Here's how you can assess the success of a thought leadership initiative.

Yes reach, quality of reach and engagement levels matters. At the root, it starts with content that resonates. Linkedin content creators should aim to have a unique POV and voice that is theirs with a focus to add value, either to bring out the humanity in all of us, to appreciate the beauty in our surroundings or at the very least to be more skilled at what we do. Content for its own sake is spam. And we can all have less of that.

I don't agree to access the success of a thought leadership initiative is through audience reach. Because that is irrelevant. The purpose of thought leadership is impact. I rather impact 1 life from a reach of 1 than reach 10000 lives with no impact. Stop focusing on reach. Start focusing on contribution. Your contribution to impact will ultimate influence your reach.

To evaluate the success of your thought leadership, start by analyzing your audience reach. This involves examining how many people are exposed to your content through articles, podcasts, or videos. A growing audience suggests that your message is resonating widely. However, reach alone isn't enough; you need to ensure you're connecting with the right demographic. Your thought leadership should incorporate engaging with the audience to move the needle most to your goals, whether they're industry peers, potential clients, or key influencers. This targeted reach ensures that your efforts are both broad and strategically impactful.

The engagement depth is is not just quantities and qualitative. It is the ability to relate heart to heart. Thought leadership. Leads the way and shines the light to open up one’s uniqueness and courage to express. through thought provoking ideas, concepts and connections, but also Heart to Heart connection and resonance. Compassion and love.. The engagement depths comes alive in meaningful dialogue to explore and relate, to collaborate and cocreate, to imagineer and manifest together, from the heart.

This is a hard metrics to attain and therefore the gold standard of relevance - money can buy reach but engagement is much harder; however at the basis of it - sometimes all it takes is clarity, authenticity and entertainment value. Check that your post has these 3 elements and watch them soar… And if you can add insightful to the mix then the world is your oysters!

When people like, comment, share, and interact with your content, it amplifies your reach, extending your influence and authority in your field. Engagement also fosters community and loyalty, as active participants are more likely to become advocates for your brand. Therefore, high engagement is a clear indicator of the effectiveness of your messaging and the strength of your connection with your audience, making it a key success metric.

It's a good metric, but not something you should confine your leadership. Initially, you will need to find your voice. And allow your inner voice to guide you in how you think about leadership about impact about people. Eventually the seeds will fall into fertile soil who can resonate with your message. But this takes time and committment. If you're continously looking at metrics in the beginning, you will be frustrated by the results. Because yes you will suck in the beginning. So fail forward faster. Look, as long as you are contributing with all your heart and soul, it will eventually gain depth.

Engagement depth is a critical metric for assessing thought leadership success. It's not just about how many people see your content but how they interact with it and why. Are they leaving comments, sharing your work, or referencing it in their own content? High engagement indicates your audience finds your insights valuable enough to engage with and spread to others. This level of interaction shows that you're not only reaching people but also provoking thought and conversation, deepening your influence and validating your authority.

Start by measuring the reach and engagement of your content through metrics such as website traffic, social media shares, and comments. Monitor how your initiative has contributed to industry conversations or trends by tracking media mentions, speaking invitations, or collaborations with other thought leaders. Assess the quality and quantity of leads generated or business opportunities that have arisen as a result of your thought leadership efforts. Solicit feedback from your audience and peers to gauge perceptions of your expertise and credibility. Finally, reflect on whether your initiative has achieved its intended goals and objectives, such as increasing brand visibility, establishing authority in your field, or driving innovation.

Assessing influence impact requires looking beyond numbers to the actual changes you're inspiring in your field. Are other thought leaders citing your work? Have you sparked new discussions or contributed to shaping industry trends? Your thought leadership is successful if it's leading to tangible shifts in thinking or practice. It's about being a catalyst for change, not just a source of information. By driving real-world impact and influencing the broader conversation, you solidify your role as a transformative leader in your industry.

Assessing the success of a thought leadership initiative hinges on content quality. Evaluate engagement metrics like shares, comments, and likes. Gather feedback from your audience to understand their perception. Ensure the content is insightful, relevant, and provides value. High-quality content will naturally lead to increased trust and authority in your field.

Agree to all this, but my earlier point stays, insightful content still needs to be presented well for cut-through, and this can be defined with elements of dramatisation, of delight, surprise and sometimes just plain brevity. Looks easy, because we make it so. Barely is. Welcome to Marketing!

Quality is paramount in thought leadership. But before you can even get to quality, you must first be truthful. Many of these articles are written by ai. At first, I consulted with ai to give me examples. But then I realize I wasn't being truthful to my audience and to myself. So before you focus on quality, focus on character. Your character. Because it's truth. The cream always rise to the top. And your character is the cream. So if you want quality focus on character. Your content will refelct because you can't fake character.

Thought leadership equals impacting lives not improving numbers. Bottom line allow your content come from genuine concern about humanity. Like Zig Ziglar once said, "If you help enough people get what they want, you will get everything you want." Thought leadership is about impacting one life at a time. Because one life equals one world.

Agree to all this, just need to add - in terms of continuous improvements, what exciting era we live in. With AI, CGI, new go-to-market possibilities, intersection of physical to digital and back again, only our creativity and how big we can dream will held us back. My advice - just don’t lose sight about what you’re after in the first place - sometimes the content or the post becomes the point, the story becomes the story instead of leading to a clear path/direction/vision. Nothing that strategic thinking can’t fix. Then go, have fun!

Many programs and leaders talk about continuous improvement. But this can be a scary thought especially if your character is flawed with no self control. Let me explain. Every human life is precious. But like Warren Buffet once said, "If you have an idiot and you motivated him, now you created a motivated idiot." If you have someone who has lack of self control let's say with their drinking or drugs or anything else. And now you immerse them into personal and professional develoment. Self control is the beginning of self revelation. And we all that that one thing we need to control or it spirals out of control. Once you combine self control with self discipline, then you become unstoppable.

Engagement: Measure likes, shares, comments, and overall interaction with your content. Reach: Track the number of views, followers gained, and the reach of your thought leadership pieces. Brand Perception: Monitor sentiment analysis and feedback to gauge how your audience perceives your expertise. Lead Generation: Assess the number of leads or inquiries generated directly from your thought leadership content. Thought Leadership Rankings: Monitor your visibility and authority within your industry through rankings and mentions. Conversion Rates: Measure how many leads or followers convert into clients or customers.