On Establishing C-Level Executives as Thought Leaders: The Role of PR and Corporate Communications

C-suite executives, entrepreneurs, consultants, and corporate communications professionals often tout the term “thought leadership.”

Thought leadership involves publishing articles, giving speeches or making broadcast appearances that establish the individual as a leader in his or her field, an authority in a business or subject-matter niche, and an innovative thinker. At its best, thought leadership ranks among the most effective public relations and marketing methods to obtain greater brand awareness and trust. Establishing a corporate executive as a thought leader naturally leads to better brand recognition and additional business as the public increasingly gains greater trust in the individual and the organization.

That’s the theory anyway. The reality is that too many attempts at thought leadership don’t include much thoughtful analysis or innovative ideas. Many C-suite executives and their corporate communications handlers produce blog posts and contributed articles that lack real insight and are far too promotional and self-congratulatory. In addition, they frequently focus their thought leadership writing and speaking efforts on publications, websites, broadcast outlets and groups that don’t include their target audiences.

Identify Opportunities with Social Media Listening

Social media listening can help avoid those mistakes and integrate writers’ expertise seamlessly into conversations already taking place, says Molly Reynolds, executive vice president of content marketing at Trepoint, in an Inc. article. Social listening can also identify topics or issues that offer opportunities to establish thought leadership.

“Through social listening, thought leaders can target their audience through conversations and insert themselves into the mix,” Reynolds explains.

Based on advice from Reynolds, thought leadership expert Daniel Sabrina and our own additional thoughts, here is a road map that organizations can use to help establish C-level executives as thought leaders on an issue or in a business niche.

Devise a plan. Define a thought leadership strategy that aligns with your organization’s growth strategy. Find three topics you and your organization are passionate about. When developing content, it’s critical to focus on selling ideas rather than your product. Focus on educating your target audience, not selling them.

Pick the right executive. Not every executive is cut out for thought leadership. The best prospects are “thinkers” who are well-spoken and have superior writing skills. Most of all, the effective thought leader has a passion to communicate their beliefs and insights.

Develop original insights. This is the single most important factor in becoming a thought leader. The core ideas and insights must be original and novel. They must provide a perspective that’s truly helpful – and probably surprising – to your audience. They are ideas that make a difference.

Consider different formats. Publish and publicize articles on different channels in different formats. Blogs, SlideShares, videos, ebooks, interviews, speeches and other formats gain the attention of audience members who prefer to learn in different ways.

Engage customers. When an individual within an organization becomes well-known as a source for insights, ideas and information, customers will trust him or her more and automatically become more interested in the organization’s products and services. Only after becoming established as a thought leader can an individual begin to collect sales leads – and then must still do it carefully. A thought leader must always avoid appearing to be a high-level product pusher. There’s a bonus to this approach: The organic sales leads that develop will be larger and extraordinarily well qualified.

Write for the audience, not the brand, advises marketing and PR expert Eli Epstein in an Entrepreneur article. Bragging contradicts the purpose of thought leadership. The best articles analyze business problems and solutions without mentioning the writer’s company. If you’re considering mentioning your company, ask yourself what the reader would gain.

Drop names. Incorporating ideas of respected business leaders can add context and insight. They are respected for a reason.

Be modest. It’s acceptable for thought leaders to talk about themselves if they are humble. Personal anecdotes can grab readers’ interest and serve as teaching tools. Feel free to show vulnerability and imperfection. Sharing your mistakes and what you learned from them will establish a connection with the audience better than bragging.

Remember storytelling. The basic elements of storytelling – conflict and resolution, a hero and villain – can attract and hold audience interest.

Use long form communications. Multiple blog posts and other short-form opinion pieces can help establish a reputation as a thought leader. But it’s long-form pieces such as white papers, interview pieces, speeches and books that skyrocket a reputation as a thought leader. Writing a book or a substantive treatise usually gets the most attention, the fastest. Interviews and speeches follow. Many thought leaders use ghost writers or co-authors to help pen their long-form opinion pieces.

Earn awards. Earning or winning awards from respected organizations can definitely help establish credentials as a thought leader. Awards also pave the way to additional platforms for spreading the word.

Stick with it. With rare exceptions, thought leaders aren’t made in a day, month, or even a year. It takes persistence. It requires multiple good ideas and innovative insights to reach the top echelon of thought leaders on most any subject. It requires pushing your original insights in multiple venues. Keep at it.

Avoid becoming obsessed with recognition. Most thought leaders also have meaningful jobs to do. Executives who devote all their time to becoming thought leaders while neglecting their primary job responsibilities can get, well, fired. Beware signals from bosses and internal influencers that the thought leadership stuff may be going too far.

Done well, an initiative to establish a corporate executive as a thought leader on issues or subjects important to the organization can produce exceptional benefits. It’s not easy, but it can be surprisingly effective with big-time returns.

Bottom Line: Establishing a corporate executive as a thought leader and subject-matter authority can produce exceptional returns, especially in terms of corporate credibility. Sadly, many attempts are overly promotional and sometimes downright boring. Following the suggested roadmap to establish authority and credibility will almost certainly pay off over the long term in helping the organization reach its long-term goals.