Thought leadership blogs are a dime-a-dozen online, this well might be one of them. What makes thought leadership the most discussed topics online? Is it to teach avid marketers how to establish themselves as leaders or is it keep up with the evolving definitions attached to Thought Leadership? perhaps are always looking for inspirations and the digital age seems to be giving thought leaders a great platform to make themselves heard and seen.
Here we discuss 5 qualities of thought leadership:
- Confidence: You need to have as much confidence as the audience has on you. Having a leadership position or being featured in top publications is just a small part of this. The real win is when you think, act and serve with strong conviction. Confidence boost credibility like no other.
- Include Your Audience: The more you include people the more they credit you as a thought leader. Remember, it’s their confidence in you that’s got you this far. So show them that they’re part of your journey. When you’re speaking or writing, include them with a question, only then can you inspire ideas and inspire them.
- Leverage Social Media and its Influence: Word of mouth is still the most influential type of marketing but today, the platform used for it is really dynamic and crowded. Social media is where people are engaging with each other and though you can’t be as brazen as you can be with traditional forms of marketing, you can definitely win hearts and minds with great content. Social media has become popular because of the variety of content it throws light on. Your quality of content will get people talking.
- Honesty is Mighty Important: Speaking of the digital age, there’s always a problem of authenticity and so, when people cry wolf, they do eventually get caught. Stay true to yourself at every step. Cognitive dissonance ie when people experience something very contradictory to their past experience and when this happens with respect to someone they revere or follow, it could diminish your credibility. Refuse any uncomfortable click-bait headlines which are tempting but short-sighted.
- Don’t Fear Controversies: Your opinions may make some people uncomfortable but if you believe in them, stick on and don’t be afraid to establish an alternate way of thinking. Try and embrace the vulnerable. Talk about something that’s usually not talked about, challenge the norm. A thought leader is always forward-thinking and so should always have something new to say. Keep yourself updated, so that you can ask questions that have not been asked before.
