How To Join The Thought Leader Club

Table of Contents

By Cathy-Anne O’Brien, Co-Founder BlueSky Communications
Forbes Agency Council Member

 

This article was first published on Forbes Agency Council and can be read here.

 

Brands are recognizing the merits of thought leadership. The growing demand for thought leadership raises the question, do we share a common understanding of what it is? Are brands truly up for what it takes to build thought leadership? Are they in it for the long term? And most importantly, what drives us all to do it?

 

Why Are Brands Jumping On The Thought Leadership Bandwagon?

To stay relevant, brands need something to say beyond what they are selling. For 27 years, I’ve worked with clients to build thought leadership, and it wasn’t that long ago when media editors were the gatekeepers to publishing such content. Today, though, brands have more opportunities to engage with clients. Under constant pressure to deliver content across multiple platforms to stay relevant and competitive, brands need to break through the clutter. On Instagram alone, users share 66,000 photos per minute.

 

What Is Thought Leadership?

A thought leader is an individual or brand recognized as an authority in a specific field and is often sought for their advice or point-of-view (POV). Thought leadership takes time to achieve and requires the ability to influence and guide others. As innovative thinkers and trusted authorities, thought leaders challenge conventional thinking and drive the dialogue forward.

Creating A Thought Leadership Strategy

Starting with the basics, a POV exercise can help you develop a unique perspective. As a strategic communications tool, creating your POV requires you to dig deep. Your POV is not about your product. It’s not your sales pitch. It is an idea that is connected to your business.

Creating a thought leadership strategy requires planning, consistency and a deep understanding of your audience and industry. Define the problem your business solves, the issues or trends you address, your differentiators, and the principles that guide business decisions.

Think big and envision the future. Theorize about tomorrow’s innovations; make predictions about future challenges a business like yours may face. What will consumers ask for next? These questions require you to push yourself outside your comfort zone and offer a unique perspective with the courage to share unrealistic or unpopular ideas.

Take Gary Vaynerchuk, for example. His blunt honesty and outspoken nature peppered with expletives has attracted a huge following on podcasts and at speaking engagements globally. His business experience is the basis of his thought leadership. It has helped him anticipate and capitalize on trends that he regularly shares publicly.

Not everyone is cut out to be a provocative, high-profile thought leader, nor should every brand strive for this, but one key attribute to successful thought leadership is authenticity. People need to trust you, and when you are genuine, transparent and relatable, you connect with your audience on a deeper level while being memorable.

 

Good PR Brings Thought Leadership To Life

An integrated PR program can help you establish yourself as a thought leader. For example, monitoring the news for breaking stories relevant to your expertise and offering yourself for comment can quickly position you as a go-to expert. Publishing thought leadership content on websites, social media, company blogs and newsletters, and contributing articles will build your credibility, trust and rapport with readers.

Establishing Long-Term Thought Leadership

Future-proofing thought leadership is often where brands fall short. Consistently delivering high-quality content requires time, budget and resources. When you adapt, innovate and maintain a deep understanding of your audience and industry, you can make thought leadership sustainable.

Consider how outdoor clothing retailer Patagonia has aligned with the aspirations of its target audience for more than 50 years. Founder Yvon Chouinard has been an environmental activist and a pioneer in advocating for fair labor practices and the use of recycled materials since before these issues became mainstream. Chouinard articulated his long-standing POV in a New York Times essay, an influential piece that cemented his reputation as a thought leader.

 

Evaluating Thought Leadership

Assessing your thought leadership strategy depends on clear metrics and feedback mechanisms. Prestigious rankings can be a mark of success, but evaluating thought leadership requires a blend of quantitative and qualitative measures. Identify your priorities and secure leadership support and stakeholder buy-in. Content engagement, media mentions and coverage, speaking invitations, lead generation and conversions, share-of-voice analysis, influence level rankings, and brand perception are key performance indicators that offer insight and help you pinpoint areas of improvement.

Successful thought leadership takes time, consistency and persistence. A commitment to contributing valuable insights that further the conversation creates and sustains your reputation as a trusted authority. While you can measure success in financial terms, the true reward lies in creating a respected brand that has loyal followers and influences, inspires and makes meaningful contributions to your industry.

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