By Jane Friedmann and Phoebe Eileen
Thought Leadership: Passing Buzzword or an Avenue for Potential Growth?
Thought leaders have been around since the 19th century, but you've probably only heard the term as recently as the 2010s. These experts influenced innovation and pioneered the thinking that guided humanity's development over the decades. The rise of social media has seen this authority take on a whole new presence. Anyone can go viral and influence millions of people online today, but what does it mean to be a thought leader in an age where influencers are far more commonplace? Let's discuss how the internet can become a thought leader's most valuable vehicle for development and change.
Building thought leadership leads to tangible results in your business. Image credit: Canva
A thought leader vs. an influencer: is there a difference?
A thought leader can sometimes confused with an influencer. It’s easy to lump them into the same category when they express themselves online on social media. However, a closer look reveals more nuance, and a clear difference between thought leaders and influencers.
By definition, a thought leader leverages their expertise in a specific field to share their knowledge with the world. They offer direction and guidance to companies, governments and the average person regarding ongoing global trends, and providing input based on their main area of specialization.
So while a thought leader can be an influencer if they grow their online presence, an influencer is not always a thought leader. You don't necessarily need to be an expert in a particular field to go viral or gain a social media following. How many online personalities do you know? How many can you say are thought leaders based on this explanation?
Though a thought leader can be an influencer, an influencer is not always a thought leader. Image credit: Canva
What do thought leaders gain from growing a presence on social media?
It feels good to command people's attention on the internet and gain popularity, but for thought leaders, the benefits are tangible and profitable.
Heightened awareness for a cause or a brand
The most noticeable advantage of growth on social media is increased visibility. For a thought leader, this also means increased credibility as more people come to relate your posts with integrity and reliability. No matter what cause you champion, more people will speak about it, which may encourage action toward change. No matter what product or service you promote, more people will be inclined to use it.
American Express is a great show of this phenomenon in action. Their “Business Class Trends and Insights” page seeks to enlighten business people with informative posts about important considerations for the day-to-day running of businesses. We may know them as the leading issuer of credit cards, but the company has slowly been establishing itself as a thought leader in business education.
Increased opportunities
Becoming known as a thought leader in a particular field opens you up to many paying opportunities that can help boost your income. They could be anything from invitations to speak at conferences and events to job offers in advisory, leadership and board positions.
Speaking engagements can be paid or unpaid, either way they increase your visibility and credibility in your field. Photo credit: Canva
Development of networks
By sharing your views, thoughts and ideas online as an expert in your field, you connect with more experts in the same or related industries. In time, through engaging with professionals in varying spheres of influence, you will be a part of a network of masters of different crafts, which could lead to new collaborations and partnerships.
Participating in panels, enter online or in person, boosts your audience and can lead to collaborations and partnerships. Photo credit: Canva
How to establish yourself as a thought leader online
Becoming a thought leader on social media means positioning yourself as an authority in your field and gaining a following for it. You're probably already an expert in your industry, so how do you leverage your skills and credibility to promote online growth? It’s a purposeful change coming from meaningful actions.
Pitch your tent in the online space
To develop a presence on the internet, you need it to exist in the online space in the first place. It’s not always about having an account on each and every social media platform. Choosing one platform, and running it and maintaining it well, can grow your relevant audience in a meaningful way. A great example is our client Personal Coach Destiny the Muse on Instagram. Rather than exhausting herself by posting on a large number of platforms, Destiny focuses on promoting her expertise on the platform that suits her brand the best. Her instagram is comprised of beautiful layouts, meaningful posts, and regular stories and live streams, ensuring her followers are informed and engaged. They trust her expertise in her field and credibility as a coach, and are confident in her results. Her professionally crafted online presence consistently leads her to book speaking engagements and clients.
“Sticking to a specific business goal, and using the platform to always lead and filter back to it, develops consistency in messaging while engaging your community by diving deep and sharing generously.”
@DestinytheMuse
Jesse McCormick is a leader in promoting Indigenous reconciliation and influencing policy within the the Liberal Party of Canada. His preferred platform is Twitter, as it is the most popular for sharing political views. Twitter is a great platform for generating and hosting discussion between thought leaders and people of influence, and also engaging with folks in the community by answering questions and responding to comments. @jessecmccormick
Jane AF can help you gain a foothold in the internet. We design websites befitting your personal and professional brands, and create pages that speak to your passion and expertise in your specialized field. Your reach extends from your site to platforms like LinkedIn, Instagram and more, maximizing your visibility and results.
Create and share credible, high-quality content
You carry a wealth of knowledge from your years of experience in a particular topic. We help you speak to your target audience about it. Thought leaders from decades past would publish papers and articles they wrote, available for all to read. The times may have changed, but you can gain a sizeable following doing what past leaders did, only online. I can think of no better example of this in action than with Microsoft’s “Stories”, the company’s blog and news page that takes a unique approach to content creation. They could be writing about the suites and features they offer, but they instead showcase how their technologies are shaping the world in different ways. All stories are told from the point of view of the customer, and range from the application of ease of access features for better shopping experiences to the use of cloud technology in climate emergency relief. It’s a unique approach that centers the company as an industry leader in the use of software to effect meaningful change.
Guided by your knowledgeable input, Jane AF can put together long and short-form posts that are informative, educational and relatable to the everyday social media user. Our team will optimize this content for maximum reach and discoverability with targeted search engine optimization (SEO).
Leading the Conversation
It's a fulfilling feeling to be able to affect change or grow a brand by sharing your expertise as a leader in your field.
Establishing your presence on social media and building clear and consistent content, helps affirm your credibility.
Engaging with the folks who interact with your posts, by answering questions and offering your points of view, helps you become a go-to for people seeking answers.
Collaborating with other experts in the same or related fields assits in growing your audience and gaining more followers.
Staying abreast of global trends, builds on your unique standpoint.
In time you will become the go-to expert in your industry, and you will be one step closer to effecting the positive change you wish to see. The internet is an accesible way to reach out into the world, and at Jane AF we're happy to help you do it effectively. We work with thought leaders in industries like politics, finance and coaching, and community leadership to grow brands and increase proffessional engagement and influence.