Rootstock

We often get asked things like, “How will thought leadership work benefit me/my company?” and, “What can we use it for?” The quick answers are “positively” and “a lot.” Our #thoughtleadership work with clients is built to impact three key areas that will grow your brand and scale your business: Strategy & Story, Conversations & Content, and Connections & Clout. ➡ Swipe to see the tactical things each area encompasses. Chances are you're working on one, some, or many of these now (or want to in the near future), but are feeling stuck and don't know how they all play together in the sandbox. We can help you get unstuck and get (and stay) moving forward with your #marketing and #growth goals. Drop us a line if this sounds like you; we’d love to chat.

Ryan Klee joined host Casey Cheshire 🎤 on The Hard Corps Marketing Show to smash myths around thought leadership and its effectiveness on growing brands and scaling businesses. Taking Thor’s hammer from Casey, Ryan obliterates the thinking that thought leadership is a fad or some woo woo, unmeasurable, nice-to-have part of your marketing tool belt is BS, and channeling his inner Lee Corso (famed ESPN broadcaster), and shouts: “Not so fast, my friend!” For many different kinds of leaders and organizations, thought leadership is the perfect tool to include in the marketing mix, and data proves its effectiveness and influence at growing brands and scaling businesses. It is vital for B2B sales, marketing, retention, and nurturing, and it’s valued by executives and decision makers. Listen now to the latest episode of this fruitful podcast: https://lnkd.in/dzZ5EBHV (And if you’re not already subscribed, we highly recommend you do so.) Big thanks to Casey for having Ryan on! Curious about anything you heard? Drop us a line; we’d love to chat. #thoughtleadership #strategy #growth

Continuing the unpacking of our own thought leadership position, here’s the “We Believe” section from our Radicle Report, which follows last week’s “We Know” section. Just like “know,” “believe” can mean many different things. You can believe something that you think might be true, even if you don’t have proof. Example: I believe I have enough gas to get there. Belief can also express an article of deep faith: a commitment to living your life based on the assumption that something is true... even if you don't have scientific, logical, rational proof that it is so... even if such proof isn't possible to have. It can be affirmation of religious adherence, or it can be an expression of your own personal philosophy. In our thought leadership workshops, we focus on “What do you believe when it comes to your business, field, area of focus, etc.?” Swipe through these four slides to see what We Believe at Rootstock (or read below). WE BELIEVE . . . the power of ideas can make us, the people we serve, and the world better — while also positively impacting the bottom line, growing a brand, and building success for everyone. Thought leadership is radical sharing of your very best thinking: the answers but the unanswered questions too. It’s a conversation you may begin, certainly nurture, so that we all can think more clearly, deeply, and creatively about the important questions in our fields, and ultimately guiding us all to do better. When you give others the opportunity to express their thoughts and ideas, you empower them to contribute to both their own personal growth, and your brand’s. There are no hacks or quick fixes to developing true thought leadership. It needs to be consistent, deep, thoughtful, and strategic. To do this effectively requires: - Kindness and authenticity in connections. - Tenacious excellence in craft. - Curiosity in conversations. - Patience, generosity, candor, and healthy boundaries. Want to see our full Radicle Report? Go here: https://lnkd.in/dsmejM-M #thoughtleadership #strategy #storytelling

✏️ NEW BLOG — SUBJECT MATTER EXPERT TO THOUGHT LEADER: HOW TO MAKE THE LEAP 🧠 The term “thought leader” gets thrown around a lot these days. But what does it really mean? How does thought leadership actually benefit people and organizations? Aren’t these people just subject matter experts, anyway? What do thought leaders even DO? In our latest blog, we dive into the key differences that take someone from a SME to a thought leader and explore how to make that jump and why it’s worth it. And it ends with a gentle reminder, yet firm truth: It’s not easy and it’s not supposed to be. But for those who commit for the long haul, the rewards and ROI — for your personal brand and your company’s bottom line — are tremendous. READ now: https://lnkd.in/eZKFV-PS #thoughtleadership #subjectmatterexpert #SME

Our Radicle Report — a core offering in which we build out a client's thought leadership position — consists of four key sections: - What You Know - What You Believe - What Your Vision is - How To Articulate It We've of course done our own Radicle Report too, and over the next several weeks, we'll be sharing each section with you to give you an even deeper idea of how we approach strategic, thought-leadership-based storytelling. Today, we present our "We Know" section. Swipe through the four slides below, or, if you're more of a "read it in the post" type person, we got you covered as well. :-) WE KNOW . . . having good ideas alone won’t help you meet your growth goals. Developing, crafting, and sharing your thought leadership position with strategic vision and discipline is required to elevate your industry status and grow your brand. - Thought leadership is a conversation. It dies in isolation. It must be a dialogue. It must be shared consistently. - It is more than just proving your worth so you can do better. It’s about sharing your best ideas to help everyone do better. - Relationships matter. Having your own existing network of smart, trusted people is important. To reach the next level of growth, however, you have to extend your network by connecting authentically with other thoughtful leaders. - To accomplish all this effectively, quality matters more than quantity. Next week: WE BELIEVE #thoughtleadership #strategy #RadicleReport

In this final installment of our webinar about creating your own podcast with Casey Cheshire 🎤 — CEO & Founder at Ringmaster B2B Podcasting — we unpack the key areas that make up a thought leadership content ecosystem: Strategy & Story, Conversations & Content, Connections & Clout. Technically, making a podcast falls in all three circles. Big win! But what else is in these ecosystem categories? You’ll likely recognize — and probably are even doing — some of them, but the key to doing them well is first making time for all the super important upfront strategy and positioning work we explore earlier in the webinar. Strategy & Story -Thought leadership position and strategy -Regular consultation to identify, deepen, and clarify your best thinking -Brand narrative and messaging guide -Strategic messaging and communications plan Conversations & Content -Books or eBooks -White papers and case studies -Guest editorials -In-depth blog posts -Essays and articles -Keynote addresses, speeches and talk tracks -Social media content consulting -Website consulting -Newsletter consulting Connections & Clout -Media relations -Guest blog opportunities -Subject matter expert connections and collaborations -Speaking engagements and panels -Podcast appearances (pitching and connecting) -Professional network cultivation (online and offline) -Influential award nominations Watch the full webinar here https://lnkd.in/etHb9D_U, and let us know what elements of your thought leadership ecosystem you're ready to deepen with your best thinking. #thoughtleadership #podcast #strategy

During our upfront discovery and strategy work with new clients, we ask A LOT of questions. Part of those involve exploring what our future thought leader actually enjoys doing when it comes to content creation, such as writing, recording videos, posting on social media, speaking in public, being a guest (or interviewer) on podcasts, etc. Because while all of those things are important, if someone doesn’t actually like doing it, they simply won’t. And this will lead to frustration and stagnated growth. In her article, “6 Visibility Blocks All Entrepreneurs Need To Tackle For Feel-Good Audience Growth,” Sam Garcia of Dirty Alchemy Digital Marketing lists this very dilemma as item #6. Two other blocks on Garcia's list that stand out to us are: - Feeling entitled to people’s attention. - Thinking everyone has shared the same thoughts before, or someone else is saying it better. Give this piece a read and let us know which ones resonated with you, and if there are other blocks not included that we should be talking about. #thoughtleadership #growth #entrepreneurs

What do morning routines and thought leadership have in common? Consistency is key! Having a good morning routine that works for you is great, but it will only beneficially impact you if you turn it into a habit. Whether it’s brushing your teeth and washing your face as soon as you get out of bed, or meditating, walking, making a smoothie, stretching, reading while you sip coffee… find what works for you and make it a habit. It’s important to show up for yourself even on those days where you’re not really feeling it. It will pay off for you. The same goes for thought leadership. Carving out consistent time to get your position and message out there is crucial for sustained success. This could look like a lot of things: - crafting a LinkedIn post - writing a blog post or piece of contributed editorial - recording a webinar - working on a presentation for a speaking gig - having a conversation with a trusted colleague, advisor, or consultant - writing a chapter of your book - recording an episode of a podcast - crafting a proposal with just the right feel… Whatever you do, it’s imperative to work on it consistently. Thought leadership is not a set-it-and-forget-it endeavor. It’s a winding journey, filled with amazing conversations, connections, and stories that build clout and expand your network. And sometimes you need a sherpa to guide you down the best path. Well, that’s us. 👋🏻 We are Rootstock, thought leadership consultants. Let’s grow together.

In so many of our conversations with current and prospective clients, we hear ambitions of wanting to start their own podcast. And we love it! Once the podcast launches, what can you expect? Well, our good friend Casey Cheshire 🎤 — CEO & Founder at Ringmaster B2B Podcasting, and himself a podcast host (of The Hard Corps Marketing Show) — tells us this is when your brand really catches fire! 🔥 From fueling your sales pipeline, to getting you recognized at your big industry conference (whether you had a ticket or snuck in 😉), to inspiring you to write your first (or second or third) book, a good #podcast can be a super-charger to your thought leadership ecosystem. Check out this short clip of Casey explaining more, plus sharing memorable stories, including how he ended up on an after-party on a boat after that infamous conference. And watch the entire conversation here https://lnkd.in/etHb9D_U

To further understand how a thought leadership ecosystem addresses your business goals and marketing objectives, we’re going to illustrate how that ecosystem works with use cases from our own experience. Today we're focusing on: media relations. Check out the video for the full breakdown, but here’s the TL;DR version: Through industry media, a client wanted to get his thinking, and his company, in front of a wider swath of his target audience to generate more conversations, connections, and clout. We pitched the client to a big industry online publication as a contributor. They accepted. They loved the work and his unique perspective. They asked him to contribute to another one of their properties. We said yes. While contributing editorial to both publications, we explored more of the parent company’s properties for additional opportunities, hoping to further leverage our relationships and the expert content we provide. We identified and pitched our client to two of the publication company's video series. Eventually, we got yeses from both, resulting in a co-hosting opportunity for multiple episodes on one show, and a guest appearance (with one of the client's other big clients) on the other. So, Good Relationships + Strategic Outreach + Quality Material (based around a unique perspective) = more opportunities for reaching new audiences. #thoughtleadership #mediarelations #success