Thought leadership is defined as the expression of ideas demonstrating that you have expertise in a particular field, area, or topic. It’s a type of content marketing that focuses on providing answers to questions your target audiences may have. These answers are to be derived from the experience, insight, and talent present within your team.
Its ultimate goal is to become a thought leader: An expert that is perceived as the go-to person in a given industry, and this can only be achieved if it’s done well. It requires a long-term communication campaign approach, serious commitment and a lot of passion. And the benefits are plenty.
Competitive advantage of differentiation
Differentiate yourself from competitors. Becoming a thought leader will give your brand a competitive edge over other companies in the same industry. Standing out will earn you the trust of valuable clients and will attract them into the market.
In our experience a subtle balance must be maintained between communicating what makes your brand different from competitors, and still respond to a need in the market. People will turn to you for information and ideas, but also for that unique feature or solution that will meet their need.
Mostly, it’s about creating quality content that will make you an authority in the industry and sharing it with clients, potential clients and with the industry as a whole, day after day.
Gain visibility
People who are working on their thought leadership seem to always be in the arena. A thought leader gains a lot of exposure from prospects and customers and will also expand his audience. He is a go-to person in the industry who is able to
make a brand recession proof.
Once a reputation is built and thought leadership is established, thought leaders will have a wide visibility and people will reach out to them for their expertise.
Boost sales
Being a thought leader will impact your sales. The perception that you are an expert will attract attention, and the impact may be much greater than what would be perceived at first sight. Your expertise can be the reason customers come to you, but it can also attract much more cross selling and can be the trigger to many more products or services.
How to become a thought leader?
To assist a business with their thought leadership, we first establish a messaging framework to identify relevant topics. We then define the most successful communication channels to reach the industry and we put together a communication campaign with different types of content and PR opportunities.
More about the author
Louis De Nolf is general manager of duomedia. With his background in marketing and sales, he combines creativity with a realistic approach to communication campaigns.
He is a trend watcher who likes to share his views on the latest developments within PR, marketing and communication.
Maarten
Maarten’s passion is in what he calls “the logical nature of digital marketing”, and making impact with data really motivates him. As Digital Marketeer he handles digital campaigns at duomedia. His love for ball sports strengthens his focus and make him an excellent team player.