Thought Leadership: How to Position Yourself as a Frontrunner in Your Industry
Being present on the first page of search results and at the top of social media feeds is essential for boosting revenue. Whether you’re acting as the megaphone for your business or you’re striving to be an influencer in your industry, much of building an audience is about showcasing your credibility (your Ethos, if you will).
Armed with a comprehensive content marketing strategy, you can amplify your message to those who need to read, hear, or watch it most. If you want to get your ideas to the forefront of your industry, the experts at Ethos Copywriting are here to help. In this post, we’ll review exactly what a thought leader is, how to become one, and what kind of content you should produce.
What is a Thought Leader?
A thought leader is a person, business, or organization who/that is an authority in a specific field. They gain a following by highlighting their talent, expertise, and passions and sharing insights, knowledge, and guidance through various mediums.
Their innovative thinking, thoughtful opinions, and engaging content are valuable to the people searching for answers. Over time, they become a trusted source in certain subjects and develop dedicated networks of fans and followers.
Many executives, business leaders, and public figures strive to become thought leaders in their respective fields. To do so, they often utilize content marketing strategies to boost their authority and influence.
What is Thought Leadership?
Thought leadership expresses new ideas, best practices, and relevant advice that demonstrates knowledge and insight into a particular field or topic. Thought leadership brings a fresh and valuable perspective to existing problems. For many aspiring thought leaders, thought leadership is an opportunity for professional growth, brand awareness, and even increased revenue.
What Are the Benefits of Being a Thought Leader?
While there is certainly an element of personal satisfaction in becoming a thought leader, numerous other benefits also come from providing people with valuable insights and actionable advice. When thought leaders are strategic and effective, they can:
Differentiate themselves and business from the competition
Amplify and reinforce their brand
Increase revenue
Attract talent
Expand their digital footprint
Earn more public relations (PR) opportunities
Boost personal and brand credibility
It’s important to note that industry forerunners aren’t necessarily adding a “hard sell” to their content to realize these benefits. Many of them occur because people are looking for answers and insights. If the thought leader genuinely recommends a product, service, or solution to these problems, then there is a good chance a person will consider purchasing it. There is also an opportunity for thought leaders to make money from allowing digital ads on their sites and adding affiliate links to their content.
What Makes Someone a Thought Leader?
Many thought leaders are visionaries, experts, and innovators. They respond to the present moment while shaping the future. However, to be a leader, one also needs followers. To gain a following, thought leaders must also be skilled listeners, teachers, and actors of change.
Though thought leaders can drive current trends, they also need to listen to what’s going on inside their industries and produce ideas accordingly. The learning process is imperative to a thought leader’s success. Moreover, developing authentic connections with other industry frontrunners and their audience can help amplify the message.
Thought leaders are, at their core, industry educators. They call upon their own experience and acquired knowledge to advance others. Mindful thought leaders do not simply regurgitate information. Instead, they form unique, insightful opinions and solutions about topics and issues they understand. Moreover, they answer pressing questions—often ones that don’t have a satisfactory answer yet—in a clear, authoritative manner.
To gain followers, aspiring thought leaders typically deviate from the status quo. But they’re more than just idea generators. Thought leaders develop replicable paths to success for others in the industry. It is not enough to simply produce content; ideas must have proven, measurable success.
How Can I Create Thought Leadership Content?
Many thought leaders have branched out from authoring traditional research articles and have started writing blog posts and shooting videos, two core mediums of content marketing. If you’re ready to take yourself and your brand to the forefront of your industry, it’s time to start looking into blogging and vlogging. As you do, be sure you understand the basics of content marketing.
Further, decide what your niche will be. You can always add to your repertoire of topics, but when you’re ramping up, you want to maintain a narrower focus. Not only will this help solidify your expertise with your audience, but it’ll also help with search engine optimization (SEO).
Consistency is also key. If you want to be viewed as a reliable source of industry knowledge, your followers must know what to expect and when. Create a realistic content calendar for your brand that is also beneficial for your audience. Then, using that calendar as a guide, plan on conducting regular research to understand the most current events in your industry.
Ultimately, you’ll want to be active on all social platforms where you know your audience is. However, it’s often best to get really knowledgeable about one, say Instagram or Twitter, and then move on to another. Reason being, one tweet each month isn’t likely to keep your followers engaged and may actually reduce your overall visibility. Instead, figure out which platforms gain the most traction and are easiest for you to manage consistently, and then prioritize those outlets.
Audience engagement is one of the most straightforward ways to keep followers coming back. When your readers and viewers ask questions, answer them. And don’t be afraid to ask questions of your audience. A true thought leader understands the importance of continued education and constantly learns from others.
Finally, always be forthright about your sources and cite them. Giving credit to those you learn from shows integrity (and helps you avoid a plagiarism lawsuit).
The Dark side of Thought Leadership
There is a dark side of thought leadership that’s important to be aware of and, ultimately, to avoid. And no, we’re not talking about influencers. People like to poke fun at mommy bloggers, fashionistas, and fitness gurus, but by and large, those are pretty harmless. In fact, most of them work really hard to produce content people love.
We're referring to the fact that social media and search engine algorithms reward anger and extremism over value and honesty. For leaders trying to climb their way to the top, it can be overwhelming to figure out how to rise above competitors and drown out the sheer abundance of noise. But it's vital to not fall into the trap of producing anger-evoking content just for the sake of getting more readers and viewers.
Remember, media wields an enormous amount of power. It can entertain us, educate us, and inspire us. Unfortunately, some thought leaders squander this opportunity by creating clickbait and misinformation simply because it "gets engagement."
To be clear, we’re not insinuating that you can’t add your commentary to bad news, challenge the status quo, or ask uncomfortable questions. What we’re saying is that you shouldn’t purposely manipulate your audience with anger-inducing and anxiety-provoking content for the sake of increased engagement.
Let the Experts in Thought Leadership Help You Achieve Your Goals
Emerging as a thought leader does not happen overnight. Frontrunners in every industry dedicate time, talent, and patience to their craft. However, all of us, even thought leaders, need a little help from time to time.
Whether you’re already burning the candle at both ends or struggling to get your ideas on paper, the content marketing experts at Ethos can help you and your brand become the go-to sources for industry info. Contact us today to learn more about what we do and how it can amplify your voice.
