Why Thought
Leadership is the New Brand Differentiator

When your brand creates and promotes ideas that enlighten clients and help them solve issues, you have established yourself as a thought leader. Thought leadership develops a forum for open dialogue about societal and marketplace problems while asserting your company as a trusted source of authority in your industry.

With so much noise filling the marketing sphere, thought leadership is crucial for distinguishing your brand as a deep expert with a uniquely positioned point of view on the industry’s biggest questions. It’s a critical component of a strong marketing strategy, and it begins with executives who are willing to lead the charge to secure their place among top experts in their field.

Though the term has recently morphed into a trending buzzword, thought leadership has driven the most effective brand names forward for decades. From driving sales to elevating the reputation of the company, here are some classic examples of renowned brands dominating thought leadership in their industry:

• Dove’s 2005 “Real Beauty” campaign left a lasting impact on the beauty industry when it sparked a conversation about the harmful and distorted standards caused by photoshopping models in advertising.
• Nike’s 2016 “Nike Pro Hijab” launch was one of the first to represent Muslim female athletes, an example of just one of many ads that have established the brand as a forethinking expert in diversity, equity, and inclusion.

To keep your brand relevant, it’s more important than ever before for brands to carve out a space in their niche as thought leaders. But rather than simply declaring your brand as a top expert, you must balance your message with authenticity, and even some level of humility, to resonate with today’s audiences.

At its core level, thought leadership boils down to these five elements:

1. Addresses big questions

By nature, content that seeks to engage an audience needs to address fundamental problems, concerns, and curiosities. Therefore, brands need to have a pulse on what’s important to their audience for effective thought leadership.

2. Promotes novel ideas

After determining which questions matter most, thought leaders must present a uniquely positioned message in response to the query. Again, focus on ideas that go against the grain, as they are more likely to pique the interest of your clients.

3. Establishes a clear perspective

Thought leadership entails firmly asserting your point of view on the issues your brand chooses to tackle. While being an expert entails researching multiple perspectives, truly progressive visionaries promote a salient solution.

4. Persuades and transforms society

Your brand isn’t just claiming to know a solution to a problem – you’re convincing people to adopt your resolution with urgency. Though other brands will claim to understand the issue, you have to differentiate yourself by shifting opinions on a mass scale and changing how society approaches the problem.

5. Builds a culture of confidence

Convincing an audience to subscribe to your brand’s thought leadership requires trust. You need to demonstrate true authority before people will accept your expertise and influence with any level of certainty.

• Research: Learn everything you can about the pain points and concerns facing your audience and analyze your brand’s solutions. What’s hot in your industry right now? What conversations do you need to join to stay relevant?
• Craft: Construct a completely original position on the subject that sets your brand apart from other voices in the industry. Starting with C-level expertise on the topic, push your ideas through a talent engine that includes a communications expert, a brand journalist, and an editor. Create content that’s polished and intriguing.
• Promote: Using everything from your brand’s established social media channels to guest blog posts on popular business sites, get your content out there for readers to engage with.

Ultimately, executives driving company thought leadership will establish themselves as brand ambassadors, synonymously becoming an industry expert and symbol for the brand itself.