Thought Leader Content Should Deliver Useful Value to a Key Audience
Marketers pitch thought leadership content to business and nonprofit executives as a way to fetch millions of online views without spending a cent. Unfortunately, much of that content may not be worth a cent.
Thought leadership doesn’t come from curated content. Clicks and likes don’t determine whether content is thought leadership. The tell of a thought leader is when their demonstrated expertise causes audience members to think differently about a problem, a product or a possibility in their own lives.
You become a thought leader when you are willing to share the insights that led to your success. Your motivation is to inform and inspire others, not gratify your own ego or expand your contacts. People may listen to you, but you aren’t a thought leader until they learn from you.
Chasing the dream of thought leadership by pushing content is a poor substitute for actually doing the hard work of becoming a thought leader on a critical subject. The form thought leadership takes – from a whitepaper to a Ted Talk – is secondary to the quality and everyday value of a shared insight by a true thought leader.
Thought leaders aren’t born. They earn their reputations and share their experience and knowledge with audiences who find practical value in their advice and achievements. Thought leadership also isn’t conveyed by a corporate title. Thought leaders have earned their respect through accomplishments and bold thinking. They aren’t all hat and no cattle.
Some confuse thought leadership with thought-provoking. Thought leadership should do more than provoke. It should clarify, simplify and encourage steps audience members can apply the next day in their job, profession or life.
Perspectives on Thought Leadership
“Thought leadership” was coined in 1994 by a magazine editor who attributed it to “people who had business ideas that merited attention.”
Brian Clark, founder of Copyblogger, more recently said you can consider yourself a thought leader “if you’re educating and motivating people with content.” Online marketers have turned that thought into a thought leadership business model.
In a 2021 blog, Clark conceded “leaders are not born or made.” Instead, he said, “they are selected by the intended audience,” which more or less sums up content marketing. In Clark’s world, clicks and likes equate to thought leadership.
Bilal Khan, a content marketing specialist at PostBeyond, offers suggestions on how to “generate thought leadership ideas”. Among his ideas are turning sales call exchanges with customers into thought leadership grist. He also encourages “social listening” to hear what people say about your company. Other ideas include extrapolating thought leadership from market analytics and customer surveys. Finally, he advises checking out your competitors.
Khan’s suggestions, which he displayed in an infographic, make sense for keeping a finger on the pulse of what customers think. But they don’t rise to the level of thought leadership that offers true and original value.
“A person who educates and influences others by offering unique
perspectives based on their expertise and experience.”
Beth LaGuardia Cooper, a marketer writing for Forbes, offers a truer definition of a thought leader – “A person who educates and influences others by offering unique perspectives based on their expertise and experience.”
“Thought leaders are viewed as teachers who offer their time to help others by freely sharing their wisdom and perspective,” LaGuardia says. “Before you can be a thought leader, you need expertise to share.”
