How to Establish Thought Leadership by Leveraging Content

by Mangal Karnad | Oct 26, 2017 | Influencer Marketing, Branding

While creating authentic, authoritative and informative content is essential to establish Thought Leadership, we need to be able to distribute it to a large audience. This post takes a look at a three-pronged approach to sharing great content created by you.

Company Blog

It is general knowledge that a blog on the website drives traffic. If the blog is educative or informative without being sales oriented, it can bring fresh traffic to your website and keep current customers coming back for meaningful, first-hand insights. Done right, a blog is an effective marketing tool to promote the business. Apart from driving traffic to the website, it also increases your sales and establishes you as an authority in the industry. All it takes is some time for writing, and quality content, preferably experiential.
Ideally, the blog should aim to either solve a problem for your customers or provide examples of problems solved. A great strategy can also be to answer the frequently asked questions.
The content can reach a vast network if the blogs are easily shareable by the reader on popular social media platforms.

Contributing to Media

Many media houses accept and publish articles written by industry experts as a way to add an ‘insider’ perspective to their publications.These articles, however, need to be neutral and need to be informative. These will reach the reader base of the publication (who may not have heard of you). It is well worth the effort to create and submit articles – usually referred to as authored or bylined articles to business or industry publications. It is an excellent PR strategy and positions you as a Subject Matter Expert.

Building content on LinkedIn Pulse

Posts published on LinkedIn become a part of your professional profile and they go a long way in building credibility. They are shared with your network and reach the large group of professionals. LinkedIn allows people to follow you even if they are not in your network, increasing the reach of your posts. LinkedIn enhances your visibility & credibility. A great way to drive additional traffic to your website is to write a summary of the blog and share it on your profile with a link to your website.

A few aspects can be kept in mind:

Content needs to provide insights to the reader. It can be best practices or what customers / prospective customers may be asking for.
Keep the Language simple with least use of jargon.
Maximise the reach of the articles/blog posts by sharing them on your social platforms.
Maximise by repurposing them as infographics, or e-books which are downloadable.

Who is a Thought Leader? What is Thought Leadership Marketing?

by Mayur Bhat | Mar 25, 2017 | Branding, Content Marketing, Influencer Marketing, Public relations

You might have come across the term Thought Leader in big events, the media, newspapers or websites. But Who is a Thought Leader? What does he do? You’ve probably heard people saying Bill Gates is a Thought Leader or Steve Jobs is a Thought Leader. Does that mean you have to build a multi-billion dollar organisation to become one?
Well, not exactly. Although, that is one way to go about it.

Who is a Thought Leader? What does a Thought Leader Do?

A Thought Leader is a reliable, informed Opinion Leader and a go-to person in his/her field of expertise or domain. He/She is a trusted source of information and guidance, who moves and inspires people with innovative ideas, turns ideas into reality. He/She works, not just for the benefit of his organisation, but for the betterment of the domain and the entire eco-system. They address and solve some of the biggest problems faced by the eco-system.

Thought Leaders can be an individual, a group or an organisation.

Are You a Thought Leader?

Well, it’s a simple checklist.

Are you making a difference to the community/ecosystem?
Do you have revolutionary/break-through ideas?
Do startups, business owners, media or people at large, seek your guidance/consultation in a particular field?
Are you called upon to solve large problems?
Do you inspire people/organisations to make a difference to the community/ecosystem?

If you have a few of these checked, chances are, you’re a Thought Leader.

What is Thought Leadership Marketing?

Thought Leadership Marketing is the craft of positioning yourself or your organization as a constant source of guidance, innovation, and compelling, reliable content, thereby attaining the status of a Thought Leader.

How to Become a Thought Leader?

A word of caution, this does not happen overnight. It is a long, persistent effort. But the journey is always rewarding for you and the organisation. One sure way is through Thought Leadership Marketing. Your company can be viewed in the same way by creating content that resonates with your customers and members of your industry.

One sure way is through Thought Leadership Marketing. There are 5 aspects to it.

Great Branding (Personal or Company)

How you position your organisation is everything. It addresses your brand’s mission, it’s goals, it’s domain, it’s target audience and it’s USP. This is the first thing that needs to be done as it sets hygiene in place and it becomes the foundation for all the other activities. People need to know who they are dealing with and what they believe in.

Content Marketing

They say ‘Content is King’. I know, I know. It’s cliched. But it never gets old because it’s true. Your content drivers all your other activities. What people seek from you is information, consistently. There’s not getting around that. It is one of the most effective ways to convey your value proposition, your contributions, and your mission.

Public Relations

People underestimate the value of public relations. It is Earned Media and it demands reverence. A journalist’s credibility is on the line when they write something, and they have a huge expectation from the publication and their readers to give them credible, compelling information. Getting covered in the right publication could be one of the most valuable additions in your Thought Leadership Marketing Campaign.

Social Media

Social Media is an affordable platform to reach a vast majority of your target audience (depending on your domain). It is probably the easiest way to get your message across the masses. It goes without saying that the social media posts need to be interesting. Quora, Reddit, and some other forums go a long way in establishing your value. (We advise a word of caution when using social media because you are accountable for what you say.)

Events

Nothing beats meeting your peers, followers face to face. It establishes a connect unlike any other. Finding a speaking slot at relevant events and delivering a meaningful, relevant speech can be extremely effective in certifying your domain expertise. When you deliver one good speech, people tend to invite you for more speaking slots.

But remember, with great power comes great responsibility. It is a thought leaders duty to work towards the betterment of the domain and the eco-system.

If you found this blog useful, we would love to have a conversation with you and hear about it. If I have missed out something, please feel free to write it in the comments section.