Three in 5 executives around the world are at the point where they’re at least sometimes confused or overwhelmed by the amount of content they encounter, finds the Economist Group in new research. But the vast majority of marketers are continuing full steam ahead with the amount of content they’re planning to produce.
So what does motivate thought leadership content consumption? Here the study presents an interesting discrepancy between what marketers think and what their audience feels. As it turns out, marketers are significantly more likely than executives to point to business attributes of content (84% vs. 76%), while content consumers are more apt to identify personal attributes (89% vs. 76%) such as intellectual curiosity.
Marketers and their audience share more agreement when considering the qualities that constitute compelling thought leadership. For both parties, “innovative” content is most compelling, with “big picture,” “transformative,” and “credible” also in the top 4 for both groups.
To establish thought leadership as being trustworthy, the most important factors identified by content consumers are the quality or nature of research analysis and the presence of credible data. These are far more important catalysts to executives’ trust than the profile of the brand itself.
Still, familiarity breeds trust in this case, it appears, with a majority of executives not giving credence to thought leadership content if they’re not familiar with the source. When they are confronted with an unfamiliar source, their primary motivation for considering it is that it’s a source of hard facts. The opinions expressed and the extent to which the organization or individual is respected are also important attributes. Read the rest at MarketingCharts.com.
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