The journalist's playbook for distributing B2B thought leadership
When clients ask me about distribution strategies for their thought leadership, I often tell them the same thing: getting eyeballs on your content doesn’t matter — it’s getting the right eyeballs.
Everything else is just vanity.
I spent a decade in newsrooms at Boston Globe Media and USA TODAY Sports. What I learned there about distribution carries over to B2B thought leadership in a major way: great content doesn't find its audience by accident. It needs a deliberate strategy.
Don't just publish and hope for the best.
Lots of companies push content into the void and crossing their fingers. They'll publish a LinkedIn post or upload a blog, then sit back and hope it somehow reaches the right decision-makers. But hope isn't a distribution strategy, and the algorithm isn't your friend.
Here's how I approach distribution for my clients:
Different platforms have different algorithms and audience expectations.
What works on LinkedIn won't necessarily work on Substack, and what performs well in a newsletter might fall flat in a trade publication.
For LinkedIn thought leadership specifically, we:
Format posts with strategic white space to improve readability.
Create hooks that stop the scroll (typically using data points, challenges, or story setups).
Time posts based on when your audience is most active.
Exclude external links in the main post (LinkedIn's algorithm penalizes these).
Use thoughtful comments to expand on key points.
Make sure the content actually sounds like the person speaking.
The paid amplification strategy.
Organic reach is valuable but limited. Strategic paid amplification ensures your thought leadership reaches decision-makers who matter to your business.
Basically, you want to see what plays well organically, then place your bets there.
The approach I use with clients includes:
LinkedIn thought leader ads: Rather than promoting company pages, we boost posts from individual executives. People connect with people, not logos.
Retargeting layers: Set up retargeting for people who have engaged with other content you’ve put out. Bring them deeper into your thought leadership ecosystem.
Custom audience segmentation: Your CTO's content on technical architecture might need a different audience than your CEO's vision pieces. Segment accordingly.
One interview, dozens of pieces of content.
One interview with an executive can generate dozens of content assets when properly repurposed:
LinkedIn posts (both short and long-form).
Newsletter content.
Blog articles optimized for SEO.
Media pitches and quotes for journalists.
Sales enablement materials.
Internal comms.
Webinar and speaking topics.
This approach maximizes your ROI on the time your executives spend sharing their expertise.
Watch the right intent signals, not vanity metrics.
Vanity metrics are for art projects. Track:
LinkedIn profile views (often a better indicator of interest than engagement metrics, because people lurk on LinkedIn without engaging).
How many of your targeted ICP clients actually engage with your CEO’s LinkedIn content? You can track this when you use thought leader ads.
Lead attribution tied to specific pieces — if you’ve got the right funnel set up.
Meeting requests that mention content.
Intellectual momentum at live events. How many people mention your thought leadership? This should happen a LOT if you’re producing good stuff.
Deal acceleration (when prospects reference content in sales conversations).
Case in point: Inclusively's World Economic Forum invite.
When I worked with Inclusively (a workforce accommodation platform), the distribution strategy went beyond posting content on LinkedIn. We:
Identified key journalists and analysts in the inclusion ecosystem.
Created a consistent cadence of thought leadership that demonstrated market expertise.
Relied on their relationships to get us in the mix of possible speakers (it helps to have great founders with helpful VCs).
Positioned founders as essential voices in the conversation.
They got invited to speak at the World Economic Forum. It was a huge win for intellectual momentum and brand equity.
Your distribution strategy should inform your content strategy, not the other way around.
The most simple way to think about it is: where does your intended audience live? I don’t mean geographically, I mean: where are they consuming information?
When we know a client wants to engage Fortune 500 CHROs, we create content specifically designed to address their pain points, in formats they prefer, on platforms they frequent. LinkedIn is the obvious choice for most B2B plays, but there are some notable exceptions. If you make software for restaurants, for example, you may have better luck on TikTok or Instagram.
If you're interested in developing a customized strategy for your thought leadership content, let's talk.
Contact me for a no-pressure consultation where we can discuss your goals and potential approaches.
Remember: the best thought leadership in the world means nothing if the right people never see it.
Don’t worry about sounding professional. Sound like you. Your story is what’s going to separate this one from the rest. If you read the words back and don’t hear your own voice in your head, that’s a good sign you still have more work to do.
Be clear, be confident and don’t overthink it. The beauty of your story is that it’s going to continue to evolve and your content can evolve with it. Your goal should be to make it feel right for right now. Later will take care of itself. It always does.
