In today's competitive, digital-first world, it’s crucial for firms to create timely, relevant and valuable thought leadership to help attract new business and offer value to existing clients. Edelman research suggests 54% of B2B decision-makers spend more than an hour a week reviewing thought leadership, and reveals 96% of B2B buyers review thought leadership before making a purchase. 

Developing a content strategy will help focus your marketing to support your firm’s business goals. Without a clear strategy it’s easy to get distracted by developing content that doesn’t align with the objectives of the business and ultimately fails to engage with the intended audience.

This Forbes article highlights some of the factors needed for effective content marketing in 2022. Here are some additonal elements professional services marketers should consider when developing a successful content strategy:

1. Provide value - There’s a lot of content out there, so you need to provide insightful, high-quality content that will cut through the noise. Leverage the unique perspectives, viewpoints and expertise that only you and your firm can provide. Compelling and unique content will offer your audience real value and position you as the thought leader in your space.

2. Invest in multimedia - People are consuming more video and podcast content than ever and smartphones have literally put high-quality editing tools in our hands. Video content is highly engaging and easily digestible and can be particularly effective across blogs and social media channels. Videos can be successful in bringing your brand to life -  consider video case studies of your clients and films that showcase your firm’s people, values and culture. The same is also true of podcasts. As with all content, define the purpose and objective first and then choose the best tool for the job.

3. Post regularly - Blogging is a well-established pillar of any content marketing strategy. Posting regularly and consistently is the key to success, with industry experts suggesting 1-4 times a week for smaller businesses and up to multiple times a day for larger firms. Focus on writing about relevant topics that will interest your audience and prospective clients, see what’s making the headlines in your industry and consider the unique perspective you can add. 

4. Publish everywhere - A mantra we live by here at Passle. When you post a piece of thought-leadership, whether it’s a blog, a video or podcast, publish it across all of your channels, send it in your newsletters, post across social media and distribute it via all the integrated third party channels or newswires you have access to. By distributing it far and wide you will increase the content’s reach and see a greater return on investment. Fact.

5. Track and measure - Once you’ve distributed your content, take a look at the stats. How many people have read it, opened the email or clicked on the link? By tracking key metrics you will see what type of content people are most engaged with, what they are interested in sharing and the areas they want to learn more about. There is a wealth of data available when it comes to measurement, so consider what you want to learn about your audience’s behaviour - defining those questions will enable you to identify the metrics that will provide the answers and help shape your content strategy going forward.