Rethinking Media Relations

The Power of Thought Leadership

Positioning your organization as a “thought leader” is another effective tactic for creating mutually beneficial relationships with audiences. Thought leadership establishes experts within your company as go-to resources for the media, business partners, customers, and others who seek analysis of industry trends, buying advice, perspective on the marketplace, or other issues.

While thought-leadership campaigns don’t necessarily get you business in the short term, “they position you to get more business in the long term,” says Chris Schermer, president and founder of Schermer Kuehl, a business-to-business marketing and public-relations agency in Minneapolis.

Thought leadership requires more than simply identifying a pool of experts in your company. It means giving those experts the coaching needed to deal effectively with the press, such as prepared talking points. Journalists operate on a different clock than much of the business world; a quick and insightful response before deadline means everything to them—and your company could reap the benefits of your expert’s knowledgeable perspective.

Thought leadership also includes developing white papers or case studies that reporters can reference in stories, writing bylined articles for placement in trade publications, and seeking out speaking opportunities at key industry events. These tactics are all part of public relations firms’ increased focus on sowing the seeds for long-term relationships, not just seeking the one-hit wonder of being quoted in a high-profile publication, only to have little contact or influence with the media beyond that opening salvo.

This approach “opens up new dialogues and conversations that you normally might not be invited into, because most third parties like the media, or industry analysts, are screening out people who are just trying to sell or market,” Schermer says. “Thought leadership gives my clients more opportunities for exposure than if they were just marketing purely on a transaction basis.”

Adds McKinney: “These campaigns often require removing ego from the equation, and focusing not simply on getting attention for your organization, but rather how you can help educate, enlighten, and share information that won’t necessarily benefit you in the short term.”

Such an approach requires more patience and foresight. One company that’s used the strategy with success is Minneapolis-based Minco, an electronics manufacturer. As part of a commodity industry that makes components for the medical diagnostic and device market, Minco seeks to differentiate itself from competitors in ways other than running ads in trade publications or exhibiting at trade shows. Management launched a thought-leadership campaign that included offering valued design and engineering expertise to clients nearly free of charge, Schermer says.

The company created an online community forum it calls “E to E,” or engineer-to-engineer, where Minco customers and partners can consult with comp-any experts on how to design for certain types of electrical products. Users of the forum can find more information about a solution, idea, or product and interact as a peer group, ask questions, and discuss their design challenges and solutions.