For a range of professionals including wealth managers, lawyers, accountants and consultants, thought leadership is an effective way to help generate new business. Many professional are therefore investing time and money into becoming thought leaders. However, relatively few of them are proving to be particularly successful.
Thought leadership is about sharing insights, methodologies and best practices with chosen audiences. High-quality thought leadership content enables these audiences to become more effective and successful. At the same time, professionals who are thought leaders can generate more business.
Many professionals recognize the power of sharing high-quality thought leadership content. This is resulting in a tsunami of content—some of it very good and much of it not. With so many professionals seeking to become thought leaders, the competition is becoming increasingly intense. It is important to avoid the biggest mistakes some professionals are making:
Mistake #1: The content has limited meaningful value. High-quality thought leadership most always enables the intended audiences to be more effective and successful. Examples of good content include ways for the audiences to address critical issues and concerns as well as providing actionable, cost-effective solutions. High-quality thought leadership content is not simply a rehash of common knowledge. Instead, in order to cut through the clutter produced by so many thought leader aspirants, the content should pass the “ingenuity test.”
Mistake #2: The content is poorly distributed. Unless a professional’s high-quality thought leadership content is distributed to the appropriate audiences, it is of limited—if any—value. The distribution strategy for high-quality thought leadership content is often best if it is multichannel, incorporating monitoring and evaluation.
Mistake #3: The content does not connect to the professional’s expertise. For the professionals to be able to develop new business, there has to be a connection to their expertise. The expertise of the professionals includes not only the services for which they are compensated, but also their understanding of relevant matters. The content should never be a sales effort. Instead, the professional’s profile as the authority is the draw.
Thought leadership is unquestionably one of the very best ways for professionals to add value and benefit their practices while being of service to others. By avoiding the three big mistakes, they can likely appreciably grow their practices.
Russ Alan Prince, president of R.A. Prince & Associates, is a consultant to family offices, the ultra-wealthy and select professionals.