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Tobias Liebsch

B2B Marketing | Building Thought Leadership Content Engines

Tobias Liebsch is a Marketing professional who excels at merging Marketing and Impact to create meaningful change.

With a strong foundation in Product and Brand Marketing, Tobias has successfully led SaaS Marketing initiatives in the Environmental, Finance, and HR sectors.

Currently, Tobias is a driving force behind the remote M&A community Fintalent.io, empowering top-tier M&A professionals to pursue fulfilling career opportunities globally.

Highlights

Aug 31 · linkedin

Thought leadership isn't always a winning content strategy.

We need to adapt our message to our category's maturity. ↴

Here's how we build a content strategy that speaks to our buyers:

Great content is built upon solid positioning & clear messaging.

  • Positioning is where we want to play
  • Messaging is what we want to communicate
  • Content is how we communicate it

But if the market isn't ready for our message, we will communicate into a void.

This is how I generally think about category maturity, content and messaging:

𝗘𝗮𝗿𝗹𝘆 𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗴𝗲 (𝗻𝗲𝘄 𝗺𝗮𝗿𝗸𝗲𝘁, 𝗹𝗶𝘁𝘁𝗹𝗲 𝗮𝘄𝗮𝗿𝗲𝗻𝗲𝘀𝘀):

  • Messaging: Why is this problem worth solving?
  • Content: Explore & build awareness on the problem
  • Delivery: Leverage authorities & sources trusted by your target market

→ At this stage, we are trying to be a sounding board for the market. We interview experts and curate knowledge. The goal is to pinpoint the problem(s) that resonate the most.

𝗚𝗿𝗼𝘄𝘁𝗵 𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗴𝗲 (𝗶𝗻𝗰𝗿𝗲𝗮𝘀𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗱𝗲𝗺𝗮𝗻𝗱 & 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗽𝗲𝘁𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻)

  • Messaging: Why is our solution the best choice?
  • Content: Educate on potential solutions, leverage references, case studies
  • Delivery: Founder & Subject matter experts (SME)

→ Goal: Build a solid footing as the trustworthy, forward thinking player in the market. You're becoming the authority on the problem AND own the perspective on how to solve the problem.

𝗠𝗮𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗲 𝗰𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗴𝗼𝗿𝘆 (𝘄𝗲𝗹𝗹 𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗯𝗹𝗶𝘀𝗵𝗲𝗱 𝘀𝗼𝗹𝘂𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀 & 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗽𝗲𝘁𝗶𝘁𝗼𝗿𝘀)

  • Messaging: What makes you different from others?
  • Content: Authority building, access to best data & insights
  • Delivery: Subject Matter Experts, Content team

→ This is where we professionalize the content approach towards a scalable team with the main job to listen to the market & source data from (internal) subject matter experts.

𝗦𝗮𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝗰𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗴𝗼𝗿𝘆 (𝗰𝗿𝗼𝘄𝗱𝗲𝗱, 𝗺𝗶𝗻𝗶𝗺𝗮𝗹 𝗴𝗿𝗼𝘄𝘁𝗵)

  • Messaging: Why do your customers stay with you?
  • Content: Build a user-generated content machine
  • Delivery: Customers & fans

→ Let the fans speak for you. Once you have an established base, focus on making them your evangelists.

This is by no means a one-size-fits all approach, especially if the founders are subject matter experts. Chris Walker says "I'm in a unique position because I am deep in the trenches with my ICP" – but I think that's what every leader needs to aim for.

Content is how we communicate our message to the market, and our marketing's information diet is what makes or breaks great content.

Aug 30 · linkedin

LinkedIn is where memes go to die. ☠️

But where do they come from?

This is the internet's (viral) content food chain. 👇

  1. 𝗙𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗴𝗲 𝗙𝗼𝗿𝘂𝗺𝘀 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗔𝗻𝗼𝗻𝘆𝗺𝗼𝘂𝘀 𝗕𝗼𝗮𝗿𝗱𝘀: Platforms where content is created and shared anonymously. It's chaotic. Controversial. Unfiltered. Often extreme. (4chan et al)

  2. 𝗡𝗶𝗰𝗵𝗲 𝗢𝗻𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗲 𝗖𝗼𝗺𝗺𝘂𝗻𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗲𝘀: Tight-knit, often private online groups where like-minded individuals discuss and refine niche interests and edgy content. You need to be part of the club to know what's going on (niche subreddits, discord)

  3. 𝗠𝗲𝗺𝗲 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗜𝗺𝗮𝗴𝗲 𝗦𝗵𝗮𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗣𝗹𝗮𝘁𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗺𝘀: Spaces where content from fringe communities is polished and shared with a broader audience, often in the form of memes. (9gag, X)

  4. 𝗠𝗮𝗶𝗻𝘀𝘁𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗺 𝗦𝗼𝗰𝗶𝗮𝗹 𝗠𝗲𝗱𝗶𝗮: Large platforms where content goes viral, reaching a diverse and global audience, and often becoming trends. (Instagram, Facebook, TikTok)

  5. 𝗔𝗴𝗴𝗿𝗲𝗴𝗮𝘁𝗼𝗿𝘀 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗖𝘂𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗼𝗿𝘀: Platforms and sites that compile and popularize viral content. They make niche ideas accessible to a wider audience. (Larger subreddits, Buzzfeed)

  6. 𝗣𝗿𝗼𝗳𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻𝗮𝗹 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗠𝗮𝗶𝗻𝘀𝘁𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗺 𝗡𝗲𝘁𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗸𝘀: The final stage where content is recontextualized and shared in professional and highly sanitized settings. Completely losing its edge.

Any site I missed or categorized incorrectly?

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Amsterdam, North Holland, Netherlands