So you want to be a thought leader. Here’s how to build your digital strategy
Kait Richmond is a writer, producer and contributor to the M.T. Deco Blog
Everybody wants to be a thought leader these days.
It’s the buzzy phrase we hear from clients who have the expertise of a thought leader, but need a more strategic way of sharing that expertise online.
Today we’ll talk about how to start building your thought leadership strategy, the importance of nourishing it and who you can look to for inspiration. But first - let’s go over what it means to be a thought leader and why it’s worth your time.
Aneesh Raman has built much of his career around thought leadership and led the team focused on it at LinkedIn (more on Aneesh below). He frames the practice of thought leadership as “having authentic, relevant, insightful things to say about a few key issues and saying those things over a sustained period of time in order to provoke new thoughts and actions by others.” [Read more on that definition here.]
Thought leadership has a lot of benefits. It builds your own profile, often leading to a range of opportunities from speaking engagements to job interviews. It can also build your brand’s profile, enabling you to talk about the brand’s values and innovation in a new way. And if you’re a consultant, or a side hustler, thought leadership will help you connect with potential clients and prove your value before you even have an interview.
It’s not unlike the community-building we talk about for brands and creators. Thought leadership is about identifying your value-add, staying in the conversation with consistent posting, and engaging with your budding community.
So - how should you get started? Here are some tips and resources for building your thought leadership digital strategy:
Pick your platform: LinkedIn is the first choice of many, but think about the audience you want to reach and where they are. Depending on how much time you want to dedicate, you may want to invest in an owned platform (like a newsletter or a podcast) that you can then promote on your own social media accounts.
Assess the competition: Make sure you’re following what similar thought leaders are talking about so you can identify the white space that will allow you to stand out from the crowd. Pick a few people who you feel do it best and use that to inform your own strategy.
Resource: How to do a competitive analysis
Decide what to talk about: Like any digital strategy, you should have 3-5 content pillars. This will keep your posts focused but diversify them enough so that you’re not always talking about the same thing. Keep in mind that, as a thought leader, everything doesn’t need to be a totally original post because you should be weighing in on your industry trends and news. Consider making one of your pillars about being reactive, and curating content that your followers should know about.
Build a content calendar: This will all be for nothing if you’re only posting once a month, so build a calendar based on your content pillars and stick to it. If you’re planning a podcast or newsletter, aim to publish at least weekly. Shoot for a higher frequency if you’re prioritizing social media, starting with 2-3 posts per week.
Publish and engage: You’re not done after you hit publish. Keep an eye on the comments on your post and respond, especially to the ones who provide additional insight or are appreciative of your POV. The key to finding your audience is remembering that engagement is a two-way street.
That last piece is especially important because engagement is what will get your profile in front of the audience you’re looking for. In addition to engaging with comments on your own post, also make sure you’re commenting on posts from other thought leaders in your space. This will help you get seen more by others, including reporters who might consider including your commentary in a story.
There are also special levers to pull on your platforms of choice. For example, on LinkedIn, you can try to get your posts included in a LinkedIn News story. Editors will choose people commenting on trending topics to include in a roundup of voices, and those roundups are right on the LinkedIn homepage.
Since thought leadership has become so buzzy, there are a lot of people online trying to do it themselves, and you should follow them for inspiration (note what you like and dislike). Get started with these experts whose content we love:
James Clear: You may know James as the author of the bestselling book “Atomic Habits,” but he’s been writing online since 2012 and his popular 3-2-1 newsletter is sent to more than three million subscribers each week. James is a master of thought leadership because he’s constantly sharing his own ideas while also amplifying the ideas of other people. Each newsletter has three thoughts from James, two from others and one question that will make you think. The content all ladders up to his overarching message that small habits will lead to big change. The study of habits and how they impact our lives could be boring and even niche, but James’ knack for storytelling and dedication to consistently getting his message into the world in new ways has been a recipe for success.
Lola Bakare: Everyone who works in marketing should be following Lola on LinkedIn. She’s earned a coveted “Top Voice” badge and more than 30,000 followers on the platform. What makes her stand out? Even if you’ve never heard her speak, you can hear her voice through her copy - she is herself. That’s important because she’s leaning into important topics like inclusivity in marketing. At a time when the larger business world is debating the resources they give to DE&I and Social Impact, Lola is a strong voice arguing for more.
Aneesh Raman: As a workforce expert who’s a VP at LinkedIn, Aneesh is really on the front lines of thought leadership, regularly featured on a variety of mediums to talk about trends like return to office and AI in the workplace. In addition to building his own profile, he’s helped build them for many others, including President Barack Obama [Aneesh was a White House speechwriter for two years]. He posts a lot of tips and tricks, but something he’s really skilled at is showcasing his speaking engagements in a thoughtful way.
Lauryn and Michael Bosstick: Lauryn’s followers probably think of her as more of a beauty influencer than a thought leader, but she and her husband Michael are literal owners in the podcast space and have paved the way for many others. L&M host The Skinny Confidential Him & Her Show, a podcast that has more than 200 million downloads and is the go-to platform for anyone wanting to promote their beauty and wellness ventures. They’ve gotten to where they are by being open to all ideas [even the “woo woo”] and remaining consistent in sharing valuable content for years. [More on why Lauryn is our digital strategy queen here!]