Becoming a thought leader is not just for business owners. It can be a really great way to improve your credibility and authority and get noticed in your industry. In this episode I have shared three really implementable ideas to share your unique perspectives and get recognised for your expertise. Great for your personal branding. Useful for search engine optimisation and excellent leverage when you’re applying for jobs or renegotiating your remuneration.
Links I mentioned in this episode:
37. Becoming a thought leader in your industry – Transcript
[00:00:00] Hi, there I’m Bec McFarland the host of the Pop Your Career Podcast. As a career coach, I’m most passionate about helping my clients to discover their own personal flavour of career fulfillment. In this podcast, we are going to be exploring ways that you too can feel more fulfilled by your work. So strap yourself in, get ready for the ride. The tips around here are fast and in abundance.
[00:00:29] Hello. Hello. It’s Bec McFarland here helping you do better and be better in your career. And today I wanted to talk to you a little bit about becoming a thought leader in your industry. Now I was inspired to do this podcast episode after sharing a reel on the Pop Your Business Instagram account last week. I shared a little [00:01:00] tip that I use for getting PR or getting the attention of the media or journalists.
[00:01:07] And that is to use a website called Source Bottle. Now that is S O U R C E, as in you would be the source, not as in the sauce bottle, like fair shake of the Sauce bottle. You can head across to sourcebottle.com to check this out. It is totally free and it’s just a website where basically you sign up to say that you would be interested in being a source for journalists and then you receive two emails every day with a whole list of opportunities that are available where journalists are in fact looking for sources for their stories.
[00:01:50] Now this makes total sense for business owners, right? I have got lots of business owner clients who are using source bottle to get [00:02:00]noticed, to be visible, to get recognized, and build their credibility and authority by using the media. But if you are in a more traditional career, why might you want to do something like this?
[00:02:14] Well, because becoming a thought leader in your industry actually builds your credibility and authority and your expertise in your area of interest or in the area that you work. And it’s not just necessarily about promoting your business or promoting opportunities, but it is actually putting yourself out there and letting it be known that you have a unique perspective on something that’s happening in your industry. And that is really what becoming a thought leader is all about.
[00:02:50] Now, if you are becoming a thought leader, well this contributes to your overall personal brand, but it can also be a huge asset [00:03:00]if you are looking for a new role, for example, or perhaps you are angling for a promotion. You can definitely use that credibility and authority that you have obtained through becoming a thought leader as leverage when you are looking at these new opportunities.
[00:03:17] So of course, source bottle is just one way that you can do this. There’s another website that’s very similar called HARO or Help a Reporter Out. It is at helpareporter.com. I think both of these websites are really fantastic. Both actually send you that digest list each day with the opportunities that are available.
[00:03:41] Uh, and I myself have been picked up for quite a few stories. My clients have been picked up and it is definitely a really great way for you to have your voice heard and start to get in front of the people who you might be interested in getting in front of.[00:04:00]
[00:04:00] If you do happen to get one of your pictures from Sauce Bottle or HARO picked up, you can then use that article that is written as leverage by sharing it on your social media profiles, by emailing it to people who may be interested in seeing it and by sharing it through lots of other means. So I would definitely say the first step is to pitch your idea, and the second is to make sure that you actually follow through and do something with the article, once you have been published. If you’ve got a personal website, for example, where you share the details of your work history and promote yourself as a potential employee, could be that you have an as featured in section or as seen in where you could share some logos or even links to some of the articles where you have been referred to as a guest expert.
[00:04:57] This [00:05:00] episode is brought to you by the Career Clarity Quest, my absolutely free, seven day program, which is designed to support you in getting so much clearer about your next steps. Find it at PopYourCareer.com/quest.
[00:05:17] If you’re interested in expanding your reach as a thought leader, then blogging is a really great way to do that. And of course, you could start your own blog or you could offer to blog on other people’s websites. Now, if you do decide that you wanna go ahead and start your own blog, there are lots of different ways that you can do that.
[00:05:35] You can, of course, use a personal website. Other options include websites like Medium where you can blog in your own feed, or you can actually apply to be part of other publications. This is a great way for you to, again, get your ideas and your thoughts seen by other people in your industry or people who might be interested in your perspective.
[00:05:59] [00:06:00] Another way that you can participate in the blogging community is to actually write guest posts for other people’s websites. So if there is a website out there that particularly shares stories that are in an area of your interest or industry, then you can actually apply to write a guest post on their site.
[00:06:20] I would think about what it is that you have to offer that could be valuable for their readers and teach them appropriately. I have guessed posted on lots of different sites over the years. It can be a really, really great way to, again, get access to a completely new audience. But it’s also great for search engine optimization. So if you are looking for ways to improve your results on Google or other search engines, then a guest posting, particularly on sites that have already got good authority can be really, really beneficial. And finally, for blogging, you can [00:07:00] also actually write articles directly onto LinkedIn, which you can then share in your feed and they’re also really good for search engine optimization. They do come up on Google. Another great thing is about articles that are published directly on LinkedIn, it does mean that you do have access to that immediate social aspect where other people on LinkedIn will be able to see your thoughts and they can comment on them, and you may even be able to start a little bit of a conversation.
[00:07:32] Now, my third tip today about becoming a thought leader in your industry is continuing to actually use social media, but to share your thoughts by commenting in groups or on other people’s posts to share that unique perspective that you have. Now, as a LinkedIn member, and I am only a free member, I do often actually get emails from LinkedIn asking me, Weigh in on certain topics.
[00:07:59] So [00:08:00] somebody may have written a post about something in my industry. Perhaps that post has started to get a little bit of traction. LinkedIn will actually actively go out and seek other experts in that field and invite them to come along and share their thoughts on the topic at hand. These invitations do come in randomly, so I don’t think that you should necessarily just rely on them, but it is absolutely something that you could keep your eye on. You can use LinkedIn groups. You could also use Facebook groups or groups in other social media platforms that you are interested in to share your opinions, to questions or to answer questions to provide information or to provide your opinion. And another thing is that you can also use other people’s social media posts by leaving comments and actually either starting or continuing a conversation about something that is particularly relevant to your field.
[00:08:59] [00:09:00] Before I finish up, I do just wanna give you a little bit of a warning. We all need to make sure that we are careful about what it is that we’re doing and saying on social media. It does live forever, so please do just take a moment to think before you post. And of course, if you are in a more traditional career, just make sure that you understand your company’s social media policy and any additional declarations that you need to make on social media to confirm that your opinions are in fact your own, and that they are not attributed to the organization that you work for.
[00:09:36] I hope this helps. I hope that you dive in and sign yourself up for source bottle, get blogging or at least start commenting on social media feeds that are relevant to your work.
[00:09:51] Have a beautiful week and I will see you in our next episode. See you later.
[00:09:56] Thanks so much for [00:10:00] listening to the Pop Your Career podcast. I hope that you’ve enjoyed today’s tips and that you found value in what I’ve shared with you. If you like your career advice quick and entertaining, I would love for you to subscribe. Also leave me a rating and a review. If you wanna continue the conversation, come and join me over on social media. You can find me everywhere at Pop Your Career. I’ll see you soon.
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