How to become a thought leader to increase brand awareness

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14/11/2017

It’s getting tougher and tougher to differentiate businesses as more competitors enter your market, and overseas/online options can make it even harder. How do you prove you’re better than any other business selling the same thing? One way is to be personally seen as a ‘thought leader’; your own unique ideas or opinions on what you think is best, where customers want to align with ‘the expert’.

• Develop knowledge greater than your competitors on a certain subject or topic
• Gain a reputation in your market as a business that has unique and innovative ideas about your industry
• Improve your business’ sales effectiveness
• Differentiate your brand
• Give customers the engagement and insights they’re seeking
• Help your business fulfil its objectives such as lead generation and growing your market share

How to become a thought leader

You’ll need to start with a unique point of view which will lead to approaching and solving challenges in a novel or different way. It will take time for your reputation to grow and for the word to spread about how you’re doing things uniquely.

Thought leadership involves more than just content, it’s:

• Your business' opinion
• Leadership
• Innovation in your area of expertise

Showcasing your business’ expertise and positioning it ahead of competitors is an essential strategy for any brand.

The best thought leaders are constantly building their business’ brand through events, stories and advertising. For example, Apple assumes the mantle of a thought leader in the handheld gadget industry through its range of constantly evolving i-devices. It’s clear that competitors such as Samsung have been following Apple’s lead for some time.

Find an exclusive area of expertise

Think about what your business does best, or some critical knowledge that it understands better than your competitors. What do you want your business to be well known for?

For example;

• The plumber that knows the most about council regulations and how to fix broken pipes
• The construction engineer that knows the most about drainage and how to reduce water seepage when digging foundations
• The web designer that knows the most about search engine optimisation and how to build an effective social media presence

Your business will have certain know-how over a range of different topics, so it’s important to develop thought leadership with the most appropriate area.

Dominate the topic

You’ll need to go further than your competitors and become the dominant voice in your area of expertise.

Try to create a story or some storylines around your unique knowledge. Break your story into a sequence revealing one ‘part’ at a time. Channel your business’ knowledge through:

• Blogs or e-newsletters – produced weekly or fortnightly to show you have a wealth of wisdom on your specialist topic. For example, if you own and run a travel agency, start up a blog for you and your staff to contribute their travel stories to help excite potential customers.
• Social media – by interacting with your customer base and offering advice to help them solve issues and create ongoing sales.
• A book – with pull-out quotes, data and unique information. As an example, if you began to consider yourself an authority on building eco-houses, is there an opportunity for you to write a book on your specialist topic?
• Workshops – demonstrate your knowledge and skills by running a series of your own workshops.
• Aim to get elected to a board – for example, a reputable butcher who’s been in the meat industry most of their working life might aim to get on the Quality Meat Scotland (QMS) board to show their customers how dedicated and knowledgeable they are about the industry.
• Attend and speak at conferences
• Deliver webinars and join industry chat rooms

Continue to research ideas and opinions

Standing still isn’t an option as a thought leader, so continue to research your specialist topic. When speaking at conferences, to customers on your website, or with networking groups, you’ll want to be able to be an authoritative voice on what you think will happen in your industry in the future.

Put together a plan on how you’re going to build up your reputation and allocate a budget to it.

Make your message sustainable

To reinforce your business’ position as a thought leader on an important subject in your industry, you’ll need constant effort. You’ll want your message to be sustainable and evolving so it lasts the distance over the long term.

Find your direction towards becoming a thought leader and seek continual improvement.

Additional resources

• 6 ways small business owners can become thought leaders
• How small businesses can (and should) develop thought leadership