Thought leadership strategies are an essential feature of building a brand either as a B2B(business to business) or as a B2C (business to consumer), as it helps your prospective customer or client to identify you as an authority in that industry or sector who can be trusted. Technology has made it simple and easier for us to conduct business transitions without necessarily seeing each other face to face.
I know you are wondering what’s the whole story behind thought leadership and how you can leverage it for yourself, guess that’s why you are. In this article, I will be sharing with you 5 effective thought leadership strategies for your brand, and I will also share examples of people who have journeyed in this direction.
Thought leadership is a tool that is used to establish authority, and share knowledge and at some point, you get paid or hired for the knowledge. when an employer hires you, he/she is basically paying you for your existing knowledge and experiences and the new ones you will acquire for the benefit of the company. The same applies to you, if you want to hire a new hand, you won’t simply hire because you want the person to just occupy space, you hire them because you need their contribution. That’s the same way people can recommend you for opportunities when they know what you do and have seen your track record. So we can basically say thought leadership is putting yourself out there.
“Thought leadership is when a leader’s thoughts are being used by leaders to lead others.”
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I will also like to add that it takes intentionality and deliberateness to be successful as a thought leader in your field. Having said this, I will;l move on to talk about thought leadership strategies.
Thought Leadership strategies are the process and procedures involved to ensure that your target audience has access to the resources you plan to share with them. It is also a system to identify what you need to set up as a structure to ensure that your goal of becoming a thought leader is not futile and you can get results. If you are not keen on building your personal brand, you may not want to bother about thought leadership.
Thought Leadership Strategies
1.Social media marketing
is the process of using social media platforms and tools to reach your audience, and share your knowledge with them. It is also a medium for you to connect with strangers who have turned out to become your followers. There are a couple of social media platforms you can use, for example;
As much as this is a list, if you are just starting new, you don’t necessarily have to be everywhere because I’m sure you have many items that require your attention daily, and it will be quite tough maintaining a balance everywhere. Every platform has a peculiar means of communication and content that can be shared. Depending on your personal skills, you may need the help of professionals to ensure that the knowledge you intend to share is attractive to your audience.
You don’t want to write an insightful piece with grammatical errors. A little secret: Linkedin content ranks moe if you attach an attractive image.
2. Email Marketing
This is the process of leveraging emails as a medium of connecting with your audience. Email marketing itself is a marketing strategy where businesses send promotional messages to people in mass quantities. It is typically used to generate sales by sharing promotional offers, nurturing leads, or expanding the impact of content marketing efforts.
So instead of sending in bits, you can send to as many people as you have on your mailing list at the same time and they will get the exact information you are sharing with them.
3. Blogging
Owning a blog is another strategy. A blog is a website where someone regularly records their thoughts or experiences or talks about a subject. Recording on your blog does not necessarily mean videos, it is mostly written content with the goal of sharing your knowledge and experience and also transferring knowledge to your audience.
Like every other strategy I’ve mentioned so far, you have the right to decide what your focus will be. Based on your discretion, you can decide how you want the blog content to look and its effect on your audience.
Examples of blog platforms
- Medium
- WordPress
- Tumblr
- etc
4. Book Publishing
Book publishing is the simple act of compiling your thoughts and knowledge and publishing it as a book either e-book or paperback. It sounds simple but it involves so much more than just the idea of being a book author. As an author, you get to decide what you are willing to share with your audience, and you get paid if you want. I said that because people author books and give them out for free.
Either you decide to give it out for free, or there is a price attached to it, it is also a strategy that you can use to establish your authority in that particular sector or industry. The book is evidence that you have built a track record with your experience, and that’s what people will see.
Book publishing helps you to establish authority and also gives you the opportunity to transfer knowledge from one generation to another. Take a look at the textbooks, and novels that have contributed to your intellectual development, how would they have been, if they did not bother to document their learnings and experience, people won’t have access to it and that would be a loss to the world.
Just like on the speaking engagements, You are positioning yourself for the success you desire. If you are looking forward to publishing your first book, hurry now to book a slot here.
5. Speaking Engagements
Have you ever imagined what it takes to stand on the stage with 100+ people paying rapt attention to anything you are saying? If you have never, just close your eyes and imagine it. How did you feel? Seem like what you want and what you can do right? I am here to tell you that you can do this.
You can do anything you set your mind to do, as long as it is legally accepted.
Speaking engagement is another strategy you can leverage to establish authority in your desired industry. Just as you thought, who will invite you to speak at their events? The people who know your skills, and experience will invite you to speak at their events. At the same time, you can volunteer to speak at events for free. That way the people who will be willing to have you speak at their events will see you and verify that you can indeed give them value. I once applied for speaking engagements and I was asked if I had previously spoken at any other events. By volunteering or even accepting to speak for free at events you are on your way to finding yourself in the presence of a global audience.
I forgot to add that an advantage of speaking engagements is that you may meet your next employer or client at that event who will be wowed at your speaking prowess and would gladly do business with you.
Conclusion
All the strategies mentioned, are not the only existing thought leadership strategies, there are many more out there depending on your preferred approach. You can also decide to combine these strategies to achieve your desired goal as a thought leader.
