What is Thought Leadership?
Thought Leadership is a strategic communications strategy that positions an individual and/or an organization as a go-to source of expertise by providing value to their target audience in the form of educational content such as analysis and advice.
Put another way, Thought Leadership is branding your ideas and building a community of dedicated followers around them, because you can’t be a leader if no one is following you.
How can it help you?
Thought Leadership
1. Provides you a powerful platform
2. Raises your profile
3. Enhances your reputation
4. Increases your credibility
5. Accelerates the speed of trust
6. Reduces the sales cycle
7. Generates leads
8. Provides a competitive advantage
Why is Thought Leadership important in today’s business and political climates?
In today’s Age of Cynicism, everyone questions each other’s motives, especially those of large companies and organizations. Thought Leadership is the tip of the spear that breaks through this barrier by showcasing your expertise and credibility. Authenticity and credibility are key to success in today’s world, and Thought Leadership can provide you both.
How does Thought Leadership optimize lead generation?
When you reach your target market with an advertisement or a sales pitch, only a tiny percentage of those people will want to buy from you at that time. A much larger percentage will have no interest at all. Finally, the third group is a small percentage of people who will want to learn more.
Thought leadership ensures you don’t miss out on this group of prospective customers. When they visit your owned media – website, social media pages, blog, etc. – you should provide value to them in the form of advice and analysis / thought leadership on the service or product that you offer. By doing so, you encourage these prospects to continue following you to receive more value. This allows you to stay on their radar, showcase our credibility and expertise, and persuade them to buy your product or service. Simply put, thought leadership allows you to nurture a relationship with your prospect so you can complete the sale. That’s a much better scenario than just not trying.
How does Thought Leadership shorten the sales cycle?
Thought leadership positions you as a subject-matter expert. By showcasing your expertise, you will enhance your reputation and convey your credibility, which accelerates the speed of trust and the sales cycle.
Can I occasionally complete thought leadership tactics such as webinars, speeches and op-eds and still become a thought leader?
While it is possible to become a thought leader without conducting a comprehensive campaign, it is not recommended. Ad hoc efforts will increase your time, effort and cost. Most importantly, it will be difficult to take full advantage of the opportunities you create from ad hoc activities. You should be prepared to make the most of your hard work prior, during and after any thought leadership tactics you complete.
How is Thought Leadership different from traditional marketing?
Traditional marketing pushes a sales pitch on its target market, who perceive it as a gimmick. Done correctly, Thought Leadership is like a magnet that pulls in leads and sales because its aim is to provide value to a target market by sharing educational content such as advice and analysis. Simply put, traditional marketing is sales and thought leadership is teaching.
How is thought leadership better than traditional marketing?
Almost every business does some kind marketing. So, it’s very difficult to break out from the crowd and capture your target market’s attention. Thought Leadership is a less expensive, quicker, more effective solution.
Simply put, people don’t want to be sold something, they want to buy something that solves a problem for them, and the best way to get someone to buy something from you is to position yourself as the unquestionable thought leader in your space.
How can Thought Leadership help me outcompete my competition?
When you’re a thought leader, you have a powerful microphone and platform that allows you to stand above your competition. Your thought leadership becomes a force multiplier and lead-generation magnet.
How do I build a community of dedicated followers?
To become a thought leader who has a community of dedicated followers, you need to: 1. Reach your target audience by promoting your ideas and generating publicity; 2. Resonate with your target audience by conveying messages that capture their attention and motivate them to want to learn more; 3. Consistently provide value to your target audience by offering educational and entertaining ideas, insights and opinions in the form of advice and analysis.
What kind of ideas, insights and opinions do I need to convey to become a thought leader?
To become a thought leader, you must consistently convey ideas that are clear and compelling, which can be verified by using our 4Is checklist:
1. Interesting: Will it capture your target audience’s attention?
2. Informative: Does it provide value to them in the form of advice and/or analysis?
3. Impressive: Will it make an impression on how your target audience thinks?
4. Influential: Will it move your target audience to take action?
What must I do before generating publicity for my ideas?
Our proprietary Turn the TablesTM process helps us create comprehensive, strategic campaigns that prepares our clients to generate publicity and to take full advantage of it by:
1. Building a platform that conveys your expertise to journalists, so they want to book you for an interview or share your story.
2. Building a platform that conveys your expertise to your target audience, so when you generate publicity they can visit your owned media – website, social media, etc. – to learn more.
3. Creating lead magnets, so when your target audience visits your owned media they can follow you to learn more.
What is a lead magnet?
A lead magnet is a call-to-action button on your owned media - website, social media pages, blog, etc. – that allows you to capture your target audience’s contact information. A lead magnet can be a Newsletter Signup, White Paper Download, Work Book Download, Social Media Follow and many more options.
What is the best lead magnet?
The best lead magnet is a free assessment that you offer to your target audience. This is usually a questionnaire that categorizes each participant by their responses and provides them immediate results. Free assessments are the best lead magnets because they appeal to the participant and offer great value to both parties, the participant and you. The participant gets free personalized feedback that allows them to analyze their results. You get the participant’s contact information as well as data that informs you how best to pitch your services or product to them.
Do I need a website for my thought leadership?
That depends on your role and your goals. A lot of times it is beneficial to have a website, because it can showcase your expertise, highlight your authority - awards, speeches, articles - persuade your target audience to follow you, and allow you to create lead magnets.
How can Perception Public Relations make you a thought leader?
Thought leadership campaigns need to be thoroughly researched, strategically planned and methodically implemented over time.
Our proprietary Turn the Tables process does all three to position and publicize you as a go-to subject-matter expert, making you a magnet for media and business opportunities.
What training, tactics and tools does Perception Public Relations use?
· Lead Magnets
· Website
· Social Media Management
· Infographics
· Video Production
· Blogging
· Search Engine Optimization (SEO)
· Email Marketing & Newsletters
· Books
· Press Releases
· Op-eds
· Webinars
· Podcasts
· Assessments
· White Papers
· Speaking Opportunities: Panels, Presentations, Speeches
· Media Placements
Can Perception Public Relations collaborate with my in-house marketing and PR teams to conduct a thought leadership campaign?
Yes, we usually collaborate with in-house marketing and PR team teams to enhance their hard work. Our campaigns complement and supplement their efforts, not compete with them. We are thought leadership specialists, so we focus exclusively on publicizing your ideas.
What is the price?
We use our proprietary Turn the Tables process as a template then we create custom campaigns that meet our client’s specific needs and budget. To learn more or to get the process started, please contact us to schedule a 15-minute discovery call.
