10 Ways to Become a Thought Leader As an Independent Professional (Guide)
8 MIN
You’re already an expert in your field, but are you a thought leader? That’s a question every successful or aspiring independent contractor should ask. With the internet changing so quickly, producing content that reaches your audience is fast becoming a necessity for solo businesses.
GATE
Building influence and reputation is crucial to success as an independent business, and there are clear steps your solo business can take to strengthen both. One way to enhance your reputation and elevate your independent consultancy is by developing a thought leadership platform.
A carefully planned strategy that integrates social media, content marketing, and a variety of creative ideas can ease your transition to becoming a subject matter expert. That transition—from “good” consultant to sought-after expert—will give you a competitive edge and make you more visible to potential clients.
Why Is Thought Leadership Important?
The increasing value of personal branding has made it easier than ever for people to gain visibility in their chosen field. Thought leadership can elevate you from being known as “good” in your specialty to defining it. This guide outlines how to establish yourself as a thought leader and explores the reasons why doing so can significantly benefit your business.
What Is a Thought Leader?
Thought leaders inspire others with innovative ideas, which they then turn into reality. Their goal is to create a dedicated community of loyal friends, fans, and followers to help them create sustainable change.
Knowing your audience is essential in any field. More than just being an expert to the “stars,” a thought leadership platform should position you to become a solution provider for your target audience.
There are many benefits to thought leadership, including:
- Stronger networks that provide increased access to key individuals, media channels, and valuable opportunities
- Potential establishment as an industry leader
- The ability to become a “trusted resource” to key people and businesses
- Opportunity to shape the conversations taking place in your industry
Thought leadership can be a significant competitive advantage for independent consultants.
People want to hire the best of the best, and thought leadership validates your reputation, credibility, and in-depth knowledge. Subject matter experts tend to be in higher demand, which can help you attract more lucrative and more rewarding opportunities.
How to Build Thought Leadership
3 steps to building thought leadership
Thought Leadership Lab Founder and CEO Denise Brosseau likens developing thought leadership to “putting yourself on shout.” How you do that depends on your interests. You might start with creating a blog or speaking at an association. You can also convene the conversation by bringing people together, an opportunity to nurture and build the dialogue while also creating a strategic connection.
According to Brousseau, building your thought leadership plan can be broken down into three broad categories:
- Things that you do
- Going where there is already traffic
- Teaching others to become you
How to educate others
Teaching others to “become you” can take your thought leadership to the next level. First, define what you do; put it down on paper in the form of frameworks, best practices, or even a manifesto. Then, build your thought leadership platform by sharing this information widely through writing, speaking, and/or teaching.
Next, consider how you can get others to take what you do and do it for their respective audiences. License or certify others in your methodologies using a train-the-trainer model, which can also provide a secondary income stream.
As you begin to develop thought leadership, keep the following tips in mind:
- Be yourself. Brosseau advises, “Be the consultant that you are. If you are larger than life, then be that on the stage. Don’t try to fit yourself into a box.”
- Stay focused. Thought leaders are not jacks-of-all-trades. Focus on an area of expertise and own it. This teaches people what you are good at.
- Forget the box. Don’t be afraid to think outside the box or create a new shape entirely. There is overwhelming demand for our attention today, so rise above the same-old, same-old with your own new ideas.
- Predict the future. Thought leaders anticipate future trends and challenges based on their extensive knowledge and insights.
- Create a trail of authority. Validate your authority with real world examples. Testimonials, case studies, and media mentions are all ways that you can provide social proof to your audience and establish credible expertise.
Balance promotion and overexposure
While one of the benefits of thought leadership may be additional revenue, it’s important to differentiate between sharing your expertise and being overly promotional. The latter can cause your credibility to take a hit.
Thought leaders who are authentic have a passion for dialogue. They have big ideas or points of differentiation. They seek to teach, inspire, lead, and engage others in the exploration of topics of interest.
Lead with passion and develop a strategy that aligns with your interests and that of your audience.
…thought leaders can’t be thought leaders if they aren’t heard. A single speech at a conference, unless it goes viral (and chances are it won’t), is much like placing a single advertisement on tv in one time slot and hoping that people catch it.
- Daniel Rasmus, Author, Listening to the Future
Speaking at events not only puts your name out there, it introduces both your thoughts and your brand as a thought leader. See more tips to building your personal brand: 9 Ways to Build a Personal Brand for Small Business
How to Build Your Platform
Thought leaders listen, communicate, and create.
Listening lets you discover:
- Who the key players are
- What questions are being asked by your target audience
- Where conversations are taking place
- When hot topics are of note and how to think about those topics strategically
- How something is missing from the conversation—and what you can do to fix it
Listening also allows you to continue the dialogue with your audience. Below are just a few ways that you can listen:
- Read industry publications
- Follow existing influencers and thought leaders
- Join online forums or LinkedIn groups specific to your industry
- Participate on expert panels at workshops and conferences
Use your blog, newsletter, a survey tool, or social media to ask a question and get an answer from your network or to start a conversation.
10 Ways to Communicate Your Expertise
There are many ways to communicate your expertise. You may begin by focusing on one method and find that another method becomes a natural extension of what you are already doing. For example, publishing a book can generate public speaking opportunities. Just as thought leadership should be driven by your passion and interests, so too is the way you promote it. You want to find a way that fits your message and style of communicating.
- Public speaking. Speaking is a wonderful way to lead the conversation. If you enjoy presenting and teaching in this way, it will be a natural channel to develop your brand. Organizations such as Chambers of Commerce, professional associations, conferences, and workshops all need knowledge experts to deliver valuable information to their participants. You are not limited to participating in the conversation—think about hosting your own speaking event.
- Publish a book. Writing a book or other form of long-term content can establish you as a thought leader and knowledge expert. These publications give you an opportunity to communicate your ideas and build relationships with your readers.
- Videos. If you are comfortable on camera, video is a powerful medium to employ in your thought leadership efforts. You can create your own media outlet using video sites like YouTube or Vimeo. You can develop how-to videos, offer tips and recommendations, or create your own talk show format.
- Podcasts. If you prefer audio only, then podcasting gives you another option. You can do your own talk show using sites such as Blog Talk Radio. Create a teaching series and share it on iTunes or streaming services like Spotify. You have the option to publish podcasts on a daily, weekly, or monthly basis, depending on your schedule.
- Win awards. Awards and honors are another way to validate your expertise. After all, we tend to pay closer attention to those who have “award-winning” in front of their name. You can submit yourself for industry awards and honors or work with a PR professional to identify and submit applications on your behalf.
- Teach. You can teach others to do what you do or teach your target audience how to solve a problem. For example, create a workshop that you lead in your local area, or host a presentation at an industry event or conference. You can teach through writing or webinars, or online platforms, in addition to universities, high schools, and other educational venues.
- Blog or guest blog. Blogging is a relatively easy way to begin establishing thought leadership. It’s important to be consistent in your content and posting schedule. Remember that you want to create authority, which requires focusing on your area of expertise. Youro blog is a prime platform to share news and insights, develop ideas, answer questions, and encourage further conversation. Also, consider if you’d like to have a blog tied to your website, if you’d prefer to leverage a social network like LinkedIn, or if you’d pursue guest blogging opportunities. No matter which way you choose, make sure that when you pitch your ideas for a post, they are original and relevant to the blog’s audience.
- Become a digital “Dear Abby.” Social media channels are excellent for creating, communicating, and sharing. You can share expert tips or give your take on events currently in the news. Demonstrate your passion for your subject by sharing relevant content on LinkedIn. The more you share (within reason!), the more people will begin to seek out your expertise.
- Master the media. You can grow your thought leadership platform by becoming an expert source for the media. Sign up for services such as Help a Reporter Out (HARO) that deliver media queries to your inbox or create an expert profile on sites such as ProfNet. If you read a story and have a different take, connect with the reporter via email or social media to discuss contributing to their platform.
- Develop insight reports. You can commission a survey and use the data to create a benchmark report. This provides an opportunity to provide your unique insight on the data collected. Then, you have the option to develop regular updates to your reports on an annual basis or more frequently if needed. Take key highlights from your report and turn it into an infographic or deliver a webinar that delves deeper into the data. Create a press release that announces the report and shares key findings.
Social media channels are excellent for creating, communicating, and sharing.
To become a marketable independent professional, you need to position yourself as an expert in your field or industry. An easy way to establish this credibility is to write and publish your own industry related blog. Read 5 Blogging Tips for Your Small Business.
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