The Case For Social Media In Developing Thought Leadership
| Posted in Marketing on Feb 9, 2011 by |
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Thought leadership is a concept crucial in differentiating a product or service in a competitive market – it is the basis for innovative change. Typically, it is defined as “a company or person who is recognized among their peers and mentors for innovative ideas and demonstrates the confidence to promote or share those ideas as actionable distilled insights.“ Non-profit leaders and their organizations can benefit from a specific plan to build their thought leadership.
“The key strategy is to be different from competitors…[Thought leaders] break free from ‘be better’, internally oriented initiatives to ‘be different’, externally oriented strategies. Being different is grounded in providing customers with unique value that they cannot get from any other competitor,” according to Professor Terrell of Northwestern’s Kellogg School of Management and Professor Middlebrooks of University of Chicago’s Graduate School of Business.
It is important for leaders of non-profit organizations to establish thought leadership in their messages in order to attract new donors and volunteers and differentiate themselves from other efforts. As Cynthia Currence, AMA Nonprofit Marketing Conference Chairperson put it, "Nonprofits that seek growth and sustainability have no other choice but to reinvent many things about their organizations. Transforming their approach to marketing is a powerful lever that is tremendously underutilized and, when optimized, can have truly game-changing results.”
Thought leadership is not the demonstration of one single action, but rather a process. Thought leaders must establish themselves as such in order to build their reputation -- and that they deeply understand their business, their customers, and the market in which they are operating. This will ultimately lead thought leaders toward enhanced credibility, as they will take the position as industry visionaries, and differentiate their services from those of competitors. If members of a non-profit organization hope to get a seat at the table, attract funders and board members, build the organization to its full potential, and continue to be visionaries in their field, they may miss a huge opportunity if they’re not tuned into the extraordinary impact that thought leadership has on organizational effectiveness.
One way to leverage this idea and clearly demonstrate thought leadership is through the organization’s communications efforts, particularly their social media outlets. Social media is a widespread, inexpensive, and effective way to market a cause to an audience and, when used effectively, social media efforts can have a profound effect on volunteer participation and donations.
Here are a few tips for establishing thought leadership in the digital world:
Think about your brand words: Think about the words you want people to use to describe you and your organization and ensure you are reinforcing these concepts through all your posts - blogs, Twitter, LinkedIn.
Keep people informed: Keep people informed of some of your professional efforts. For example if you attend or speak at a conference or professional meeting, update your status on LinkedIn and/or Twitter. Your electronic “rolodex” of LinkedIn connections will see your update. You will be top of mind with your contacts.
If you choose to blog, start with a clear Position Statement: Simply identifying an issue that you wish to tackle is not sufficient. Instead, it is important to take a strong point of view on why it is an issue and how you plan on addressing it. Your message should be simple and easy to follow, yet memorable. It should spike interest and be different from the point of your competitors.
Have a Goal in Mind: Develop a realistic timeline and reasonable goals for your thought leadership plan activities.
Be Bold: The root of thought leadership is innovation. Prior to creating a digital presence, know what is already out there, and generate content different from what is available. Write about topics that have not yet been exhausted and draw on your own unique experiences. Don’t be afraid to steer in a new direction.
Share: In the on-line world befriend others you admire for their thought leadership and retweet their content or share their post.
Promote: Recommend key leaders to other leaders - do this in person and on-line; promote your colleagues through Follow Friday #FF, a Twitter-wide opportunity to promote names/Twitter handles to others.
Always Move Forward and Progress: Never get complacent. While carrying out a successful initiative is a great feat, begin on another before depending on a past success. Continue to write about what you plan on doing in the future to further your efforts in addition to remarking on past successes. Fresh content is crucial to thought leadership.
Show Your Results: Determine what demonstrates success and identify signs that the content you have been generating is in fact spiking discussion in your organization’s field. Assess your success levels and progress and don’t refrain from making adjustments to content and methods when you are having difficulty meeting your goals. Consider metrics such as Twitter followers, retweets, loyalty to your blog from visitors and the rate at which you are attracting new visitors.
Stay Visible: Update your social media accounts consistently. Respond to visitors. Engage in conversation! Listen to suggestions!
Be consistent and strategic, and remember the tortoise wins the race!
Allison Collinger is the owner and founder of AHC Consulting, LLC in St. Louis, MO. AHC Consulting, LLC provides strategic communications, planning, training and facilitation services to a variety of clients. Visit www.ahcconsulting.org for more information.
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Thought Leadership Social Media Nonprofit Organizations Nonprofit Marketing Allison Collinger
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