How to create thought leadership with content marketing

What is thought leadership?

Thought leadership is the expression of ideas that demonstrate you have expertise in a particular field, area, or topic. It takes dedication, patience, strategy, and education.

To be a thought leader, you not only have to have a command of your subject area, but you must be passionate enough about it to share your knowledge with others. Many executives and business leaders strive to become a thought leader in their respective fields, aiming to gain social media followers, become a LinkedIn expert, or have their content widely shared.

What is the value of thought leadership?

Thought leadership is a powerful tool, with two-thirds of marketers (66%) considering it to be a “top priority” for their marketing strategy. While almost everyone can attempt to be a thought leader in their field, it is only those who consistently produce and put out high-quality content that will succeed in building trust with new audiences and leveraging the credibility of the brand they are associated with.

To be an effective thought leader is to possess a depth of knowledge others struggle to compete with. There are several key benefits to this:

• Thought leadership qualifies you as a reliable source of insight and information that can successfully influence others.

• It boosts your industry presence and builds brand awareness. 

• Sharing your in-depth knowledge allows you to establish credibility in your field. 

• Thought leadership encourages you to focus on what you know best and look for opportunities to express it.

• As a leader in your field, you are able to offer unique guidance, inspire innovation and promote forward thinking.

Types of thought leadership 

According to LinkedIn, thought leaders can be classified as three types:

#1 The Industry Thought Leader:

Industry thought leaders focus on giving their unique and valuable perspectives on the latest news and trends in the market they serve. Their approach tends to lean toward authoritative yet authentic content. 

Content can be an incredibly powerful way to showcase a company’s talents within a given industry. In the case of Moz, one of the first SEO companies, they regularly post SEO tips, how-tos, research, and a whole lot more.

#2 The Organizational Thought Leader:

Organizational thought leaders concentrate on sharing the brand's vision, innovation, company culture, and overall story with their audience. In other words, it is about showing your viewers what makes your organization worth emulating.

Deloitte is one of the few major accounting firms in the United States that handles financial research, and they’re helping spread the ideas behind their extensive research through a special page on their website. Their Insights blog includes information about retail shopping surveys, consumer trends, and other highly important topics.

#3 The Product Thought Leader

Once you have established the best ways to grow and innovate within your organization and across the industry, it is time to provide the means to do it. Enter product thought leadership, where the focus is on giving clients, partners, and customers the best possible solutions using the product or service your brand offers.

Outdoor brand REI’s website is a great example of a brand showcasing their knowledge of the industry to build customer trust and drive future sales. For example, one could learn about what to pack for a hiking adventure from one of their “experts” and then find products within their catalog that fulfills the needs brought up in the article. 

Although there is no single pathway to becoming a successful thought leader, striking a balance between the three will allow you to grow your influence and create content that builds trust - making your business the go-to authority in the industry.

Thought leadership strategy

In order to establish yourself as a trusted figure in your field will take a lot of dedication, hard work, and time. Consider following the best practices of today’s successful thought leaders as you continually build credibility:

• Clearly define your niche or specific area of expertise—this will help you build your brand and raise your profile. 
• Go deep on a few topics vs. many—the beauty about thought leadership is that success can come from streamlining your focus to a single specialty. 
• Stay current—the best thought leaders know exactly what’s happening in their fields, giving them the opportunity to recognize and analyze patterns and trends.
• Draw inspiration from multiple sources—leaders who can observe and connect information from a number of sources are generally more well positioned to create their own ideas.

Would you like to know how Prism Digital can help you build thought leadership and expand your brand? Contact us today!