You’ve heard it all before. And maybe you’ve even tried it all too. All the typical advice for thought leaders who want to grow their following.
Find your niche. Optimize your social media profiles. Create original and quality content. Maximize your exposure. Join some Facebook groups. Share your brilliant ideas in comments, DMs, and discussions. Engage with your followers and fans.
And voilà! Next thing you know, you’re a thought leader.
It seems super easy—like, super easy.
But that’s not actually how it works. Building a community of loyal followers and devoted fans takes a lot more than creating a few daily Instagram posts and liking and responding to comments.
In Part 1 of our Thought Leadership Journey, we dove into what it really means to be a thought leader—contrary to what many people think, thought leaders actually aren’t experts, they’re visionary thinkers.
As we continue to form our definition of thought leader, we’re taking a closer look at one of the essential requirements for thought leaders: building a community of followers.
Who’s in your fan club?
When trying to build a community, the truth is, it’s not just about having hundreds, thousands, or millions of followers. It’s about having the right people in your community.
But who are the right people? And where do you even start?
Well, research by Audience Audit Inc. and Predictive ROI shows there are four main profiles or types of people that follow thought leaders:
- Trusting Followers
This group wants to meet new thought leaders, eagerly learns from them, and readily trusts their advice.
- Jaded Skeptics
Of all the different types of followers, these individuals are the least likely to trust the visionary ideas, advice, and knowledge of thought leaders. Although they do follow thought leaders, they believe most of them are self-centered and arrogant.
- Discriminating and Engaged
This group has high expectations of thought leaders and is more likely to trust experts who are widely recognized and have had notable success in their field.
- Self-Described Experts
The individuals in this group are confident they have just as much expertise, knowledge, and skill as thought leaders and typically only follow one or two thought leaders.
Of the four different types of followers, two of these groups are more engaged, more participative, and more appreciative than the others—Trusting Followers and the Discriminating and Engaged.
When you take specific actions to attract these people to your group, it’ll be much easier to grow your following and inspire more people to join your community. Especially if you are just starting out as a thought leader.
But don’t think like an influencer.
Now, after hearing the words fan, followers, and community, you might have started to think of today’s social media influencers. Many influencers have hundreds of thousands of social media followers and fans.
Much of the advice for thought leaders out there today leverages platform-building advice based on some of social media’s tried and true influencer-building techniques. But thought leaders and influencers are not necessarily the same.
Influencers create content designed to monetize their audience. They generate revenue by charging brands for access to their followers. They want likes, clicks, and shares. Their goal? Persuade as many people as they can to follow them so they can drive more brand sponsorships.
Thought leaders share visionary ideas. They want to change how people feel, what they think, and what they do. They create communities of thinkers, doers, and changemakers—not just consumers.
To create a community of thinkers, you need to target the right people. You see, it’s not about how big your following is, it’s about having the right people following you.
First, find your Trusting Followers.
Gathering Trusting Followers is a great place to start. According to the research, Trusting Followers are the group that “actively seeks out thought leaders.” They’re eager to learn and most likely to appreciate and engage with the content and ideas you share.
Not only that, these individuals also believe what thought leaders share and trust their advice “based on their public presence.” This is key—this group of followers “rely on fame, visibility, and signals from others to find thought leaders.”
They need social proof.
Besides just wanting new and helpful information, Trusting Followers want peer approval of a thought leader. They rely significantly on social-proof factors like frequent mentions by peers and appearances at events.
So, give them social proof. Collaborate with other well-respected thought leaders and highly recognized professionals to create social media posts, podcasts, and articles. Share visionary ideas and interview other thought leaders on your podcast. Collaborate with other speakers.
Of course, you know thought leaders can gain visibility by being promoted or featured in forums and by sharing ideas on social media.
But the best way to grab the attention of trusting followers is speaking at professional events.
Speaking at conferences, workshops, and breakout sessions is a fantastic way to raise your profile. Speaking makes you much more recognizable to your audience and to potential followers and fans. According to the research, 43% of respondents heard about thought leaders from a conference they attended.
Once you give your Trusting Followers the social proof they need, they’ll listen to your ideas, learn from you on a variety of platforms, and appreciate your leadership.
And they’ll lead you to the next type of followers you need.
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