{"id":16679,"date":"2018-05-23T11:00:45","date_gmt":"2018-05-23T15:00:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/crowdcontent.com\/blog\/?p=16679"},"modified":"2019-02-06T07:49:13","modified_gmt":"2019-02-06T12:49:13","slug":"thought-leadership-what-it-really-means","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.crowdcontent.com\/blog\/content-marketing\/thought-leadership-what-it-really-means\/","title":{"rendered":"Thought Leadership in Content: What It Really Means"},"content":{"rendered":"

What in the world is <\/span>thought leadership<\/span><\/i>, really?<\/span><\/p>\n

It\u2019s no secret that I\u2019m a big fan of words, but what you might not know is that I play favorites. I don\u2019t really care whether you serve me guacamole or salsa with my chips, but I\u2019ll happily shout from the hilltops about my favorite adjectives and verbs — seriously, give me half a chance and I\u2019ll be hollering. But amidst all that love and affection there is some caution, too, mostly in regards to some of the industry buzzwords that keep coming up time and time again.<\/span><\/p>\n

One of the biggest \u201chmmm\u201d bits of terminology flying around right now? <\/span>Thought leadership<\/strong>.<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

People love to talk about thought leadership, but few people can accurately explain what the phrase means. Even fewer people embody thought leadership in a way that means anything.<\/span><\/p>\n

That\u2019s not good — not for the industry, the influencer or marketer in question or for the reader.<\/span><\/p>\n

See, thought leadership is all about content, authenticity and value, wrapped up in a pretty bow and delivered with a generous yet balanced sprinkle of confidence and humility.<\/span><\/p>\n

[ctt template=”4″ link=”209Mg” via=”yes” nofollow=”yes”]Thought leadership involves originality, but that originality has to be grounded in reality. It either makes sense or you lose face, and when you lose face, you lose your readers\u2019 trust.[\/ctt]<\/p>\n

What is Thought Leadership?<\/span><\/h2>\n

Think of your audience as thousands of pilgrims who are lost in the desert. They\u2019re determined to find an oasis, but they\u2019re dying from thirst as they struggle aimlessly through the endless miles of sand. You know where they can find water. Better than that, you\u2019ve got an ingenious way for those pilgrims to pump, clean and store that water so they never go thirsty again.<\/span><\/p>\n

No one cares if you went to school to study the history of water divination or if you spent 10 years studying under Bob Mapovitch, the guy who charted all the known underground water sources in the Sahara.<\/span><\/p>\n

What people care about is that you have an answer to their question and that answer is new, exciting, unique and effective.<\/span><\/p>\n

That\u2019s thought leadership.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"thought<\/p>\n

Being Unique Versus Being Insane<\/span><\/h2>\n

The difference factor can be difficult to sort out. You want to be a thought leader. and that requires a singular point of view. But it feels like every great idea has already been discussed, dissected and immortalized in print, art or via a 2 a.m. Tweet, so you decide to get a little zany. Maybe you could bomb the desert and see if the exploding sand reveals a long-forgotten well? Perhaps you can tell people to collect their own set of Infinity Stones and use them to reveal a life-giving water source.<\/span><\/p>\n

Sound nuts? That\u2019s because it is. Thought leadership involves originality, but that originality has to be grounded in reality. It either makes sense or you lose face, and when you lose face, you lose your readers\u2019 trust.<\/span><\/p>\n

Originality is hard to come by. If it wasn\u2019t, everyone would be a Steve Jobs-level innovator. Instead of trying to reinvent the wheel by making it square, try to rethink originality altogether:<\/span><\/p>\n