There’s no dearth of content on the internet. But when you want to deep dive into a particular subject, genre or industry - finding good quality write-ups is difficult and hence truly valuable. It gives readers or laymen insights which can be easily missed if it wasn’t for a ‘thought leader’ who broke it down for them. And that’s what thought leadership is all about - industry experts who hold high positions in their organisations, and have the knowledge, insight and authority over the topic they intend to communicate to the audiences about.
Why should organisations consider thought leadership?
For starters, a well articulated thought leadership piece increases brand awareness about your organisation, the industry as well as the people running it. After all, thought leadership is all about what the leader of the organisation stands for, throws light on the leader’s expertise while building trust. Thought leadership has many avenues - bringing out new industry insights, driving change, problem-solving or simply addressing the challenges that affect the industry. Moreover, it also helps keep up with the world and stay relevant in these fast changing times. As it fuels media coverage, more people - current and potential employees and customers are now in the know of the business in general. Which only means that it helps drive your employer branding efforts as well.
So, how does it fit into your organisation’s PR strategy?
Not only does it fit into the PR strategy, but fits perfectly like pieces of puzzle. But once thought leadership has been identified as a part of the PR strategy, it needs to be put out there for the world to see, consistently. A study conducted by Edelman-LinkedIn found that decision makers across organisations and industries are now reading more thought leadership pieces than ever before. Almost 60% of them said that it was such thought leadership articles that pushed them towards doing business with organisations they hadn’t initially considered.
Given that thought leadership reflects who you are, it builds relationships [while they may be left unspoken] with the audiences. That’s the biggest reason why thought leadership, like other arms of your PR strategy, helps promote the business and builds an identity in the industry based on relevant content. In fact, the same study also found that around 55% people taking the survey said that they always consider an organisation’s thought leadership pieces before hiring them. Hence proving that it helps build brand awareness, visibly and also partnerships with other players - which contributes towards the company’s success by unlocking potential opportunities.
Thought Leadership for the Win
Thought leadership communication will continue to pick up momentum over the coming years, given that it helps cut through the clutter and help scale businesses. By adding value to general content, thought leadership articles demand attention - whether on a website, social media platform or even a print publication. Piquing readers’ interest, thought leadership opens up other PR avenues by inviting conversations around such topics, seeking quotes from the leaders or event spokesperson opportunities. Moreover, this also points out that the ones who write these pieces are truly leaders and ones that are passionate about the work they do by bringing people closer. Without it, imagine the amount of valuable information that would be withheld from the audiences - and information such, that will potentially bring business.