The think feel do model is related to influence. Thought leadership has evolved from a trendy phrase to a legitimate strategy for building a business and personal brand in recent years. Thought leaders’ opinions are respected and highly valued by others, and they help them position themselves as experts in their fields. With so much information easily available on social media, demonstrating your status as an industry influencer with genuine data is the most effective method to stand out in a competitive industry.
At its foundation, thought leadership is a marketing approach that focuses on material that positions you as an expert in your subject rather than information that sells. The idea is to respond to the queries that your target audience has. You’ll still have opportunities to promote your service or product, but first, you need to establish trust and reputation as a knowledgeable, experienced, and helpful leader in your field. You must reach your target audience to position yourself as a thought leader in your field. This is where the media may be able to help you amplify your message as well as your brand. There are many ways for you to reach and influence people, from classic media like newspapers, periodicals, and morning TV shows to emerging mediums like podcasts.
It’s crucial to keep in mind that media appearances will entail some effort on your part, especially if you’re just starting with your thought leadership. The flood of different channels aids these efforts greatly. Focus on a specialized magazine that targets your sector if major stations or publications are disinterested. Partnering with the media can help you get in front of your audience and position yourself as a thought leader if you have patience and persistence. Once you’ve been featured, it’s more likely that additional journalists or magazines will want to connect with you. But keep in mind that journalists can spot a fake from a mile away. Only if you demonstrate competence in your subject and provide important thoughts and opinions can you be considered a thought leader.
Using the think feel do model
This is a simple set of guiding ideas that we utilize to assist define our clients’ thought leadership programs and is linked to their overall goals.
The approach encourages marketers to consider how they want their target audiences to react to their content:
Think: How do you want your audience to perceive your brand’s competence and authority?
Feel: What kind of emotional response do you want your audience to have to your brand, and how do you want them to feel about it?
Do: What action do you want your audience to take, and how do you intend to sway their decisions?
Becoming a thought leader necessitates a significant amount of effort. Not to mention the fact that you can’t merely claim the title! Others will recognize your abilities and insights if you are recognized as a thought leader, which will have a significant impact on both your business and the impact you may have. You don’t get there by shouting that you’re a thought leader; you get there by steadily cultivating thought leadership. It’s a long-term investment, but the payoff is enormous.
Most thought leaders begin with Feel – that is your goal. What exactly are you doing here? What would you like to see happen in the world? What is the purpose of your WHY? You’ll know what you’re aiming to accomplish with your thought leadership practice if you start with a solid understanding of it.
The next step is to consider. If your thoughts blow over in a strong breeze, you’re not going to be a successful thought leader. What models and frameworks are you currently employing? Are there any approaches or ideas that assist you in producing quality work? Are there any principles from another industry that you might use to help explain your points? How could anyone disagree with what you’re saying? It is necessary to test and validate ideas. They can’t just say “I reckon…” since a “reckon” has no value – it’s just snake oil nonsense. People will appreciate you significantly more if you put forth the effort to improve your thoughts.
Do you have a suggestion? Prove it now. “Do” is an important stage in thinking leadership that some academics overlook. This is where many businesses have been putting their ideas into action, polishing them over months or years, and proving that their models and big concepts are worth their salt. You’ll know your ideas will endure the test of time if you can demonstrate that you’re onto something good by putting them into action time and time again.
Unfortunately, many enterprises will come to a halt here. They’ll have a lot of passion and ideas, and an acceptable annual turnover rate, but what’s the point? You must lead if you want to make the world a better place.
Leading entails encouraging others to join you on your journey; it also entails expressing your ideas publicly to benefit a larger audience. You’ve got to get your voice out there at this point, whether it’s through communications and marketing, events and webinars, courses you offer, or books you’ve authored (or had a little help with). This is where the alchemy comes into play: a systematic approach to interacting with a larger audience and converting them from customers to followers. That is true power!
Developing Managers Using THINK – FEEL – DO
What a manager does has an impact on how people feel. What people think is influenced by how they feel. People’s thoughts influence their actions, which has an impact on business outcomes. It makes sense to value what people feel as well as what they believe because what individuals do as a result will influence how a manager reacts. The cycle then repeats itself. Our strategy is to assist managers in identifying and changing these cycles.
Owning your position
When you ask most companies what their distinctive selling proposition is, they’ll likely say something about service or fantastic people. And, look at those, they’re fantastic. However, nearly all of your competitors might make the same claim. These may assist you in running a successful business, but other characteristics distinguish you. When it comes to gaining new clients, being able to possess a defined stance, assert authority in that field, and demonstrate that you’re driving your industry forward with your ideas is a huge differentiation (and staff). For example, we help thought leaders establish a claim by creating a book — being able to say “I authored the book on this” (whatever “this” is) is a far stronger selling proposition than “we have wonderful people,” and says a lot more than “we have amazing people.”
Your positioning should always be driven by your purpose, and if you’re a purpose-driven company, you’ve already spent a lot of time figuring out what that is. Better thinking is the aim of the work I conduct with Intelligent Ink, and it has guided our decisions. While material (e/books, LinkedIn content, blogs, articles) is frequently the deliverable, our focus is on producing content and strategy that encourages smarter thinking.
Then there’s your area of expertise. You don’t have to be the most knowledgeable or well-recognized expert in your business, but if you’ve worked in your sector for a while, you’ll have your unique viewpoint and insights to share — information that sets you apart from your competition. What are your areas of expertise? What is the common thread that runs through all of your services? What do you know more about than others in your field? Your mission, expertise, and all of your ideas will only get you so far. What matters most – and what will genuinely help you expand your business – is that you examine your clients’ most pressing requirements. Whether you’re trying to solve a significant problem or find a way to assist them to reach their largest goal, if you speak directly to your audience’s needs, your ideas will receive more traction (and have a bigger impact).
How to Become an Authentic Thought Leader in 6 Easy Steps
1. Start Writing.
Content is one of the most successful and scalable ways to establish thought leadership and engage with your audience, so you should get started writing right away.
2. Don’t Be Overly Promotional.
However, you shouldn’t only develop and post promotional content touting your company’s coolness. Promoting yourself will just irritate your viewers. Even though many marketers may think this, no one wants to hear about your product. As a contributor, your job is to contribute, add value, and share your knowledge.
3. Publish High-Quality Content.
Quality is one of the most critical components of developing thought leadership content, according to Influence & Co. (if not the most important). You’re probably going to avoid that booth the next time you’re at the farmers market because you bought a bag of rotting apples. You can’t afford to settle for poor quality because, while it might get you by a few times, it won’t keep customers coming back.
4. Be Consistent.
If your audience doesn’t know who you are, you won’t be able to create a readership. After all, trusting relationships do not develop overnight. You can begin to grow that following by sticking to an editorial calendar and continuously posting material. True thought leaders intend to stay in the game for the long term. They aren’t looking to make a quick buck or cash in on the next fad; they are devoted to their field. Authenticity is communicated through consistency in content, social interactions, and publication contributions.
5. Go Social, And Join Online Groups.
Although this may seem obvious, you’d be shocked how many people leave their profiles incomplete or abandoned entirely. Your online presence is important, so make sure your LinkedIn page is full and your Twitter account’s profile photo isn’t an egg. Make sure you’re actively engaging with your followers, in addition to having a thorough profile. Yes, merely being present can help, but you should also seek to expand your social following and online community.
6. Leveraging Team Expertise
This is also one of the keys to establishing thought leadership as a long-term ROI-driven strategy for your business. Without your staff, humanizing your brand is pointless. You highlight the faces behind the company that consumers can trust when important workers contribute non-promotional, high-quality material.
.
