Think about the entrepreneurs and executives you look to for inspiration. Chances are, you’re drawn to them for their passion on their subject matter, or their innate ability to use their skills and strengths for the common good. Discover how the right mindset—and the right content—allows you to meet the needs of your target audience and differentiate yourself with authentic thought leadership.

• Introduction
• Starting your journey to authentic thought leadership
  1. Know your audience
  2. Share your perspective
  3. Write a blog post
  4. Document your knowledge
  5. Be consistent
  6. Create a content strategy
  7. Promote your work online

Introduction

We’re drawn to the idea of thought leadership, to be influenced by it or to attain it; in a way, we are already thought leaders, with our unique ways of seeing and interacting with the people and the world around us.

Becoming a thought leader in business is a title many professionals in a range of roles and industries chase—but how do true thought leaders stand out amongst other voices?

We believe the answer lies in authenticity; in allowing yourself to grow, to be challenged, to strive for excellence, and to find an audience who is seeking answers from an expert just like you.

Thought leadership is a combination of a variety of tactics that allow you to get your voice heard and share your unique perspective, all while marketing your personal brand and your business.

Whether you’re a business, a professional, or an entrepreneur, one of the biggest favors you can do for your business is creating great content.

Influencers do it best: They find a platform and share thoughts, ideas, building relationships with their audience. The most successful influencers are those who are able to do all of the above from a place of truth.

But how can you start sharing your truth and finding an audience who will benefit most from your perspective?

Starting your journey to authentic thought leadership

We’ve compiled our favorite methods for building an audience and becoming an authentic thought leader in your industry or space.

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1. Know your audience

Understanding your audience is crucial in creating relevant, impactful content—because at the end of the day, you’re creating for them.

You have to prove that you can make their life simpler and more enjoyable by solving a central problem they have.

Are you speaking to consumers? If so, which ones? Here are a few traits to help you outline your target audience:

• What generation are you speaking to (Baby Boomers, Millennials, Gen X, etc.)?
• What do they like?
• What are they interested in?
• Do they have a specific taste in content and aesthetic?
• What questions do they want to answer?
• Do they have any objections or specific roadblocks that you can help solve?
• Where can you find them (online, offline, etc.)?
  

2. Share your perspective

It’s easy to get caught up in what other people are doing and creating. However, it is who you are that makes you stand out, in business and in life.

Your audience wants to know what you think and how you see things; and that makes all the difference between working with you, or working with your competition.

3. Write a blog post

Creating a blog post is the easiest place to start, whether you’re an established professional or in the early stages of building your brand. A blog is a place to share your ideas, thoughts, and dreams. Think about a problem you know you can solve for your audience, create a simple outline, and write it out.

4. Document your knowledge

Do you find yourself answering the same FAQs over and over? Does it feel like you’re constantly explaining the same topic?

Take that core piece of content and turn it into bite-sized pieces for the social platforms of your choosing.

The good news? There’s a Teakie Tutorial to help you effectively share your content across social media platforms.

These pieces may be housed on your blog as evergreen educational pieces or filmed for a webinar to help inform and educate others on your passions.

These informative pieces of content can be an asset when you’re speaking with current or potential clients. Within a business or organization, it’s these content tools that make your knowledge scalable. They can help enhance your business development process, streamline communications, and contribute to a client experience that’s second-to-none.

5. Be consistent

Many people think that they can spin up a website and voila — the traffic will come and your products will sell themselves. Unfortunately, it doesn’t quite work like that.

You need to create content—whether in the form of written articles, social media posts or advertising—to attract traffic to your site. When adopting an online marketing strategy, your continued presence is what will grow authority over time.

It also gives you access to important data. Which topics perform better than others? What sparks a conversation? What do people want to know?

6. Create a content strategy

This is where having a clearly defined content strategy is so valuable. You’ll determine exactly when, what, why and how often you want to post. This is an essential tool to support your business objectives.

7. Promote your work online

Now that you’ve created a piece of content, it’s vital to promote it to your target audience via your social media channels. The more intentional content you create and share, the more you’ll understand what works—and what doesn’t—for your audience and business. By consistently working from an authentic place, you’ll be in a stronger position every time you publish a new piece of content. Who knows where you’ll be a year from now?