Who Is Most Likely Become A Gang Member And Why - 861 Words

Who is most likely to become a gang member and why? Gangs make great promises and pray on the vulnerable. Often these promises include, giving unconditional support, and lead to becoming the family these kids probably have never had. They offer a sense of unity and support. Gangs present themselves as a means of survival to youth who lack basic fundamentals such as food, clothing and shelter. They are trying to ignore a negative home life, or may be looking for an adult figure to guide them. And, most risk factors cut across racial and ethnic lines. In most cases, it appears that, gang members use their association to make a revenue to function through illegal activities, such as selling drugs and auto theft. Due to this activity in certain areas, it is often easier for these kids to join the gang than to remain vulnerable and unprotected in their own neighborhoods. Kids who are susceptible to peer pressure are constantly facing the challenge to fit in, and they may not have the support they need to avoid the pressures to join a gang. Peer pressure can come in the form of intimidation, coercion, a dare, harassment, friendly persuasion, or repetitious begging. Furthermore, there are other factors that contribute to why a kid will join a gang. For example, family legacy or tradition and this is one of the toughest forms of pressure to escape, as the gang lifestyle is deeply rooted in family traditions and values, which can span over many generations. Gang members join aShow MoreRelatedYouth Gang Membership And It s Implication Adolescent Development Essay1566 Words   |  7 PagesThere are over 700,000 adolescents who are involved in youth gangs. (Thomas). America has a youth gang culture that is present in its society. This paper will focus on youth gang membership and it’s implication to adolescent development. First to be discussed will be the demographics of adolescents involved in gangs. Then the reasons why youth join gangs and how it is related to their natural development. Next, we will turn to contemplate the implication of gang culture and involvement in America’sRead MoreA Formal Description For A Youth Gang1503 Words   |  7 Pagesinto groups that society often refers to as gangs. It is accurate to say that gangs contribute immensely to crime and delinquency however, to say that this is the purpose of all gangs would be misleading. Gangs should instead be seen as existing on a continuum, some rangin g from groups of peers who spend time together and may get into trouble, to others who participate in more serious crimes (Gorden, 2000, p. 4). In terms of a specific definition for a gang, there really is not one that has been fullyRead MoreEssay On Juvenile Gangs973 Words   |  4 Pages The History Of Juvenile Gangs Jerry L. Page East Carolina University Introduction The History Of Juvenile Gangs Gang Types Over the course of history, there have been many gangs that have come to light. There are three different types of gangs that have been around for many years. These gangs are politicized gangs, neo-Nazism gangs, and street gangs. Politicized gangs promote political change by making other citizens scared of them. Street gangs are commonly known to cause violenceRead More Gangs, Belonging, and Acceptance Essay1177 Words   |  5 PagesGangs, Belonging, and Acceptance A 12-year-old boy comes home from school. He enters his home through the front door and notices his mother sobbing. There is blood on the tissue shes holding. The boy starts to ask his mother why she is crying when he realizes what has happened. She answers his silent inquiry about why, by quietly saying, your dad . . . hes on the back porch . . . hes had a bad day. Feeling helpless he goes to his room. From his window he can see his dad taking in the lastRead MoreThe Is A Gang And His Article Develops A Convincing Argument1640 Words   |  7 Pages Ludeke believes MLO is a gang and his article develops a convincing argument. According to the STEP Act, a gang is: Any ongoing organization, association, or group of three or more persons . . . having as one of its primary activities the commission of one or more of the criminal acts enumerated in paragraphs (1) to (25), inclusive, or (31) to (33), inclusive, of subdivision (e), having a common name or common identifying sign or symbol, and whose members individually or collectively engage inRead MoreThe Hood Is A 1991 American Teen Hood Film Directed By John Singleton1639 Words   |  7 PagesIt tells the story about three young African-American boys who grew up in a lower class neighborhood in South Central Los Angeles, where â€Å"one out of every twenty-one Black American males are murdered in their lifetime† and â€Å"most die by the hands of another Black male.† This statement says that an individual, especially in the African-American community, is more vulnerable to become a victim of gang affiliation or violence, and is most likely to make such bad decisions because of the circumstances theyRead MoreThe Violence Of Gangs And Gangs1377 Words   |  6 PagesGangs have become one of the nation’s fastest growing problems within recent history. According to the Federal Bureau of Investigation about 33,000 violent street gangs, motorcycle gangs, and prison gangs with about 2.4 million members are criminally active in the U.S. today. They use violence to control neighborhoods and boost their illegal moneymaking activities, which include but are not limited to: robbery, drug and gun trafficking, fraud, extortion, and prostitute rings. With as much researchRead MoreThe Theories Of Female Offenders965 Words   |  4 PagesTheories of female offenders Most of the theories of crime was developed to explain male crimes by male criminologists. For decades, women offending challenges traditional theoretical explanations of crime, which were developed to explain male offenders. There were a few debates that indicate the concern of whether the theories were being used equally to explain both female and male crime. Criminologists came to a conclusion that the traditional theories are male-specific theories. 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As I read the material that I found in the library about gangs, I found out a lot about how this childrens though process works. They believe that the gang members are their family; to them it

March 4, 1929. Americans Appeared Shine Brightly When Herbert

March 4, 1929. Americans appeared shine brightly when herbert Hoover was elected President. October 24, 1929, at the same year happened, the longest and deepest depression of United States, the Great Depression. Known as Black days, October 24 and October 26 it was the collapse for this depression, 16 million stocks were traded, by any price. Banks were calling for loan, Dow Jones fells 23%, $30 billion in stock were â€Å"disappeared†, unemployment rate is higher than 24%. Smoot-Hawley tariff Act, New Deal, Townsend Plan, Social Security Act, Housing Act, all of these are measures that the US government create to pass this big depression, which just ended in the middle of the Second World War, 1939. Black Thursday, or the initial of the Great†¦show more content†¦To change this scenario Roosevelt decides to start a program, a reform, the New Deal. This program was essential for get out the depression. One of the first deal’s it was the Agricultural Adjustment Administration, they confronted farm problems. Trying to reduce the agricultural surplus, by releasing loans to cooperating owners. To reduce the production of certain basic necessities (to raise prices). It also gave rise to the creation of the Commodity Credit Corporation, for loans for land acquisition. A lot of families were going to bed with an empty stomach. Francis Everett Townsend was an American physician who is well known for his great plan for help the United States to get out of the Great Depression, Dr. Townsend published his plan in a Long Beach, California newspaper, as a kind of extended Letter to the Editor†nearly by 1933, the Plan was then published as a pamphlet and distributed thro ughout America, by 1934. Dr.Townsend were fully expected Roosevelt to endorse his plan. However Roosevelt, like most establishment figures of the era, saw the Townsend Plan as irresponsible and unworkable. By 1934 Congressional elections all the candidates transformed Townsend Plan as priority, and it had more than 5 million votes for approval. Townsend and his followers were disappointed with Social Security because it didn’t promise instantaneous payments , because the benefits of Social Security promised were small compared to the $200 per month that Townsend proposed,Show MoreRelatedDeveloping Management Skills404131 Words   |  1617 Pages Kim S. II. Title. HD30.4.W46 2011 658.40071 173—dc22 I. Cameron, 2009040522 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 ISBN 10: 0-13-612100-4 ISBN 13: 978-0-13-612100-8 B R I E F TA B L E O F C O N T E N T S Preface xvii Introduction 1 PART I 1 2 3 PERSONAL SKILLS 44 Developing Self-Awareness 45 Managing Personal Stress 105 Solving Problems Analytically and Creatively 167 PART II 4 5 6 7 INTERPERSONAL SKILLS 232 233 Building Relationships by Communicating Supportively Gaining

Strategy Assessment Authority for Radio and TV

Question: Describe about the Strategy Assessment for Authority for Radio and TV. Answer: Analysis of the industry and the firm The Public Authority for Radio and TV (PART) is an independent legal entity in terms of administration and financial terms. It has the authority to dispose as well as manage own funds (Part.gov.om 2017). The Authority has taken subsequent steps in order to increase the allocated time to TV programme and live radio. The Authority has own dedicated pages in different social media sites such as Twitter, YouTube and Facebook. This is done to provide the viewers with a view to give their opinions regarding various TV and radio programmes in the country (Part.gov.om 2017). PART works under the Ministry of Information in Oman. The director general of the organization looks after the complete operations of the firm (Part.gov.om 2017). The television and the radio industry is completely government funded in Oman and the advertising functions are strictly prohibited (Dickinson and Gunter 2013). The Omani TV channel has also started the launch of the Oman Cultural Channel which would represent the cultural treasures of Oman. This also presents artistic heritage of the scholars of Oman and thus consolidates the historical identity of the country (Part.gov.om 2017). This channel has successfully linked the historical identity of the country along with its geography. This cultural channel would present a wide range of programs which concentrate on the folk poetry and various interviews done with the folk poets. The Public Authority for Radio and TV experiences monopoly in the market of Oman. All the radio and the TC ventures are being controlled by a single public authority (Part.gov.om 2017). In 1970, there was the foundation of the Radio Sultanate of Oman as well as Radio Salalah (Part.gov.om 2017). During the year 2000, there were approximately 1.4 million radio channels in the country (Kalliny 2014). According to Whitten-Woodring and Van Belle (2014), the outsiders who are interested in accessing the programs of the region would be able to do it by using Omani satellite channel on the ARABSAT or they can also access via the internet. The television is equally as the radio in Oman. There are television stations which are operating in Salalah along with 117 television transmitters (Part.gov.om 2017). As opined by Sharma (2014), the local programming process in Oman has huge potential in penetrating in other Arabian states too since the location of the cities or towns does not affect the b roadcast signal. There is least competition, except the satellite television signals and the home videos. The Oman TV is considered as the national television channel in the Sultanate of Oman (Part.gov.om 2017). This report aims to discuss the industrial analysis of media industry in Oman along with different models. It also aims to discuss the business strategy of the selected firm and identification of the possible scenario relating to media industry. Concepts of Industrial analysis-Media Industry The market share of the media industry of Oman is approximately 30%, which reflects the views of the audience (Khalil 2014). There have been significant changes in the media industry of Oman. There have been considerable changes in the technological as well as structural framework of the media sector. The transformations have enabled the consumers greater access to the communications as well as media services (Khalil 2014). The PART ensures that there is widespread broadcasting of the radio and the television content. This is important for the purpose of economic benefits. The television as well as radio broadcasting is considered as the primary source of information for the less knowledgeable section of the society. The media becomes an important tool during the times of emergencies (Samuel and Sarprasatha 2016). As commented by Palanissamy (2014), the convergence of the technology as well as digital media is going to dominate the global media industry in the recent future. In Oman, most of the media is expected to be digital in the coming years. The media landscape of Oman would undergo a rapid transformation and this would be centered on the digital media. This transformation would bring a change in the dynamics of the different media channels such as radio, television, magazines (Khalil 2014). The progressive media entities are shifting their focus towards the advertising so that they can better promote their contents across the target audience. At present, the county has almost 3.21 active social media users who regularly use the internet for connecting with the media (Omaninfo.om 2017). This figure is expected to rise in the future with a penetration rate of approximately 70 percent (Omaninfo.om 2017). Porters Five Forces for Media Industry The five forces analysis by Porters is used to determine the attractiveness of the media industry and how the trends of the industry affect the individual firms. There are three factors that are used to determine attractiveness of PART organization in Oman. Threat of New Competition According to Simon Goldberg and Adini (2015), there are moderate entry barriers for the media industries of Oman. There is growing number of reduction of the entry barriers in the media markets of the country. There is also a spectacular decrease in the effectiveness of the economies of scale. There is high industry profitability and high capital requirement for sustaining media industry. Threat of Substitutes As opined by Straubhaar LaRose and Davenport (2013), the threat of substitution is affected regarded as the ability of the customers in finding a different product or service similar to the base company. The threat of substitutes of the media firm has medium internet penetration and medium mobile usage. Bargaining Power of Customers According to Sakr et al. (2015), the customers in Oman can switch between multiple TV channels. They can also opt to listen to different radio stations. This enforces the channel administration to produce interesting content. The customers also have low access to the world media and hence they depend on the media provided in the country. There is medium penetration of the mobile and internet in the country. Bargaining Power of Suppliers The bargaining power of the suppliers is concerned with the ease of the suppliers to manipulate the prices of the key products or services. As commented by Hao and Song (2016), there is low power of the suppliers as well as low capability of the content providers in the media sector of Oman. Competitive Rivalry There is high competition in the media industry of Oman. There is medium level of diversified and as well as influential rivals in the media and radio channels (Khalil 2014). Though there is monopoly of PART in the Oman market, however, there is a high level of internal competition. Concepts of Industrial strategic analysis-Media Industry As opined by Sangeetha (2015), the internal strategic analysis of a firm can be defined as the process of evaluation and identification of the specific characteristics of the organization. These include capabilities, resources, core competencies and others. A SWOT analysis would help to understand the internal strategic position of the media firm. SWOT analysis The strengths, weakness, opportunities and threat of the media industry in Oman is discussed as under- Strengths There is considerable volume of customers who are opting for the services of the media industry in Oman (Khalil 2014). PART is the sole authority that controls the channels of TV and radio in Oman. The authority faces negligible competition from its peers as it has a market monopoly. Weakness The Authority caters to a wide range of audience who needs different content as per their choices and preferences. The Authority is unable to cater to these ever-increasing demands of the customers due to limited infrastructure and resources (Part.gov.om 2017). It has bloating workforce as well as narrowing base of audiences who prefer indigenous content. The modern audiences are more inclined to international content Opportunities There are huge opportunities for the media industry to adopt broadcasting through internet and social media (Croteau and Hoynes 2013). The youth population in Oman has shown an increasingly level of interest in the social media networking and the various media that can be accessed with the help of these innovative tools. The Public Authority can have separate content or channels for broadcasting them through innovative channels such as social media network (Part.gov.om 2017). Threat The increasing demand for the international media poses threat for the nationalized authority for television and radio in Oman (Croteau and Hoynes 2013). There can be issues of disruptive technologies and the authority may not be able to deal with the user-generated content in the various internet sources such as YouTube (Cummings and Worley 2014). Identification of the possible scenarios According to Keane and Donald (2014), the broadcast media has been affected greatly after the increasing popularity of the internet content. The traditional aspect of the television viewership is challenged by the advent of home video and latest technological inventions. The various websites such as YouTube, Hulu give the users the freedom to watch their favorite content at any point of time, as per their convenience. The devices such as TiVo allow the audiences to view their favorite TV shows at their own time and they are also able to skip any unnecessary commercials that they do not like (Croteau and Hoynes 2013). PART in Oman has their corporate structures in such a way that they ensure maximum interaction with the advertisers. Jenkins Ford and Green (2013) agrees that there is a need of the media companies to explore beyond the small screen and provide value based services to the local customers. There is a need of the media companies to develop a viable model of the corporate s trategy for capturing the new generation of customers. The media sector is opting for the sale of sponsorships or the commercial slot to the internet programming available (Croteau and Hoynes 2013). This process is similar to the booking of the slots in the traditional broadcasting medium. There is greater emphasis on the location based searches and the increased placements of the products. PART engages in multi-platform selling of the content and it should be also active in the mobile platforms. As opined by Nesamoney (2015), the advertisers are spending more on the digital and database based marketing. The advertisers are focusing on the event marketing, loyalty programs and place-based marketing. The media industry is increasingly focusing on innovation and return on investments as they implement new advertising solution. There is an also new business which revolves around lead generation, marketing services and the custom media. The technology shifts are also affecting the value of the television content and the distribution pattern of the content. There is a changed perception of the consumers towards the television and radio media (Agnihotri et al. 2016). They look for control and interactivity of these contents and not just enjoy video or listen to the radio. It is important for the authorities to implement robust digital toolkit for making the premium inventory. The goal of the media industry is to create long term relationships with the customers so that there is gre ater TRP (Television Rating Points) of their products (Agnihotri et al. 2016). Earlier, the content creation was more a human process but off late, there has been blending of technology with the creation of effective content. This has the potential to drive more success in terms of editorial or advertising. The Public Authority for Radio and TV aims to create engaging content for their audiences. Their business strategy is aimed at the creation of informative content for capturing more number of audiences. The Authority believes in the fact that the recruitment of talented persons in the editing and reporting jobs is essential to gain long term success of the sector (Sundarapandiyan and Babu 2016). The authority is also engaged in the identification of the cross-category growth opportunities which would make the television and radio gain broader audience. The future of media industry in Oman involves blending of technological aspects in their daily functioning (Sundarapandiyan and Babu 2016). There is also the possibility of sponsorships as well as branded entertainment in the media sector, which can be developed through the process of human ideation and conversation. PART has dedicated unit for the purpose of receiving complaints or any suggestions for the viewers (Part.gov.om 2017). T his gives the viewers sufficient freedom to share their grievances (if any). The Authority usually takes around one month to process all the pending requests, which implies that the turnaround time of the consumers is less. The Authority has also the provision to sponsor programs through the medium of Sultanate of Oman TV (Part.gov.om 2017). The local as well as international corporations are able to sponsor the Oman TV programs, either for commercial process or awareness purposes (Part.gov.om 2017). PART has dedicated websites for different domains such as Oman TV, Oman Sports, Oman Radio, Quran Radio and Al Shabab Radio (Part.gov.om 2017). The most appropriate corporate strategy for the firm includes the focus on the technology part of their broadcasting process. The aspect of technology is important for the authority since it would help the channels to propagate more among the masses in a limited time frame. The most appropriate business strategy would be the generation of more relevant content which would gain maximum attention from the masses. The Authority can also engage in market research in order to decide which contents to air in the prime-time slot in television as well as radio. Evaluation of the strategy and recommendations The corporate strategy as well as the business strategy of the firm needs to be evaluated based on Strategic Assessment Model (SAM). This model breaks down the strategy into several components in which the factors, alternatives and probabilities can be assessed well (Adrian et al. 2016). The corporate strategy of the implementation of technology in all levels of the organization is segregated into several parts such as current stage of technology adoption, involvement of more technology in the field of distribution of media and the level of human resources who are familiar with the technology process (Adrian et al. 2016). This process of the segregation of the corporate strategy is not aimed for replacing decision makers, however, it gives systematic approach to ensure that there is internal consistency in the process (sterle 2013). The business strategy of creating more relevant content is divided into further subsections such as creation of strong media types, rich media content, u se of HTML5 technology and others (Adrian et al. 2016). The SAM model divides the decision-making environment into three main parts- Internal environment- This would define the set of important factors which would be forming the basis of the internal operations of the organization. This would involve the availability of the raw materials which would be needed for the implementation of the corporate strategy as well as the business strategy (sterle 2013). There would be certain things which would be required to implement rich content in the media channels as well as increase the intervention of technology. Task environment- These factors would be directly involved with the organization and the implementation of the strategy is closely related with the organization (Sundarapandiyan and Babu 2016). It is important to blend the business as well as corporate strategy into the broad aspects of the organization. General environment-This includes the different relevant factors which have considerable influence on the organization. It is important to check the attitude of the employees towards both the corporate strategy as well as business strategy (sterle 2013). Any kind of resistance from the employees should be addressed in a proper manner. This is important for the success of the organization as a whole. It is important to generate strategy alternatives for any potential means in which the objectives are being fulfilled. There should be the presence of interconnection between the two kinds of strategy such as understanding the role of technology in the creation of rich content (Sundarapandiyan and Babu 2016). It is also important to assess relevant opportunities and threats which would come with the implementation of business strategies. The more adoption of technology and the greater generation of rich content is the best strategy for PART because the technology plays an important role in the success of the media industry. In this modern age, the broadcasting agencies are implementing high end technology services in order to reach more number of audiences. In Oman, there has been fundamental shift of media landscape (Al-Badi 2014). In the last few years, there has been shift from the conventional media to social media and more number of people prefer to communicate on social media channels. The media houses in Oman have been pressurized for upgrading to latest technology so that they can keep pace with the tech-savvy youth of the country (Al-Badi 2014). Hence, it is important to implement technological framework in the selected firm. The content on the technological platforms as well as conventional platforms needs to maintain excellent standards in order to be popular. It is recommended that the Authority should implement a high level of automation in their organization. The following measures needs to be implemented- It is important to plan the technological change from advance and achieving employee acceptance is important. Installation of the new technology platform for media businesses should be done by specialist. More social media presence of the firm should be made in which there would be interaction with the audiences. Engage content expert who would be responsible for the creation of value added content for television and radio. It is important to formulate content specific for the target audience, for which it is important to perform prior market research. Recommendation The critical analysis of the report showed that the Omans media landscape is undergoing a massive transformation and there has been more adoption of the technological innovation. The research shows the success of the PART would be a combined result from the implementation of technology and the development of rich content. The recommendations have been provided from the practical aspects of the corporate and business strategies. This report is expected to broaden the subject knowledge to a great extent. References Adrian, C., Abdullah, R., Atan, R. and Jusoh, Y.Y., 2016. Towards Developing Strategic Assessment Model for Big Data Implementation: A Systematic Literature Review.Int. J. Advance Soft Compu. Appl,8(3). Agnihotri, R., Dingus, R., Hu, M.Y. and Krush, M.T., 2016. Social media: Influencing customer satisfaction in B2B sales.Industrial Marketing Management,53, pp.172-180. Al-Badi, A.H., 2014. The adoption of social media in government agencies: Gulf Cooperation Council case study.Journal of Technology Research,5, p.1. Croteau, D. and Hoynes, W., 2013.Media/society: Industries, images, and audiences. Sage Publications. Cummings, T.G. and Worley, C.G., 2014.Organization development and change. Cengage learning. Dickinson, R. and Gunter, B., 2013. What Is the Future for News in the Arab World?.News Media in the Arab World: A Study of 10 Arab and Muslim Countries, p.173. Hao, S. and Song, M., 2016. Technology-driven strategy and firm performance: Are strategic capabilities missing links?.Journal of Business Research,69(2), pp.751-759. Jenkins, H., Ford, S. and Green, J., 2013.Spreadable media: Creating value and meaning in a networked culture. NYU press. Kalliny, M., 2014. Advertising Trends in the Arab World: A Status Report.Journal of Current Issues Research in Advertising,35(1), pp.86-106. Keane, M. and Donald, S.H., 2014. Convergence, content industries and media governance.Media in China: Consumption, Content and Crisis (London and New York: Routledge, 2014), pp.200-211. Khalil, J.F., 2014. News Television in the Arabian Gulf... Period of Transitions.Global Media Journal,2006. Nesamoney, D., 2015.Personalized digital advertising: How data and technology are transforming how we market. FT Press. Omaninfo.om. 2017. [online] Available at: https://omaninfo.om [Accessed 18 Mar. 2017]. sterle, H., 2013.Business in the information age: heading for new processes. Springer Science Business Media. Palanissamy, A., 2014. Investor-relations-integrating social media into boardOman perspective.European Journal of Business and Management,6(24), pp.108-113. Part.gov.om. 2017.Home - PART. [online] Available at: https://part.gov.om [Accessed 18 Mar. 2017]. Sakr, N., Skovgaard-Petersen, J. and Della Ratta, D. eds., 2015.Arab media moguls. IB Tauris. Samuel, B.S. and Sarprasatha, J., 2016. Entrepreneurship in Social-Media Services in OmanA Socio-Economic Scanning of the Sultanate.Asian Social Science,12(4), p.138. Sangeetha, J., 2015. Development of a service quality scale for multiple technology interfaces in commercial banking.The Journal of Internet Banking and Commerce,2012. Sharma, S.K., 2014. Critical Media Analysis' A Comparative Study of Print Media in Oman and UAE'.Global Media Journal,2009. Simon, T., Goldberg, A. and Adini, B., 2015. Socializing in emergenciesA review of the use of social media in emergency situations.International Journal of Information Management,35(5), pp.609-619. Straubhaar, J., LaRose, R. and Davenport, L., 2013.Media now: Understanding media, culture, and technology. Cengage Learning. Sundarapandiyan, N. and Babu, S., 2016. A Study on Talent Management Practices of ICT Sector in India With Reference to Talent Acquisition.Indian Journal of Applied Research,6(3). Whitten-Woodring, J. and Van Belle, D.A., 2014.Historical Guide to World Media Freedom: A Country-by-Country Analysis. CQ Press.

Thought Leadership How-To

THOUGHT LEADERSHIP HOW-TO Thought Leadership: How To Do It You’ve made a decision to take your business game to the next level. You know a thought leadership campaign will get you there. So, how do you do it? How to Develop a Thought Leadership Campaign If it’s a sales pitch, it’s not thought leadership. â€Å"True thought leadership starts with empathy,† said Brian Solis, a principal analyst at Altimeter Group and author of What’s the Future of Business (WTF). â€Å"Can you tell me the top ten problems your audience has at any given time? How about the top ten aspirations? Are you thinking through where your audience wants to be, compared with where the market is going? That’s what inspires me. Someone who is honestly trying to better understand the people they are trying to help.† To establish an effective thought leadership campaign, follow these five simple steps: Know your audience—as it relates to your business and beyond, what’s on their minds? Consult the experts—ask the most knowledgeable people on your team for their advice. Keep asking. Structure a thought leadership content strategy map—what are your goals? What expectations are realistic? What topics should you cover that matter to your audience and fall within your team’s expertise? Write it. Publish it. Continue the conversation—how did your audience react? If they didn’t react, where did the distribution fall apart? Tracking emails, downloads, retweets, likes, etc. can help you learn more about your audience’s thoughts and needs. Continue the conversation: How many people is your content reaching? What is the audience saying? What can you do to further distribute your content through reshares and backlinks? Credit: firstsiteguide.com Writing and publishing may be the shortest item in that list, but will require an ongoing commitment. Maintaining a blog can be an extremely effective way to get your whitepapers and infographics to your audience. Look at the bright side! Firstsiteguide.com shows blog posts, case studies, and long-form copy (printed or posted articles around 1,200 words) are both effective and relatively easy to produce. That makes these forms of content especially attractive, whether starting or maintaining thought leadership campaigns. How to Write a Thought Leadership Article (Whitepaper, Blog†¦) An effective thought leadership article needs to have perspective, content, and a path forward. Remember, if it’s a sales pitch, it’s not thought leadership. But if your content fails to connect your company with value to your audience, you’ve missed the mark. Perspective means having a deep, well-researched understanding of your target audience and customer base. Who are you trying to reach? What do you know about them? The content is the article itself. It should showcase your company’s understanding of its customers, show how products and services benefit those customers, and build relationships with them for the long term. A path forward is an action point for the reader to seek solutions to business problems through your company. A 2014 study showed 85 percent of B2B (business-to-business) marketing leaders did not connect their content to business value (2014 Forrester Research/Business Marketing Association/Online Marketing Institute study). The study found that while nearly 75 percent self-reported using customer stories and case studies in their content, only three percent said it was a primary focus. Just 12 percent said publishing research and expert perspectives was the main focus of their content marketing. And only five percent said frequent communication with their customer base was a priority. These marketing leaders were missing huge opportunities to utilize their case studies, a type of content both highly effective and easy to produce—or even already produced! With attention and focus, a minimal amount of effort disseminating the case studies could have reaped huge rewards in achieving thought leadership goals. Ready to write? Let’s get started. Good research, excellent writing, and unforgettable style are all components of an effective thought leadership article. Start your research by gathering available information. Does your company already have research or experts on your subject? Past brochures or interviews? Take it a step further: Could you interview sources at a business closely tied with yours, or satisfied customers who can speak to realistic results of working with your company? And please remember that while, yes, everyone loves Wikipedia, no, you may not use it as a source. When it comes to the actual writing, there are plenty of sources available to help improve your craft. If you love your subject, all you may need is a helpful editor to lend a second pair of eyes and clear up any rough spots. Not up to the task of the actual writing? You can always outsource it. But if you’re comfortable with grammar basics and able to fluently translate your industry’s jargon, great! Get writing! Now the big question: What type of content do you write? As you start brainstorming articles, papers, or posts that will matter to your audience, think about what type of content will further your business goals. Is your goal branding? Your content style is presence. Is your goal trust and transparency? Your content style is window. Are you marketing your expertise? Your content style is currency. Are you interested in joining together like-minded people? Your content style is community. Are you providing customer service? Your content style is support. These brands are nailing their content strategies. Credit: [emailprotected] Now, think about the style and tone of your piece. What publications do you admire and want to emulate? Is the writing formal or conversational? Crisp or punchy? And always include a simple infographic, video, even a photo—anything to engage with your audience at a visual level and increase shares on social media. A meaty, fact-filled whitepaper is great†¦ unless it puts your audience to sleep. Consider resurrecting dense prose into logical infographics when appropriate. Make it simple, and make it memorable. If you can deliver information more simply in a crisp diagram, you probably should. If you can get a lot of information across more simply with a simple, crisp infographic, you should. Credit: H-57 Creative Station Stand Out from the Crowd With many companies vying for position as thought leaders, keeping an eye on the competition can mean the difference between emerging victorious†¦ or irrelevant. First, identify a handful of competitors in your specialization, companies or people trying to reach your same audience. What are the most effective thought leaders doing differently from the rest of the competition? Analyze their audience’s responses. What are they doing well? What could they do better? Learn from them. Scoping out competitors can help you structure your own thinking and goals. Take what you learned from the above exercise and put it to work: The Step Strategy—Model your work off the competition, but do it a little better. The Superiority Strategy—Boldly challenge competitors by branding your business solutions far superior within the same field. The Innovative Strategy—This strategy side-steps conflict with innovative intellectual capital. Social Media: Do I Have to? You really do. And why wouldn’t you? The only cost associated with social media is the time and staff to stay engaged. That can lead to a huge return on investment (ROI). Follow these five pointers to promote your thought leadership through social media. We’ll talk more about social media in the conclusion of our thought leadership series. Until then, we’re Socially Devoted to You! Credit: Demandforce Target your audience—knowing your audience is crucial in every aspect of thought leadership and business, especially social media. Provide solutions—social media users are seeking answers to their problems. Use your thought leadership to provide what they need. Convert visitors to customers—this is that critical link between presenting information to your target audience, and providing your readers with an action point. They’ve come to you for a solution, so here’s an opportunity for you to provide what they need through your business: a discount or free product, a special offer for social media users; something to inspire them to hitch their wagon to yours. Transparency—this is key for building trust. You want your readers to see your genuine concern. Dealing with people honestly and with integrity, in social media’s ever-public setting, can showcase trustworthiness. Responsiveness—your customers, whether individuals or other businesses, need to feel heard. Knowing their concerns matter to you leads to their loyalty to your brand. This is another area where social media’s real-time involvement can make or break your long-term customer relationships. Starting a social media campaign—much less a thought leadership initiative—may seem overwhelming to the uninitiated. But the proven return on investments from social media can’t be ignored. Scary or not, social media should be an integral part of every thought leadership campaign. Up Next: Selling Thought Leadership to Your Team, featuring an exclusive interview with Brian Solis, Principal Analyst with Altimeter, a Prophet company. Also See: Why You Need a Thought Leadership Campaign Now