By: Justin Wender and Bianca Vranceanu
Defining yourself as an industry expert who follows popular topics and provides unique insight into the trends is a critical step in gaining media exposure, winning work, and ultimately driving revenue. Audiences crave content that is relatable, informative, and trustworthy. That is why it is essential to position yourself as a reliable and insightful source to the media and consistently publish thought leadership pieces.
A thought leadership piece draws attention to a trending topic and provides your unique perspective backed by evidence and experience. A successful thought leadership piece helps you stand out from competitors in your space. It offers proof that you are the best resource in your field by demonstrating your insights, expertise, and passion. An effective thought leadership piece will captivate the audience and encourage them to seek you out when and work with you in the future.
Here are three ways to elevate your next thought leadership piece:
Separate Yourself from Others in Your Field
Finding your niche is a crucial step in crafting a thought leadership piece. You want to demonstrate to your audience that you are an expert in your field. To create a distinct separation from other professionals in your field, you must harness your knowledge, tools, and experience to provide unique insight into specific problems or challenges relating to your line of work.
The media is a competitive landscape. Rather than being a little fish in a big pond, focus on a topic or area you are confident and knowledgeable about to define yourself as an expert. For instance, if you are an architect focusing on sustainable, affordable housing work, don’t discuss the latest design elements in the education space. Stay in your lane and talk about the latest data and sustainability practices in your space. Through this, journalists are more likely to turn to you as a trusted source, resulting in more opportunities.
Captivate the Audience
The last thing you want to do is bore the reader. Even if you are the clear-cut best choice, an audience will lose interest or stop reading if the piece is dry and dense. Often a topic is complex and difficult for the lay audience to grasp. You can better engage the reader by breaking down and simplifying your writing. Including anecdotes helps personalize a piece and creates a sense of relatability and connection. Including humor and wit can also make for a more captivating piece.
A successful thought leadership piece does not only require you to be an expert, but also requires you to be entertaining and engaging.
Be a Problem Solver
Often your clients can be a source of inspiration. Reflect on the common questions you are asked in your practice and use that as a starting point for a thought leadership piece. It is crucial to position yourself as someone who can provide meaningful advice and answer questions clearly and effectively.
Following the trending topics in your field is critical because this helps provide a window into what journalists will likely be reporting on. When you observe a topic you would be well suited to provide insights on, contact your marketing or PR department and express your interest in being in the media.
A thought leadership piece is a terrific way to show your expertise and experience. Finding your niche and positioning yourself as someone who solves complex problems for clients will help you gain media exposure and win more work.