In this economy you need to be a Thought Leader to become Financed!
If you are not sure what a thought leader is or how to best utilize your market knowledge to socially become the leader in your field, don’t worry you are not alone. Only recently have experts like Shane Gibson of Knowledge Brokers International exposed this idea in books and podcasts. We recommend you listen to his recent thought leadership podcast, http://www.closingbigger.net/2011/03/thought-leadership-in-social-media/. (If you have 7 minutes, listen to him speak and then read the rest of this blog.)
As discussed in our last article, FSE Listings: Finance is where a person creates an environment where an act of faith can be taken, we did not have the chance to discuss the corporate image that investors and people expect to see today. The financer in today’s economy not only look at leaders in business, but leaders that can compete in thought. To create the environment for an act of faith to happen, you must explore how to best be a sought after thought leader in your field.
The topic of thought leadership is overused in social media, but the reality is the application and concept is about making a difference in your community, brand, and business image.
In order for financers to have faith in your ability to succeed, you need to show that you have the capacity to influence others with your thoughts and your business.
In today’s world, before you go to do a presentation on your business, the financer “knows who you are from Google” or other mediums. Whether they are right or wrong, human curators have taken all of this content on the internet and published the thoughts on your field of business before you have been able to present. Often, if your competitor is engaging the finance world as the thought leader, their opinion will be formed and financed on the opinions of someone other than yourself.
We suggest that you be able to look at what is online, what opinions are formed, and consistently filter this and build your own Brand and engage via the web and your presentation to financers as a thought leader.
It is no longer enough to go into a Finance meeting with a business plan built by a well-known firm, or an investment memorandum by a major brokerage firm, the interest and knowledge readily available online is ahead of their thoughts, don’t let them be ahead of yours.
In the podcast by Shane Gibson, he discusses trading and thought leadership. A unique way to communicate to trade on the simplest concepts, from pixels to paperclips, why not shares and finance. Now take these same concepts, and become a leader at doing this with your business.
It is our opinion that you have to be a thought leader and communicator to succeed in finance, not just in social media. His message goes across multiple platforms; we believe you should take it into consideration.