Why is being a thought-leader key to your business? Today companies and consumers both want more than just a good price from a brand or service. 

They want to know that the company they're dealing with shares their values and supports the same issues; they learn to vote with their wallet. 

A strategic revolution has meant companies need to constantly assess their strategies for success. 

So, what are the key tactics a company can take to communicate the values and issues it supports? 

The adage that people trust people is true. They want to hear from people rather than abstract entities. Through thought-leadership, you can elevate your expertise by offering unique and relatable perspectives which can influence others and effect change. 

Thought-leadership gives you a way to share best practices and learning curves – including failures – and highlight successes. It gives you credibility through authority and gives a sense of who the company leader is and what they stand for. 

Corporates and senior leaders who make themselves thought leaders can publicly elevate their company’s stance on issues, on their own terms. 

Internally, thought leadership can help change the nature of a company’s culture and industry. And this is where many potential thought leaders stumble. They have the expertise and the insight, but no one sees it. 

Why LinkedIn?

That's where LinkedIn comes in.

LinkedIn has given leaders this opportunity like no other platform ever has. 

LinkedIn is the most popular digital destination for senior-level executives with decision-making authority, says the New York-based Content Marketing Institute. Of the 630 million professionals globally who use the platform:

  • 90 million are senior-level influencers, including Bill Gates, Elon Musk, Arianna Huffington, Guy Kawasaki and Richard Branson. 
  • 63 million are the key decision-makers in their company.
  • 10 million are C-level executives.
  • 96% of executives prefer LinkedIn as a source of content for general business news, buying decisions and sourcing information.

In New Zealand, 47% of the population – 2.3 million people – use LinkedIn. In Australia, 12.75 million are on the platform. 

Set apart from other social platforms, LinkedIn is the predominant business-to-business (B2B) platform where people can connect within a like-minded community.  It's one of the biggest online B2B and career-focused platforms worldwide. 

Use your personal account

Interestingly, for all users of LinkedIn, your personal profile is far more powerful than your company profile, despite it being a B2B platform. You get far greater organic reach from a personal profile. 

Some of the biggest company wins have been achieved through using a CEO’s personal LinkedIn connections. 

Today’s savvy candidates and clients are also searching online profiles to learn about the leaders they may work with and for. 

Posting daily can be too much

LinkedIn is about having professional conversations with others. You don’t need to create daily content to be active. Posting two or three times a week, so you're visible on the platform, can be enough to start. 

And here's a surprise for many. Engaging with other people's content and communicating authentically, with knowledge and expertise, can be as valuable as creating your own content. 

Put away your sales hat. Content can become tiresome when it's purely sales-derived. Audiences know an ad when they see one, and it can damage your "personal brand". Instead, use the sophisticated ad platform that LinkedIn has and do it properly.

By dedicating a minimum of 10 minutes a day, you can ensure your connections are still seeing you. They get a notification if you post something, as well as if you engage with someone else's content, and so do those who interacted with a post before you. It is a small time commitment to invest in your company connections and peers. 

DIY or a professional?

It's up to you whether you take personal charge of your account, pass it on to your marketing team or outsource it. 

Obviously, I run a marketing agency and I have to point out the benefits of hiring a professional to manage your personal account on LinkedIn. That way you can post consistently, save time, constantly improve the content and build your audience. 

We've found that consistency breeds engagement with your audience and generates authentic conversations with potential clients. And because it’s LinkedIn, you already know they're your ideal customers or client. 

Usually, a user on their own will have limited resources and capability to consistently keep content engaging or amplify their efforts. By working with a professional, you can save time that can be spent doing what you do best. 

The right specialists have will a full in-house team of creative directors, copywriters, photographers and videographers and it could cost you less than employing one full-time person working internally to do it for you.