Thought leadership may sound like a lofty goal, but it’s becoming a standard practice at more and more small businesses. Thought leadership examples abound in most communities and markets. Think of the local yoga studio owner who posts ayurvedic diet guidelines online, or the cybersecurity company expert who emails guidance on how to protect against the latest hacks.
Thought leaders are perceived as knowledgeable sources of insight in a chosen field or subject. Simply put, a thought leader is someone other people listen to about a certain topic.
Being known as a thought leader may be positive for your career. Whether self-employed or working for a company, thought leaders can typically become noticed by others interested in the same field or topic. Their opinions and thoughts matter, and they can help move others to change points of view or to act, often in response to published thought leadership content.
However, the benefits of thought leadership can go beyond the individual, building visibility and positive sentiment for your company. Businesses can increasingly depend on their own subject matter experts to help them develop blog posts, how-to videos, reports, and other content to establish credibility and connections in their target market.
So, what is thought leadership and how does one become a thought leader?
What Is Thought Leadership?
Thought leadership can mean different things to different people – for instance, a public intellectual in academia or a talking head on the nightly news. In business, it means becoming the go-to source for useful information and even original thinking about a topic aligned with your company’s product or service. Businesses can produce thought leadership content as part of an overall content marketing strategy.
Content marketing definition: The New York Times defines content marketing as an overarching strategy including every piece of content that a business uses to promote itself. That may include a variety of blog posts, email marketing, social media, and other content. Basically, content marketing aims to increase customer engagement as it grows traffic to your website and drives sales leads.
Thought leadership definition: The Times singles out thought leadership as a key tactic within a content marketing strategy. Thought leadership may require more time, expertise, and often research. It can accumulate over months and years with a steady flow of short-form content such as blog posts but might also involve the production of reports, guides, and other deeper dives into matters of importance to a target market or audience. Thought leadership content aims to establish brand credibility, especially by tapping into the expertise and know-how of the thought leaders and innovators within an organization to produce new information and even groundbreaking ideas.
Eight in 10 executives said their businesses create thought leadership content, in a 2022 Harris poll of 500 employees at midsize and larger companies in various industries. For smaller companies, as well, “creating a content plan is crucial to the success of any business’s marketing strategy,” according to the Chamber of Commerce.
Consider the three steps below to position yourself as a thought leader in your company or industry.
1. Learn the Ins and Outs of Your Industry
Thought leadership can start with what's inside your head.
Most thought leaders can be deeply interested in a subject they are known for – reading voraciously about the topic, subscribing to podcasts, attending conferences, and otherwise educating themselves in their spare time. They are always learning, reading, communicating, sharing.
You can't fake being a thought leader. If you don't understand the subject area or if you don't have a deep interest and desire to learn, it can soon become apparent.
2. Communicate Thought Leadership Across Media
Today, with so much emphasis on conferences and content marketing, the opportunities for displaying thought leadership are greater than ever.
Let's start with writing and publishing. These days, anyone can publish blog posts, which can be a great way to share your knowledge with the world. Writing books can be another way to display expertise. Anyone today can also publish a book. Remember, you may not need a publisher, necessarily. You can self-publish. Quite a few thought leaders have become known after starting a blog or self-publishing books. Some eventually landed key jobs in business or government, or they were approached by well-known publishers as a result of their self-directed activities.
After you start writing and get some momentum going, try to expand your audience. Consider seeking other outlets for your content, such as larger blog sites or magazines. You can also share knowledge by carefully curating others’ knowledge and insights in social media. Try to find the best and most useful third-party content in your area of interest, and consider sharing it on LinkedIn or other social platforms. Curation is an art that has value in its own right. If you do this consistently, you may build up a following on social media.
Speaking engagements – either in-person or via webinars, podcasts, or videos – can also provide forums for budding thought leaders to be heard today. Many a thought leader has developed a following by starting a podcast series, producing a video channel, or hitting the conference circuit.
Of course, some thought leaders can do all of the above. They can be so deeply into their fields that they find every opportunity and means to share useful information with the world.
3. Adopt a Long View for Your Thought Leadership Strategy
Thought leadership isn't created overnight. It can take time to learn a subject area deeply and crystallize your insights. It can take time to develop a body of quality content that reflects knowledge and expertise – and for enough people to notice and pay attention to your voice as a thought leader. Don't set a goal to “become a thought leader next quarter.” It can most likely take longer than that.
You can certainly set a personal development goal for yourself and for your company to learn more and share your knowledge and expertise next quarter. But try to give it time, and recognize that just like so-called overnight successes, being perceived as a thought leader can come after many months and years of work behind the scenes. It can be after consistent dedication for a period of time that thought leadership can be recognized by others. Thought leadership is as much about the journey as the destination.
The Bottom Line
By getting out there and working consistently, you may be able to develop a following for what you know and start to be perceived as a thought leader. But the key is to have a deep, genuine understanding in the field and to regularly make yourself available, whether through blog posts, newsletters, publications, or speaking engagements. In doing so, you’re more likely to find a following of individuals eager to support your effort.