The 1 Concern of Founders on the Fence About Thought Leadership (And Why it Shouldn’t Matter)
The rise of thought leadership is inevitable.
It’s the result of the general public looking for someone they can trust. People hate being sold to, and once they feel like that’s happening, they tune out. To combat the pushback, founders, serial entrepreneurs and CEOs are stepping up and speaking in first-person form to build that trust.
More and more founders and CEOs are actively sharing their insights to establish themselves at the forefront of their industries. Yet, a lot of people are still skeptical.
Their main concern?
Return on investment.
It’s a question I get asked all the time at Digital Press:
When people think ‘marketing’ they think, “spend now, reap the benefits later.” And up until this point, ROI has been pretty cut-and-dry for traditional marketing efforts.
That’s just not the case for thought leadership.
They continue…
“If I’m putting X amount of money in, am I going to see that back at the end of the month? Or the end of the quarter? How do I know it’s money well spent?”
Here’s the problem:
Thought leadership should not be treated like traditional marketing.
It’s not about putting X dollars in to get Y dollars out. In fact, the focus shouldn’t be on money at all.
I know — it’s a tough pill to swallow. But if you’re willing to forget about money for the time-being, and can see the value of being recognized as an industry leader, your ROI will be way more than a slight increase in sales.
- ROI will come in the form of people wanting to work for you.
- ROI will come in the form of people wanting to partner with you.
- ROI will in the form of people wanting to invest in you, and your company.
The goal, is that whenever someone thinks of your industry, the first person that comes to mind is you.
That is the essence of thought leadership.
It’s a drawn out but extremely worthwhile game plan, set to establish you at the forefront of your industry through providing unique, valuable content.
So don’t worry so much about getting your return on investment.
Let it come to you soon enough.
