Thought leadership has been a concept for a long time, but it has become increasingly popular in recent years. But what is thought leadership? It is important to understand what it means today and how it can help your career.

What is thought leadership today?

According to Wikipedia, a thought leader is “an individual or firm that is recognized as an authority in a specialized field and whose expertise is sought and often rewarded.”

A thought leader is an individual or firm that prospects, clients, referral sources, intermediaries and even competitors recognize as an authority in a certain field. This results in the individual or firm being the go-to choice for that particular expertise. In addition, thought leaders profit significantly from this recognition.

Thought Leadership backlash

A thought leader is someone who is an expert in their field and is respected by their peers. However, the term “thought leader” is often overused and many people are tired of hearing it.

The term “thought leader” became popular again in the 2010s, but it is no surprise that Forbes eventually declared it the “most annoying business slang” in 2013.

However, this is not what we are aiming for. Our goal is to help you become a thought leader in the purest sense of the term.

The first basis of leadership is honesty. It’s essential for you to be honest about who you are, and to look at what your audience is looking for. Use your existing professional and personal successes and experiences to create content online – and do it to help others in a sincere way.

When you develop your personal brand, you will probably establish yourself as a thought leader (no matter how you define thought leadership). However, this guide will also demonstrate how you can utilize thought leadership as a crucial element in your content marketing strategy.

What it takes to be a successful thought leader

“What is a thought leader?” Even with the evolving nature of thought leadership, there are certain characteristics typically associated with thought leaders. Some of the most common are listed below:

• Expertise in a particular niche
• Ongoing involvement in (or awareness of) that niche
• A clearly identified point of view
• Credibility
• A supportive following

Although not all thought leaders share the same traits, many of them share some common characteristics. Some of the most common traits include the ability to distinguish themselves from others, being innovative and creative, having a strong vision, being passionate about their work, and being able to inspire others.

• Expertise in a particular niche – People are much more likely to listen to whatever it is you’re talking about if you have direct experience and expertise in that area. Whether you’ve been working in a specific area professionally for two decades or have faithfully pursued a hobby since you were a kid, experience and mastery in a particular area give you a leg-up when positioning yourself as a thought leader.
• Ongoing involvement in (or awareness of) that niche – Even if you are currently retired, thought leaders keep up with the current conversation in their field. While your past experiences are valuable, it’s even more important to connect these to what’s currently happening in the industry.
• A clearly identified point of view – This is critical when it comes to setting yourself apart from others in your field. A clear point of view lets people know what it is they’re getting when they decide to follow you, read your content, share your videos, or request you as a speaker for a live event.
• Credibility – This is something that will be achieved through a combination of your past experiences, current standing, and endorsements from your network. If you are consistently known for working with people who have a bad reputation or have no examples of why you should be seen as a leader in your particular field, then no one will take you seriously. By building your professional experience, and working with other thought leaders, industry insiders, and reputable professionals – you automatically enhance your credibility.
• A supportive following – As Forbes Contributor Shel Israel once wrote, “You cannot be a thought leader if others don’t follow.” And that’s true; without followers, you are someone with tightly held convictions. But that’s not enough. While you don’t need the whole world to put stock in your opinion (as a matter of fact, if you have strong opinions, there will definitely be people who disagree with you), you do need some people to believe in you to further support your credibility.

How to Harness the Power of Your Thought Leadership Strategy

Well-crafted content can help you reach and grow your specific audience, build relationships with more people in that audience, and enhance your credibility as a leader and influencer in your space. But you can only accomplish these objectives when you develop each piece of content in accordance with a strategy that’s aligned to your thought leadership goal.

The most successful thought leadership strategies involve creating content that will resonate with your target audience, maintaining a consistent presence so that you stay top of mind, and using a variety of assets to reach new people. By doing these things, you build trust with the people who matter most to your business.

If you want to create a thought leadership strategy that is effective and builds your influence, start with the following steps.

1. Understand how to build a foundation of trust.

Your audience is aware that everyone has an ulterior motive. Surprising them by giving them free information shows that you are trustworthy. When you focus on giving value to your audience instead of promoting yourself, you will gain their trust.

Instead of just trying to sell your audience something, start by focusing on giving them valuable information about topics they are interested in. If your content is helpful, informative, or simply entertaining, they will be more likely to keep an eye out for what you have to say in the future. Keep in mind that people are naturally skeptical, so don’t bother trying to convince them to trust you–just show them why they should.

2. Create content for the journey.

Now that you understand how important content is for building trust, you can start creating different types of content for different stages of your relationship with your audience.

If you want to reach new audiences, you need to write and pitch guest posts or earn press mentions in reputable publications your audience members read.

After you have gotten the reader’s attention, keep it by providing content that is both engaging and educational. This content can come in many forms, such as blog posts, case studies, videos, or downloadable resources. By providing this content, you will reinforce your position as an expert in the industry.

Keep your audiences engaged by using your content well over time and keeping your brand top of mind. Use social media accounts and email newsletter campaigns to deliver the right content at the right time.

3. Consistently put content to work.

Although you have taken the time to create content, you are not finished yet. Thought leadership content is a tool and in order for it to be effective, you need to use it wisely. Consider which contacts and relationships would be most benefited by this content and share it with them.

Make sure your brand is always associated with high-quality content to make a strong impression on others in your industry. Use your content in different ways to get more exposure, such as booking speaking engagements, being a guest on a podcast, or being nominated for an industry award.

You can’t just create any old content and hope to become a thought leader. You need a strategic, well-thought-out plan that takes into account what you want to achieve and how you can best go about achieving it. Start by creating each piece of content with a single, clear purpose in mind. Once you have a pool of individual content pieces, you can then start assembling them into a cohesive strategy.

How is thought leadership marketing different?

Thought leadership marketing is the strategic use of thought leadership content to attract customers and grow your business. It is often used as part of a broader marketing strategy for businesses selling to other businesses (B2B) or businesses selling to consumers (B2C). Keep in mind that anyone can benefit from thought leadership marketing, whether you’re the CEO of a large corporation or a freelancer. Also, note that some people use the terms “thought leadership” and “thought leadership marketing” interchangeably. Pay attention to the context and who is saying it to get a better understanding of what is meant.

How can this help your career?

If you want to increase your professional opportunities and earning potential, you need to think strategically about your personal brand, share your own insights and experience, and engage with relevant communities.

How can this help your product/service?

If you want your product or service to be more credible, invest time in becoming a thought leader. When you establish a personal brand, it’s easier for potential customers and clients to trust what you’re selling. You can also generate more awareness for your product or service by reaching out to your audience. Use our thought leadership examples for inspiration, and start developing your own thought leadership strategy.

The Audience Test

Creating thought leadership is a chance to really understand your target audience and what matters to them. This includes working with your subject matter experts, client-facing teams, marketing departments, and, of course, your target audience.

If your ideas are not well-received by your target audience, you need to change the way you generate your ideas.

Clients

If your clients aren’t interested in your content, it may be because you’re not focusing enough on their problems.

This is not only about solving current problems, but also about understanding future trends. According to a Grist survey, 66% of executives say that following emerging trends is their number one reason for reading thought leadership.

Prospects

B2B brands often find that their content doesn’t elicit responses from their target clients.

Many times this is the case because the writing is unoriginal; the person has read several other pieces on the same topic. This is not thought leadership, but rather thought followership.

You need to be the first person to find the topics that are not being discussed elsewhere, or you need to have a unique perspective on existing themes. What insights can you bring to the discussion that nobody else has?

This is a problem for B2B firms because they are often risk-averse. The business often wants to push marketing content into the safe ground that everybody else is covering.

The business

Your content needs to be appropriate for the type of expertise you offer. You should not make an overt sales pitch, but it is not worth researching and creating original content if it does not support your main message.

If you find yourself having to force your expert commentary into your research findings, then you may be going about it the wrong way. It is unlikely to achieve its intended purpose, no matter how great the original idea was.

When choosing your content themes, think about your firm’s capabilities. 42% of B2B firms don’t involve their client-facing teams early on in the development process, which is surprisingly low according to research.

The media

If your output cannot hold a journalist’s interest, it is not strong. If there is no new information or perspective, and nothing that furthers the debate, journalists will not write about it.

It is important to think broadly and explore the major economic issues that affect markets and target audiences in order to create effective research. Start by brainstorming the headlines you want to create, and then design your research accordingly.

You could try discussing your ideas with journalists to get their opinion on whether the media would be interested in them.

One last thing. You also need to be entertaining. Your thought leadership content needs to be engaging, educating, full of examples and facts, and entertaining.

Your audience is looking for help. Are you willing to give it to them?