I define a thought leader as someone who:
Is an expert in their field
Has strong opinions about their area of expertise
Has the experience, anecdotes, and research to back up those opinions
Can articulate their experiences in a way that makes it easy for other people to understand
Wants to articulate their experiences in a way that makes it easy for other people to understand
Let's say this sounds just like you.
How do you become KNOWN as a thought leader, outside of well, your own thoughts?
I’ll tell you.
Set Your Goals
Why do you want to be a thought leader?
Do you want to attract more clients to your service or business?
Do you want to inspire real change in your industry?
The first step you need to take is determining you "why".
2. Define Your Audience
To achieve the goal you’ve set for yourself, you need to define your audience.
If you’re trying to attract more clients, you need to create an ICP.
Who is your ideal client?
What are their pain points?
How can you educate them?
What social platforms are they on?
3. See What Else is Out There
You need to get a lay of the land - take a look at how other people are using thought leadership to meet their goals.
Is your CEO friend posting about their all-star employees and sharing personal stories? They likely are trying to position themselves as a great team builder.
Is your social justice advocate neighbor sharing alarming statistics about the state of the world to try and motivate people to change? They're using urgency and fear to promote action.
Take note of people who are in your SAME industry and trying to achieve the SAME or SIMILAR goals. Study them.
4. Build the Content
Build out your content. This involves codifying your experiences and creating repeatable frameworks for your audience to use.
This part is all about the articulation of what you know best.
5. Map Out the Production Process
Posting on LinkedIn once in a while won’t cut it.
An annual newsletter to your personal contacts won’t get you very far either.
You need to be deliberate in determining what platforms and mediums you’ll publish to, the frequency of publishing, and the diversity of your content.
It sounds overwhelming, I know. But keeping a really simple content calendar can make all the difference.
6. Spread the Word
Self promotion feels icky to many of us.
But you need to think about what you're doing in terms of EDUCATING others.
Do we think of teachers as self promoters? They stand in front of a large group of people, demand their attention for hours at a time, make them write their notes verbatim… But no! They’re opening the minds of their students by being the SPOKESPERSON for the curriculum.
And, so are you.
So, spread the word. This doesn't just mean posting on socials. You might actually have to have a real conversation!
7. Measure & Iterate
There are lots of ways to measure your success, depending on where you post.
You can track metrics like:
Number of followers
Engagement with your posts
Newsletter subscribers
Meaningful conversations
Search appearances
Take note of what's resonating with your audience and what's falling flat. Adjust your content based on what you find.
And there you have it–seven steps to become a thought leader!
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