Media fragmentation, information overload, and the power of social media make it critical that thought leadership marketers put substantial energy into getting the word out across a broad range of media and activities. B2B marketers know they need to invest in thought leadership, and many have indeed invested more during the last few years. Making the most of these investments, however, rests on having the right answers to a set of difficult questions: What topics should we highlight? How should we produce and package thought leadership content? How should we promote it? Do the Research. MORE >>

Invest in program integration and information sharing; customer insight is of little value if locked in separate silos . Michael Shrage’s recent Harvard Business Review post, Great Customers Inspire Great Innovations , got me thinking: Why, amid so much evidence of the power of customer-centric business, are so many companies still mired in inside-out operations? Why do we hear so much talk but see so little action? Shrage’s post reminds us that behind most great innovations lie customers and clients that made those innovations possible. It is happening to some extent, of course. MORE >>

Curating interesting and informative content from other sources is another way to build and maintain visibility, become a useful resource, and, not incidentally, keep on top of important industry developments yourself. Done well, though, a well-curated news or information service can be another vital complement to your own publication program. Consistently creating engaging content is one of those programmatic challenges that strikes fear in the hearts of many B2B marketers looking to take more advantage of social media. Four Levels of Content Sharing. Do you agree? MORE >>

We all know that social media is increasingly central to how we get our news and information. The main finding in this new report is that Americans use different media for different types of information. My suggestion then was that given the incredible time constraints under which our customers and prospects operate, we need to think about being a "top five" information source. Of course you need to provide useful and interesting information. Most important, why do they need your information? But they also differ greatly from each other." What do you think? MORE >>

The lesson here, of course, is to open up the organization, encourage your experts to connect freely with customers and others, and tear down the registration walls that require detailed business information in exchange for simply downloading a white paper or subscribing to a newsletter. . Early on, the Dead realized the value of giving extra attention to their top fans with early and special access to tour information, tickets, and recordings. No less than the Atlantic magazine recently published an ode to the Dead's business acumen, Management Secrets of the Grateful Dead. MORE >>