Kevin McFadyen
The internet is a massive web of noise. Standing out among millions of other people is hard. Plus, our attention spans are shrinking. We want things now. We have limited time to consume information. So becoming a thought leader can be hard. You have to provide incredible value and do it in ways that make it easy for an audience to consume and digest. We will discuss 3 techniques that you should use:
Write Consistently
Contribute to the conversation; build your credibility by writing about news, strategies, your perspective and trends. This writing will help build conversations around you as a professional. You should have a blog for this writing. But you should also write for other blogs with bigger audiences. Getting your writing out there to as many different publications as possible is the best way to get more reach.
Public Speaking or Live Events
Okay, so you’re saying to yourself, “I’m no writer.” If that’s the case, no worries. There are plenty of opportunities to build thought leadership through public speaking as an additional way to share your expertise. You can speak to people live at an online conference or local event, or via YouTube, Google+ Hangouts or on a TV segment. It’s the same approach. You’ll articulate your unique perspective on the industry, and leverage other online entities that already have an audience to put your face and voice in front of them.
Host your own online networking event
Thought leaders not only attend networking events, they also help create them, and host them to foster connections in their larger community to further grow their personal brands, and make more relationships. You can take the initiative and start your own Meetup, Twitter chat, Google+ Hangout series or online conference related to your industry. This will be of value to other members in your community and position you as a thought leader.
These 3 techniques require work. By putting in this additional effort and creativity that others are not, you can easily stand out in the noisy online world.
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