Thought leadership is what positions your brand as an expert in your industry. It involves creating content that shows that you’re knowledgeable so that prospects and customers keep coming back to you for more insight and information about your industry. People look at you as a respected voice and, in turn, this helps build your brand. So, how do you start generating content to prove that you are an industry leader? Here are 6 key steps to building thought leadership into your marketing plan.
- Answer questions your audience wants to know.
Distinguish which questions your buyer personas are searching for and simply create content to answer them. This takes time and research but is very crucial to becoming a thought leader for your industry. Having pieces of content on the web that answer your audience’s questions will also be beneficial to your traffic.
- Find interesting story angles.
In order to be a thought leader, you have to be able to take a different approach to answering the questions surrounding stories and news in your field than your competitors. Remain up to speed with what is going on in your industry and tackle addressing your audience’s interests from a fresh perspective to grab people’s attention and position yourself as a thought leader.
- Be able to tell a story.
Thought leaders know how to tell a story. Whether you are answering questions in a blog post or on social media, your storytelling abilities have to be excellent. If you can’t peak your audience’s interest with your content, your chances of being a thought leader begin to diminish.
- Use social media.
Social media is an excellent place to position your brand as a thought leader. Engage in conversations regarding industry news, share your thoughts and ideas surrounding your industry, and share your blog posts that answer timely questions. Mediums like Twitter and LinkedIn are excellent places to reach your buyer personas and start positioning yourself as a thought leader.
- Be credible.
While it is good to give your thoughts and answers on happenings in your industry, you have to make sure that you are remaining credible. One of the quickest ways to prohibit your brand from becoming a thought leader is by producing content that isn’t credible. Once you lose the trust of your audience, it is hard to gain that back.
- Be unique.
Thought leaders are not brands that just copy information and stories and rebroadcast them; they are brands that create their own thoughts and storylines. They express their uniqueness and personality through their writing style. Figure out why people are coming to you for information and continue to capitalize on that.
Use these 6 steps as you continue to build thought leadership into your marketing plan and your brand will be leveraged to a full-ledged industry leader. Be the source your audience relies on for excellent, relevant information. Do things differently and better. Simply act like a leader and you’ll become one.
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