What is one reason why thought leadership matters? Why is thought leadership important, and what is one benefit of being a thought leader?
To help you understand why thought leadership matters, we asked founders and CEOs this question for their best insights. From boosting brand visibility to connecting with customers, there are several reasons why thought leadership is important.
We asked eight leaders what the benefits of thought leadership are. Here is what they said:
- Boost Brand Visibility
- Create Opportunities and Enthusiasm
- Shed Company in a New Light
- A Unique and Timeless Perspective
- Thought Leaders Can Sell More
- Promote Change
- Build Trust in Company
- Connect with Customers
Boost Brand Visibility
If you don’t have a budget to boost your visibility, become a thought leader in your niche and boost your brand’s visibility that way. For instance, participate in interviews and accept invitations to be on a panel of experts. Use services that will allow you to guest on podcasts. Use services like Terkel and Haro to get your name out there. By following these methods, you boost your brand’s visibility without having to pay for costly ads to boost your name recognition.
Janice Wald, Mostly Blogging
Create Opportunities and Enthusiasm
Thought leadership creates opportunities and enthusiasm about important and contemporary topics—not just in one industry, sector, or specialty, but throughout the digital world. It provides inspiration and intellectual stimulation to start new conversations and discoveries. People who share their expertise and progress allow others to learn and make discoveries of their own. This has always been the same, but social media has brought this process to an infinitely bigger scale.
Finding fresh perspectives and tying them to real-life experiences from a different point of view—even if it is only a tiny window for conversation or engagement—gives rise to previously unimagined prospects.
Ryan Warner, 1AND1 Life
Shed Company in a New Light
Being a thought leader provides an opportunity to amplify a cause important to you, and have that mission become synonymous with your company. About two-thirds of consumers will spend more money to support a cause, because who doesn’t want to feel good while also buying what they need? Being a female entrepreneur in tech is a rare thing, which gives my voice more credibility when speaking to inclusivity in this traditionally male world. Speaking to this cause sheds a new light on how people see my company, inviting people into the fold who might not have done so otherwise.
Theresia Le Battistini, Fashion League
A Unique and Timeless Perspective
A thought leader will innovate, inspire, and influence those around them to be the best they can be. They make a significant contribution to the overall success of a business and provide a unique perspective that can transform the workplace.
A thought leader is informed by past experience, current conversations, and future speculations. This timeless approach enables them to illuminate ideas in a way which encourages others to implement them.
Rather than focusing on the minutiae of business, a thought leader is able to see the bigger picture, and to express their vision in an accessible, engaging, and motivational manner.
Their expertise also means that their colleagues’ faith in them is frequently justified, and they are able to achieve tangible results. Being a thought leader allows you to hone your expertise, and to develop your awareness of your chosen industry, using your skills to help others. This is a serious responsibility, but it brings respect, recognition, and rewards.
Mario Cacciottolo, SBO
Thought Leaders Can Sell More
Thought leaders are more trusted because of their guidance, tips, and thoughts, in general. When you are established as an expert and have built a loyal community of followers, you are capable of selling more. The products or services they promote can be easily sold. This is one of the biggest benefits of being a thought leader in this competitive age. Being able to boost your company’s sales is one of the best reasons why thought leadership is necessary. You can not only boost your sales, but you can also boost your partner company’s sales. Anything you decide to talk about automatically makes your followers want to try out or buy.
Dr. Patrick Hsu, Memorial Plastic Surgery
Promote Change
Any person or organization whose knowledge in a certain sector is highly regarded is considered a thought leader. They can inspire people and promote change by assuming the position of opinion leaders because they are recognized as trustworthy information and subject matter experts in their business. Your impact and reach grow as a result of this. People will turn to you for your guidance and information because you are frequently regarded as an authority in your field by reporters, researchers, etc. The purpose of a thought leader is to promote change rather than further personal interests. But by letting more people know about your abilities, you’ll increase the number of people who know you.
Brian Clark, United Medical Education
Build Trust in Company
Thought leadership matters because at its core you are very much a face of your company and brand as the logo, ethos, and product/service, so being seen and known as an expert in your particular area can be of immense value to growth and prosperity.
Mostly, it can build a massive amount of trust in your company, and with more and more companies being built online in an essentially ‘faceless’ world, customers and clients have become wary about being scammed or ripped off, so being able to recognize and know the leader or team who is behind that company can be extremely important just for peace of mind.
Humans naturally want to build trust, so something thought leadership will help you gain more purchases, engage more consumers or clients, and ultimately help your business grow.
Mike Walsh, Cloud My Biz
Connect with Customers
Thought leadership matters because it helps us connect with our customers, employees, and partners. Thought leaders are people who are well-known for their expertise in a particular field; they have built strong relationships with others in their industry, and they have a reputation for being able to make decisions and solve problems that others cannot. As a thought leader, you will be able to use your influence to help others learn more about your industry and find solutions to their own problems. This can result in more sales or other benefits for your company, which is why it’s so important for us all to be thought leaders.
Landon Eckles, Clean Juice
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