Running a company doesn’t make business owners automatically interesting in terms of generating media coverage through thought leadership.
Although plenty of business owners might have a lot of valuable insights they need to share, there are plenty of other business owners that are running their own companies in the same market.
To stand out from them, business owners or companies need to become a trusted voice in the market through their thought leadership efforts.
According to a recent survey, the pandemic managed to increase the consumption of thought leadership content that people have a lot more than they used to consume before the pandemic.
However, all of the content wasn’t rated as being of high quality and providing valuable insights to the readers.
That means business owners need to make statements that are in-depth and not on a surface level, inspire others to think in different ways, and start challenging the norms of their industries.
On the other hand, through effective thought leadership, companies and their business owners can attract better talent, generate more trust and credibility with their target audiences, direct the attention of the public toward meaningful subjects that haven’t been covered by news outlets, and even repair their companies reputations.
Voice
The pandemic inspired many people to leave the jobs they were no longer satisfied with all over the world so they could find greater meaning in their work lives.
This, so-called “Great Resignation” made it so that employees and customers demand more authenticity both inside and outside of the workplace.
Additionally, as the youngest generation, Gen Z, is starting to join the workforce, they’re bringing more skepticism toward big brands and corporations and are looking for values and different approaches toward their careers because they’re looking for a bigger purpose.
Additionally, the everyday work schedule that was established during the pandemic managed to break down some of the long-standing obstacles that came between the professional and the personal.
These days, the workplace tends to take place on the same tables where people eat their meals on a daily basis or even have intimate conversations with their friends and families. That’s why business owners need to invest in thought leadership and develop more credibility by figuring out and owning their unique voice.
Since no one has the same sense of humor, perspective, and ideas as everyone else, thought leaders should start taking the time to think about their own voice and the way they connect with other people.
Even if a business owner admires other thought leaders or even storytellers, there is no need for them to start copying the way they communicate with an audience.
This way, thought leaders can build thought leadership content strategies that are going to reflect their expertise, experience, and most importantly, their personality.
Establishing a Voice
The voice of a thought leader is supposed to be a mix of their knowledge, as well as their experience which is going to be conveyed through the words that are chosen for the content, and the tone.
To truly nail down a thought leadership voice companies should do some research such as reading content from other thought leaders, listening to recordings of speeches, and more.
This way they can get a better understanding of the speech patterns and rhythms that are being used when a business or a thought leader is trying to present a story.
Mike Paffmann is the CEO of Virgo PR. He has previously worked as a Vice President at Clarity PR, 5WPR, and Highwire PR.
Virgo PR is a full-service digital marketing and digital PR agency that caters to clients in all industries. Paffmann has over a decade of experience in the public relations industry and has provided diverse media relations programs for brands and corporations across enterprise, software, eCommerce, technology, and consumer apps of all sizes. He has worked with clients including IBM, Genies, Glint, Rebel Ventures, AppAnnie, Owl Labs, car2go, Vkanesee, and more.