Thought Leadership: Becoming a Leader in Your Industry

Do you have what it takes to become a thought leader in your industry? Want to expand your following of supporters who believe in your business and subscribe to your industry know-how? Looking to put together a thought leadership strategy?

Before you jump from being a successful business owner to becoming a well-known industry leader, you have a lot of work to do. You need to build a strong foundation of followers to share your well-crafted content and establish your credibility in the industry.

If you’re looking to grow your personal brand through thought leadership, here are some best practices and tips on how to get started!

How to Get Started with Thought Leadership

Thanks to the internet, it’s easier (and more difficult) than ever to get discovered. While you can market yourself from anywhere and be found by anyone with an internet connection, everyone else with an internet connection can do exactly the same thing, making the competition pretty intense.

So how do you set yourself apart? What unique angles and strategies do you employ in your field that make you worth listening to? Your unique point of view is exactly what sets you apart and gives you your best chance at standing out. If all you promote in your content is the currently accepted best practices of your industry, why should people listen to you? To create thought leadership, you need to bring something new to the table.

Figuring out your unique strengths will help you determine your strongest marketing points.

Platforms to Promote On

Once you figure out what aspects to emphasize in your content, it’s time to create content! Here are some places on the internet where you need to be particularly active.

Your Blog

No matter what social media you choose to build a following on, it’s vital to have a website to send them back to. Blog posts give you a chance to flesh out your ideas fully, rather than restricting yourself to a character count on Twitter.

Your social media accounts are a great way to gather a following. It gives you an opportunity to inspire people with short, shareable clips of content. But you’ll also need to have a more substantial place of learning for people to navigate to.

Getting people to sign up for your email list is essential to creating a lasting audience. When you use someone else’s platform, you could lose your audience anytime. Maybe your account gets hacked. Maybe your content gets flagged and your account gets deleted. Nowhere on the internet do you have nearly as much control as you do on your own website.

Twitter

Twitter works well as a place to share links to your blog alongside catchy quotes and quick, hot takes you have on the industry. You only have so many characters to share your opinion, so you need to make your point quickly, sharply, and powerfully. Statements that go against the grain and thoughts that people will resonate with both perform well on the platform.

Twitter is a place where your ideas can have a bit of an edge; if you pull someone in with a controversial statement, they’re more likely to click the link to your blog to learn more. Just make sure your blog is well-written enough that you can support the claims you make!

Instagram

Instagram is the place for colorful, bright graphics and shareable content. Designing aesthetically pleasing quotes in the photo and elaborating in the description will help people gravitate towards your ideas and engage with your content.

Links are more difficult to share here, as you can only have one in your bio, so many sure your content stands alone.

Facebook

Facebook works well if you’re catering to a middle-aged or older audience. Blogs and news articles are easy to share here, and it’s easy for your audience to comment with their opinions and engage in discussions with other readers.

Here, you’ll want to mix up your content. Share bright images as you do on Instagram. Write longer posts about your thoughts. Spread the news about your upcoming events. And post links to your blogs for people to check out.

Online Publications

One way to really cement your credibility in the industry and expand your audience wider than your current circle is by giving interviews to respected publications or submitting your own work for publication. Having your work published under a well-known brand is an excellent addition to your resume. It also proves that a respected publication values your insight. And so should your followers.

When you give your interview or write your author bio, make sure to give links to your site. Also, include your socials so people can follow you and learn more on your blog.

Thought Leadership Platforms

Develop Your Thought Leadership Strategy

Now that you cultivated an online following and have developed your personal branding, it’s time to continue building credibility outside of social media.

How can you build yourself up for long-term success?

Writing your first book? Booking speaking engagements at conferences? Hosting your own online event? Starting a weekly livestream?

How can you engage with your target audience in a way that permanently resonates with them?

If you plan to open yourself up to in-person events, create a dedicated page for accepting inquiries on future event booking. If feasible, list your past events and link videos showcasing event highlights to demonstrate your capabilities.

But if you’re just starting, you’ll need to do the legwork in contacting different conferences and venues. See if they need speakers. If you went to college, contact your alma mater’s department. Ask if they are interested in having you speak at an event for students in your field. If you know of an upcoming conference in your industry, contact the organizers. Ask if they are interested in having you speak at their event.

Before starting to seek in-person speaking engagements, get experience and a resume for these events by hosting your own. Once you’ve built up your following, invite them to online events that you host. The stronger your online presence, the more successful the events will be.

You want engaged, loyal followers, not disinterested ones. Your thought leadership marketing will work more successfully if you have a lower number of followers but a more dedicated group than a large number of disinterested followers.

Get Started!

Whatever product or service you sell, you have the power to become an industry expert. All it takes is a dedication to your craft, a well-cultivated social following, and a work ethic to carry you through.

If you’re looking to learn more about growing your business and your following, join Women’s Business Daily! We offer the tools to help you succeed in social media and the connections you need to build your brand.

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Author, Artist, Photographer.

Sarah Margaret is an artist who expresses her love for feminism, equality, and justice through a variety of mediums: photography, filmmaking, poetry, illustration, song, acting, and of course, writing.

She owns Still Poetry Photography, a company that showcases her passion for capturing poetic moments in time. Instead of poetry in motion, she captures visual poetry in fractions of a second, making cherished keepsakes of unforgettable moments.

She is the artist behind the Still Poetry Etsy shop, which houses her illustrations and bespoke, handmade items. She is the author of intricacies are just cracks in the wall, a narrative poetry anthology that follows a young woman discovering herself as she emerges from an abusive relationship.

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