Who are the thought leaders in your Raleigh industry?
These are people who have built trust and credibility for themselves or their company over time—the go-to person who is an unquestionable expert in your field. A thought leader is someone you see every year giving keynote speeches at industry tradeshows—or showing off their knowledge on social media sites. It's not hard to get recognized as a thought leader. It merely takes time, consistency, and a bit of effort to have your peers and the greater community at large think of you as an unparalleled expert. Read on to learn more about how to turn yourself into a thought leader in your industry.
Participate in Social Media
Whether it's LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook, or any other social media site—be active. There are no tricks or "hacks" to increase your social media presence and "likes." It simply takes time and consistent effort, which means posting regularly or participating in discussions regularly. Many people who employ this method will start off strong but participate less and less consistent over time. There's an old song from the 1980s and it goes, "What have you done for me lately?" This thought process applies heavily to social media. People will soon forget about you if you're not on there making posts, adding value, and participating in discussions daily or weekly. Engage with your community regularly for the best chances of success.
Look at Your Competitors
There's a quick way to get up and running—and noticed. Look at who your competitors are and then follow their lead. For example, look at which social media sites your competition posts regularly and analyze what they're posting. Then ask yourself how you can do better. Your competitors will eventually start to take notice as they pay just as much attention to their social media and online presence as you do. Perhaps you can collaborate in a non-competitive way? What if you and the other thought leader were to hold a joint webinar?
Know Thine Audience
If you don't know who you're speaking to, your message will fall flat or get ignored. "I'm speaking to anyone who buys my product" isn't good enough. People are different, and what may resonate with one demographic or niche may not resonate with others. Creating a buyer persona that tells you what motivates or inspires your audience is essential. Their pain points. Their likes and dislikes. What questions do they desperately want to solve? Fortunately, you can find out this information relatively easily. Simply research the social media sites where your buyers hang out. You can also conduct surveys and interviews. Once you know what makes your buyers tick, you can now create thought leadership content that will wow and amaze them.
Publish Lots of Content—Everywhere
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Photo by Brandy Kennedy on Unsplash[/caption]
You might say to yourself: "Fat chance of that happening—I'm so busy running my business that I barely have time to get a bite to eat at the end of the long workday." Fair enough. However, you can easily hire a freelance writer to do the heavy work for you. Remember that you get what you pay for (e.g., "I will write a blog post for $5"). Cheap writers will perform shoddy work. Look for a freelancer who understands how to create thought leadership content. Have them write blog posts, website content, social media posts, white papers, case studies, and email blasts. The more you get yourself out there on the internet, the more people will start to recognize you as a thought leader.
Be Genuine and Be Yourself
Overly promotional content will turn people off quickly. Nobody wants to be sold—those days are long gone. You'll only wind up annoying them with overly promotional content. Instead, create content that's authentic to your company and who you are as a person. Support your statements with verifiable facts, such as links to industry trade and research websites. Examples, facts, and quotes will take you much further than "buy my stuff now" type of content.
Marketing Help in Raleigh
It takes time and a bit of effort to establish yourself as a thought leader in your industry. However, anyone can do it, and you just need to show up every day and put in the work. If you need marketing help, contact the experts at AlphaGraphics of Raleigh. At AlphaGraphics of Raleigh, we're much more than a print shop—we're also marketing experts you can count on to help you when it comes time to market your business. To learn more about how AlphaGraphics of Downtown Raleigh can help with your content marketing needs, you may email us, request a quote, or call us at (919) 832-2828.