Have you ever given thought to what is thought leadership and why it does it matter?
According to research, 58% of decision-makers claim to base their decisions on a company's thought leadership output. Whether you run a small business or a major corporation, having the reputation of being a thought leader in your field gives you that extra competitive edge that is so frequently required.
Don't simply concentrate on the title; if you visit your LinkedIn profile right now, you'll likely discover a few postings that are more specialized and offer further advice in a particular area of expertise. This is what thought leaders offer to their network.
How thought leaders are different
You will come to see leaders at different stages of your life. Be it in your profession or any other institution. They provide additional support to you. But thought leaders are engaged in a range of business activities. These include giving speeches at gatherings, conducting interviews, starting podcasts, posting guest blogs, and more. They exhibit their most crucial quality—industry knowledge—during these occasions.
How thought leadership transforms your brand
Today every brand is working towards one singular goal that is upscaling its content on social media platforms. But if you observe minutely you will see that behind that content they have a thought leader. This individual is the face behind the brand. According to a survey, 70% of customers say they feel more connected when a brand's CEO is present on social media.
Every brand is investing in brand building today. Why? So that they can achieve the loyalty of its consumers and significant follower growth on other platforms. And in order to achieve this, they leverage thought leadership marketing.
1. Consider taking your audience's feedback
Create detailed personas for your target customers, going as far as you can to understand their challenges and how you can utilize your knowledge to solve them. It is not easy to get the detailed data of your customer, so where to find them? You can find the details in the comment section of your posts, the challenges they are facing with your product, and the feedbacks they are providing. The rest of it can be easily tracked down with the help of the tools you are already using.
Every employee has something special to offer, and your consumers will benefit from their varied perspectives by understanding the human side of your business.
2. Remember what your brand promised
In some cases, it can get harder to keep that commitment as your business expands.
However, a thought leadership plan is an ideal chance to make sure you haven't forgotten about that commitment. You focus on publishing high-quality content, there is no negotiation on that part. If you are talking about solving the work-life challenges, then specifically create content around that. Do not compare your content with any platform's algorithm. There are always methods to stand out from the crowd; while you may not notice them right away, they will benefit you in the long run. I can vouch for this.
3. Create a strong set of guidelines
Follow a set of rules to ensure that the overall message is consistent, even if everyone is expressing their views and thoughts in their own voice and manner. You have been in the industry for a long time, you understand your business better. When you are creating content, there will be various opinions, feedbacks on your way coming from diverse industries. Focus your mind on your content curation journey, and not every opinion that comes your way.
Even when you have many thought leaders, a straightforward checklist of ideas, words, or links that each piece of content should have will guarantee that it is consistent.
4. Publish valuable content on various platforms
Successful thought leaders make sure they're producing insightful material in a variety of venues, including guest blog pieces, social media platforms, podcast interviews, press features, and speaking engagements. Your thought leadership content needs to be published wherever your current and possible new audience is.
Even though you are creating content, make sure it is accompanied by infographics, carousel post, short videos. Your target audience will take initiative to add valuable insights to those content which in turn will garner ideas for your upcoming content.
5. Remain consistent
Any transformation begins with being consistent, not in a day. You must continuously publish material if you want to earn your audience's trust. Plan, schedule, and post your thought leadership content using an editorial calendar. Planning always works, even if you are distracted someday, or maybe resolving a personal crisis. Your editorial calendar will save your day and also enhance your thought leadership strategy.
Keep in mind that you can reuse your material across many platforms to reach a larger audience.
6. Keep learning about your niche
Being a thought leaderdemands staying up to date on all recent developments in your field or area of expertise. Knowing the most recent advancements allows you to share the information with your audience.
7. Collaborate with influencers
Your audience will grow if you're willing to share material from like-minded businesses and people, which will also strengthen your story.
You need to make sure that influencers are working with you to generate or promote content because they genuinely believe in your brand.
In the end, I'd want to say that showcasing you and your brand through real content sharing without ulterior motives is essential. Despite difficulties, you are the only one who considers how you may benefit your audience. It will definitely be a victory for your brand.
Shellye is committed to helping people from diverse backgrounds to achieve their aspirations in careers and life. The content published above was made in collaboration with our members.
Shellye Archambeau is determined to help you with all possible strategies to climb the ladder of success. She values your feedback. Do mention them in the comment section below.