Either an individual or a company can be a thought leader. Furthermore, any company can become a thought leader; you don’t need to be big.
How Do I Accomplish Thought Leadership?
CONTENT & ONLINE PRESENCE
At a practical level, thought leadership is accomplished by:
Continuously educating your audience and
Communicating your unique point of view through various forms of content.
(E.g. blog posts, articles, case studies, speaking engagements, newsletters, stories on Facebook, Instagram and Snapchat, videos, press releases, etc.)
It is about what you put into that content that makes you a thought leader.
INFLUENCERS: USE THEM WISELY
Use Your Experts and/or Passionate Employees If there’s an executive who has the passion and the ability to articulate your thought leadership point of view, have them become your spokesperson. Conversely, you can position your entire company as a thought leader by instilling your point of view and themes in all of your content and messaging.
Use Influencers
Content creation doesn’t come naturally to many people, and large organizations, in particular, often struggle with content marketing. In fact, one study found that 81 percent of CMOs believe their businesses struggle when coming up with new ideas for thought leadership content.
This is where content curation and influencers come into play. When you’re open to sharing content from aligned companies and individuals (influencers), you can expand your reach and enhance your narrative.
The key word here is “aligned.” If you choose to work with influencers to help you create or promote your content, make sure they’re doing it because they truly believe in your brand—not just for the paycheck. This will give your content a more genuine and authentic tone because it’s coming from someone whose mission meshes with your brand’s.
The key here is that you’re not just educating your audience on the features and benefits of your specific products or services, but on:
Important topics and
Best practices in your industry overall.
You are identifying your target audience’s biggest questions and using educational content to provide the answers. Through this content, you will build the sense of confidence your customers and prospects have in you, boost your brand recognition, and give your audience the information they are seeking.
Why Should I Adopt a Thought Leadership Strategy?
5 Beneficial Reasons to Infuse a Thought Leadership Strategy into your Business:
1. A Huge Budget Is No Longer Necessary
Remember, your brand size is perfect! Many businesses operate on a limited budget – especially small businesses – and don’t have extra money to spend on expensive marketing tactics and campaigns. And while implementing a successful thought leadership system will require your time and energy, it won’t require a huge budget. Thought leadership is more about working smartly and efficiently so you earn your customers instead of buying them.
Don't forget: Use Influencers and your most passionate employee!
2. Differentiate Your Business from those Large Competitors
The reality is that not many small business owners are doing thought leadership at all; many larger businesses are not doing it very well. This means if you install the right thought leadership framework into your business, over time, your brand may appear more credible, trustworthy, and authoritative than companies twice your size. Even better, thought leadership is a great way to position your company, products, and services as unique in the minds of your target audience, which makes you more interesting and memorable.
3. Reduces the Need to Sell
This is a big one. With the right thought leadership strategy in place, you set up a process where you educate your customers to move them into building a relationship with your business even before they buy. This significantly reduces the need for traditional sales.
4. Creates Awareness for Your Products and Services
The goal of most traditional marketing (like advertising) is to create awareness for your products and services. Thought leadership will do this, too, and in a way that is more effective because it’s more educational and less salesy. Consumers are tired of this old, worn-out marketing approach, which is why thought leadership brings new life into your marketing efforts.
5. Maximizes Strong Personal Brand in Your Market
Thought leadership gives you the opportunity to create a personality for your brand and business – you become memorable, unique, and interesting to your target audience. This is especially true for solopreneurs, entrepreneurs, and business owners who are their business.
Once you are well-known and trusted, you can easily create a word-of-mouth marketing machine, generating leads and referrals like never before.
As your company grows, it will never be too large to incorporate smart thought leadership strategies into its sales and marketing compound. Meeting your customers where they are drops their hesitations and opens the door to a genuine rapport.
Are you ready to apply a thought leadership strategy into YOUR business plan? Contact LeWriter.Pro for a consultation towards high-quality content, tailored for your thought leadership approach.
- Le Williams
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