Chances are that you already have heard about this particular term; hence the query, “What is thought leadership?” may not sound all that strange.
Thought leadership is a term that’s usually associated with content marketing. It is one where you express your thoughts on a particular subject matter while backing up your conclusions with deep research.
For example, the exposes often run on Trump’s political campaign had all the hallmarks of a political expose. But when you look closely at it, you will generally see evidence of thought leadership and much more. Sure, the query “what is thought leadership?” may sound empty and even foolish to some.
But think about it for a moment, how often do you research a particular piece of information online? And when you review the search results, you usually find gibberish and useless garbage.
By identifying thought leadership early on, you should be able to narrow down your search parameters effectively. You can now access better and refined searches backed up by solid research rather than innuendos, fiction and rumours.
Value of thought leadership:
When it comes to any new term, your basic impulse would be to determine if you could benefit from the same. Fair enough, which is why you should check out the value of thought leadership, and why it matters more today than ever before.
For example, Thought leadership is all about showcasing your expertise in any subject, developing content pieces based on the same premise, marketing them to a broader audience and, in the end, making a more significant impact on Society.
- Take a closer look at some additional benefits of thought leadership.
· Thought leadership qualifies you as an expert who has the requisite insight and valuable information to share on that particular subject.
· It helps you to connect with the larger public and builds your brand in the process.
· Your credibility is established, and more people would take your word for it since you have the required expertise.
· Encourages forward thinking.
· Helps you to address some outstanding issues and may even compel you to track down more information and carry out additional research on the topic.
· It inspires and motivates the public to innovate more.
- Examples of thought leadership:
It is always a good idea to take a closer look at some recent examples of thought leadership and their lifelong impact, especially on Generation X and the new-age millennials. The fact is it is more the inventions spurred on by this leadership than the thought leadership concept. But guess it still counts, and that’s why you need to take a closer look at the following examples to understand better what thought leadership is.
- One of the examples of thought leadership would have to be that of Steve Jobs. Steve thought you had to be a little different, if not unique, to purchase an Apple computer.
And that inspired the slogan, “think different”, kickstarted Apple sales. Today, Apple stands heads and shoulders above all other technology companies because of its thought leadership, which is an inspiration to the company today.
- If you had asked Fran Blanche to describe herself, she would have labelled herself as the girl who makes everything. Fran understood the essential tech behind most gadgets, so she made a series of weekly how-to videos, quaintly labelled “Fran in the lab”.
Since she understood the basic tech of nearly all the gadgets, taking them apart and explaining the same to the public was not that hard. She has added over 150,000 subscribers to her YouTube channel. Her opinion is sought after by the public because she has proven herself to be an expert on most tech gizmos to hit the market.
- It may surprise you to learn that Dior had earlier worked as a secretary to Yves Saint Laurent. While Christin Dior worked hard as an assistant to the likes of Saint Laurent, he learnt all there was to learn about Haute Couture.
And eventually, he managed to open his fashion label Dior and was running it successfully. It just goes on to show you that thought leadership can inspire you to innovate while eventually teaching you to fly on your own.
- Who should produce thought leadership content?
That’s an open-ended query because the content – both in Print and Online- can help influence many. Of course, if the influencer acts with noble intentions and the only purpose is to inform the public while all of his content is backed up by facts and research, he can produce leadership content.
But if it is the likes of people like Donald Trump, the answer is an unequivocal “No”.
A mere review of the op-ed should clue you in about thought leadership and its effectiveness in deciding a nation’s destiny.
For example, thought leadership was one of the leading causes behind the current Roe Vs Wade issue and feminine rights and health. The content produced online, to date, remains a detailed, well-researched rebuke of the Supreme court judgment and even manages to refute the listed arguments in favour of overturning Roe Vs Wade.
That’s yet another poignant example of thought leadership to rock our Society today.
