We’ve talked before about how thought leadership can bring value to your networking game. In a nutshell, building a thought leadership platform lends you credibility and trust, and it helps you qualify interested leads before you even meet them at an event.
This advantage goes both ways. Thought leadership fuels networking—but networking also magnifies thought leadership. When we say “networking,” what we mean is that good old-fashioned rubbing of elbows in the real world: events, trade shows, conferences, socials and so on.
If you’ve been trying to up your content game but haven’t yet achieved the reach you'd like, networking might just be a game-changer.
Hearing and learning from diverse perspectives
Here is one of the great paradoxes of the digital age: although the Web gives us the power to learn about almost anything from almost anyone, most of us tend to stay in our comfort zones, sticking to topics we’re already familiar with and hanging out with people who think and talk like us.
It turns out that the Internet hasn’t done away with humans’ tendency to seek out information that supports our pre-existing views and beliefs. The term for this is confirmation bias, and search engines and social network algorithms are practically tailor-made to encourage it.
These echo chambers aren’t good environments for thought leaders—at least, not ones who genuinely value ideas and debate. A mind trapped in this kind of bubble ends up with thoughts that reinforce and recycle the same tired concepts. Clashing ideas, on the other hand, often spark original thinking. This cognitive tension fosters creativity and innovation—true cornerstones of thought leadership.
Enter real-life networking
In the so-called meatspace, there’s no algorithm to steer your interactions. You’re more likely to hear from people with viewpoints that differ from yours. This can shed light on your figurative blind spots or unveil market opportunities you’d never considered before.
Perhaps most importantly, however: hearing, understanding and speaking to these different perspectives is a key factor to success. Audiences are becoming increasingly inclined to question biases and to prioritize diversity and inclusivity; the modern thought leader addresses these with intelligence, grace… and maybe a little panache, too.
Expanding your digital reach with real-world efforts
If your thought leadership lives on LinkedIn, it’s easy to assume that your audience is only as wide as your reach on the platform.
Not so. When you follow up on each enjoyable conversation by connecting on LinkedIn, you expand your audience not only to your new contacts, but their contacts too. Whenever your new connection engages with your next post—and, keep in mind, they’ll be inclined to do exactly that if they want to strengthen the new relationship—their network will see it.
The farther outside of your existing sphere the people you’ve spoken with are, the fewer online connections you’re likely to share with them. That means your digital content will now reach a whole network of folks who’ve never seen your thought leadership before.
The upshot is to stay open-minded at networking events. By all means, do continue to introduce yourself to existing connections, keep prospects warm and reinforce existing professional relationships. But make it a priority to talk to strangers too, and you’ll soon find your reach expanding organically (and without the need to spend on paid advertising).
Discovering new opportunities for content collaboration
If you’re looking to cement your reputation as an industry expert, being featured on others’ platforms is a powerful endorsement of your expertise.
Professional partnerships can go a long way to accelerating your reach and growth. And guess what? One of the best ways to find these collaboration opportunities—especially through platforms and media formats you haven’t yet explored—is through networking.
These partnerships give you and your ideas a warm introduction to your collaborator’s audience. Collaboration can take a variety of formats: participating in webinars, guest blogging, podcasting, even co-authoring a whitepaper or offering a joint workshop. By staying versatile in your content, you can engage new and existing audience members in novel ways—an important consideration in a world of fast-moving trends and shortened attention spans.
Bonus: these events present even more networking opportunities. It’s almost a self-sustaining cycle.
Collaboration not only diversifies your channels and your content, but also fosters an environment of mutual learning and growth. Your collaborations can generate new concepts, refine existing ideas and keep your thought leadership fresh and relevant.
Integrating networking into your thought leadership strategy
There’s no denying that thought leadership is a divisive concept. Some see it as a noble goal for forward-thinkers, specialists and leaders—and others roll their eyes and dismiss it as meaningless jargon. Regardless, thought leadership continues to be a prevailing trend, one we suspect will only grow as leaders, experts and executives seek to distinguish themselves from the ever-growing crowd.
And there’s no better way to enhance those efforts than by leveraging the advantages of good old-fashioned networking.
After all, whether your thought leadership inspires young people interested in your field, engages your peers or gets you noticed by the titans of your field, your underlying goal is the same: forging meaningful, mutually beneficial connections with people.
Sounds an awful lot like networking, doesn’t it?
If you’re intrigued and want to learn more about how to get your networking and thought leadership working together, set up a call with us and let’s map out how you can get started.
