Lead, Don’t Follow
Rosica Communications was an early pioneer of Thought Leadership, writing and speaking on the topic beginning in 2015. Chris Rosica’s thought leadership article from early 2017 outlines applications and tenets that are still highly applicable today.
Rosica was the first PR and marcom agency (globally) to develop an accurate and comprehensive algorithm/barometer that gauges an organization’s thought leadership score. We call it the Thought Leadership IndexTM.
Thought leadership is not about being known, it is about being known for something. A thought leader is an individual or organization who is recognized as an authority in their field and whose expertise is highly sought after. Thought leadership can grow awareness to effectively connect an organization with its supporters, partners, customers, industry influencers, targeted media, conference managers and speakers, industry analysts, elected officials, employees, key opinion leaders (KOLs), and other key stakeholders. Regardless of whether you are an ed-tech company, corporate or family foundation, or human or animal health company, these efforts can improve brand equity and lead to category leadership. Our motto is lead, don’t follow – and at all costs, don’t fly under the radar!
As a thought leader, your customers, partners, advocates, industry analysts, media, and influential KOLs will turn to you for advice, education, input, counsel, expertise, and collaboration.
The Thought Leadership IndexTM and our Thought Leadership services include and address the following activities:
- Benchmarking and measuring perception and reputation over time
- Books, long-form videos, webinars, and podcasts you publish or “own”
- Content development – quality and quantity (inc. white papers, blogs, bylined articles, speeches, education and training materials, and short-form video)
- Data including research, studies, and surveys
- Earned media and share of voice – quality and quantity of business and trade media placements – national, regional, and local (print, broadcast, streaming, and digital)
- Email marketing and newsletter distribution
- Event and conference participation, including sponsorship activities
- KOL, influencer, and SME relationships
- Online reputation and reviews
- Paid media including all digital advertising
- Public affairs and government relations activities
- Positioning and messaging (quality and frequency of updates)
- SEO – ranking of keywords/phrases you dominate for, inbound links from earned media and other credible sites, on-site optimization, and off-site search optimization factors
- Social media marketing – consistency, follower growth, video usage, sentiment, and engagement
- Speaking engagements – quantity, quality, audience reached
- Strategic partnerships
- Website traffic
To learn more about how we build thought leadership or to inquire about the Thought Leadership IndexTM, please connect with us.