Chris Koch

FEBRUARY 4, 2012

Mostly what we do with thought leadership is educate and inform. The term implies that practitioners are smarter than everyone else—including every other thought leader out there. It’s a set up for failure. Truly great ideas are rare. We add a new twist to an existing idea or we do a deeper analysis of a well-known issue than others.

Thought Leadership 100

Thought Leadership B2B Thought Leadership Social Media Twitter 100

Chris Koch

OCTOBER 14, 2011

I’ve also done research asking B2B marketers how they engage and how they educate their employees and SMEs to engage. In three plus years of tweeting, I’ve picked up what I perceive to be the general etiquette for engaging on Twitter. I’ve rolled all that up into an approach that I doubt constantly. I don’t seem to be alone.

Social Media 100

Social Media Media Twitter Social Networks 100

Chris Koch

OCTOBER 14, 2011

I’ve also done research asking B2B marketers how they engage and how they educate their employees and SMEs to engage. In three plus years of tweeting, I’ve picked up what I perceive to be the general etiquette for engaging on Twitter. I’ve rolled all that up into an approach that I doubt constantly. I don’t seem to be alone.

Social Media 100

Social Media Media Twitter Social Networks 100

Chris Koch

SEPTEMBER 23, 2011

But just like their audiences, marketers are smart, educated people who like to learn. Sure, marketers like to participate in social media more, but that’s because they are the ones charged with making social media happen in their organizations. But I’m left wondering, is sharing content being social?

Twitter 100

Twitter Broadcasting Social Media Advertising Mediums 100

Chris Koch

SEPTEMBER 23, 2011

But just like their audiences, marketers are smart, educated people who like to learn. Sure, marketers like to participate in social media more, but that’s because they are the ones charged with making social media happen in their organizations. But I’m left wondering, is sharing content being social? Share and Enjoy:

Twitter 100

Twitter Broadcasting Social Media B2B Marketing 100

Chris Koch

JULY 16, 2009

Use the customer council to feed an executive education program/forum whereby the content developed within the customer council is presented to a larger audience. Consider pairing one of your top executives with a top executive from a customer to build relationship and shepherd participation in various customer programs.

Peer-to-peer 100

Peer-to-peer Practices Thought Leadership Best Practices 100

Chris Koch

OCTOBER 22, 2010

This content must be like what the press used to provide, objective, idea-based, and educational—not selling. They want to become as informed as possible about current trends and their buying options before they ever speak to a salesperson. This is where we as marketers need to provide more content—but not sales content.

Lead Management 100

Lead Management Marketing Management Automation Marketing Automation Services 100

Chris Koch

JULY 16, 2009

Use the customer council to feed an executive education program/forum whereby the content developed within the customer council is presented to a larger audience. Consider pairing one of your top executives with a top executive from a customer to build relationship and shepherd participation in various customer programs.

Peer-to-peer 100

Peer-to-peer Thought Leadership Practices Best Practices 100

Chris Koch

FEBRUARY 26, 2010

We gain their trust by reaching out to them with smart, engaging, educational content. But they may be open to building a relationship that could someday lead to a sale. These people are prospects, not leads. The way we turn prospects into leads is to gain their trust. The trust leads to a more personal relationship and hopefully, a purchase.

Social Media 100

Social Media Lead Generation B2B Thought Leadership Generation 100

Chris Koch

DECEMBER 29, 2009

We have to understand that in B2B, content—in the form of ideas, education, research and support—are our deals. That’s a gimme for marketers to deepen the relationship with them. And another 23% said that they see enough value exchange in content alone to warrant a follow.

Enterprise Management 100

Enterprise Management B2B Marketing B2B Thought Leadership Marketing Management 100

Chris Koch

APRIL 10, 2009

Thought leadership is different because it focuses on educating rather than selling. How was it different from branding/other marketing initiatives that were carried out earlier?

Thought Leadership 100

Thought Leadership B2B Thought Leadership Peer-to-peer Work Management 100

Chris Koch

OCTOBER 12, 2009

So at what point do we begin ascribing the same responsibility to social media that we have to traditional print and TV media: that of educating and informing the public? When does social media take on a social responsibility?

Social Media 100

Social Media Media Paid Search Agency Viral Marketing 100

Chris Koch

SEPTEMBER 18, 2009

And because the model is so open, if you post good, useful information (think education, not promotion) then you will inevitably build relationships and at some point, those reluctant to reciprocate will see your stuff being passed along by others that they follow, and they will have cause to reconsider their decision.

Social Media 100

Social Media Viral Marketing Tools Media 100

Chris Koch

SEPTEMBER 18, 2009

And because the model is so open, if you post good, useful information (think education, not promotion) then you will inevitably build relationships and at some point, those reluctant to reciprocate will see your stuff being passed along by others that they follow, and they will have cause to reconsider their decision.

Social Media 100

Social Media Viral Marketing Tools Media 100

Chris Koch

SEPTEMBER 29, 2011

Some time back, I blogged about the attributes of a thought leader. Lately, I’ve been talking to B2B marketers about the content delivered by these thought leaders and asking, What defines good thought leadership content? Here’s what I have so far. Surely, you have a suggestion that will get us to ten attributes?

Thought Leadership 100

Thought Leadership B2B Thought Leadership Best Practices Case Study 100

Chris Koch

SEPTEMBER 29, 2011

Some time back, I blogged about the attributes of a thought leader. Lately, I’ve been talking to B2B marketers about the content delivered by these thought leaders and asking, What defines good thought leadership content? Here’s what I have so far. Surely, you have a suggestion that will get us to ten attributes?

Thought Leadership 100

Thought Leadership B2B Thought Leadership Best Practices Case Study 100

Chris Koch

MAY 12, 2014

and a better education and now you’ve got a robot that could fit in at any Silicon Valley startup. Scientists are realizing that for robots to co-exist with humans, they have to be a little more like us. So you take Victor and give him some arms (hey, who needs arms to work a virtual Scrabble board?)

Startups 100

Startups Distribution Internet Marketing Education 100

Chris Koch

FEBRUARY 5, 2010

It is about selling a point of view that educates the audience. The education is the exchange of value that begins a relationship between the customer and the deliverer—whether that deliverer is a salesperson, a marketer, or a subject matter expert. It is not about positioning your offerings at all.

Thought Leadership 100

Thought Leadership B2B Thought Leadership Gartner Planning 100

Chris Koch

OCTOBER 1, 2010

Ideas that educate customers and prospects about important business and technology issues and help them solve those issues—without selling. (As an extra added bonus, due to Twitter’s typical evening queasiness, we weren’t able to post all the questions during the appointed hour. So they are all here for your enjoyment.)

Thought Leadership 100

Thought Leadership Social Media B2B Thought Leadership Peer-to-peer 100