What’s the fun in knowledge if you can’t share it with others? A thought leader – a trusted source, in PR parlance – shares what they know, what they think, and what they believe in with other people. A good way to help develop your career is to develop yourself as a valuable expert in your field. But how exactly do you gain credibility and authority?
The answer is simple: through content creation and authenticity. When we talk about thought leadership, what we really mean is value – what value do you bring to X, Y and Z and what contributions do you bring to the table?
Following are five ways I have been helping my clients and my friends build their thought leadership and illustrate their expertise within their respective industries. Recently, I have also taken the initiative to employ these tactics for my own benefit, and I have seen great results so far.
Most of the suggestions below are quite simple and cost-effective, but they require time and critical thinking on your end. Also, you will want to practice these techniques on a regular basis so you stay top of mind and relevant within your respective industry. Writing one blog post a year, for example, will not demonstrate thought leadership.
- Distribute useful content: You can do a number of things, from writing blogs, contributed articles, emails and op-eds, to participating in podcasts and webinars, and developing online videos. If you are the author of the published content, you can also repost it in a long-form post on your LinkedIn, as long as you credit the original source. Be consistent with the content you publish and create content regularly. The more valuable and useful the content, the more you will establish your authority and thought leadership within your field.
- Build a social media presence: Social networks are here to stay so it’s important to consider a social media strategy. People Tweet about everything and post selfies every day on Instagram. If you don’t do social media, I recommend you start. But beyond that, you’ll want to provide value for other users. Journalists and influencers are increasingly leaning on Twitter, for example, to find breaking news, story ideas, and to vet their sources. I suggest you comment on journalists’ posts, ask and answer peoples’ questions, and post/repost relevant content at least three times a day.
- Insert your perspective in timely news/trends: This is a useful technique that can get you in front of many eyeballs. The idea is to add value and contribute to an existing conversation. I suggest spending about 15 minutes every day searching the news to see if you, or your client, can contribute to an existing, important conversation. This is a powerful way to establish yourself as an expert with a valuable POV.
- Have an opinion and be controversial: This is how you will stand out from everyone else, but it isn’t easy. You will want to find your voice by testing the waters and own what you do and say. Some of the greatest leaders went against the status quo and did things that were provocative. Rosa Parks and Martin Luther King, for example, are some of our history’s strongest and most effective proponents because they did and said things that made them stand out from everyone else. Find something you believe in and stand for it – it may be scary at first because you might stand alone, but people will respect you for it.
- Build trust: It’s important to establish trust with your peers. You want to be seen as reliable, consistent, and transparent with everything you share. Give credit to those who deserve it and make sure the content you create is accurate (this is why it will take time to create good content). Building trust will take time because you can’t demonstrate these human values overnight; however, know that you can ruin it with the click of a mouse or tap of the finger. Once you have built a relationship with a reporter/influencer and other peers within your industry, it will be imperative that you do everything you can to sustain and nurture it, because it’s doubtful you will be able to earn it back if you damage it.
There are a variety of techniques you can use to establish yourself as a thought leader, i.e., a valuable expert. At the core, it’s really about creating content that is useful, understandable, and original to others. The key, however, is to not try to please everyone because you won’t and you could actually lose yourself if you try. It’s a balancing act and it will take time, so be patient – your time will come if you consistently work for it. When the spotlight does shine on you, own it. As Uncle Ben from Spider-Man once said, “With great power comes great responsibility.”