Do you know your stakeholders’ pain points? These are the topics that potential customers, existing clients, the board of directors, employees, and potential talent want you to address on a regular basis. Providing valuable information on these topics is important because it helps you build a relationship and trust over time. But, for this to happen, you need to deliver the right kind of value.
How to Create Thought Leadership That Provides Real Value
Identify and Reflect on Your Stakeholders’ Pain
Addressing stakeholder pain points effectively as a thought leader requires empathy, clarity, and credibility. This can take a little bit of digging under the surface because the pain points may or may not be obvious. I advise my executive clients to involve stakeholders from the onset so they can have genuine insight into how key audiences are feeling. You can do this through social listening, polls, surveys, casual conversation, as well as keen observation. Do your homework and reframe the pain points in the language each stakeholder group uses so it sounds familiar to them.
Provide Information That Resonates
True thought leaders mix the right amount of authority with approachability. Develop solution-oriented content around pain points. Demonstrate understanding and empathy by sharing your experience using real world examples as much as possible without sounding self-promotional.
Share What You Know
Stakeholders enjoy hearing from thought leaders who will share real world solutions, including frameworks or outlines, without needing to buy from them. This showcases your authority without appearing as a “know it all”, helping to create real connections and loyal followers.
Elevate The Vision
When drafting your thought leadership content, give serious thought to how you can explain today’s issue by connecting it to tomorrow’s goal. Demonstrate how you might approach an issue or problem by being solution-focused.
Invite Dialogue
Effective thought leaders naturally open up the doors for conversation and discussion. They understand that thought leadership is two way communication. You can do this by positioning yourself as a listener, not just a talker. End articles or posts with calls to action that invite an idea exchange, such as “What do you think of this?” or “How did you solve a similar issue within your organization?”
For more tips on how to leverage your thought leadership content, subscribe to my newsletter.
