How to Develop Stronger and More Engaging Thought Leadership Research demonstrates that buyers want to hear from industry leaders about topics that affect their organizations and address specific needs. Here's how to create your own inspiring brand of marketing thought leadership.

The phrase "thought leader" is easy to write off as marketing jargon, but when put to good use, it has great value for both leaders and their companies. In fact, according to 2020 research conducted by Survey Monkey, two-thirds of marketers describe thought leadership as a "top priority" for their organizations.

But what does this concept really mean? It is the delivery of content that shares your expertise, insight and experience with others, and for their benefit. It's about creating and adding value to the broader industry conversation about a particular topic — both building knowledge and taking a stand.

While some contend that thought leadership is about expressing strong and even contentious opinions, others observe that it's more about being a subject matter expert and using that position to influence people in a certain industry or specialty area. To me, it's a combination of these things.