Thought leadership that puts your executives in front of the right buyers
Cultivating a new customer takes time. It also takes influence. When business look to establish new purchasing relationships, they look for the voices they already know and trust. We help your company’s leaders become those voices, with inspired LinkedIn leadership think pieces, paid amplification and public relations campaigns that work together.
What is thought leadership?
Thought leadership is sharing original, useful ideas, backed by real expertise, so your audience sees you as a trusted authority before they ever need to buy. Done well, it builds credibility and helps your sales team start conversations that are already warm.
Originally coined by Strategy & Business editor Joel Kurtzman in 1994, the concept of thought leadership highlighted executives whose business ideas deserved attention. More than three decades later, thought leadership marketing is a core concept of any comprehensive marketing plan. And centerstage in that plan is LinkedIn, where executives can share their ideas directly with the people who make the buying decisions for their companies.
What thought leadership is
- A clear point of view on your industry
- Lessons from real client and market experience
- A steady presence over months, not weeks
- Written in your executive’s own voice
What it isn’t
- Product announcements dressed up as insight
- Generic advice anyone could post
- One viral post
- Impressions with no buyers behind them
Why thought leadership works for B2B
Purchasing decisions are slow and crowded in the business world. Thought leadership is a strategy that helps reach the buyers and decision makers in charge of making purchasing decisions for their companies. These executives might not be ready to buy just yet, but they are looking for insights and guidance to help them navigate complex industry challenges and stay ahead of emerging trends. Your insights can position your brand as a trusted advisor long before they ever reach out to your sales team.
73% of B2B decision-makers say an organization’s thought leadership is a more trustworthy way to judge its capabilities than its marketing materials.
Source: 2024 Edelman-LinkedIn B2B Thought Leadership Impact Report95% of business buyers aren’t actively looking for a new supplier at any given time, which is why steady visibility beats last-minute outreach.
Source: 2024 Edelman-LinkedIn B2B Thought Leadership Impact Report
Our thought leadership, content and ad services
Thought leadership takes more than posting. We handle the strategy, the writing, the promotion and the follow-through, so your executives can focus their time on what really matters: sharing their expertise.
Audience strategy and research
We define your ideal customer profile, target accounts and content themes before the first post goes live, so every piece has a job to do.
Executive LinkedIn content
We interview your executive, learn their voice and ghostwrite posts, articles and newsletters that utilize their voice and tone. We optimize every profit and provide a content calendar each month. You approve everything before it publishes.
LinkedIn Thought Leader Ads
LinkedIn lets brands sponsor an executive’s own post, with their name and photo instead of a logo. We choose the posts worth boosting, build audiences from your account lists, job titles and past engagement, and manage budget and reporting in Campaign Manager.
PR and earned media
Your executive’s ideas deserve a bigger stage than one platform. We pitch expert commentary, byline articles and speaking opportunities to reporters and outlets your buyers read.
Content and creative
Video scripts, graphics, carousels, newsletters and long-form articles, produced to match your brand and reused across LinkedIn, your website and email.
Measurement and follow-up
We track who engages by name, title and company, so you can see whether decision-makers in your market are paying attention. Then we help your team follow up, so engagement becomes conversation.
How our thought leadership program works
A clear process keeps your program consistent and keeps your executive’s time requirement small.
- Discover: A voice interview with your executive, an audience and competitor review, and a clear picture of your ideal customers and target accounts.
- Plan: Content themes, formats and a calendar built around the conversations your buyers are already having.
- Create and publish: We draft, you review, and nothing goes live without approval. A fast review loop keeps momentum.
- Amplify: Thought Leader Ads and PR carry your best ideas to target accounts and the media that reach them.
- Measure and follow up: Regular reporting on who is engaging, plus outreach ideas for your team, so we can double down on what works.
5 questions to ask before you hire a thought leadership agency
Thought leadership is a crowded field, and not every provider can deliver. Whoever you hire, ask these. We’re happy to answer them for ourselves.
- Who writes the posts, and what have they written before? Ask to see published posts for another executive, with the engagement on each.
- How do you measure a post? Impressions and follower growth measure reach, not buyers. Look for reporting on engagement from your ideal customers, by name, title and company.
- What happens after someone engages? A strong program follows up with the right people instead of celebrating likes.
- Do you run Thought Leader Ads? LinkedIn’s targeting can put executive posts in front of a named list of target accounts. Ask how it’s being used.
- Can you earn press coverage too? Media coverage multiplies the value of an executive’s ideas. An agency like the spr agency, with real PR relationships cultivated over time, has an edge.
About the spr agency
Since 2008, the spr agency has helped national homebuilders, master-planned communities, active adult communities, electronics manufacturers, law firms, healthcare companies and restaurants earn the attention they deserve and grow the business they’ve worked hard to establish.
Based in Arizona, we serve clients across the United States. We’ve been recognized in Ranking Arizona: The Best of Arizona Business, including as the No. 1 PR Agency in 2017 and top 5 agency rankings in 2024.
Thought leadership FAQ
What is thought leadership marketing?
Thought leadership marketing is sharing original ideas and real expertise, usually in an executive’s own voice, to build trust with the people who influence buying decisions. It works through content, social media, PR and advertising. The goal is to be the name buyers already trust when they are ready to choose.
How is thought leadership different from content marketing?
Content marketing covers any content that supports your business, from product pages to how-to guides. Thought leadership is a focused part of it: original viewpoints from named experts that shape how your industry thinks. It is also personal, so it carries a face and a voice instead of a logo.
What are LinkedIn Thought Leader Ads?
Thought Leader Ads are a LinkedIn ad format that lets a company sponsor an existing post from an executive or another member, with their permission. The ad shows the person’s name and profile instead of a company logo. It runs through LinkedIn Campaign Manager with the same targeting options as other LinkedIn ads.
Do you ghostwrite LinkedIn posts for executives?
Yes. We interview your executive, learn their voice and write posts, articles and newsletters in it. Nothing is published without your executive’s approval.
How do you measure thought leadership?
We look beyond impressions and follower counts. We track which of the people engaging with your posts match your ideal customer profile, by name, title and company, and report on how those engagements connect to conversations and opportunities.
How long does it take to see results from thought leadership?
Thought leadership builds over time, so results come from steady, consistent publishing rather than a single post. Most programs need several months before patterns emerge. We review performance regularly and adjust topics, formats and targeting as we learn what your audience responds to.
Do you work with companies outside Arizona?
Yes. We have served clients across the United States since 2008.
Ready to put your executives in the spotlight?
Tell us who you want to reach. We’ll show you what a thought leadership program could look like for your team.