Have you ever read a hotel industry quote and thought, “Wow, they know their stuff, I’ll have to look at their product”, or watched a tech event panel and thought, “Hang on, I have a different take”? If so, you’ve encountered B2B thought leadership.
In fact, nearly 72%* of business decision-makers in 2024 say good thought leadership makes a company more trustworthy than typical marketing. That’s why it’s so crucial for your business.
At Abode Worldwide, a global PR agency specializing in proptech and hospitality technology, we know how daunting “thought leadership” can sound. Don’t you need to be well-known for people to care about your opinions? Where do you even start?
Thought leadership is a key part of a successful PR strategy. It allows you to build trust and enhance your reputation, leading to increased sales, new funding opportunities, and a stronger employer brand. And no, you don’t need to be a household name to get your voice heard.
Here are our tips for establishing effective B2B thought leadership for your hotel tech or proptech brand.
Are you a proptech company looking to build your brand’s reputation through strategic PR? Drop us a line.
What is B2B thought leadership?
B2B thought leadership is about leading the conversation and setting trends in your industry. It means establishing yourself as an authority in a business-to-business setting, and showing that you have important things to say and contribute to the industry.
B2B thought leadership marketing is about telling stories. It’s about staying open and alert to opportunities for storytelling and adapting to new trends. You need to research and understand your competition, the industry landscapes, and current trends so you can comment on them.
What makes great thought leadership content?
Great thought leadership content is about providing insight or opinion that nobody else is, to help people see things differently. It’s about being brave. You might say things that are controversial or go against the mainstream narrative. Or you might use data storytelling to share statistics and insights that haven’t been seen before.
You won’t have big company news such as a huge merger every week. So your job is to create the news and generate a relevant story, perhaps one hooked to an existing news story.
Consider:
- What opinions or takes are people in the industry missing or getting wrong?
- What potentially debate-provoking (but still appropriate!) views do you have about the industry?
- What insightful and relevant stories can you tell or contribute to?
- What proprietary data can you analyze and turn into valuable insights?
Great thought leadership content is about making people stand up and take notice.
What are the different types of B2B thought leadership content?
Thought leadership content can appear in a wide range of formats. Here are some B2B thought leadership ideas from proptech companies to inspire you:
- Blog posts on your website. For example, this blog post about revenue management on Wheelhouse’s blog does a great job of showcasing author and Wheelhouse CEO Andrew Kitchell’s expertise on the subject matter, while presenting the capabilities of Wheelhouse’s revenue management tool.
- Social media posts. For example, Hostaway CEO Markus Rader regularly posts short-form thought leadership videos on LinkedIn. In this one, he talks about how vacation rental hosts should embrace AI if they don’t want to get left behind by their competitors.
- Whitepapers and research reports. For example, this whitepaper by hospitality revenue management company IDeaS discusses demand-based dynamic pricing to increase revenue.
- Commentary in industry media. For example, here’s Nate Wysk, General Manager at PointCentral talking about the positive impact of smart technology on property management revenue in VRMA Arrival. And here’s a bylined article by Virdee Co-Founder Branigan Mulcahy on streamlining front desk operations with the help of technology in Hotel Management.
- Podcast interviews. For example, Hospitable CEO Pierre-Camille Hamana appearing on the Holiday Cottage Handbook podcast to talk about vacation rental industry trends. Or, Uplisting CEO Vince Breslin and Jetstream CEO Emmanuel Lavoie talking about innovation in hospitality technology on the TechNest proptech podcast.
- Panel discussions and keynotes at industry events. For example, this year’s VRMA International Conference had an agenda full of panels and speeches featuring industry thought leaders, such as Braeden Flaherty from Aidaptive, Bart-Jan Leyts from Otamiser, and Thibault Masson from PriceLabs talking about how vacation rental managers can use AI to boost operations and revenue.
Why should proptech and hotel tech companies create thought leadership content?
B2B thought leadership is a core part of an effective PR strategy. And PR should be part of every proptech company’s toolkit.
B2B PR helps you not only to gain visibility but also to build authority and credibility in a crowded marketplace. It puts rocket fuel under your other marketing initiatives and creates a halo of trust that hovers over everything else you do.
B2B thought leadership and PR are about building trust and a positive reputation, and that’s priceless.
What are the benefits of B2B thought leadership?
The benefits of a thought leadership strategy include an elevated reputation, trust, and credibility, which translate into more leads, higher conversion rates, and even industry awards.
Thought leadership allows you to reach your target audience where they consume media—industry magazines, podcasts, webinars, conferences, social media—and position your company and build your reputation in front of them.
A successful B2B thought leadership strategy can:
- Expand your client base and drive user growth, leading to higher overall revenue.
- Support efforts to secure additional investment and funding for growth and innovation.
- Draw in top-tier talent and strengthen your recruitment initiatives.
- Promote your product’s unique value to a specific audience segment, demonstrating why it stands out in the market.
The value isn’t just about “nice words” or “vanity metrics” (like website visits or podcast listens) either. Excellent thought leadership will propel you to become a trusted name in the industry, which can directly translate into more revenue and funding.
At Abode Worldwide, we’ve helped several proptech and hotel tech companies raise their profile using thought leadership.
For example, Markus Feller, CEO of operations and guest experience platform Like Magic, has become known for his expertise in using Artificial Intelligence (AI) to support sustainable hotel operations and enhance the guest experience. With bylined opinion pieces like this one on Boutique Hotel news, Markus was able to position himself as a thought leader, build trust and credibility, and introduce Like Magic to hotel managers who may not have learned of his company otherwise.
Similarly, our strategy has helped tech-enabled hospitality brand Bob W position itself as a pioneer in the tech-led accommodation category. Through thought leadership articles like this one by Co-Founder and CEO Niko Karstikko in Serviced Apartment News, we were able to showcase Bob W’s commitment to sustainability while elevating the brand’s reputation and building awareness in front of millions of industry professionals. See our Bob W case study for more.
How can a B2B PR agency help you develop thought leadership?
As experts in PR, a specialist B2B PR agency—like ours at Abode Worldwide—can work with you to establish thought leadership as a core part of a wider successful strategy.
For example, we can help you find the answers to the following questions:
- What business goals do you have?
- What news stories or items can you comment on? Which are relevant to your industry or expertise?
- What are your core messages? What unique stories do you want to get out there?
- What takes or opinions are people missing in the industry that you feel are important?
- How will you measure results?
A B2B PR agency can show you where your company sits in the wider industry ecosystem, so you can develop a successful strategy that distinguishes you from the competition.
What are the benefits of outsourcing your PR to strategic experts?
Outsourcing your PR—including thought leadership content creation and opportunities—helps to bring bigger-picture insight to your approach.
At Abode Worldwide, we see what’s going on in the hospitality technology and proptech spaces across the board, day in, and day out. We help companies understand where they sit in the broader competitor landscape in terms of positioning and messaging. We can give you strategic advice from that wider perspective.
We also have industry contacts and tools that take years to build, such as journalist contacts and CRM databases. Plus, a dedicated team of public relations experts works on each of our client accounts, which means you’ll have multiple minds working on your strategy.
We act as strategic partners, making sure that your PR strategy is aligned with your business goals, and proactively suggesting tactics and raising opportunities whenever we spot them.
We also offer media training for your C-suite, so that you can show up to events or podcast recordings well-prepared and clear on the message you want to communicate.
Developing a new thought leadership strategy could be for you if:
- You’re spending thousands at conferences and events without much return.
- You have a successful sales funnel but are struggling to get enough leads into it.
- You have a CEO or senior team member who has interesting ideas about the industry.
Thought leadership isn’t a magic bullet to solve your company’s issues. However, if you’re able to convert leads when you do get them, developing your company’s thought leadership could be a great next step.
B2B thought leadership for your proptech brand: use it to elevate your reputation
B2B thought leadership is about leading industry conversations, establishing authority, sharing unique insights, and offering strong (often controversial or discussion-provoking) perspectives. It helps companies build trust, attract leads, and differentiate themselves positively from competitors.
Thought leadership can take many forms, such as blog posts, media interviews, or speaking opportunities at events, and is driven by clear business goals like raising your profile in front of potential customers or attracting investment. But it can feel like a lot to establish as a small start-up, or a company building a strategy from scratch.
That’s why working with a specialist PR agency is the best place to turn, to help you bring public relations expertise, big-picture insight, and industry experience to your approach. Abode Worldwide can help you build credibility and authority, leading to more clients, revenue, and industry recognition. That’s what we call the halo of trust, and it’s invaluable.
Are you a hospitality tech startup looking to build your brand’s reputation through strategic PR? Drop us a line.
B2B PR for hotel tech companies: Frequently Asked Questions
What is B2B thought leadership?
B2B thought leadership is a form of strategic PR that involves establishing authority, trust, and credibility by leading industry conversations and offering unique, insightful perspectives. It’s about storytelling, staying attuned to trends, and providing bold, disruptive opinions. The approach depends on your target audience, business goals, and the types of buyers you aim to influence.
How can B2B thought leadership help my hotel tech or proptech brand?
Proptech and hotel tech companies should create thought leadership content as part of a B2B PR strategy to build trust, credibility, and visibility in crowded markets. Depending on your goals, thought leadership can help with generating more leads, securing funding, or positioning your brand as an employer of choice.
Should I outsource B2B thought leadership and PR?
Outsourcing PR—including thought leadership strategy—to a PR vendor allows you to tap into the agency’s resources, including big-picture industry knowledge, media contacts, and the know-how of building a thought leadership strategy. Agencies like Abode Worldwide also provide a broader perspective on the competitor landscape and a dedicated team, enhancing effectiveness compared to hiring in-house. It’s ideal for companies that need a strategic partner to kick off their PR initiatives.
*The 2024 Edelman-LinkedIn B2B Thought Leadership Impact Report.
