Sometimes we lose track of how valuable social media can be and as marketers in an inbound marketing world, it is actually a marketing imperative to utilize these social sites to their full potential and that involves creating content continuously for true thought leadership.
Social media sites are today’s breeding ground for public thought. It is where peers congregate to share opinions, ideas, innovations and experiences. How can you hope to create thought leadership without engaging with others in your field? With the new modern wave of technology, social media brings everyone to one unified place. Twitter, for example, holds space for marketers, yes, but also trendsetters, celebrities, athletes, chefs, retail stores, and so much more. This is literally a place for true thought leadership across all disciplines as well as among your own peers.
So how do you stand out among the millions and become a leader among such a large group? At the root of it lies your content. How many times have I said content is king? Probably more than I can count, but content alone is not enough. After your content development strategy is in place, you should heed what Social Media Today has to offer:
“Social media thought leadership requires both direct and indirect tactics. Using your own social media channels is your direct reach. It is limited by the quality and size of your audiences on each of the social networks you use and how attentive your audiences are to your posts. You can improve attentiveness by being interesting and useful, but there are limits to what you can do with direct outreach here.”
This is very true. The direct methods they’re talking about are great, but it only goes so far with thought leadership. Thought leadership isn’t something you can claim or even self-profess… it is something you earn. To be a recognized thought leader, people have to come to you for answers. They must want to share your content with their networks. You have to be the driving force. When people start discussing the ideas you brought into being, even without any mention of you – that is when you have achieved thought leadership.
When other leaders, people of influence, start following and sharing your content, you know you did something right. The idea is to spread your ideas to others, to spread your influence among your circle and beyond. Let those other leaders be an influential force for your ideas. True thought leadership is having other leaders follow your foot can be an extraordinary platform for creating thought leadership among our peers. This is simply because these steps.
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