How To Position Your Brand as a Thought Leader

Aug 2, 2024

The term “thought leadership” is often used in marketing circles, but what does it really mean? Thought leadership goes beyond traditional marketing, focusing on presenting your brand as a knowledgeable and trusted authority in your industry. You can achieve this in multiple ways, but one of the most effective methods is to create original content that offers valuable insights that would interest decision-makers in your industry.

5 Steps to Position Your Brand as a Thought Leader

Positioning your brand as a thought leader won’t happen overnight, but if your goal is to get your intended audience to view your brand as a thought leader, here’s how to get started.

1. Know — and understand — your audience.

One of the first questions you need to answer definitively is, “Who are you trying to reach?” If your answer is “decision-makers,” it’s still too broad. In B2B, you’re likely working with a diverse range of customers — new startups, seasoned executives, publicly traded companies, etc. — and they will have different operating budgets, numbers of employees, and levels of technical expertise.

Talk with your internal stakeholders and determine who you are trying to reach so you can choose the best ways to communicate with them through content marketing.

2. Consider your intended audience’s pain points or gaps in knowledge.

Your customers face myriad challenges, from staying on top of the latest trends and technology impacting their industries to dealing with the day-to-day tasks of running a business. They’re interested in content that addresses their common pain points or educates them on a new or complex topic. They’re also interested in content that goes beyond the surface level and gives them actionable insights they can apply to their own strategies.

Fortunately, B2B media is the perfect vehicle to reach them. By offering relevant, timely, informative, and innovative content, you’ll start to build trust with them, creating a positive association with your brand. Be sure to include unique insights from a highly visible subject matter expert within your organization, as this will make your content stand out. This could include case studies of successful initiatives, how a significant technological advancement impacts your industry, or other fresh perspectives about topics important to your audience.

3. Establish yourself as a credible, authentic partner.

Credibility and authenticity are foundational to thought leadership. You can build credibility by citing reputable sources, sharing real-world examples, and leveraging your own expertise. Again, this is a great way to highlight someone from your organization, giving a name and a face to your business.

Authenticity comes from being genuine and transparent in your communication. Sharing your company’s experiences, successes — and even failures — will connect with your audience on a human level.

4. Use a variety of content types to communicate with your audience.

There’s no one-size-fits-all approach to thought leadership in content marketing. Instead, you’ll use various form factors to get your message across, including:

White papers and e-books: These tend to be the standard for establishing authority, as they are meant to be detailed, deep-dives into a specific topic. Usually offered in PDFs, the user can download and consume them at their convenience, and they offer the perfect platform for sharing data-driven insights or custom research. Also, if someone is interested in reading a long-form asset like this, they’re far more likely to be a quality lead.

Blogs and articles: Writing a blog or article can use a more conversational tone than a white paper or e-book, enabling you to connect with your audience on that important human level. They’re truly a blank slate since they can be about anything (and, technically, be any length), and they’re also great for SEO if you’re gating other content on your website.

Case studies: Sharing success stories enables you to showcase your expertise through real-world examples and increase credibility by including customer testimonials. Most people are curious and want to know what other companies in your industry have experienced by working with you. Be sure to highlight the challenges, solutions, and outcomes so potential customers get an idea of what it would be like to work together.

Webinars and podcasts: Nowadays, the written word is often not enough — your audience wants to see and hear you. Webinars and podcasts allow you to engage your audience in a more interactive and personal way. You can experiment with different formats, including hosting expert interviews, conducting live Q&A sessions, or breaking down a complex topic.

Research and data analysis: Conducting research is a great way to address some of the most popular topics in your industry and answer the many questions being asked. If you don’t have the internal resources, partner with an organization capable of conducting custom research and collaborate on the scope and survey questionnaire. Providing your audience with new insights is a wonderful way to establish credibility, and you can use the research results in myriad ways — infographics, FAQs, blogs, articles, white papers, webinars, and podcasts.

5. Don’t produce content that sounds too promotional.

Effective thought leadership content cannot be promotional. While we understand that your company needs ROI on its investment in content marketing, you can’t sell your own solution or services too hard. For example, if you gated a product brochure on your website, you’re probably not going to get many quality leads.

What you can do is include a call-to-action near the end of your content that subtly mentions your organization and encourages the reader to visit your website. Direct them to a landing page that provides more information on the topic they’ve just experienced, and follow up with them.