It’s true, we all love an expert, someone with credibility, knowledge, and expertise that we can trust. Let’s face it, whether trying to decide where to shop, work, eat, or live, we want the tried-and-true first-person account. This is how authentic thought leadership PR can help drive attention to your company, engage and convert leads, and ultimately build brand reputation.
In today’s consumer-driven economy, buyers are presented with an abundance of choice. Establishing yourself as a subject matter expert, willing to go out on a limb to educate, improve or add value to the industry will go a long way. Now a days it takes more than a clever commercial, catchy blog post, or creative online advertising to get the attention of your buyers and build brand loyalty.
What exactly is thought leadership and why is it important?
Thought leadership PR is the creation and delivery of authentic content that focuses on positioning an individual or organization as an expert and leading voice in their industry. Thought leadership can include anything from an article or blog post to a well-researched white paper or speaking engagement. When done consistently, thoughtfully, and over time, it can be in the form of feedback, replies, and responses to other social media engagement taking place in your industry. No matter the content, creating high-quality and research-driven content that offers educational value to key stakeholders is critical.
Businesses often use thought leadership as a brand marketing strategy. Providing helpful, reliable, and honest information to your target audience strengthens your credibility, and essentially your brand.
Just getting started? Here are a few proven strategies to get you started:
Step one, know your audience. Put yourself in your buyer’s shoes. What information do they wish they had? What are their biggest pain points? Listen to them—what questions are they posing on social media? If you want a winning thought leadership brand strategy, establish empathy with your core audience and feed them the information they can’t find anywhere else. Try getting creative, build a buyer persona that helps you visualize your buyer’s wants, needs, and values.
Step two, stay active on social media. True thought leadership takes time. After all, you don’t become a subject matter expert overnight. We suggest building out a social media plan. What topics do your customers care about, and where you can chime in? What research or education have you learned in your own business journey? What life experiences can you share that might help your customers take a new perspective on a trending topic? The possibilities are endless, but it is your job to come up with a plan for establishing a consistent voice.
Step three, pay attention to others in the room. Most likely, you aren’t the only one in your industry. There are many quotes and fables to teach us we gain more from listening than talking. What are your competitors talking about? What studies, recent events, or trends are other people discussing? You don’t have to reinvent the wheel. Don’t be afraid to learn from others in the room with something to say!
Step four, repurpose content. Thought leadership comes in many forms. Instead of wasting time creating four distinct thought leadership pieces, remember you can repurpose your ideas in a variety of ways to reach different audiences. A white paper can be turned into a presentation. A presentation can be the start of a social media discussion on what you learned and experienced. Your social media discussion can be the content for a future blog. You get the idea.
Step five, be authentic. We have saved this one for last. There is no better advice. Thought leadership is only a successful brand marketing strategy if you are saying something true and genuine. If you haven’t connected with your audience and been listening to what others are talking about in your industry, authenticity is hard to achieve. Your goal is to create genuine and authentic content around your brand. Real life examples, personal stories, disruptive data, or courageous claims is what will lead you down the path of amplifying your brand awareness.