What is thought leadership?
The purpose of thought leadership, as a PR tool, is to build, enhance and protect your reputation.
But what is, or isn’t, thought leadership?
Thought leadership is not the same as information; it’s not enough to show how smart or knowledgeable you are.
Thought leadership is not resharing someone else’s information, or simply giving away your own information.
There are plenty of ways for your stakeholders to get information from smart people. In fact there are thousands (if not millions) of very smart people giving away their content for free in how-to videos, blogs, social media posts and webinars.
Thought leaders, however, manage to set themselves apart from the rest.
How?
Thought leadership requires unique perspective and authenticity to drive connection.
People don’t care how much you know, until they know how much you care.
Thought leaders have a clear track record of caring about their subject matter. They are open-minded, curious and passionate. Therefore they invest their own time to learn, to mentor, to promote, to challenge and ultimately to think and to grow.
Thought leaders have unique opinions and perspectives. They can tell stories, use real world examples, and draw on lived experiences.
In this way, thought leaders can authentically connect with their audience on a deeper level.
Thought leaders can package their knowledge into a unique and compelling perspective that can challenge industry norms. They are trusted advisors rather than subject matter experts.
Thought leadership is all about the value-added; showing how to solve a problem, generate insights and create value that wasn’t there before.
There has to be a “so what” to thought leadership such that it can help someone to shift perspective, join the dots, make a change or get some kind of result.
Are you changing your audience’s beliefs? Or connecting with them on a deeper level to form an unbreakable bond that positions not only your expertise but uniquely yourself as the solution to their problem?
If you can do this, then you will earn the trust and respect of your audience who will reward you with recognition.
The currency of the thought leader is influence. Influence earns you the right to someone’s time.
When done well, thought leadership is an incredibly powerful way to build your reputation.
If you are not sure how or where to start, I would suggest to start by engaging thoughtfully with other people’s content on relevant social media. Think, reflect, play a bit, and test how bold you are comfortable to be and what the reactions are.
In this way, you can start to craft your voice.
When you have more confidence and more to say, then write your own LinkedIn Posts or Twitter Tweets to experiment with short form content, and LinkedIn Articles or Medium to experiment with long form content.
In the first instance, written content is less risky for you as it doesn’t require any special equipment and you can take your time. It’s also less risky for your audience to invest their time, as they can quickly skim your content and skip ahead if they start to lose interest.
Jennifer Harrison is a Partner at Reputation Edge and an expert in Public Relations for fintech, proptech and legaltech.
