In previous blog posts we’ve written about thought leadership – sharing examples of how we have helped our clients establish themselves as a thought leader in a particular category.
With the New Year and many companies setting goals around establishing thought leadership, we thought it would be helpful to revisit the topic beginning with our definition. Thought leadership is when a company (or person) is recognized for its innovative solutions, and its deep understanding of its business, the needs of its customers and the broader marketplace.
Clearly public relations and social media can be driving forces in helping companies gain recognition as thought leaders. So what are some of the communication strategies and tactics that can be employed to establish and maintain thought leadership?
Consider the following ideas:
- Write – Contributed articles, case studies, guest blog posts and white papers from a wide group of executives can all play an important role in establishing a company as a thought leader.
- Comment – Share your perspective with journalists and analysts. Proactively offer commentary on industry trends via buddy e-mails.
- Speak – Get in front of key audiences with speaking engagements at reputable trade shows or conferences.
- Build Third-Party Advocacy – Identify and build relationships with third-party influencers (analysts, academics, customers, etc). Having a group of people who can speak on your behalf can be very powerful.
- Leverage Social Media – With the rise of Facebook and Twitter, social networks can be an excellent vehicle for raising awareness of a company’s solutions and understanding of the marketplace. And don’t think social networks are just for business to consumer products. According to a recent survey from Forrester, 91 percent of all technology decision makers consume social content.
- Win Awards – Awards can be very effective in establishing thought leadership with myriad audiences – consumers, industry folk, venture capitalists and even members of the media.
Without a doubt each company will have different strategies and tactics for achieving thought leadership; however, it’s important to remember that when used strategically, public relations and social media can be effective programs in establishing recognition for a company or person.
Thought leadership will continue to be a key objective for many organizations in 2010 as they continue to look for ways to build credibility and brand awareness with customers in the face of the current economic and media climates.
Interested in learning more about how PR can help establish your company as a thought leader? Drop us a line at info@communiquepr.com.