Ever hear of Moore’s Law? Coined in 1965, Gordon E. Moore theorized that the number of transistors in a dense integrated circuit would double every year. In layman’s terms, it means that computer chips, and all computer technology, will advance every year to become twice as good as they were the year before. The boom in Internet technologies and mobile devices over the last 15 years is a perfect example of this. And as technologies improve so does the “noise” in the world increase: we live in a world with more voices vying for attention than ever before.
What does all this have to do with Thought Leadership? In today’s noisy world, you need to be a Thought Leader to be heard above the din. A Thought Leader is simply an authority on a topic relevant to a group of people. And while defining it is easy, becoming a thought leader for your client base isn’t easy – but a crucial aspect of marketing in the 21st Century.
The beauty of Thought Leadership is that it allows you to influence an audience of potential customers in a deeper way than just hawking your wares to them. When not simply being social, most people go online to look for the answer to a problem. Oftentimes, many people don’t even know exactly how to phrase the problem they are having. When you are a Thought Leader, you have the opportunity, through your blog and social media, to help your audience define the problems they are having and to point them toward the solution. In the complex world of B2B, where the buying process is more rigorous, being a Thought Leader is all the more important. It’s not just the person with the answers who comes out on top, it’s the person who can help customers ask the right questions.
Thought Leadership is important to modern marketing because it focuses on what is relevant to your customer. Be aware of the very specific concerns your customer has, and always stay up-to-date on that aspect of your business. Give your audience content that solves those problems, and then give them more of it. If you can make your audience feel smarter, and give them some information they can pass on, then you will have started a conversation that will soon turn into a conversion.
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