On the Business Beat, Jeff shares results from a new Harris poll that make clear that while most businesses believe establishing expertise through thought leadership is important, most aren’t doing it well.
Tune in below to learn how:
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Good morning, Paul! One of the biggest challenges for small business owners is to figure out a way to get noticed. How does my company get noticed and how do I drive awareness and ultimately leads in sales, relating to the products and services I sell? There are various ways to achieve that, of course, but one thing a small business owner can do is to establish his or her expertise as a way to get noticed. Remember, people do business with small businesses because in significant part they believe they get more value when making a purchase than they do from bigger companies in many cases.
Well, a new Harris poll provides glaring insight that makes clear that most businesses, large and small, while most believe establishing expertise through thought leadership is important, in fact, most are not doing it well, according to the Harris poll. Here’s the data: More than 9 in 10 top executives, 92% of all executives, small businesses and large, say that thought leadership is critical to building authority in my industry, which leads ultimately to a greater level of sales. And yet few of those executives and company owners feel that their effort is driving the desired result. So how do you do it effectively?
Here are a couple of quick tips. Number one, start a blog on your company website or perhaps even a podcast. Then find an angle or angles where you can take a position on relevant subject matter that is unique, compelling, perhaps even edgy, but in any case, which delivers value. Same old, same old’s not going to get you noticed.
Make sure — and this is a critical part — make sure you provide data and factual support to whatever opinion or position you take in your thought leadership publish. Once you publish your content, use social media channels. For business to business, I recommend LinkedIn and Twitter, while Facebook, Instagram and even TikTok are good opportunities to reach a consumer audience. Make sure you publish consistently and with frequency.
Do this, simple as that, and you will find yourself making more sales for your business. I’m Jeff Sloan, founder and CEO of startupnation.com, and that’s today’s Business Beat on the Great Voice of the Great Lakes, WJR.
