What Is Thought Leadership? How To Become a Thought Leader

Thought leadership.

You’ve probably seen it all over LinkedIn. 👀

But what exactly is it?

Who are thought leaders? 🤔

How can I become one?

Let’s dive into the fundamentals of thought leadership and explore how it can be effectively applied to your content marketing strategy.

Plus, discover our top tips on how to establish yourself as a thought leader on social media and build your personal brand!

Fundamentally, thought leadership is a marketing strategy.

It’s how individuals build their reputation and credibility within their industry.

Thought leaders can essentially be defined as influencers in a particular field.

Nowadays, this is mostly achieved on social media. Hello, LinkedIn! 👋

Thought leaders typically have a large social media following and are considered authorities on a specific subject. They also often wield influence within the company they work for, and may be C-suite executives.

Modern-day thought leaders publish a range of content, including blogs, articles, books, podcasts, videos, and other forms, to share their expertise and experience.

Ever seen a scientist featured in a Netflix documentary talking about the impact of their research, showing behind-the-scenes in a lab, or commenting on how technology advances have changed their sector? 👩🏻‍🔬

That’s thought leadership.

Thought leadership is prevalent in academia, but it’s not just for the professors!

Entrepreneurs like Gary Vaynerchuk and Bill Gates are also considered thought leaders.

Okay, but what’s the point of thought leadership? 🤔

Well, here are a few benefits that thought leaders and the companies they work for can see:

• Influence and Networking.
• Generating leads for your business.
• Improving relationships and communication with customers and prospects.
• Creating and maintaining awareness of your industry and company.
• Career progression.
• Opportunities. Thought leaders are often invited to create TED Talks, speak at industry conferences, or be interviewed on podcasts.

So, you want to become a thought leader.

It takes time and dedication, but you can get there! 💪

What skills do thought leaders need to have?

• Communication
• Industry Knowledge
• Critical Thinking
• Creativity

We’ve broken it down into three steps to help you get started.

Most importantly, remember that consistency is key.

You’re not going to become a thought leader in a week! 😅

Make sure your social media accounts are professional and up-to-date. You’ll need to optimize your LinkedIn profile to reach the right audience. Highlight your qualifications, work experience, and skills!

Remember to consider this from a reader’s perspective: why should they trust you? 👀

Connect with authoritative people in your field. Engage with their social media posts by leaving insightful comments that spark conversation.

Social media is social, so get yourself out there and network with others.

Your content should always provide value to the reader.

Create content that educates and inspires.

Make it personal. Use your own experiences! Storytelling on social media is incredibly engaging.

Don’t be afraid to be a tad controversial… within reason.

I’m not talking about starting arguments on LinkedIn! 😫

But maybe there’s a viral article going around about your industry, and you disagree. Debunk those pervasive myths… as long as you can back up your opinion with facts.

It’s not enough to just have opinions and knowledge. Thought leadership content must be communicated effectively, whether in written or spoken form. People need to understand what you’re talking about.

LinkedIn is a great place to start, but consider where else your message might be best shared.

Where do people in your industry hang out online? Twitter? Instagram?

If you want to take it to the next level, consider making videos!

Save our handy infographic for later!

Okay, so we’ve told you the 3 steps to becoming a thought leader.

But what kinds of content should you actually create?

This depends on the industry you’re in, but publishing research papers or white papers is an excellent way to showcase expertise.

However, we recommend switching up your content styles to maintain interest. We’re big fans of repurposing content for different platforms too.

For example, you might have written an in-depth research paper on a niche topic.

Now turn your thesis into a blog post, or a LinkedIn article. Sum up what your paper is about and provide the key takeaways.

Then use your blog post as a starting point for social media content.

Take a point from the blog post, and briefly talk about it on social media.

You could even turn it into a video or a visual graphic for Instagram.

Remember that thought leadership content should always be about the reader and what they need to know about your subject matter.

The best way to do this?

Identify problems in your industry, and provide solutions 🏆

Give advice and share valuable resources. Become the go-to person in your niche!

Think about interesting conversations you’ve had with clients or colleagues about your industry.

What insights can you share with your network?

Keep up with industry news. Recent articles are always a good starting point. Simply add your point of view!

Read books, attend conferences, and watch documentaries.

Staying informed and noticing trends will give you all the content ideas you need. Remember, the goal is to become known as an expert in your field.

We’ve covered what thought leadership content is, and shared the benefits of it.

But how can it boost your marketing and PR efforts?

And how can you encourage this within your company?

First, establish who your thought leaders are (or could be).

Your company’s CEO might already be one.

But let’s dig a little deeper.

If you’re in the B2B SaaS world, your software developers could have the potential to become thought leaders.

Or if you work in pharmaceuticals, your scientists are literally subject matter experts. Encourage them to share insights on recent research.

Did you know that nearly 85% of CEOs and vice presidents claim to use social media to inform their purchasing decisions?

If the thought leaders in your company create original content, it’ll provide marketing and PR with so many assets to share on social media and with the news media 👏

Additionally, it’ll inspire other employees in your company to create content, build their personal brands, and become employee advocates.

With Gartner predicting that 80% of B2B sales interactions will take place on digital channels by 2025, a thought leadership strategy is an excellent way to stand out from your competitors.

As marketing becomes increasingly digital, it’s time to start empowering your employees to become content creators.

We can help with that 👋

Schedule a call with one of the team.

Want to learn more about Employee Advocacy? Read These!

• Employee Advocacy Stats
• Why Employee Advocacy is a Marketing Essential
• What Is Evergreen Content and Why Do I Need It?