Why You Need Thought Leadership

Thought leadership is not a new phenomenon, contrary to some popular beliefs. The world’s elite of financiers and industrialists, as well as the average businessperson, were paying close attention to the ideas and concepts of Henry Ford since ever his Ford Model T hit the road in 1908, for example. He had remarkable thoughts to share, such as his concept that you need to give the customers not what they want, but what they really need. Henry Ford is an example for thought leadership by any means, although Joel Kurtzman coins the very term “thought leader” only back in 1994.

What has changed since the times of Henry Ford is that we now have the communication channels for anyone to develop themselves as a thought leader. The tech developments during the 1990s and the first two decades of the 21st century gave birth to widely available channels for communicating your message to both businesses and consumers. A large number of social media channels enables a person or an enterprise to convey their message to a wide audience, establishing themselves as a thought leader in the process.

What Makes a Thought Leader?

Let’s start with saying that both a brand and a person could be a thought leader. It sounds counterintuitive for a brand to be considered a thought leader, but there are quite a few examples where a brand's concepts and innovative practices merit attention.

Nonetheless, some specifics do not allow every brand to be a thought leader, especially as people tend to prefer following a person’s concepts and usually perceive brand ideas as pure marketing. Here is what makes a thought leader and how they are different from brands that try to act as thought leaders:

• A thought leader is an opinion leader while a business tries to be a market leader.
• Thought leaders have followers while enterprises have customers/users.
• A thought leader creates new markets while brands work within a market.
• Thought leaders aim at winning the minds of their followers whereas a company strives to gain market share.
• Every thought leader is unique while just a handful of businesses differ markedly from their competitors.
• A thought leader thinks ahead and is not afraid to put provocative topics on the table; most companies prefer to use neutral tone and voice.

If you want to become a thought leader yourself, then you should always have in mind the abovementioned qualities of a true thought leader.

Also, if you want your reputation and career to go the last mile to thought leadership, you should equip yourself with the industry expertise that will allow you to set a course for others to follow. It is not enough to provide an in-depth analysis of industry or market trends; you should offer new solutions to already solved problems and come up with best practices that are better than the existing ones.

How a Thought Leader’s Influence Works

In a world in which complex tech and business concepts are emerging daily, even professionals struggle to cope with the speed of their specific industry or market and rarely have the time to come out with disruptive ideas.

That is where the influence of a thought leader is rooted. A thought leader can explain complex concepts to a varied audience in easy-to-understand language. A thought leader comes out with new ideas and concepts, but he also educates his audience. He acts as a teacher who is not interested primarily in sales but in promoting new concepts and business practices and educating his followers about the existing ones.

Many experts in every field are very knowledgeable but cannot speak the language of a broader audience. They have very high authority but a very narrow follower base. In contrast, a thought leader possesses both high authority and a high number of followers because he is able to communicate complex subjects in plain language for anyone to understand.

That is why thought leadership is strongly connected to content marketing. You cannot reach a wide audience or influence a large number of people without implementing certain content marketing practices. Thought leadership is about sharing concepts with others, not drafting business strategies for internal use only - although in-house thought leadership is also possible.

Thought Leadership as the Most Impactful Content Marketing Tool

Thought leadership influences others through content marketing. However, it is important to note that pure content marketing will not make you a thought leader unless you show the passion, experience, and knowledge to address the most pressing questions and issues in your industry or niche. Thought leadership also requires consistency to win over the minds and hearts of your target audience. Only then you can expect to bear the fruits of your efforts to deliver content one would consider as provided by a thought leader.

How to Grow as a Thought Leader

A thought leader does not exist in a vacuum; it is a social role. Build relationships, speak at events, attend industry fairs and exhibitions, and provide answers to questions your followers may have. Make yourself available and do not pose as a celebrity that is hiding from the paparazzi. Most importantly, carefully research your statements and never create content for the sake of creating content.

Most probably you will start small and then grow your audience and influence. That is the usual path for anyone to develop as a thought leader. As you know, even Henry Ford had to go bankrupt twice before anyone started listening to his words of business wisdom.

Any thought leader should gradually move through five levels of thought leaderships (as explained in ?The Visible Expert“). These are:

Level 1: Resident Experts. These experts are well-respected within their companies and by their clients, but they have little visibility outside of those audiences. Most thought leaders start their journey here.

Level 2: Local Heroes. These persons start becoming known outside of their company. They are more active in their local business communities, often speaking at business events and they are blogging. They may even bring some new business to their firm.

Level 3: Rising Stars. These experts have developed a regional reputation. They are relatively well-known among peers in their area, and they frequently speak and write about their area of expertise. Rising Stars tend to bring in higher-quality business and charge higher fees.

Level 4: Industry Rock Stars. These names are well-known across the nation for their specific areas of expertise. They attract premium clients and fees. As a result, they become significant assets to their firms.

Level 5: Global Superstars. The world’s elite experts, Global Superstars, go out of their niches. Others recognize them more broadly across their respective industry. They command the highest fees, and firms around the world want to be associated with them.

But how do you get there, to the level of an Industry Rock Star or even Global Superstar? Let’s narrow it down to the four major points:

• Be an expert in your niche. The topic you chose must be one you understand very well and should resonate with your industry and target audience.
• Make your way as an expert in the media. Both traditional and online media are eager to have interesting expert opinions from industry professionals. This is an excellent method to build credibility and gain more followers.
• Attend events and conferences. There are plenty of industry events and conferences where you can speak your mind to your target audience.
• Maintain a blog and social media accounts. These mediums enable you to reach a wide audience - if used properly. Consider posting guest blogs as well.

Whatever your content marketing efforts may be, you should always provide expert comments to establish yourself as a thought leader. Your audience, any audience, is fed up with the constant flow of average content online.

To grow as a thought leader in your niche, you must stand out from the crowd of experts within any industry. You should be the one that is leading the conversation instead of just following trending topics. Then, and only then, you will be able to achieve additional goals such as marketing a product or service and respectively boosting sales.

Thought Leadership Strategy for Success

First and foremost, you need to convince your target audience that you are credible enough for them to follow you as a thought leader. This confidence then translates into followers having trust in your existing and new business endeavors, which in turn allows you to develop new markets and reach out directly to your customers or users.

Credibility does not matter if you do not actively engage your audience, however. Involve your target audience in active discussions, ask questions and look for answers from your readers or listeners. This is a straightforward way to build your credibility as a thought leader, provided that you ask the right questions, and are not just looking for feedback. As a result, you will benefit from an engaged audience that is eager to explore your core business concepts and practices.

How Thought Leadership Impacts Business and Sales

Modern consumers value honest brands more than ever. By being honest about your business and yourself, you can build a loyal consumer base that perceives you as both a thought leader and creator of a valuable product/service. Such an approach will help you establish your reputation as a businessperson who leads the way but is always ready to admit specific weaknesses while trying to find ways to solve a problem innovatively.

Innovation goes hand in hand with controversy. Most digital marketers will tell you that a brand should stay neutral in voice. But a growing number of consumers expect their favorite brand to take a stance on various issues, ranging from politics to business issues such as gender equality or environmental topics. Do not be afraid to have opinions that are different from the mainstream; that is how thought leaders show their business practices are worth following.

Finally, do not over-promote yourself or your brand. Many individuals and brands fail because they decide to release promotional content once their content marketing efforts start to pay off. Thought leadership is not about directly generating leads and sales. It is about building a loyal and growing pool of followers who may or may not buy your product or service. Your primary goal is to build credibility, trust, and long-term followers; then sales will follow suit.

Why Thought Leadership Matters

Becoming a thought leader lifts your professional career to another level while thought leadership produces excellent positive effects on your business as a whole.

The good news is that you don't need to be Henry Ford for your voice to be heard nowadays. Our business and society are becoming far too complex for considering only a handful of individuals as thought leaders who are having access to leading media outlets. Anyone who has the expertise, the heart, and the strategy can be a thought leader in the age of online media channels open for anyone to use.

Finally, although thought leadership is always a vital part of an all-encompassing content strategy, it is not about creating backlinks or promoting a brand in any way. Genuine thought leadership will produce much more than that. You, as a thought leader, will appeal to people and businesses to work with you and, as a result, your business will prosper.