Now more than ever, America is a marketplace – not just of products and services, but of ideas. Consumers want to be wooed, assured that partnering with your company is the right call.
One of the most effective ways to create this relationship is to establish yourself as a thought leader in your industry. Thought leadership is about positioning your organization as an authority through a clever mixture of marketing, content creation and public relations. How is this achieved?
The first images that may come to mind when we discuss this topic might be of Elon Musk of Tesla or Bill Gates of Microsoft. If your company already has a world-famous expert on its payroll, odds are you’re well on your way to being a thought leader. Obviously, most companies do not have someone with that kind of global name recognition. For the vast majority of organizations, it’s about establishing the company, not any individual, as the thought leader.
Create Compelling Educational Content
Thought leadership requires the creation of compelling, authentic, engaging content. Whether these are blog posts, guides, white papers, infographics, videos, webinars, training sessions or event participation, these specific resources will depend on your business. The important thing is that they are unique, educational and valuable to potential customers.
Communication Is Key
How do you know what will be valuable to them? Easy: Ask them. Maintaining and advancing your company’s reputation as a thought leader demands regular engagement with customers. Figure out what kinds of content customers want, give it to them, track their reactions, and work to improve for the future.
Expand Your Customer Base
In a world where we are constantly bombarded with sales-focused advertising, the most important reason for this kind of marketing strategy is to increase exposure. Once your company is considered a true leader in the field by developing informative, unique content that benefits customers, countless doors will open. Of course, the primary aim is to increase sales and expand your customer base. But embracing thought leadership as a strategy also drastically improves the quality of new employees you can recruit. To slightly misquote Field of Dreams: “If you build it, they will come.” With ‘it’ meaning an integrated marketing campaign to position your company as a leader in its field.
Modern marketing campaigns are about more than just selling your product or service. They’re about taking the consumer on a seamless, smooth and rewarding journey – from their first engagement with your company to becoming steadfast members of its customer base.
Increasing confidence in your brand by becoming a thought leader is a fantastic way to cement its position in its industry, now and in the future.
