Thought leadership – it’s one of those things that businesses and their leaders want to do, but may not necessarily know what it is or how to start.

You can’t simply declare yourself a thought leader. Thought leadership is something you have to demonstrate – through interviews, speeches, whitepapers, by engaging in industry conversations and commenting on external news, and through comment pieces in news media known as op-eds (short for opinion editorial).

But to ensure a business or individual can get these speaking and comment slots they need to be authentic, interesting and… well… thoughtful.

Thought leadership is not about making sales, it’s about growing your brand’s reputation and credibility, and amplifying the knowledge and expertise of the people that help to make it successful.

Don’t confuse thought leadership and marketing

There is a time and a place for sales messages and promotional talking points. One of the biggest battles publicists face is making the case that thought leadership is not the right vehicle for a business.

Thought leadership is not advertorial.

To be a thought leader, businesses need to be thinking bigger than the brand. They need to think about the audience they’re speaking to and what insights and experience they can offer that will be useful.

What insight can you share that will cause a reader to pause and change the way they work, for example? What can you say that makes them look at an issue in a completely different light? What new take can your company offer on a government policy or a piece of research undertaken by a university?

Thought leadership fails when it morphs into a piece of brand marketing. A 500-word article on why a company is fantastic and why readers should buy its newest product is an advert, it is not a demonstration of thought leadership.

So how does a business or individual get their voice heard?

In short, have something to say. Afterall, the “op” in op-ed means “opinion”.

If you plan to sit on the fence, if you don’t want to say something that others haven’t already or put your head above the parapet, then it’s probably not that interesting to media and won’t have much impact.

Have a point of view, know what you’re talking about, and be ready to back up your case with evidence and proof points.

Can it mention a brand then?

Yes it can, but there are ways to do it smartly that are not promotional.

Reference findings from a piece of research your company has recently published, highlight a case study, talk about a conversation with a real-life customer, but don’t make the whole thing about this.

Drop it in to what you are saying in a place that feels natural and authentic. One brand mention is all you need, and in fact is all you will likely be able to get away with in press for editorial coverage.

Balance the mention of your brand with proof points from third parties – it could be examples from other industry players that have caught your attention, data recently published by charities, academia and government, or a story you’ve seen in the news.

This demonstrates that you are playing in a much larger sandbox and that as a brand, you are confident in your position to happily give voice to others.

Who’s done a good job?

A good example is an op-ed from Challenge Works in The Times. The article makes the case that the UK should use challenge prizes to fund innovation. It references its own prizes in a factual way, rather than promotional, but then moves the conversation on to why challenge prizes are different to, say, the Nobels.

It highlights a successful example from a competitor (XPRIZE) as a proof point for its argument, and then connects the value of challenge prizes to recent news about difficult government spending decisions. It doesn’t hard sell messages about Challenge Works being experts in running challenge prizes, instead it demonstrates the expertise through the writing.

So why do it?

Thought leadership is valuable to a brand. It raises the profile of its key players and demonstrates that a business knows what it’s talking about and understands the trials and tribulations of its audiences.

An op-ed, a whitepaper, a speech or comment in a newspaper are not designed to drive sales. What thought leadership does is establish a brand – and the people who run it – as knowledgeable, confident and on the pulse. It contributes to the PR halo effect of creating brand credibility.

This type of PR activity will also open up further media opportunities and increase the chances of press releases being covered by the press.