Thought leadership has evolved into a tool that enables leaders to expand their reach, establish authority, and take their business to the next level. However, publishing thought leadership content is only fruitful when it is meaningful and creates value for the target audience. If not, it risks being another marketing effort lost in the noise.
By implementing a successful thought leadership strategy, entrepreneurs can stand out from the competition and demonstrate their expertise in the field, both of which open doors to exponential growth. Successful business leaders in India, like Ratan Tata, Azim Premji and Adi Godrej, also viewed as thought leaders, exemplify the impact a good strategy can have on the leader, their business, and the audience.
Among them is Sanjiv Bajaj, Chairman and Managing Director of Bajaj Finserv and one of the best financial leaders in the country. In a conversation at IIM Indore, discussing the qualities of a leader, he said, “Be a leader who leaves behind a contribution to the world, for which he is remembered even after 50 years. All of us have that opportunity; we just need to know when to grab it.”
Aspiring entrepreneurs can have an indelible impact by transforming their thought leadership strategy. To learn how to achieve that, read on.
- Take up Speaking engagements and Podcasts to Establish Presence
Participating in talks allows leaders to speak directly with their audience, focusing on their niche or industry. From seminars and panel discussions to interviews, leaders can choose the right platform that features the ideal audience they want to build connections with.
Podcasts offer standout benefits in this regard as they build trust with an audience. As per Edison’s research in 2021, 53% of podcast listeners say their opinion of a company is more positive when mentioned on the podcast they listen to regularly. In fact, podcasts offer a great way to distil thought leadership into a more dynamic conversation, helping leaders tell stories and build narratives that listeners can relate with. What’s more, India presents a huge market for podcasting, with 150 million Indians streaming audio regularly. This presents a tremendous opportunity for leaders to particulate in reputed podcasts or set up business podcasts of their own.
- Leverage Social Media Platforms to Expand Reach
Social media platforms present a great channel for thought leaders to amplify their presence and message. Data shared by Meta shows that people play over 140 billion Reels each day on Facebook and Instagram collectively as of March 2023. This presents a means for leaders to get in front of their audience. Whether it’s a snippet of a speaking engagement or a clip directing the audience to a larger thought leadership resource, leaders can leverage these platforms to build a following and amplify their reach.
Leaders can give themselves a leg up by allocating a portion of their marketing budget to target a specific demographic further. Leveraging the right social media strategy that ensures the content is relevant to the audience can also help humanise the leader.
- Align Brand Vision with the Thought Leadership Message
When the brand vision and thought leadership message do not align, it can hinder the leaders’ efforts in building trust with their audience. By ensuring these two aspects complement each other, leaders can ensure their thought leadership is insightful and directly impacts growing their business revenues.
When sales and marketing teams work together along with teams from HR, PR and corporate affairs, a more cohesive thought leadership strategy can be developed. This way, thought leadership can build awareness about the company and impact buying decisions. By matching these messages with the organisation’s purpose, leaders can improve synergies and benefit from the results.
- Use the Tools Available to Reach the Audience Effectively
Content marketing tools can help leaders and their teams publish and track thought leadership content smartly and more efficiently. From finding highly searched keywords, practising social listening and posting at the most effective time to following a content calendar and automating the publishing process, using the right tools can be a game changer.
These tools can also help create better content and analyse its impact and engagement. Some impactful tools include Feedly, Google Alerts, LinkedIn Newsletter Analytics, Hootsuite, Asana, Calendly, Moz and Google Analytics, and many others with specific functions that can help boost thought leadership efforts.
- Prioritise Storytelling and Data Equally to /keep the Audience Engaged
When it comes to thought leadership, storytelling and data go hand-in-hand. Without one or the other, leaders risk losing their audience. While storytelling creates engagement and helps with authenticity, data helps build the leader’s credibility.
In fact, thought leadership content can be more dynamic with images, graphs, videos, case studies and other formats melded with the written word. All this creates a multi-media ecosystem into which the audience can immerse themselves to understand and engage with the experiences and opinions of a thought leader.
A good strategy enhanced by the right tools can enhance a leader’s thought leadership efforts. To become the sought-after thought leader, one needs to be persistent, patient and ready to adapt. Only then can aspiring entrepreneurs become successful business leaders in India and build their legacy.
