Thought leadership: Why clarity beats cleverness every time
Thought leadership is a strange concept and a term that is bandied about a bit too often in my opinion. Thought leadership isn’t about telling your customers what you think about a particular subject one day, and then a completely different one the next. To be a true thought leader in your field you need to be consistent, knowledgeable and genuinely passionate about the message you want to convey. Then, whether you write content yourself or ask a B2B copywriter like me to write it for you, that passion and expertise will shine through.
However, let’s get one thing straight. To be a thought leader you don’t have to show that you are the cleverest, brightest, most intimidating person in the room. So yes, you know your subject, but if that knowledge verges on arrogance you’re not going to get your message across at all.
Put it this way, who would you rather be sat next to at a dinner party? The funny, interesting person who listened to you? Or the arrogant, high-flier who likes to tell everyone their opinion at every opportunity? I rest my case.
So, let’s be clear
Thought leadership content is incredibly valuable when it is clear, interesting and actually adds some value to the readers’ lives. You want your audience to think: ‘I like this person and they make some interesting points.’ That way they are more likely to listen to you when you have something more to say.
At the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic businesses were clambering to get content out to customers who were now reading, listening to or watching their content from home. But some failed to realise that people had enough going on in their own lives to waste time consuming content that didn’t get to the point quickly or misjudged the tone.
People buy from people, so don’t think of thought leadership as the opportunity to boost your own credentials, think of it as an incredible opportunity to become a trusted advisor and remember to always put clarity before cleverness.
If you want some help to get your thoughts out into the world, get in touch!
