Thought leaders are the informed opinion leaders and the go-to people in their field of expertise. They are trusted sources who move and inspire people with innovative ideas, bring bold visions to life, and show others how to replicate their success.

I recently wrote an article discussing the benefits of thought leadership for businesses in Thailand, which you can access here.

Today’s article, however, will focus on providing guidance for members of the Australian Chamber of Commerce Thailand. I want to show how you can write your own thought leadership articles, so you can benefit from the same authority and business opportunities this content can command.

Choosing a TopicWhile much of the writing you do as part of your job likely uses vocabulary specific to your industry, thought leadership articles should be written with a general non-expert audience in mind. In other words, laypeople should be able to easily understand your articles.

Picture your target audience and think about the type of questions they have about your business. These questions are going to be similar to those asked by new clients or during pitch meetings.

Your thought leadership content should attempt to answer these questions. For example:

• How to Write a Press Release
• How Businesses Can Profit from Thailand’s 46 Million Facebook Users
• What is a Persona?
• How career coaching helped me to be a better CEO
• 5 ways skills shortages in tech industries are creating opportunities for learning new skills
• How to develop Thailand’s future female leaders
• 3 online learning options for Thai-based employees

Lists and How-to topics are especially popular online as they provide a clear framework for the writer and are easy for readers to skim.Tone of Voice

Once someone opens your article, it’s your chance to make the right impression—not only with your expertise, but also with how you deliver your message.

You should aim to write with the same style and tone you’d use when talking to a client: professional, yet conversational; insightful, but not dry.

Avoid the hard sell at all costs. Your objective is to be seen as a helpful and friendly advisor offering your professional expertise to the community. Save your sales pitch until the bio at end of the article.

VocabularyAvoid technical jargon related to your industry. Remember you’re writing for a general audience so aim to be as accessible as possible to the widest possible audience, which may well include non-native English speakers.
Feel free to address the reader directly by saying ‘you’ to heighten the sense that you’re a human speaking with another human, rather than an impersonal corporate entity.
Conclusions

Once you get into a habit of creating thought leadership articles for your company, the benefits are multitudinous. You can use social media to ensure your content reaches your target audience. You can also turn it into exciting multimedia content, such as infographics, animated explainer videos and GIFs.

You can read more about thought leadership here, here, here and here.

The Australian Chamber of Commerce Thailand is always looking for ways to amplify its members through thought leadership. If you’re a member who would like to submit content for publication – or are interested in joining – contact Austcham at: [email protected]

David Norcross is a member of the Australian Chamber of Communications Subcommittee and Managing Director of Lexicon: a copywriting, multimedia and online marketing agency on Surawong Road. If you have any questions, or need any help putting together your content, drop a mail to [email protected]

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