How do you get your org’s thought leadership out to the world?
- No, I’m not talking formats—podcasts, whitepapers, videos, etc.
- I’m talking about strategies.
I often talk about the differences between broadcasting and narrowcasting.
Broadcasting means spreading your message far and wide, like dandelion seeds on the wind.
Narrowcasting means identifying your best audience and placing your content where it will be seen by the people who need that content most – like a flower’s scent, drawing in bees.
Today, I’d like to add third term: Pointcasting.
Pointcasting targets your thought leadership to a single VIP individual.
If the right VIP embraces your idea, amazing things happen. Doors open. Resources flow.
What does pointcasting look like? Your org might:
- Prepare a briefing book for your C-Suite before a major event.
- Commission original research to answer a high-value client’s question.
- Present a private briefing to a policy maker or influencer.
Pointcasting allows you to put the right idea into exactly the right hands. And if you do pointcasting right, it can create massive impact. You can build strategic relationships and deepen partnerships.
But pointcasting has a large up-front cost. So, you need to be selective, choose a single recipient, and pointcast directly to their needs.
Here are three criteria for pointcasting to VIPs:
- Are they already listening to you?
- Do they trust you?
- Will their decision trigger a cascade effect?
If you answer “no” to any of these questions, pointcasting probably won’t produce the best results.
My favorite case-study on pointcasting is called The President’s Book of Secrets, by David Priess. It covers the history of the US President’s daily brief—from Eisenhower to Obama. It talks about the way brief-writers evolved their technique and their compilation style to adapt to each president’s needs.
That’s it for August. If you’d like to do a “get to know each other” or catch-up call with me, here’s a link to my calendar.
I’d love to talk shop about thought leadership with you.
Warmly,
Bill Sherman
Co-Founder |Org TL