SlideShare a Scribd company logo
1 of 18
Download to read offline
Thought Leadership &
Content Marketing: An
Interactive Workshop
TECNA 2014 Summer Conference
@cmmarketing
castelazocontent.com
The plan
This workshop was designed for Technology Council CEOs
and COOs as well as staff members – event managers,
marketing managers, membership directors
Takeaway value:
1.Understand the benefits of thought leadership – benefits for
you professionally, for your Tech Council, and for your local
tech industry
2.Walk through the process of thought leadership strategy,
development, and marketing in a variety of scenarios
3.Discover creative ways to develop thought leadership with
limited resources – including leveraging existing resources to
the fullest extent
@cmmarketing
castelazocontent.com
About me
• Founder & Chief Content
Strategist at Castelazo Content
• Co-chair of the Arizona
Technology Council Workforce
Development & Education
Committee
• Board member of the Business
Marketing Association and
American Marketing Association
e: molly@castelazocontent.com
li: linkedin.com/in/mollycastelazo
About Castelazo
Content
We exist to help our clients sell more.
We accomplish that by establishing the
client as a thought leader – one who leads
prospects through the sales cycle by
addressing their problems and needs,
questions and concerns.
The content we develop includes
whitepapers, blogs, bylined articles,
videos, infographics, and other content
that engages prospects, generates leads,
and converts leads into clients.
castelazocontent.com
@cmmarketing
@cmmarketing
castelazocontent.com
THOUGHT LEADERSHIP
@cmmarketing
castelazocontent.com
What is a "thought leader”?
“To me, Thought Leadership
is simply about becoming an
authority on relevant topics
by delivering the answers to
the biggest questions on the
minds of your target
audience.”
– Michael Brenner, SAP
@cmmarketing
castelazocontent.com
Key benefits of thought
leadership
For companies, the benefits of
thought leadership are leads
generated and converted
For a Technology Council, the
benefits of thought leadership can
include:
– Increased membership
– Increased sponsorship
– Legislative victories
– Growth in awareness about and
increased success of the local
tech industry
For individuals, thought leadership
is certainly a way to build your
professional brand – and to give
back to the community by sharing
your hard-earned insights.
@cmmarketing
castelazocontent.com
4 rules for effective thought
leadership
The only rule you need to know:
1. It’s all about your audience
Plus 3 more that are good too:
2. Engage
3. Be relevant
4. Provide value
Find more detail in the Content Is Queen
Buyer Personas slideshare at
castelazocontent.com/content-marketing-blog/
@cmmarketing
castelazocontent.com
YOU'RE A TECH COUNCIL CEO
AND WANT TO DEVELOP YOUR
OWN THOUGHT LEADERSHIP
Scenario 1
@cmmarketing
castelazocontent.com
You're a tech council CEO and want to
develop your own thought leadership
Step 1: Get to know your audience
- Who is the audience?
- What are you trying to achieve?
- What insight is relevant for that audience?
Step 2: Determine what kind of content to
produce and where to publish it
- Where is your audience?
- How will you position your insight (what are
you going to write/speak/draw about?)
Step 3: Produce the content
- How will you produce that thought leadership
(strategies for CEOs who are "too busy”)
Step 4: Market the content
@cmmarketing
castelazocontent.com
You're a tech council CEO and want to
develop your own thought leadership
Step 1: Get to know your audience
- Who is the audience?
- What are you trying to achieve?
- What insight is relevant for that audience?
Step 2: Determine what kind of content to
produce and where to publish it
- Where is your audience?
- How will you position your insight (what are
you going to write/speak/draw about?)
Step 3: Produce the content
- How will you produce that thought leadership
(strategies for CEOs who are "too busy”)
Step 4: Market the content
Participants: Work
with your colleagues
at your table to
develop a strategy for
CEO thought
leadership using the
steps on the left as a
framework
10 minutes
@cmmarketing
castelazocontent.com
You're a tech council CEO and want to
develop your own thought leadership
Discussion/Q&A
One person from every
other table shares their
table’s plan with the whole
group
15 minutes
@cmmarketing
castelazocontent.com
YOU'RE A MARKETING MANAGER
OR OTHER STAFF MEMBER
DEVELOPING YOUR COUNCIL'S
THOUGHT LEADERSHIP AND/OR
PROMOTING THOUGHT
LEADERSHIP WITHIN THE LOCAL
TECH INDUSTRY
Scenario 2
@cmmarketing
castelazocontent.com
You're developing your Council's thought
leadership and/or promoting thought
leadership within the local tech industry
Step 1: What sources do you have for thought
leadership? (What/where/with whom are the
pockets of insight?)
Step 2: Get to know your audience
- Who is the audience?
- What are you trying to achieve?
- What insight is relevant for that audience?
Step 3: Determine what kind of content to produce
and where to publish it
- Where is your audience?
- How will you position your insight (what are
you going to write/speak/draw about?)
Step 4: Produce the content
- How will you produce that thought leadership
Step 5: Market the content
@cmmarketing
castelazocontent.com
You're developing your Council's thought
leadership and/or promoting thought
leadership within the local tech industry
Step 1: What sources do you have for thought
leadership? (What/where/with whom are the
pockets of insight?)
Step 2: Get to know your audience
- Who is the audience?
- What are you trying to achieve?
- What insight is relevant for that audience?
Step 3: Determine what kind of content to produce
and where to publish it
- Where is your audience?
- How will you position your insight (what are
you going to write/speak/draw about?)
Step 4: Produce the content
- How will you produce that thought leadership
Step 5: Market the content
Participants: Work
with your colleagues
at your table to
develop a strategy
for Council and/or
local tech industry
thought leadership
Use the steps on the
left as a framework
10 minutes
@cmmarketing
castelazocontent.com
You're developing your Council's thought
leadership and/or promoting thought
leadership within the local tech industry
Discussion/Q&A
One person from every
other table shares their
table’s plan with the
whole group
15 minutes
@cmmarketing
castelazocontent.com
WRAP-UP & NEXT
STEPS/TAKEAWAYS
@cmmarketing
castelazocontent.com
Taking this home
Step 1: What sources do you have for
thought leadership? (What/where/with
whom are the pockets of insight?)
Step 2: Get to know your audience
- Who is the audience?
- What are you trying to achieve?
- What insight is relevant for that
audience?
Step 3: Determine what kind of content
to produce and where to publish it
- Where is your audience?
- How will you position your insight
(what are you going to
write/speak/draw about?)
Step 4: Produce the content
- How will you produce that thought
leadership
Step 5: Market the content
Participants:
- Take 5 minutes to think
about how you,
individually, can develop
your own, your
Council’s, and/or your
local tech industry’s
thought leadership.
- Draft an initial thought
leadership plan
@cmmarketing
castelazocontent.com
Any last comments or
questions?
Molly Castelazo, Chief Content Strategist
castelazocontent.com
molly@castelazocontent.com
linkedin.com/in/mollycastelazo
@cmmarketing

More Related Content

Similar to Thought Leadership & Content Marketing Presented at TECNA 2014 Retreat

Marketing - A House Divided
Marketing - A House DividedMarketing - A House Divided
Marketing - A House DividedMarcus Tewksbury
 
Content marketing trends 2014
Content marketing trends 2014Content marketing trends 2014
Content marketing trends 2014Smart Insights
 
Show Me The Numbers! How Content Marketing Attracts Members, Revenue and Infl...
Show Me The Numbers! How Content Marketing Attracts Members, Revenue and Infl...Show Me The Numbers! How Content Marketing Attracts Members, Revenue and Infl...
Show Me The Numbers! How Content Marketing Attracts Members, Revenue and Infl...Carla Johnson
 
Marketing Transformation - Get ready
Marketing Transformation - Get readyMarketing Transformation - Get ready
Marketing Transformation - Get readySupriya Thakral
 
Marketing & PR Food for Thought, Valerie Harding, Ripple Effect Communications
Marketing & PR Food for Thought, Valerie Harding, Ripple Effect CommunicationsMarketing & PR Food for Thought, Valerie Harding, Ripple Effect Communications
Marketing & PR Food for Thought, Valerie Harding, Ripple Effect CommunicationsISA Marketing & Sales Summit
 
Digital media campaigns - two workshop in Kuwait May 2014
Digital media campaigns  - two workshop in Kuwait May 2014 Digital media campaigns  - two workshop in Kuwait May 2014
Digital media campaigns - two workshop in Kuwait May 2014 Sofie Sandell
 
Above The Code - Successful Startup Communications Strategies
Above The Code -  Successful Startup Communications StrategiesAbove The Code -  Successful Startup Communications Strategies
Above The Code - Successful Startup Communications StrategiesAlan Weinkrantz
 
Meld Magazine: Content Strategy Workshop
Meld Magazine: Content Strategy Workshop Meld Magazine: Content Strategy Workshop
Meld Magazine: Content Strategy Workshop Meld Magazine Inc.
 
Rock and a hardplace e brochure
Rock and a hardplace e brochureRock and a hardplace e brochure
Rock and a hardplace e brochureThe Burns Unit tlc
 
The Elevator Pitch - Not a Curve Ball
The Elevator Pitch - Not a Curve BallThe Elevator Pitch - Not a Curve Ball
The Elevator Pitch - Not a Curve BallNAFCareerAcads
 
Strategy and Insights Brainstorming Guide
Strategy and Insights Brainstorming GuideStrategy and Insights Brainstorming Guide
Strategy and Insights Brainstorming GuideRTC
 
Content And Social Media Presentation October 2010
Content And Social Media Presentation October 2010Content And Social Media Presentation October 2010
Content And Social Media Presentation October 2010Michael Scott
 

Similar to Thought Leadership & Content Marketing Presented at TECNA 2014 Retreat (20)

Marketing - A House Divided
Marketing - A House DividedMarketing - A House Divided
Marketing - A House Divided
 
Content marketing trends 2014
Content marketing trends 2014Content marketing trends 2014
Content marketing trends 2014
 
Marketing Revised
Marketing RevisedMarketing Revised
Marketing Revised
 
Show Me The Numbers! How Content Marketing Attracts Members, Revenue and Infl...
Show Me The Numbers! How Content Marketing Attracts Members, Revenue and Infl...Show Me The Numbers! How Content Marketing Attracts Members, Revenue and Infl...
Show Me The Numbers! How Content Marketing Attracts Members, Revenue and Infl...
 
Marketing Transformation - Get ready
Marketing Transformation - Get readyMarketing Transformation - Get ready
Marketing Transformation - Get ready
 
Marketing & PR Food for Thought, Valerie Harding, Ripple Effect Communications
Marketing & PR Food for Thought, Valerie Harding, Ripple Effect CommunicationsMarketing & PR Food for Thought, Valerie Harding, Ripple Effect Communications
Marketing & PR Food for Thought, Valerie Harding, Ripple Effect Communications
 
Educational Marketing (English version)
Educational Marketing (English version)Educational Marketing (English version)
Educational Marketing (English version)
 
Driving Sales with Social Media
Driving Sales with Social MediaDriving Sales with Social Media
Driving Sales with Social Media
 
Digital media campaigns - two workshop in Kuwait May 2014
Digital media campaigns  - two workshop in Kuwait May 2014 Digital media campaigns  - two workshop in Kuwait May 2014
Digital media campaigns - two workshop in Kuwait May 2014
 
Above The Code - Successful Startup Communications Strategies
Above The Code -  Successful Startup Communications StrategiesAbove The Code -  Successful Startup Communications Strategies
Above The Code - Successful Startup Communications Strategies
 
Christian Dinesen - 3 steps to make long distance leadership work
Christian Dinesen - 3 steps to make long distance leadership workChristian Dinesen - 3 steps to make long distance leadership work
Christian Dinesen - 3 steps to make long distance leadership work
 
Meld Magazine: Content Strategy Workshop
Meld Magazine: Content Strategy Workshop Meld Magazine: Content Strategy Workshop
Meld Magazine: Content Strategy Workshop
 
Rock and a hardplace e brochure
Rock and a hardplace e brochureRock and a hardplace e brochure
Rock and a hardplace e brochure
 
Develop & Share Your Story on Any Budget
Develop & Share Your Story on Any BudgetDevelop & Share Your Story on Any Budget
Develop & Share Your Story on Any Budget
 
The Elevator Pitch - Not a Curve Ball
The Elevator Pitch - Not a Curve BallThe Elevator Pitch - Not a Curve Ball
The Elevator Pitch - Not a Curve Ball
 
Strategy and Insights Brainstorming Guide
Strategy and Insights Brainstorming GuideStrategy and Insights Brainstorming Guide
Strategy and Insights Brainstorming Guide
 
Semcamp 2013 Jose-Truchado
Semcamp 2013 Jose-TruchadoSemcamp 2013 Jose-Truchado
Semcamp 2013 Jose-Truchado
 
CTE Mentoring Program
CTE Mentoring ProgramCTE Mentoring Program
CTE Mentoring Program
 
Content And Social Media Presentation October 2010
Content And Social Media Presentation October 2010Content And Social Media Presentation October 2010
Content And Social Media Presentation October 2010
 
Creating and executing a great content strategy
Creating and executing a great content strategyCreating and executing a great content strategy
Creating and executing a great content strategy
 

Thought Leadership & Content Marketing Presented at TECNA 2014 Retreat

  • 1. Thought Leadership & Content Marketing: An Interactive Workshop TECNA 2014 Summer Conference @cmmarketing castelazocontent.com
  • 2. The plan This workshop was designed for Technology Council CEOs and COOs as well as staff members – event managers, marketing managers, membership directors Takeaway value: 1.Understand the benefits of thought leadership – benefits for you professionally, for your Tech Council, and for your local tech industry 2.Walk through the process of thought leadership strategy, development, and marketing in a variety of scenarios 3.Discover creative ways to develop thought leadership with limited resources – including leveraging existing resources to the fullest extent @cmmarketing castelazocontent.com
  • 3. About me • Founder & Chief Content Strategist at Castelazo Content • Co-chair of the Arizona Technology Council Workforce Development & Education Committee • Board member of the Business Marketing Association and American Marketing Association e: molly@castelazocontent.com li: linkedin.com/in/mollycastelazo About Castelazo Content We exist to help our clients sell more. We accomplish that by establishing the client as a thought leader – one who leads prospects through the sales cycle by addressing their problems and needs, questions and concerns. The content we develop includes whitepapers, blogs, bylined articles, videos, infographics, and other content that engages prospects, generates leads, and converts leads into clients. castelazocontent.com @cmmarketing @cmmarketing castelazocontent.com
  • 5. What is a "thought leader”? “To me, Thought Leadership is simply about becoming an authority on relevant topics by delivering the answers to the biggest questions on the minds of your target audience.” – Michael Brenner, SAP @cmmarketing castelazocontent.com
  • 6. Key benefits of thought leadership For companies, the benefits of thought leadership are leads generated and converted For a Technology Council, the benefits of thought leadership can include: – Increased membership – Increased sponsorship – Legislative victories – Growth in awareness about and increased success of the local tech industry For individuals, thought leadership is certainly a way to build your professional brand – and to give back to the community by sharing your hard-earned insights. @cmmarketing castelazocontent.com
  • 7. 4 rules for effective thought leadership The only rule you need to know: 1. It’s all about your audience Plus 3 more that are good too: 2. Engage 3. Be relevant 4. Provide value Find more detail in the Content Is Queen Buyer Personas slideshare at castelazocontent.com/content-marketing-blog/ @cmmarketing castelazocontent.com
  • 8. YOU'RE A TECH COUNCIL CEO AND WANT TO DEVELOP YOUR OWN THOUGHT LEADERSHIP Scenario 1 @cmmarketing castelazocontent.com
  • 9. You're a tech council CEO and want to develop your own thought leadership Step 1: Get to know your audience - Who is the audience? - What are you trying to achieve? - What insight is relevant for that audience? Step 2: Determine what kind of content to produce and where to publish it - Where is your audience? - How will you position your insight (what are you going to write/speak/draw about?) Step 3: Produce the content - How will you produce that thought leadership (strategies for CEOs who are "too busy”) Step 4: Market the content @cmmarketing castelazocontent.com
  • 10. You're a tech council CEO and want to develop your own thought leadership Step 1: Get to know your audience - Who is the audience? - What are you trying to achieve? - What insight is relevant for that audience? Step 2: Determine what kind of content to produce and where to publish it - Where is your audience? - How will you position your insight (what are you going to write/speak/draw about?) Step 3: Produce the content - How will you produce that thought leadership (strategies for CEOs who are "too busy”) Step 4: Market the content Participants: Work with your colleagues at your table to develop a strategy for CEO thought leadership using the steps on the left as a framework 10 minutes @cmmarketing castelazocontent.com
  • 11. You're a tech council CEO and want to develop your own thought leadership Discussion/Q&A One person from every other table shares their table’s plan with the whole group 15 minutes @cmmarketing castelazocontent.com
  • 12. YOU'RE A MARKETING MANAGER OR OTHER STAFF MEMBER DEVELOPING YOUR COUNCIL'S THOUGHT LEADERSHIP AND/OR PROMOTING THOUGHT LEADERSHIP WITHIN THE LOCAL TECH INDUSTRY Scenario 2 @cmmarketing castelazocontent.com
  • 13. You're developing your Council's thought leadership and/or promoting thought leadership within the local tech industry Step 1: What sources do you have for thought leadership? (What/where/with whom are the pockets of insight?) Step 2: Get to know your audience - Who is the audience? - What are you trying to achieve? - What insight is relevant for that audience? Step 3: Determine what kind of content to produce and where to publish it - Where is your audience? - How will you position your insight (what are you going to write/speak/draw about?) Step 4: Produce the content - How will you produce that thought leadership Step 5: Market the content @cmmarketing castelazocontent.com
  • 14. You're developing your Council's thought leadership and/or promoting thought leadership within the local tech industry Step 1: What sources do you have for thought leadership? (What/where/with whom are the pockets of insight?) Step 2: Get to know your audience - Who is the audience? - What are you trying to achieve? - What insight is relevant for that audience? Step 3: Determine what kind of content to produce and where to publish it - Where is your audience? - How will you position your insight (what are you going to write/speak/draw about?) Step 4: Produce the content - How will you produce that thought leadership Step 5: Market the content Participants: Work with your colleagues at your table to develop a strategy for Council and/or local tech industry thought leadership Use the steps on the left as a framework 10 minutes @cmmarketing castelazocontent.com
  • 15. You're developing your Council's thought leadership and/or promoting thought leadership within the local tech industry Discussion/Q&A One person from every other table shares their table’s plan with the whole group 15 minutes @cmmarketing castelazocontent.com
  • 17. Taking this home Step 1: What sources do you have for thought leadership? (What/where/with whom are the pockets of insight?) Step 2: Get to know your audience - Who is the audience? - What are you trying to achieve? - What insight is relevant for that audience? Step 3: Determine what kind of content to produce and where to publish it - Where is your audience? - How will you position your insight (what are you going to write/speak/draw about?) Step 4: Produce the content - How will you produce that thought leadership Step 5: Market the content Participants: - Take 5 minutes to think about how you, individually, can develop your own, your Council’s, and/or your local tech industry’s thought leadership. - Draft an initial thought leadership plan @cmmarketing castelazocontent.com
  • 18. Any last comments or questions? Molly Castelazo, Chief Content Strategist castelazocontent.com molly@castelazocontent.com linkedin.com/in/mollycastelazo @cmmarketing

Editor's Notes

  1. 2 minutes You’ve got pens and paper on your tables because this is going to be an interactive workshop; you’ll come way at the end of these 90 minutes with a concrete, pen-on-paper strategy for developing your own thought leadership content. First I’m going to provide a bit of context – talk about what thought leadership is and what its benefits can be and give some examples to set the stage. The bulk of our time today is split into two segments. In the first we’ll all pretend (or not) that we’re Tech Council CEOs and are developing our own thought leadership. Everyone will participate. Then in the second segment we’ll all pretend (or not) that we’re Tech Council staff members – in membership, events, marketing – developing thought leadership for our Tech Council. Again, everyone will participate. You’ll all find the exercises valuable, no matter your role – even if you’re not with a Tech Council at all.
  2. 2 minutes I’m Molly Castelazo, and I’m founder and chief content strategist at Castelazo Content. We are a thought leadership and content marketing firm; we’re based in Arizona with clients all over the world. Why do we do what we do? To help our clients sell more. We do that with various forms of content that walk our clients’ prospects through the sales cycle. Did you know that the average buyer is 60% of the way through the sales cycle before ever engaging with a sales person? For that 60%, content is the sales person. So that’s what we do, in the form of whitepapers, blogs, articles, case studies, infographics, videos, etc. I have been involved with the Arizona Technology Council since I was one of the principal investigators a few years back on the landmark AZ Tech Workforce Study, which people are still talking about. My company is a member and we’re active with the Tech Council in a variety of capacities, and I serve as co-chair of the Workforce Development and Education Committee. I’m also active in the marketing community in AZ on the boards of the American Marketing Association and Business Marketing Association. And I’m really excited to be here in Montreal, finally – I had a very circuitous route here yesterday – and thankful to not be wearing my airplane clothes!
  3. Okay so in this first section I’m going to share with you all some insights about thought leadership, to set the stage.
  4. 1 minute Thought leadership is content – articles, videos, blogs, social media, whitepapers, podcasts – that provides value to the reader, viewer, or listener. For companies, thought leadership content positions the company as the authority, and done right can both generate leads and convert them. For individuals, thought leadership content is a way to build your personal brand, and to give back by sharing your trials and triumphs with others.
  5. 3 minutes I want to share with you an example to give you a clear picture of what I mean when I talk about thought leadership content. This is the first of a few examples to provide real-life context for the concepts we’ll discuss today. One example is a long-time client of ours, an Arizona-based company that developed a software-as-a-service (SaaS) solution for enterprises to manage currency risk. The CEO of the company, Wolfgang, is a natural thought leader. In addition to a wide range of other content we develop for the company, FiREapps, every quarter one of their in-house researchers combs through the earnings calls of about 1200 North American and European corporates and looks for mentions of currency. We then do a range of analysis that ends up in the FiREapps Quarterly Earnings Currency Impact Report. Around this report, Wolfgang does a series of broadcast interviews, interviews with trade publications, and interviews with mainstream media as well. We ghostwrite blogs, columns, and articles that get published in places like Forbes as well as industry trades. And, incredibly, every quarter the insights from the FiREapps report make the print version of the Wall Street Journal. Which is all well and good, but how does it *benefit* FiREapps? When we ran the numbers last, the last quarter report directly contributed to both prospect engagement and setting “discovery calls” with prospects – moving them closer to close. For an ROI of 800%. That is an incredible example of thought leadership at its best.
  6. 2 minutes This slide condenses information that I typically do a whole presentation on, so check out the slideshare for more detail. Very briefly… Thought leadership is really what you make of it. There are only four “rules.” 1. It’s all about your audience (whoever is consuming – reading, watching, listening, seeing – your content). Quote: “My play was a complete success. The audience was a failure.” Engage – even in “business to business” your audience is made up of people. People want to be engaged. They like stories. Infuse emotion into your content. It’s not just plain facts it’s “here’s how this content will make your life better, help you avoid terrible pitfalls, etc.” 3. Be relevant. While being engaging is critical, don’t do it at the expense of being relevant. That is, relevant to both what your audience needs to hear and the insights that you can provide. 4. Provide value. Don’t ever do thought leadership for the sake of thought leadership – it won’t work. Your content must provide value – again, help the audience realize an opportunity or overcome a challenge. You should always have some actionable element in your content – some way the audience can take what you’ve taught them and DO something with it.
  7. Now we’re going to assume the role of Tech Council CEO or COO. Even if this isn’t your role, play along – put yourself in those shoes for the next half hour.
  8. 10 minutes Rather than go through these steps and do a lot of “telling” I’m going to use an example and “show” you what this might look like. Of course, this example is not the only way that a tech council CEO might develop thought leadership, just one way. Steve Zylstra, CEO of the AZ Tech Council, suggested that we work together to develop a piece of thought leadership content that I could use as an example in workshops like this one. Unfortunately we haven’t completed the process yet but I can share with you what we’ve done and what the plan is. Our first step was to sit down together for about two hours so Steve could essentially give me a “download” of his insights. Here my role is really as a journalist – to ask questions, probe for answers. If you’re developing thought leadership on your own, you do this for yourself. First I asked Steve who he wanted to talk to – who is his audience. He’s very passionate about policy issues, so he said he wanted to talk to the political and business leaders in AZ tech. His goal – broadly – is to bring these two groups together to find ways to grow the success of tech companies in AZ. So then to get Steve’s insight in the area. I asked Steve to walk me through his 3 decades of experience in AZ tech – to tell me the story. He talked about all the things that had changed in AZ, and some of the things that remain the same. At that point in our conversation, I suggested that his thought leadership content could focus on how far AZ has come and the successes in the area of tech and then on the work that still needs to be done. How can policy and industry work together to build the “silicon desert.” What would that content “look” like? Neither policymakers nor industry leaders are likely to read a 60-page manifesto so we decided on an article to be published in the Arizona Republic op-ed section. Steve felt like the Phoenix Business Journal covers tech well, but that the AZ Republic does not – yet it’s a publication that policymakers likely (hopefully!) read. We’re now in Step 3 of the process – I am ghostwriting the op-ed piece for Steve. Once I’m done, he’ll take it and ask questions and suggest revisions to ensure accuracy and clarity and to ensure that it reads like “his.” (To be fair, in this case Steve does a lot of his own thought leadership content development and does it very well. Some CEOs, however, don’t like writing or aren’t very good at it.) The final step is “marketing” the content and I use that term loosely. It means publishing and then getting people to read the content. So publication in the Arizona Republic and then, in our example, a blog post on the AZ Tech Council website and in the member newsletter pointing people to the article. And promotion on the Tech Council’s social channels as well. Now I said that one of the takeaways from this workshop would be the discovery of creative ways to develop thought leadership with limited resources. For many tech council CEOs, the limited resource is time. So leveraging a ghostwriter – whether it’s a professional firm like Castelazo Content or your marketing manager or someone else – can be a very effective way to accomplish the thought leadership development with relatively limited time investment on your part. You can see here how this thought leadership content is not about Steve. It’s about what insights does he have that can help achieve the aim of bettering the tech industry in AZ. Which means helping the tech council’s members.
  9. 10 minutes I want participants at each table to work together to develop a strategy for CEO thought leadership. Use the steps that I just described – here again on this slide on the left – as a guide. Appoint one person at the table who will share your plan with the rest of us next. Feel free to flag me is you have questions as you work on this.
  10. 15 minutes In the 1st session, half the tables will share. In the second session, the other half will share. Please be succinct – we’ve got 15 minutes for 7 tables, so keep to about 2 minutes each.
  11. Now we’re going to assume the role of tech council staff member – whether your role is marketing or events or membership or something else. So here we’re not going to be focusing on sharing your insights – your thought leadership – but the thought leadership of your CEO/COO or local tech leaders. Your role is to get those insights to market. Again, even if this isn’t your role, play along – put yourself in those shoes for the next half hour.
  12. 10 minutes So again here rather than just reading off this slide I’m going to do what my 10th grade English teacher Mr. McCutcheon taught us and show rather than tell. The story begins with a challenge that the AZ Tech Council board had identified – and that is that not enough people know about the amazing successes of homegrown AZ tech companies. This problem affects policymaking -- policymakers are more inclined to support an industry that has already demonstrated success. It affects the recruitment of tech companies and tech employees to the state. And it affects the decisions of young people deciding which careers to pursue. In other words, it affects the future of the tech industry. So the board formed a task force to seek out the tech success stories and publicize them. The task force is staffed by the council’s director of marketing. They’re not at the point yet of producing thought leadership content, but let’s walk through what that process might look like. So the sources of thought leadership – pockets of insight – are leaders at those success story tech companies. The audience is very broad – policymakers, out-of-state tech leaders, out-of-state tech employees, students. Let’s focus for now on out-of-state tech leaders who might open their next office in AZ or even relocate there. (Focusing on one audience per piece of thought leadership content is essential.) What we want to achieve with this audience is just informing them of the successes happening in AZ and the sources of that success. The actionable element is to set up a conversation with the AZ tech council and commerce authority. So the ideal publication for this is obviously not an AZ-only pub. It’s a national publication that tech leaders read. So, Wired, TechCrunch, Gigaom, maybe even Forbes or Inc. How to produce the content? The task force – made up of board members – is charged with identifying the AZ tech leaders with success stories to share. Then the tech council marketing director takes on the job of interviewing those leaders and writing their stories (and/or videotaping them) just like a journalist would. Ideally, because these stories are such a rich source of insight, the tech council will put together a microsite to host the full content – raw-ish versions of the stories, videos, audio recordings, photos, etc. Then the piece of content that gets published in the TechCrunch or Forbes is a consolidation of those stories that points readers to the microsite (where they can also sign up for that meeting with the tech council and commerce authority). How to market the content? All of the publications I’ve mentioned attract a lot of readers. But the tech council can and should still market the content themselves. Again through blog posts, newsletter articles, an article in the member magazine, social media.
  13. 10 minutes Again, I want participants at each table to work together to develop a strategy for tech council/industry thought leadership. Use the steps that I just described – here again on this slide on the left – as a guide. Appoint one person at the table who will share your plan with the rest of us next. (The tables who didn’t share last time will share this time.) Feel free to flag me is you have questions as you work on this.
  14. 15 minutes In the 1st session, half the tables will share. In the second session, the other half will share. Please be succinct – we’ve got 15 minutes for 7 tables, so keep to about 2 minutes each.
  15. 5 minutes Actionable value! Take 5 minutes to think about how you, individually, can develop your own, your Council’s, and/or your local tech industry’s thought leadership. Draft an initial thought leadership plan using the steps we’ve just been through (here again on the left on this slide). Unfortunately we won’t have time for everyone to share their plan but I am happy to chat with you afterward or over the course of the next couple of days and provide feedback on your plan.
  16. 5 minutes