If you’re anything like me, you’re constantly consuming information about your industry — current trends, best practices, forecasts — and finding ways to use that information to lead your company in the right direction. But if you’re not also making genuine, thoughtful contributions to the conversations happening in your industry, you’re missing out on an essential strategy component that has more power to propel your company forward than simply your consumption of industry info.

The tactic I’m talking about — the tactic that’s proven effective for my company, Influence & Co., and countless others that we’ve worked with — is thought leadership: the process of creating and distributing meaningful, authentic content that advances the conversation about and general understanding of what’s happening in your industry.

The lifetime benefits of thought leadership

Unlike what you’re used to seeing in traditional marketing campaigns, there’s no official end to thought leadership. It’s not self-contained. The effort it takes to develop thought leadership doesn’t end, and neither do the benefits. Because it’s an ongoing process, your company can see substantial benefits of this strategy for a lifetime.

Below are some examples of what thought leadership can do for your business:

1. Improve visibility and exposure to your audience

Consistently creating and publishing educational, valuable thought leadership content as part of your content marketing strategy is one of the best ways to reach — and grow — your company’s target audience.

Chances are, members of your target audience are online, and getting your content published in reputable publications improves the chances that your current and potential audiences will be able to find you. And while you can’t rely on the publish-and-pray method of distributing that content, writing and getting it published is still a great start to improving your visibility.

2. Establish opportunities for engagement

Content gives your audience an idea of who you are as a company leader, what your company is like, and what you can do for them in a way that’s natural and non-promotional. When you drop your sales pitch and start connecting authentically with your audience, you give them more opportunities to learn from and engage with you.

3. Boost your credibility

Consumers expect to learn about you, your company, and your level of industry authority before making any kind of commitment to you, and with information so easily accessible, this really isn’t a complicated endeavor.

Earning a byline in a trusted publication builds your authority as a leader in your industry. When your thoughts and ideas are published in niche industry publications, it signals to readers (including potential customers and business partners) that you know what you’re talking about.

Starting your thought leadership journey

When we work with our clients, we develop a custom thought leadership strategy that outlines goals and tactics and serves as a resource to guide each piece of content we help create and distribute. Here are a few things you can do to develop your own thought leadership strategy:

• Establish and document your goals. Research by the Content Marketing Institute shows that marketers who document their content strategy are more effective in almost every aspect of content — from creation to distribution — so it’s important to begin your thought leadership journey here. Consider what business goals you want your thought leadership to accomplish and how you’ll ensure it’s effective, and document those goals and metrics for reference.
  
• Harness your expertise in a central location. As you start creating your content, streamlining your efforts from the beginning will save you lots of time down the road. Use a spreadsheet, Google doc, or knowledge management template to house content ideas, company information, mission statements, customer profiles and pain points, real-life examples, case studies, etc., that you and your team can pull from when developing content.
• Pitch content to the right publications. The best way to determine what publication will be the best fit to showcase your thought leadership is to research its “About” page or media kit to learn more about its target readership. If your knowledge and content align with what that audience is looking for, pitch your content to the publication editor.
• Track the success of your efforts. The key to seeing the true ROI of your content and thought leadership efforts is to track specific metrics that are relevant to your company goals.
  
• Analyze your data. While tracking analytics is a huge step in the process, if you don’t take time to analyze that data, you’re essentially wasting your time. Sit down with your team every month or two to evaluate what’s working and what’s not, and use that information to adjust your efforts.

Becoming a thought leader in your industry and integrating that content into your overall content marketing strategy can earn you and your company exposure, influence, trust, and credibility among members of your target audience. It takes a lot of strategic planning, thoughtful execution, and detailed analytics, but if you keep in mind these best practices, you’ll be well on your way to seeing the long-term value of your thought leadership.