How do you stay ahead in your field and lead the conversation?

Starting small and growing steadily ensures a consistent and targeted content development strategy. Establishing your expertise in 2-3 key areas initially helps to hone your voice, subsequently expanding as you gain insight into audience preferences. I recommend using tools like LinkedIn polls to query your audience and understand their content preferences. Ultimately, your content should answer their questions, fill knowledge gaps, and establish you as a credible and trusted source within your field. Always have clear objectives and understand your target audience to keep your content valuable and compelling.

The golden rule of speaking to an audience is to KNOW your audience. Learn all about them, their pain points, their bliss points, their big questions they want to learn about. This will help you set your goals to be a trend setter and thought leader in your industry.

Your content strategy is a huge part of your thought leadership brand. Your content starts conversations, demonstrates your expertise, and leads to greater connection as your audiences starts to know, like and trust the value that you bring. Having a multi-platform content strategy is key, leveraging your strengths and trying new formats too.

Leveraging good data and insightful analysis can inform your content strategy. For instance, less engagement on videos doesn't necessarily equate to ineffective content if users spend more time diving deeper into it. As your audience grows, maintaining focus on your objectives is crucial. If conversion is the goal, integrating formats like webinars can help your audience deepen their relationship with your brand. Be thoughtful about content formats and distribution channels; use a blend of engaging, informative and actionable content. Illustrate points with stories, examples, data, and visuals, and foster audience interaction through feedback and discussions. Always keep your content value-oriented and goal-driven.

Continuous learning and improvement are essential. But it's not only about staying updated on the latest trends and developments. Real progress happens when you also seek and value feedback from your network. This feedback, coming directly from those who consume your content, provides practical insights into what truly resonates. Engaging with other industry thought leaders can also be incredibly beneficial. These relationships facilitate the exchange of ideas, challenge your thinking, and provide unique perspectives to inform your content. Remember, thought leadership is not a monologue. It's a dialogue that fosters shared learning and progress.

Keep telling stories. Keep adding stories. Learn more about how to use storytelling to get your content our there and evolve the conversations as your industry moves forward too.