Sunday, January 6, 2013

Thought Leader Marketing

WHO IS A THOUGHT LEADER ?

Someone who is a Field Expert, Innovative and Technically Amazing is usually referred as Thought Leaders. Wikipedia Says "it is an entity that is recognized by peers for having innovative ideas". That entity could be a Human being, a company, a function or even an experiment.

Organizations like TED, BBC, Discovery etc and people like Akio Kuroshawa, Ratan Tata, and almost all top leaders & writers are thought leaders now a days. Usually people who write Books, Bloggers, Consultants,Swamijis (worst part!) become such thought leaders because these people are living on the power of Thought. Otherwise they don't exist !


BECOME A THOUGHT LEADER ! - Anyone can become one by doing the following. Write articles and in that,

1. Tell something New and Non-Existing. But it should be relevant & feasible to the scope we deal with
2. Pick the best of all Insights and Communicate it clearly
3. Be innovative in the building the perspective for your communication
4. Analyze In-Depth rather than Going Wide
5. Pickup Controversies

also,

6. Become famous. Try to Publish Books, Participate in Strong Intellectual Debates, Give more Interviews
7. Expand your Contact Circle
8. Keep record of Achievements in your core domain
9. Identify experts and Publicize their Ideas as well
10. Take Risks. make Bold and Clear statements about issues
11. Finally the most important, Question things!

If we look at it in the context of Business Marketing Communication, there are several examples which have used kind-of-a  'thought leadership marketing' to promote their products. Some indirect & known examples are, Dentists promoting Colgate Dental Care products , World's leading Hair Stylists promoting Sunsilk Shampoos etc.

But the fact is, all these are paid forms, where these people are paid to perform.
Instead, if a person performs (writes article about your real superiority & strength) without being paid, but which in-turn pays us well in results, then it is the real thought leadership marketing.

HOW TO IDENTIFY A THOUGHT LEADER ?

Basically, "they" are Innovative writers with field expertise. Sometimes, even those who are not experts will bring out big Innovations. So, Interact with People to identify the hidden powers around you. Identify the innovators and empower them to become thought leaders. They exhibit the following qualities.

1. Communication Skills. Its about the versatility in Expressing and not just Vocabulary
2. Pro-Activeness
3. Problem solving skills
4. Curiosity
5. Risk Taking ability
6. Extreme Aptitude
7. Solution finding and Idea generating capabilities
8. Thorough Analytical Mind
9. Boldness and No fear of Failure

Kate Canales once quoted "They (Innovators & Thought Leaders) might be Hiding".

So, its our job to identify innovators and shape them into Thought Leaders either within or around us.