How to Become a Thought Leader Online

​by Maya Harruna

​Thought leader: An individual who drives innovation and new ideas in a given industry. Thought leaders are popular, well respected and drive real value in their respective businesses. They’re charismatic figure heads, revered both by customers and workers within the industry. 

A thought leader gains their title by being extremely knowledgeable on their industry. They are fully immersed in their industry and are able to provide new and unique insight into their sector of expertise. 

The great thing about the internet is that it is a platform that enables business leaders the opportunity to share their knowledge and further establish themselves as experts in their field. Be it through a blog, social media or even via articles with independent publications. 
 
In order to establish yourself as a thought leader it is essential to create and build your personal brand. This is an extremely time consuming process, and at Flame, we have had a number of business leaders turn to us for support in establishing this. 

Establishing your personal brand can be achieved by enhancing or restructuring your existing social media profiles, especially LinkedIn and Twitter, with detailed descriptions of your credentials and career accomplishments. Building your personal brand is important because it is a great way to differentiate yourself within your industry while positioning yourself as a credible source for accurate information.

To be a thought leader you also have to introduce new ideas on a near-constant basis, and make sure your name gets recognized by people both in and out of the industry.

The key ways that this can be achieved is via:

• LinkedIn Pulse Articles
• Adding value by sharing relevant content
• Commenting on breaking industry stories
•  Engaging with other industry influencers

Your content must be new and/or disruptive. You cannot just collect and disseminate existing information. To stand out you need to offer something different. 

This is where we at Flame PR excel. We have over a decade of creating unique content, and position CEO’s and business leaders at the forefront of their sector.