What are the best ways to establish your company’s thought leadership online?
This was the subject for one of those LinkedIn collaborative articles that I was invited to contribute to.
The topic generated a lot of insightful responses around what thought leadership entails. Contributors talked about identifying your target audience and their pain points; building your network to amplify your reach and credibility; maintaining a regular and consistent presence online to keep your audience engaged and interested; and being authentic by expressing your opinions, perspectives and recommendations.
All key issues.
But, for me, effective thought leadership depends as much on the delivery as the ideas and insights being conveyed.
In the immortal words of Fun Boy Three and Bananarama: “It Ain’t What You Do It’s The Way That You Do It”.
Making your thought leadership stand out
Thought leadership has become ubiquitous. Companies around the world continue to churn out reams of content on a daily basis. How is yours going to stand out?
Here’s what I wrote for the LinkedIn piece:
Effective thought leadership is not just about what you say, but how you say it.
Your content may contain transformative insights that add real value, but if the writing is stilted and ideas poorly articulated nobody will bother to read it. To create thought leadership content that cuts through, you must:
- Have something meaningful to say.
- Structure it logically.
- Use engaging language and a clear writing style to communicate those ideas to readers.
Which is where I see so much content falling down.
The power of the word
Sir Winston Churchill’s wartime speeches have entered into folklore thanks to the images he conjured and emotions he evoked, his choice of words and the way he delivered them steeling the country’s resolve during its “Darkest Hour” (there’s a reason he later won the Nobel Prize for Literature).
Most of us can only dream of Churchill’s command of language and turn of phrase. But we can at least learn how to communicate better.
There are two key starting points:
Content structure
Effective content tells a story. And as any story needs a beginning, middle and end, so content needs structure.
A strong opening HOOK is vital. It serves to grab readers’ attention and compel them on to the next line.
SUB-HEADINGS allow readers to skim, to pull out key points and check if they want to read the entire piece. Sub-headings also break up the text and make the content easier to read by creating “white space” on the page.
Incorporating the FIVE Ws (who, what, why, when, where) and HOW helps give the content shape and relevance. Addressing the Why and Why Now (what makes the information timely/pertinent) are particularly important. If one of the Five Ws is not covered, make sure there is good reason.
Clear writing
Thought leadership content must be both insightful and intelligible. Make your writing easy to read so the meaning can come through. Check each sentence to avoid ambiguity and the potential for misunderstanding. Focus on communicating, not impressing. Effective writing is more important than showing off your vocabulary.
Aim for transparency. Words are merely the medium for your message. They should be invisible, allowing the ideas and insights to shine through and lodge in your readers’ minds.
As George Orwell put it: “Good prose is like a window pane.” The reader notices the world, not the writing.
And cut out the errors. Misplaced commas, the wrong use of apostrophes, misspellings … they are all too common and serve to draw attention to the writing, not in a good way. (When I was a newsletter editor I had a reporter who was forever writing “manger” instead of manager – simple mistakes you need to guard against).
In short, identify your central message. Convey it clearly. Stay on point. Let your arguments/perspectives flow logically.
You’ll have a better chance of being deemed a thought leader if you do.