedin.com/80eh27x
LinkedIn: Tyrona (Ty) Heath
Twitter: @tyrona
Instagram: tyronaheath
Connect Using Your Very Own
QR Code Or Scan Others