Thought Leadership: Differentiate with Content Marketing

Brief Summary of Episode #97

What’s the difference between content marketing and thought leadership?

Well, the first thing you need to understand is that all thought leadership is content marketing… 

But not all content marketing is thought leadership.

I break it down in the latest episode of Banking on Digital Growth, but here’s the short version.

Content marketing is exactly what it sounds like: You create content that contains messages that you want to communicate to your ideal market segment.

Content marketing works towards 3 specific goals:

1. Attracting the right people
2. Capturing and nurturing relationships — especially digitally
3. Creating value for the financial brand

Thought leadership does all of these things, but it goes one step further.

Thought leadership uses content to position your financial brand as the premier expert in the community you serve. 

And to do this, you need to bring something of value to your audience. Something compelling. Something new. 

You need to bring something that goes beyond promoting the same commoditized products and services that every other financial brand is offering.

Thought leadership is helping first and selling second.

Check out these resources we mentioned during the podcast:

• Alec Hanson
• Casey Crawford