What is Thought Leadership?

It is the PR process used by CEOs, entrepreneurs, change-makers, innovators and academics to position themselves as leading authorities and to communicate their big ideas to the world.

Being the acknowledged thought leader in your industry or field is the greatest accolade someone can bestow on you. It is an affirmation that you are a true expert, a forward thinker and an inspirational figure who has deep insights and something worthwhile listening to.

However, achieving this status doesn’t come easily.

Why embark on a thought leadership campaign:

• Providing people with valuable, accurate information on a consistent basis earns you credibility and rapport.
• Your peers will respect you for this and are more likely to help you in any way that they can.
• Your customers will also trust you and feel like you’ve given them something of value, making them more likely to choose your business over a competitor.

A quick word about the difference between content marketing and thought leadership.

Whilst content marketing should be original, informative, and engaging, there’s a difference between providing information that is useful and valuable to the audience and conveying insights that are original or have not been written about before. The key to thought leadership is to have ideas that are new, innovative or even disruptive.

The purpose is a little different too. Content marketing can have more of a sales focus and have a promotional element, even a call to action, whereas thought leadership pieces are designed to start a conversation.

Content marketing typically uses owned sites such as your website and thought leadership articles are often found in earned media sites – trade media or niche publications.

Ready to find out more?