What is thought leadership?
Thought leadership offers unique perspective and insight about issues that are top of mind or vexing for a particular audience. Generally, a thought leader is a specialist or someone recognized for their accomplishments whose insight is valued based on their expertise. The key is to offer something new or to draw smart conclusions about trends and events. Thought leadership is definitely not about selling your product. That is an ad. It is about showing off your expertise to boost knowledge and create greater interest in you and your brand.
What makes a great expert?
Having something to say is critical. It can be based on knowledge, experience or passion. But you need to be compelling and come prepared to make your case with data and practical advice. Your contributions should not reflect conventional wisdom — it should help shape it. Your thoughts should be a missing link in understanding events in the news, how to get in front of trends or solve emerging challenges. Your expertise should help readers make smarter decisions. A great article has a sharp point of view, acknowledges the other side, is supported by data and examples, and finally, provides guidance about how to address the issue at hand.
Why is it important to take on topics in the news?
Topics tied to the news generate public attention. You’ve got to be on the cutting edge of what people are talking about. And, taking on topics tied to the news represents the highest value for news publications and their audiences. Your expertise interpreting news events affecting your industry, profession or their stakeholders is premium content. The least compelling articles are warmed-over observations and explanatory pieces that can run any time and usually are not connected to any current issue. These so-called “evergreen” articles attract the least interest from publishers. So be compelling and don’t be afraid to get close to the news.
Influence vs. Pressure
Motives matter in thought leadership. The best pieces offer the highest value for the reading public. The greater the public good, the better the likelihood of publication. Crafting an article to exert pressure for self interest is the least likely to be published. Using your expertise to influence public policy, or to help people make better decisions about where to spend their dollar, or how to think about complicated political, social and economic issues are examples of effective thought leadership. Audiences are hungry for that type of information, and fresh insights help you distinguish yourself from others in your field or industry.
Why being provocative works and hot takes do not.
Being mealy-mouthed and super cautious really does no one any good, especially you. That makes for boring articles. Instead you want to reach for a fresh perspective and even be provocative — writing about things that are important, that you are passionate about, and that will push people to think differently than before they read your article. That’s how you persuade and influence people. Bluster and evidence-free arguments are a disservice. Leave the hot takes to the sportswriters and pundits.
National vs. Business vs. Trade publications and what to know.
Understanding the audience you are trying to reach and influence is critical in targeting publications. The Washington Post, The New York Times, and The Wall Street Journal, to name a few, are great for national exposure. But they are very hard to get into since they have the pick of national figures and celebrities to publish. If you’re trying to stand out with peers and influence your industry, business publications like Fortune, Barron’s and Insider make more sense. Trade publications deliver an even more targeted audience — Accounting Today, Inside Higher Ed, Physicians Practice. Knowing the audience you are going after is important for you and your brand. Biggest is not always best.
What is content amplification?
So you created some great content. Now what? No matter how well-written your article, or how alluring your graphics, you need a mechanism for driving traffic to that beautiful content, and for engaging new audiences. There are well-documented benefits to publishing quality information on authoritative media domains and even on your company blog. But publication is only the beginning. Activating content on social media and other brand channels expands the reach of your message and visibility and allows audiences to engage directly, all while creating data and feedback loops that should be driving content development and channel strategy.
What is the value of video?
As reported by Pew in 2024, a staggering 83% of American adults use Youtube, making it the most widely used social media platform. Are you creating content that reaches them? Just as you would create messaging specific to Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, or X — understanding unique user bases and expectations on each platform — reaching native-video audiences means creating video content and assessing broader strategy, budget and creative, by channel, with video as a given.
To X or not to X?
Your audience is on X, therefore you should be too. It’s really a question about your stakeholders, customers and people seeking information about your brand. Ask yourself: Why do you have social media profiles/pages at all? Each platform has a unique user base (by age, gender, purpose for interfacing on social media). By choosing to exclude any one platform, your brand excludes that user base by default. Such a decision quickly becomes less of a statement about your own brand values, and instead becomes a reflection of how you assign value to varying demographic segments. Simplified, an X user does not perceive your absence from the platform as taking a stand; rather that your brand doesn’t care about them, the end users.