Thought Leadership

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Thought Leadership

What is thought leadership?

Thought leadership describes professionals at the forefront of their industry who regularly publish content that drives their industry. People respect these professionals’ opinions and know they can turn to these professionals to learn more about their field.

How do you become a thought leader?

Thought leadership pieces help you develop a reputation as a leader in your industry. As a thought leader, you want to provide the best answers to questions that customers frequently ask about your industry.

You can demonstrate thought leadership using the following methods:

Create studies that offer fresh insight into the field. Help people learn new best practices by running tests based on your own technology or case studies using past clients.
Offer a personalized perspective on news and developments. As a thought leader, you will need to have ample experience to offer a unique point of view on the latest news and developments that impact your industry. By calling upon your unique experiences, you should not be regurgitating what others have said online. You should develop your own ideas, which might not always agree with other thought leaders.
Monitor the latest trends about your industry and be the first to break news to your followers. For example, if you are a marketing firm that does a lot of work with Google, you can regularly publish helpful content for your users when the Google algorithm changes.
Offer timely advice to your followers when events or changes influence your industry. To be considered a thought leader, you need to help people face any challenges that arise in your sector. Be ready with new advice and guidance when problems arise.

Establishing thought leadership requires dedicating time and energy to building your reputation.

Where do I publish thought leadership content?

Knowing where to publish your thought-leadership pieces can greatly impact your success with reaching your intended audience. Before you publish your piece in a respected magazine, you often have to use your own website or start a blog.

Here are some suggestions:

LinkedIn. As a social media platform, LinkedIn was designed for “thought leadership” purposes and posts that are 2,000 characters in length perform best. With a potential audience of 400 million, publishing on LinkedIn will help you attract those interested in your industry and can help quickly establish your professional reputation.
Guest posts on other blogs. By writing guest posts on other blogs, you can tap into their audience and form your own reputation as a trusted resource.
Write for online publications. There are online publications in a variety of industries and these can be a good starting point for future success.

Establishing yourself as a thought leader is beneficial for your professional reputation and the level of trust others have for your brand, but it requires time, effort and patience.

Thought Leadership

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