Four months into the new UK government and more detail on its agenda is emerging, but how can you use B2B content to engage with that agenda?
Speaking ahead of the budget, I went live on LinkedIn with co-host Ayo Abbas of Abbas Marketing and special guest Shirin Iqbal of Shirin Iqbal Consulting to talk about how to get involved, align your content strategy, boost visibility and position yourself as a sector expert.
We all work with built environment clients, so our examples come from that sector, but the overarching strategies apply to any industry.
Here are the edited highlights of our conversation and you can watch the replay which includes our budget predicitons here.
What channels are available for built environment firms who want to share their knowledge and expertise?
Ayo: You have to understand which areas you care about and where you can add to the conversation – which parts of the story you want to focus on.
Then, look at who is talking about these issues and championing causes. For example, in the past few years, Architects Journal has talked about retrofitting rather than knocking down buildings.
Then there are associations and campaigning groups like the London Society and non-government groups like Business First.
The government also puts together expert panels such as the New Homes Accelerator. Who’s on those panels, and how can you join that conversation? Plus, there are consultations where they ask what the industry thinks.
It’s all an opportunity for you to join the conversation.
Shirin: There are also thought leadership articles, trade press, panels, conferences and podcasts.
Add your voice, not just to add to the noise, but to add value to the conversation and really showcase your expertise.
Stacey: Key is offering solutions. It’s easy to get around the table and for everyone to talk about where the problems are but where the real value is in coming up with ideas and ways to move things forward.
But you’ve got to be part of the conversation.
Ayo: I’d add, don’t forget opportunities at a local level, such as local development plans and quangos like Homes England.
There is a mapping exercise to do about who is saying what about the areas that align with your specialisms and interests.
How can you develop your messaging, thought leadership and B2B content to capitalize?
Stacey: Ayo mentioned narrowing down the topic to where you can offer the best expertise, and Shirin highlighted some of the many channels – it’s about positioning yourself as a thought leader in your area of expertise.
That can obviously be done through your blog, but LinkedIn is a great place. And it’s not just about publishing your thoughts [on your feed] but starting a conversation with your peers and the wider industry and joining conversations on others’ posts.
Joining the conversation in the comments increases your visibility and puts you on a different radar: ‘This person is making some interesting points, I might check out what else they’ve got to say’.
Sparking conversation around your own posts can help make your feed the place to be to talk about a particular topic.
From that, you may get noticed by journalists who monitor social media feeds for people saying interesting things or articulating their thoughts in an interesting way.
They may come to you for comment, and if you are visibly talking about a particular topic, it will make it easier to pitch thought leadership to industry publications.
Shirin: I’ve got a number of clients who got noticed through LinkedIn, and journalists are now coming to them.
It’s also worth thinking about what you will say on LinkedIn in your area of expertise after the budget.
The trade press and some of the nationals will have articles in which there are a lot of chief executives saying, ‘We welcome the government’s budget announcement’, but not saying anything particularly interesting.
If you are less well-known or further down the pecking order, LinkedIn gives you the opportunity to say something of interest and value.
It gives you an opportunity to write a bit more and you can get, as Stacey says, a bit of a conversation going. Then you’re having a more nuanced conversation than just quite a bland comment in a magazine, for example.
Ayo: There’s a full, detailed document that sits behind the budget. If you, as a team, go through the sections that are relevant to you, then there is a much more thorough, in-depth, knowledgeable piece to share.
You need to turn it around quickly, so you have to lock out time, but it’s a huge opportunity.
Stacey: Shirin’s point about having something different to say is really important. We [journalists] used to get so many emails with people offering comments post budget, and they all said pretty much the same thing.
You are looking for something different, someone who’s got a different perspective or is saying something in a non-bland, non-corporate way, that’s got a bit of personality, a bit of life and energy to it.
Ayo: Once you’ve figured out what you want to say, you don’t have to tap into someone else’s campaign, you can create your own. I was at an event where Cany Ash [Ash Sakula] was talking about her campaign around profitable neighbourhoods – profitable for the firm developing it but also for the people who live in it.
It’s an interesting campaign that she’s taken out to market.
Housing is a huge opportunity. The target is for 1.5m homes in the next five years – here are five solutions for how we do that, and that could be a really interesting campaign.
Shirin: It’s important not to whinge but to come up with achievable solutions and solutions that are aligned with the government agenda.
What are the steps to take to get to what they want to deliver? That’s what ministers want to hear.
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More from my blog:
- Writing for conversation: A different approach to LinkedIn content
- It’s no joke: The power of using clear and simple language in business
- How to leverage value from trade shows and conferences with B2B content
- Audience and content reach: Does size matter?
- Make it an event: Delivering successful round tables
