Four considerations to make B2B thought leadership work harder

Have you read a piece recently that really caught your attention? What made it stick in your mind? 

We know what inspires or engages us when we see it, but it can be much harder to hit the mark when creating content that balances brand messaging with audience interests. This can be especially true in B2B, which has a perhaps unfair reputation for being dull. 

With that in mind, here are four ways to help your thought leadership stand out.

1. Consider whether inspiration beats desperation

There’s often a temptation to stand out by striking fear into the reader’s mind – fearmongering, inducing FOMO or leaning heavily on the ‘what keeps you up at night?’ angle. 

Earlier this year, I attended the Content Marketing Association’s B2B Content Marketing Summit, where Deloitte argued that “fear only motivates temporarily”. By contrast, leaving a reader with hope and possibility is a more successful strategy. Raising the alarm might get people to sit up and listen, but stories of people and businesses doing meaningful work are the ticket to longer-term engagement.

So, instead of defaulting to pure doom and gloom, ask: Is my audience already feeling fatigued? Would leaving them hopeful be more powerful? While fear might hook in an audience, inspiration will make them stay. 

2. Use a framework to measure thought leadership value

It can be tricky to know how to measure the impact of a piece of thought leadership. You can measure clicks and impressions, but how can you gauge the reaction to your content?

iResearch’s 2025 Thought Leadership in Practice report suggests assessing content against four R’s: Reputation, the extent to which it builds credibility; Relationships, how effectively it fosters connections with audiences; Revenue, its contribution to commercial success; and Real-world impact, the tangible difference it makes beyond the page.

While you might not always be able to quantify all four aspects, keeping them in mind when creating and reporting on content may help sharpen your focus. 

3. Respect a busy audience with excellence

‘Time-poor’ is a phrase that’s thrown around a lot when talking about business leaders. Another Deloitte nugget of wisdom is that marketers should “respect busy with excellence”. This essentially means that the more effort you put into your work, the more respect you’re showing those you’re asking to spend time reading it. 

When content is well written and provides genuine insight, you don’t need to worry so much about diverting attention from what readers are interested in because your content becomes what people are interested in. Perhaps we could add Respect as the fifth ‘R’ to assess thought leadership.

4. Spotlight ‘brand characters’ to escape the sea of sameness

LinkedIn warns of the B2B Sea of Sameness, where most brands fail to stand out. According to its research, only 19% of B2B ads are recognised and correctly attributed to the brand.

One antidote is having ‘brand characters’. Ads featuring characters are six times more likely to capture attention. And while these characters could be fictional figures like the Salesforce mascots, in thought leadership they’re your real people. 

Spotlighting your best brand ambassadors may be the secret to staying top of mind. Asking your leaders to voice their opinions in interviews or share their experiences among other experts at panels are vital tools in the advertising toolkit.

Among the clutter of the internet, the most effective thought leadership will inspire rather than just alarm, deliver value on multiple fronts, respect the reader’s time and put human voices front and centre.