Thought leadership is the new hot trend sweeping the world of marketing. But, as the name suggests, everyone cannot/doesn’t need to practice thought leadership. The simplest way to define a thought leader would be;
“A person whose views on a subject are taken to be authoritative and influential.”
This might sound like a fun concept; however, thought leadership requires an incredible amount of commitment. It means you are ready to invest a good amount of time and energy in expanding your knowledge and imparting it to others in an effective yet interesting manner. Updated knowledge, effective communication and impactful influence are at the core values that build thought leadership. Now, this might sound like a challenging task. However, on the bright side, all businesses do not need thought leadership on a big scale. In fact, most businesses can use the simplified versions (hacks) of thought leadership that will help them reap some of its benefits without making an enormous investment.
Pick a narrow niche – while you might have mastered all trends & techniques in your industry. It is always a good idea to narrow down your focus on a more specific industry segment. Why? Here is an example to explain; while a big number of people/ companies are considered thought leaders of “digital marketing”, only a handful will focus on “storytelling”. Choosing a specific segment of the industry means you have a smaller audience to cater to and lesser competition with other thought leaders.
Pick a less explored market – although, it might be difficult since the buzz of thought leadership in the marketing industry, becoming a thought leader in a less explored area of the market will do wonders for your business as you would become the go-to person for insight/ opinions in that specific market.
Be a person of influence for your own customers – this has to be considered the smallest scale of thought leadership with minimal investment. Unlike other thought leaders, you might not get requests for interviews but it will help build trust amongst your customers which will ultimately reap great benefits for your business.
Perusing thought leadership is your own decision but if you choose to opt for it, do it smartly. Pick a specific niche lead by saying something unique in that segment, and always measure engagement before reach because that’s the way to measure thought leadership.
