A thought leader is someone who has industry expertise and can influence others. As a business owner, this is the best method to position yourself and your company as the leader in your industry. More customers and referral partners will turn to you for guidance, and are more likely to recruit your expert services and products. Here’s how you can become a thought leader in your industry and grow your sales.
Blogging
Although your company may already be blogging on a regular basis, are you authoring these posts? You should be! A large part of thought leadership is talking about your industry and expressing your expert opinion. As a thought leader, your company blogs are a great place to share your thoughts. Focus on the blog topics that matter most to the people in your industry and target both referral partners and prospects.
To enhance your blogs further, share these posts as articles on sites like LinkedIn. Not only does this build credibility with your personal network, but it also gives new exposure to your company’s profile. This business exposure on LinkedIn then results in more qualified leads. A recent study by Hubspot found that posting content on LinkedIn is 277% more effective for lead generation than any other social media channel. By sharing your expertise in this long-form content, you could significantly increase your customer and referral base.
And remember – if your name isn’t on the by-line, no one will know you wrote it. Make sure that your company blog allows individual writers to post under their names. This helps with both credibility and search results.
Networking
Networking is another large part of becoming a thought leader. Yes, it’s important to create online content that people can read. But it’s just as important to meet those readers. Creating speaking opportunities or in-person and virtual networking events is crucial for establishing yourself as a leader of your company and in the industry. At these events, you can network with others in your industry and begin to build a strong referral network. As a result of these relationships, you also have the ability to collaborate and discuss industry hot topics together. This builds your credibility in the industry as well as showcases how you are community-focused.
Guest Features
As a thought leader, you should always have new content from your or about you being published. There are several simple ways to do this. One is to post guest blogs on top industry sites or publications. Other ways to expose your expertise are joining podcasts, on-air discussions via TV or radio, and even sending your opinions and current pieces directly to writers or reporters in the industry. Every piece of content builds you as a trusted leader in your industry. The first place to start is identifying where you can be published and who you can talk to about your thoughts. A great place to look for writers is Twitter. Many journalists and content writers network here and post their content. Networking with those folks can open the doors to the features you are looking for.
Thought leadership is important for building credibility for yourself and your business. Through publications, networking, and features you can establish yourself as a thought leader and improve your sales.
53% of buyers say it’s important for companies to produce thought leadership if they want buyers to consider working with them.
Be strategic about how you become a thought leader. KWSM is experienced in developing complete social media strategies to help you find your voice in thought leadership to drive leads and sales.
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