Grabbing Innovation Leadership Positions
I have just read a very interesting report by the Bloom Group on how consulting companies have begun using social media tools to develop thought leadership positions.
Check this link: Thought Leadership Rewired: How Consulting Firms are Using Social Media to Market Their Ideas.
The key findings:
• Consulting firms are quickly expanding their budgets for social media.
• Social media will increasingly complement traditional thought leadership marketing channels.
• Other social media tools are gaining on traditional techniques.
• Running out of content and determining how to use it as a marketing tool are the two biggest concerns about social media.
• Effective thought leadership programs use research-based content.
In the report, I liked this snippet in particular: “The ability to seed ideas online in the right LinkedIn, Facebook and other social networking groups, gain a following through an informative blog, and build an online interest group have made it far easier for consulting firms to attract prospects to their ideas and services.”
I am quite sure we can replace consulting firms with innovation units here.
There are many lessons to be learned in the report as innovation units have only scratched the surface when it comes to applying social media tools to your corporate innovation efforts.
You run very capable teams that frequently deliver great outcomes in the form of new products and services. Most of this work happens behind your corporate walls, but as your companies begin to open up their innovation efforts, positions are up for grabs.
I am talking about the innovation leadership positions within your given industries. This is not much different than grabbing a thought leadership position and thus you can find much inspiration in the report.
A proposal to innovation executives and directors:
What if we bring together a consortium of companies interested in developing such capabilities? We can share insights and experiences and even more interestingly, we can co-create solutions and services.
One solution could be a third-party community (not driven by your company only) in which several companies share their thought leadership on innovation. Just imagine the kind of content we can share and how this can inspire stakeholders in your industry and beyond.
Companies can benefit from working together on this. Let me know if you agree.
Count me in! We all know innovation and networking go 'hand and hand'. I think we could learn a lot through sharing our ideas and experiences. I look forward to the first meeting.
I foresee problems with Intellectual Property and cross border disputes and this means we need to develop a mechanism for participation that benefits all and not one.
I doubt many people believe their tweet will change the world; chaos theory would suggest otherwise.
David
Stefan,
Thanks very much for the post and the link to the Bloom article. Very useful data in it.
With regard to your comments about Innovation thought leaders coming together across industry sectors – again I think it is an idea with merit.
However, I cannot help considering it in the light of your other post about 'lazy people' responding to your senior innovation job post.
In my opinion thought leaders – like yourself are energetic, inquisitive and passionate people and they will seek to learn and share their learning at every opportunity.
So, if there are any innovation leaders for particular industries I suggest they might well already be out there blogging, setting up interest groups on social media, developing their thought leadership position for their own, their company's, or their industry's benefit.
We all have the tools to make these things happen these days – what differentiates people and whether or not these things happen… all comes down to whether people have PASSION for their subject or not.
Strikes me your 'lazy respondents' are poorly endowed when it comes to passion for innovation – although I am sure they will have passion for something else in life. As such they are self- selecting themselves out of a potential job.
As we all know if if there is one quality that an innovator needs to have is passion – and bucket loads of it.
Apologies that this comment kind of relates to two posts.