Thought leaders, as the phrase suggests, are the leaders and opinion-makers in their field of expertise. They are the fountain of information people turn to for innovative ideas and show how to replicate their success.
Most people dismiss thought leadership as business jargon created to confuse and confound. But in simple terms, it is defined as innovative content, covering trends and topics that influence an industry.
Over time, these people develop a community of followers and fans that help them scale their ideas for propagation and replication not for a company but an industry, or even an entire ecosystem. They create evolutionary advancements in their field by just urging people to think and ideate differently. They develop a method, process, guidelines, and best practices for people to replicate and scale-up.
Some famous thought leaders who have made a name for themselves are Amanda Nguyen of Rise, robin Chase of Zipcar, Ron Finley of LA Green Grounds.
Thought leadership takes time, knowledge and expertise in a particular niche and a willingness to buck the status quo.
Thought leadership and content marketing
Thought leadership is what distinguishes content marketing of a successful company. Do not fall into the trap of presenting something unique every time. What works for content leadership is useful content. Anything that answers the pain-points of consumers’ experience is good content. Differentiate by adding value. It can be in form and easy to grasp graph, or an authoritative and well-researched answer to customers’ challenges and the best ways to overcome them.
Thought leadership is an important component of B2B Content Marketing. It allows us to define the brand in the eyes of the customer. Thought leaders can come from marketing, sales, product design, advocacy, communication, et al. The ultimate goal for all is the need to inspire your consumers to act – to take the next step in their journey.
Thought leadership is the backbone of your content strategy. They are the real people who deal with the real-world problems of the consumers and buyers primarily, and in the process, they build a template for the companies to grow upon based on the responses and usages of the consumers.
A good example of an industry built around thought leadership would be food mavens that run an entire industry based on the content they beam. Some examples are Jamie Oliver, Anthony Bourdain, Martha Stewart.
Neil Patel is another example of hip thought leadership content. His content marketing strategies are the byword in this space.
A study found that nearly half of the C-suite vet an organization by its thought leadership and 81% said their trust increases after engaging with thought leadership content.
Before strategizing, writing or designing any content, know who it is meant for—which audience you are targeting.
Research your topic and find authoritative sources. Identify industry publications and build your own voice in the space. Pitch your content in the right platform and find content from discussion forums.
For every leader who builds and executes a thought leadership strategy, there are quite a few who miss the mark. Most believe a huge social media following is enough to boost your standing as an authority. Still, it’s more about building content that is forward-thinking, gives solutions, has data reference points, and is word perfect.
