A passionate marketer, CEO at iResearch Services, TechInformed & GivingforGood.
Establishing yourself as a thought leader can greatly enhance your brand identity. However, I’ve found that many people express a distaste for thought leadership. What could be causing this sentiment?
Below are 10 reasons why many people are opposed to the practice. As you embark on or improve your thought leadership strategy, these insights can help you craft a compelling thought leader persona that resonates with your audience and fosters a devoted and engaged following.
1. Not Offering New Ideas Or Challenging The Status Quo
One of your primary thought leadership goals should be to inspire others with new and innovative ideas. That’s what the most successful people in the industry do. But all too often, those who claim to produce thought leadership simply rehash old ideas, leaving a bad taste in the mouth of their audience.
2. Not Knowing The Difference Between Content Marketing And Thought Leadership
Content marketing is essential to brand development. But while content marketing can encompass everything a company puts online, from press releases to white papers, thought leadership is more specific. B2B thought leadership, in particular, should reach beyond products and services to discuss new ways of thinking about an industry.
3. Thinking Blogs Alone Are A Thought Leadership Marketing Strategy
For many business leaders, blogs are a way to start hashing out ideas. But blogging falls short of a comprehensive thought leadership framework. Those who pass off their blogs as the best demonstration of their new and innovative perspectives often leave audiences turned off—about the brand and thought leadership in general. Why? Often blogs—due to their limited word count and absence of infographics or charts—do not do a topic justice. As a result, they are generally not considered thought leadership content. In my experience, authors who attempt to pass them off as such often fail to engage their audience effectively.
4. Rarely Posting New Thought Leadership Content
Your industry is always changing, so regardless of your sector, your thought leadership content should always have something new to say. People are typically turned off when those who claim to have fresh insights only offer new content on a sporadic basis. If you’re offering meaningful B2B thought leadership, you should create new content frequently.
5. Never Having Enough Meat In Their Thought Leadership
Thought leadership should demonstrate that the author has deep expertise. But all too often, individuals stay surface-level and never really offer true analysis or insights. In short, the so-called thought leadership is all show and no substance. Reading too much of this “thin” thought leadership is enough to taint the entire practice.
6. Consistently Producing Poor-Quality Thought Leadership Content
Offering “thin” thought leadership is one example of poor quality, but it’s not the only kind. Sometimes ideas can be useful, but the presentation is lacking, putting a damper on the reputation of thought leadership in general. If the thought leadership videos look cheap or a thought leadership podcast production value is low, it can reflect poorly on the person creating the content.
7. Talking A Lot But Never Offering Unique Insights
When you offer thought leadership, it’s about your leadership and not about “you” as an individual. Knowing that distinction—between the personal ego and the insight you can offer about your work—makes all the difference when it comes to great thought leadership. Those who spend a lot of time saying a lot of words but never offering anything new are part of the reason some hate thought leadership.
8. Relying On Sales And Marketing Material
The ultimate purpose of thought leadership may be to help your business grow. But when too much thought leadership is sourced not from original insights but from a business’s own self-promotion, it loses its relevance. Thought leadership is a form of research-based marketing, but it shouldn’t look too much like marketing, or else your audience will start to turn away.
9. Not Conducting Surveys Or Offering Original Research
Audiences love statistics. They give a clear picture of an idea and provide a fact to back up a point in an argument. As part of thought leadership, original research can demonstrate that the author is creating new and relevant content. When that’s lacking, it can tarnish the overall reputation of thought leadership content.
10. Not Using the Right Channel To Disseminate Thought Leadership Content
There’s a way to ruin even the best thought leadership: by sharing it through the wrong channels. For example, it might not make sense for fintech thought leadership to appear in an Instagram story (a page on LinkedIn could be more appropriate). When too many so-called thought leadership experts use the wrong channels, it can make listeners disregard the content category completely.
In conclusion, true thought leadership requires a data-driven marketing approach that addresses the needs of customers. Engage directly and empathetically with your audience, fostering an authentic connection. Keep abreast of industry trends and dare to challenge norms, thereby offering valuable, innovative insights. By focusing on substance and audience understanding, you can solidify your position as a thought leader, fostering brand loyalty and audience engagement.
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