Learn how to become an influencer in your industry

7 steps to becoming a thought leader

An influencer or thought leader is a person who is recognized as an industry expert and has successful social media performance with an impressive engagement rate. Influencers are not celebrities or famous politicians. They are regular people who successfully build their communities around their subjects of interest or brands.

What does it take to become a thought leader?

Know your industry.

You should know your industry extensively if you want to build a large community. To attract readers and engagement, you need expertise other people don’t have. Readers come to your site/blog to learn something new or interesting they don’t know.

Create high quality content.

If you want to be an influencer in your field, you should consistently create insightful, authentic content. Only high quality professionally written content will resonate well with readers and create a community.

Write for your readers.

People drive your social media and website/blog traffic. You should write for them. Your content should be interesting and helpful. No reader likes content loaded with promotional or unrelated materials.

Be inspiring.

But, simply posting interesting content to attract readers is not enough to become a thought leader. You should inspire people. Your audience should want to take action. Your audience engagement rate and desire to act on your words is what makes you a true social media influencer.

Know your target audience.

You should know who your readers are. Do your research to understand your audience demographics, what content they like and when the best time is to post. Analyze your content performance and tailor it specifically for your segment of readers.

Communicate through multiple media channels.

You need to be able to share and communicate with your followers and community through multiple social media channels. Cross-promotion via several social media outlets is important because people give preferences to different social media platforms. Some will like to receive your content updates via Facebook, some via Twitter. A thought leader manages them all to keep his or her conversation going.

Be yourself.

Only a truly genuine person can connect with many people. Be yourself and be kind to people, and they will follow you.

It takes dedication to your audience and your industry, professionalism and meticulous work to become a thought leader in your niche. If you consistently create valuable, unique, useful content and share it through multiple social media channels, you will find your community as a thought leader.

Axia Public Relations can help you become a recognized authority in your industry. Download Axia’s The Essential Social Media Management Guide to get started on learning how to earn positive media attention and connect with your target audience today.

Yulia Dianova is a public relations professional who is skilled in building relationships with target audiences. She provides counsel to organizations that seek PR help to further their growth and reach their goals. Yulia earned a master’s degree in public relations management from University of Maryland University College. She is fluent in Russian and English and is always looking for a new challenge. Yulia has worked for Axia Public Relations since July 2015. Learn more about Yulia Dianova. Connect with Axia on Twitter @axiapr or tell us what you think in the comments below.