<strong>Your content can lead an audience to a fountain of knowledge, but what are you really asking them to swallow?
Jonathan Crossfield explains why “thought leader” is not just a badge any marketer can claim for their content – it’s a distinction that needs to be built on proven expertise and validated by your audience.
By Jonathan Crossfield
I’ve never been comfortable with our industry’s obsession with thought leadership.
The aspiration itself isn’t a bad thing. Thought leadership is about building authority and trust – quite useful when your job is to persuade people to buy your products.
I get why content marketing briefs or strategies might list “thought leadership” as a goal. However, I question the methods brands often use when pursuing it, as well as how they go about proving they’ve achieved it.
Thought leadership is in the eye of the beholder
Who doesn’t want to be seen by their audience as worthy of trust and leading in thought? For example, after more than (eek) 10 years, writing this column still gives me a warm tingle inside.
It’s validation that my ideas aren’t entirely worthless; that I’m not just shouting at clouds; that my advice and way of thinking may occasionally even be worth following.
But does that make me a thought leader? Don’t ask me.
Bill Gates is a thought leader. John Cleese is a thought leader. Ariana Huffington is a thought leader. But they didn’t set out to be thought leaders.
People want to hear what they have to say because of what they achieved in their chosen fields. Thought leadership was bestowed upon them by an audience eager to learn how they did what they did, understand their thinking, and be inspired by their stories.
Whenever I see brands claim thought leadership, or Twitter or LinkedIn bios that describe the account owner as a thought leader, I want to reach through the screen, shake them by the shoulders, and shout, “You don’t get to say that! It’s not up to you!”
Only the audience gets to choose whose ideas are worth following. If you have to tell people you’re a thought leader, I’m betting you ain’t one. That’s not how it works.
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