3 Must-Haves for Effective B2B Thought Leadership Articles
I had just finished writing a series of B2B thought leadership articles and was telling a friend how much I enjoy ghostwriting.
I rattled off this response when she asked if I used a particular structure to write the articles.
Intention: What’s driving the need for the article?
Purpose: What action should the article prompt?
Audience: Who are they, what are their concerns, and how can the article help?
Topic: What subject matter will be relevant to the audience and align with business priorities?
Context: Is the article part of a demand campaign? Will it be repurposed for use in different channels?
How to Distinguish Thought Leadership from Other Forms of B2B Writing
Sometime later, I realized I had only partially answered my friend’s question. I told her about my pre-writing criteria. But I’d said nothing about the organizing principles I use to make a thought leadership article, well, a thought leadership article. Here’s my perspective on the three must-have features that differentiate a thought leadership article from other forms of business writing.
Must-have #1: A Distinct Point of View
I like to kick off thought leadership articles in the first-person singular to establish a personal and distinct point of view. The opening statement should accomplish two things.
Position the thought leader as someone actively engaged in an industry and deeply familiar with it.
Foreshadow a disturbance in the status quo.
Here’s an example of a two-sentence opening statement for the CEO of a start-up fintech cloud SaaS company.
At the World Energy Engineering Congress (WEEC), I talked with several CFOs at leading energy companies. Each of them expressed concern that leadership at the board and CEO level now expects CFOs to lead corporate digital initiatives.
So, let’s see if I’m aligned with the structure. In the two italicized sentences above, I’ve positioned the individual as someone active in the industry (attending a conference). I’ve also shown that the thought leader interacts with top industry executives (talking with CFOs). And I’ve used the CFOs’ concerns about taking on digital initiatives to foreshadow a disturbance in the status quo.
Next, I must validate the thought leader’s perspective with a reputable third-party source. Here’s what that looks like.
McKinsey & Company explained the CFOs evolving role this way. As CFOs already own and manage much of the business information that feeds corporate digital initiatives, it’s natural that CEOs and boards want the head of finance to provide real-time, data-enabled decisions using digital technology.
Now we understand why CEOs and boards want CFOs to lead corporate digital initiatives. Next, let’s affirm the thought leader’s point of view with another confirmation of credibility.
A survey from McKinsey found that almost 40 percent of CFOs are responsible for IT, cybersecurity, digitalization, and finance functions.
Must-have #2: A Big-Picture Exposition
In this section, our thought leader foreshadows a pending disruption to the energy industry. I often start with the big picture, identifying market forces that are driving the disruption.
The exposition plants the seeds of a reversal, as it’s called in writing fiction. The reversal changes the status quo. It’s seen as disruptive to how things are or have always been done.
In this example, the reversal is that emergent trends are driving energy companies to take on digital initiatives.
Here’s an example of a big-picture exposition sentence.
A perfect storm of market forces is up-ending the traditional wholesale energy business model, with big implications for back-office financial operations. Let’s take a closer look at four of the forces that are driving change.
I’ve introduced the concept of macro forces beyond the control of the business. Now it’s time to flesh them out. Usually, I have three supporting points, covering each point in one or two paragraphs, capping the word count for each around 125 words. Here’s an example of my big-picture points.
Force #1. A changing energy economy
Force #2. Increasing complexity and inconsistency
Force #3. Proliferation of data
Force #4. The drive to improve operational efficiency.
Occasionally, I will expand on one of the points. Here’s an example using force #2.
Energy execs are signaling that complexity in the industry today and where it is headed by mid-century cannot be managed with status quo thinking or a patchwork of manual and digital processes. If one of the following characteristics is present, your organization is most likely being held back by complexity.
The previous sentence has obligated me to identify the characteristics of complexity, which I do in short, successive paragraphs of about 50 words each.
Must-have #3: Implications and Advice
The third must-have is a transition from the macro exposition to the implications of the market forces for the industry in general or, in this instance, the implications of digital initiatives for CFOs. A sample transition follows.
Energy companies in North America are looking for something more than operational productivity. They are seeking operational flexibility. The ability to rapidly scale to accommodate growth and leverage demand, plus the ability to protect margins with digital efficiencies in an over-supplied market. Senior management is turning to the CFO for leadership of digital initiatives.
Positioning the Thought Leader as a Trusted Advisor
Our thought leader becomes an advisor as we head into the home stretch. Here’s my approach.
Choose your first digital initiative carefully. Select a digital partner who can help you implement quickly with quality. Go for rapid ROI. But keep your eye on the long-term strategic value of your digital initiative.
I commonly write three to five points of advice (what is it about prime numbers?), each running about 30-50 words.
Let’s be candid. The thought leader has more than advice. He/she has a solution, most likely provided by his or her own company. I tread carefully, aware that I do not want the thought leadership article to become a piece of sales collateral.
I think it’s appropriate to describe the identifying characteristics of a solution, but it’s not okay to list the product features.
In the closing paragraphs, our thought leader makes an offer. Here’s the important part. The offer is in service of the reader. This varies, but the offer is usually something like this.
A personal offer to talk with CFOs about strategies for launching digital initiatives.
A free fact sheet (no form submission) on how to get started with digital initiatives.
A link to a related article authored by the thought leader.
An invitation to follow the thought leader on a platform like LinkedIn or Substack.
Ask a hundred writers, and you’ll get a hundred different ways to write a B2B thought leadership article. This is my approach. I hope you find it usefu
Memo to the CFO: McKinsey & Company, July 2018