Thought Leadership
The term "thought leadership" has seemingly lost its original meaning in recent years due to misuse, with 'genuine' perspectives and opinions being rehashed views, saying nothing new or offering stale thoughts.
However, if you get thought leadership right through the effective utilisation of media relations, then this can still be a powerful and impactful practice while keeping aligned with the company line.
Being seen as a trusted advisor makes it easier for people, both inside and outside your company, to follow your lead.
The rise of multinational companies, and the globalization of markets, have meant that the world is now a much smaller place. A company that wins in this competitive landscape will find new opportunities faster than competitors since they will have a better understanding of the global market.
To stay relevant in today’s globalized markets, thought leadership is a must and involves embracing the power of content to position their executive as an authority on a specific topic.
EIGHTPR
Leveraging Intellectual Capital
Thought leadership is the act of leveraging intellectual capital to create value by promoting company thought leadership across multiple channels, including branded content, opinion articles, press releases, interviews, presentations, keynotes and more.
This is further achieved by implementing new ideas, strategies and innovations into the market, purposely creating content that educates, informs and inspires, and by aligning with like-minded organisations to share ideas and insights.
A vital part of a company’s marketing strategy, thought leaders can be influential in an organization and have an enormous impact on its brand with social media platforms, making it easier than ever for people to share their thoughts with other people around the world.
Covering All Bases
Channels include X, Facebook, LinkedIn, YouTube, and others, help generate brand awareness and act as lead generators by carrying thought leadership content. This all helps to build / increase credibility and reputation, creates useful engagement, and be seen as a voice of authority.
High Quality Focus Essential
One key factor in becoming a thought leader lies in generating high quality content that resonates with the target audience and can add value to them through education rather than promotion.
There are three ways to go about generating quality content:
- by offering your expertise/opinions on industry topics
- by creating educational content that helps customers do their jobs better or more efficiently
- by providing guidance and other resources that help people solve specific problems at the moment. e
Integrated Thought Leadership Campaign
An integrated thought leadership campaign can look like this:
- Securing speaking engagements at conferences and corporate events
- Distributing information to clients via enewsletters, webinars, other
- Blog posts
- Tailored social media engagement
- Press releases
Spinning up a high velocity thought leadership campaign takes planning and requires strapping in for the long term.
Content gleaned from market research, internal and external data, industry reports, sponsored reports, social listening and other activities all go into developing a comprehensive programme.
Of course, thought leadership programmes do not need to be overly complicated nor cover multiple channels.
A great opportunity for thought leadership is China’s Greater Bay Area. With a population of 86 million and an area covering nine cities and two Special Administration Areas in the Pearl River Delta, the Greater Bay Area will become a mega economic powerhouse.
The infrastructure to support the Greater Bay Area has been planned, designed, built to ease the flow of goods, encourage investment, generate jobs, and catapult economic benefits to new heights.
Businesses leaders in every single sector can become Greater Bay Area thought leader.
We Can Help
Thought leaders are regarded as authorities by others because of their knowledge or expertise in a specific domain and sought for their opinions on important topics.
Organisations that don’t market their thought leaders are missing out on a vital part of their brand and making themselves vulnerable to competitors.
We can help you do that to get people talking and thinking about the issues you care about most. You’ll have access to our team in Hong Kong and our network across the Asia Pacific for message amplification.
Update: We have produced a nice infographic giving 7 thought leadership strategies through the utilisation of media relations. See it and more by clicking on 'Infographic Hub' below.
Eight Public Relations is a PR agency in Hong Kong, helping clients to stand out from the competition.
From media relations to content development, corporate reputation management to thought leadership programmes, and digital communications, we’ve got you covered. Our goal is simple: to empower your business with all things PR and help you achieve your goals.
Contact: Eight@eightpr.com or Tel/WhatsApp: +852 9186 2984.