What is Thought Leadership: Explained!
Thought leadership certainly isn’t a new idea. With the explosion of modern technology, though, you could argue that it’s never been as relevant as it is today. Nowadays, a carefully-crafted thought leadership strategy has the potential to put you on the map.
This translates into significant financial rewards. This is particularly true if you use the power of the internet – and social media in particular – to unlock your full potential.
In this article, you’ll learn everything you need to know about modern thought leadership. You’ll understand what it is, what its goals are, and how you can become a thought leader in your own way.
What is a Thought Leadership Strategy?
The term ‘thought leader’ goes back to the 19th century. The definition has evolved over time to arrive at its current form.
At a basic level, thought leaders are authorities. They’re experts. The actual specifics of their expertise can vary widely, although it is usually confined to a particular, focused field.
While some people might pass on this knowledge out of the goodness of their heart, most choose to monetize it. That’s where a marketing strategy comes in.
Knowledge is power. The expertise which thought leaders possess is valuable, and they know it. That’s why many will build a content marketing strategy around themselves, to promote their status as an authority, and attract clients who need their help. In the process, they can reap large rewards in the form of consultation fees, subscription payments, and so on.
So, when we talk about a ‘strategy’, there are really two parts to it – Becoming a thought leader is only the first step. The second step is monetizing that expertise, so your hard work can pay off.
How Do You Become a Thought Leader?
The first thing to know about becoming a thought leader is that you must specialize. Being a jack-of-all-trades can be valuable in other walks of life, but not here.
The whole point of thought leadership is that you are an expert in one, specific field. If it’s a particular industry, you should know all of its industry trends.
If it’s a product, your aim should be to make sure you know more about that one product than any other people who deal with it. This specialization, more than anything else, is what gives you your value as a thought leader.
1. Begin by identifying your niche.
Question: Which area, above all others, will you specialize in?
It can be anything from day trading, to Facebook advertising, to thoughts on leadership itself.
2. Next, you need to learn everything you can about it.
Naturally, this is easier if you’ve picked an area in which you’re already familiar.
You must devote time to reading every blog post, listening to every point of view, and meeting as many people as possible within your chosen field. Your goal, quite simply, should be for no one to know as much about that area as you.
3. Now, you need to market yourself.
Fortunately, there’s never been a better time to do just that. People are always looking for fresh, high quality, and authoritative thought leadership content, from the Wall Street Journal through to individual bloggers.
Use a website builder to create your own site, or pay someone to build it for you.
Write guest posts. Use social media to share your thought leadership content, and reach out to useful individuals. Email people. In short, use every tool available to you to both position yourself as a thought leader, and get your name out there.
Remember, ‘thought leader’ isn’t a job title. It’s a status, achieved by a simple combination of expertise and marketing. And anyone – if they follow these best practices, and want it enough – can become one.
What is the Main Focus of Thought Leadership?
‘Thought leadership’ sounds like a nice, cushy term. Unless they’ve already become successful, though, and are happy to hand out their advice for free, thought leaders aren’t simply teachers, or gurus. They’re experts, seeking to make a career out of their knowledge.
The main focus of thought leadership, therefore, is typically monetization.
It’s not enough to have built up a knowledge base in a specific area. You must then convert that knowledge into a business strategy. People who know a lot about something are experts. People who build a career out of that knowledge are thought leaders.
Monetizing your knowledge isn’t easy, but there are plenty of routes you can take to do so.
Here are a few examples:
Content Marketing
This will be a feature of just about every successful thought leadership campaign. To build your credentials as a thought leader, you must get your expertise, your opinions, and your voice out there to the world. Content creation – whether it’s textual, aural or visual – is the best way to do just that.
Actually monetizing your own content isn’t realistic to begin with. Instead, your aim should be to build a sizeable and loyal following, who can subsequently be monetized further down the line.
Affiliate Marketing
Once you’ve begun to establish yourself as an authority through high-quality content, the possibilities to start making money really open up. Affiliate marketing is a reliable, and potentially lucrative, avenue to explore.
If people respect your voice, they’ll listen to your recommendations for products or services. Become an affiliate for those products or services, and you’ll earn money whenever people make a purchase directly from your content (using a link, promo code, and so on).
Paid Content Creation
Once your brand is established, you can start monetizing your own all rights reserved content using the likes of on-page advertising and affiliate marketing. You’ll also find, however, that others – whether they be individuals, companies, or media outlets – will be willing to pay for your content.
This will most commonly come in the form of guest blogs, which are valuable to both parties. You’ll be paid for them, and receive a link back to your website. In addition to benefiting from your voice, the other party will expect you to promote the post, granting them exposure to the following you’ve built.
Guest Speaker
Prominent thought leaders are always in demand as guest speakers. Visit any of their social media profiles, and you’ll invariably find mentions of their latest appearance, whether that be at a formal talk or a less formal podcast appearance.
Either way, you’ll either get paid directly for your appearance, or gain excellent exposure to a new, potentially sizeable audience.
What is an Example of Thought Leadership?
In the early-to-mid 2010’s, the internet was saturated with aspiring thought leaders. People seemed to think all they had to do was post motivational quotes on Twitter each morning, and that would get the job done. It didn’t. That said, there are plenty of modern-day examples of people doing it the right way, and becoming genuine thought leaders.
Perhaps the best recent example is Gary Vaynerchuk. He’s also a particularly inspiring example because he’s become a thought leader in not one, but two separate fields.
First, he specialized in wine; something he knew a lot about, having worked in his father’s wine shop since graduating in 1998. He launched a daily online show in 2006, called Wine Library TV, which regularly attracted 50-100k views. This, and aggressive usage of social media, helped grow the wine shop’s revenues from $3 million to $60 million within a few years.
Next he pivoted to social media; something he’d become an expert in while marketing Wine Library. He created a digital marketing agency in 2009, which today makes $100 million per year in revenue, and is seen as one of the foremost thought leaders on social media, regularly being invited to appear on television shows and deliver talks.
In short, Gary went from working in his father’s shop to having a net worth of $160 million by his early forties. And he did it all by becoming – and marketing himself – as a thought leader.
Final Thoughts
Becoming a thought leader is far from easy. It’s also true, however, that it’s never been easier to become one.
The basic tenants of thought leadership are the same as they ever were. You must become a genuine expert in a specific field of your choice, then find a way to get your name out there.
The growth of the internet, though, has led to an unprecedented rise in the variety of techniques you can use to self-publicize, create your own brand, and position yourself as an authority.
Digest the information in this article, follow some of the advice we’ve laid out, and you’ll already have taken a decisive first step on your own journey to thought leadership.