How to Become a Thought Leader in Your Industry: A Guide

Adam Robinson knows how to attract and engage an audience.

As the founder and CEO of Retention.com and RB2B, Robinson has made a name for himself by building a startup in public and taking his audience along for the ride.

Leveraging a strategy that includes LinkedIn, podcast appearances, YouTube, and newsletters, he has boosted not only his personal profile but his business bonafides — showcasing the power of thought leadership in action.

Want to learn how to become a thought leader like Adam in your industry? Read on to find out.

What is thought leadership & why does it matter?

Thought leadership is the practice of sharing original insights and perspectives to establish yourself as an authority in your field, earning the trust of a growing audience and unlocking new business opportunities.

In an increasingly crowded marketplace, thought leadership is what helps business leaders cut through the noise and demonstrate why decision-makers should actually pay attention.

According to the 2025 Edelman–LinkedIn B2B Thought Leadership Impact Report, 55% of decision-makers use thought leadership as part of their vetting process, and 86% of them are interested in learning about unique perspectives that challenge the status quo.

Meanwhile, research from IBM shows the typical large enterprise CEO spends $184 million each year due to ideas they glean from thought leadership.

By becoming a thought leader and publishing quality content on a consistent basis, you can pique decision-makers’ curiosity while differentiating yourself from your competitors, ultimately winning more business because of it.

How to become a thought leader in your industry

You won’t become a thought leader overnight. But with a smart strategy and a commitment to sharing insights your audience won’t find anywhere else, you can build your thought leadership platform incrementally and efficiently.

1. Define your niche

You can’t be everything to everyone, so don’t try. Instead, pick an area where you have unique expertise and stick to it. If you build high-end homes, your lane might be something like the future of construction. If you create cybersecurity software, your focus should be on the evolving cyberthreat landscape.

While you might be tempted to chime in on everything, narrowing your focus makes it easier to stand out in today’s busy market. The more consistent you are, the more your message gets reinforced, and the more memorable you become.

An ideal thought leadership niche sits at the intersection of your expertise, your personal passions, and your business goals. Handy frameworks like the personal branding canvas can help you pinpoint exactly what you should be talking about and why.

2. Develop a LinkedIn presence

After you’ve defined your niche, build up a presence on social media, and LinkedIn in particular. After all, there are more than 8.2 million C-suite executives on the platform; if you want to reach those decision-makers, you need to be there, too.

While you might consider extending your reach through other platforms your audience lives on — whether that’s X, Facebook, Instagram, or even TikTok — LinkedIn makes a logical foundation.

Once you’re up and running on LinkedIn, get into a cadence of publishing regularly, at least a few times a week, as per marketing expert Neil Patel’s advice.

Data compiled by HubSpot suggests that LinkedIn posts receive the most engagement on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays between 10 a.m. and 12 p.m. local time. But really, any time during the workweek can work well.

What type of content should you post, anyway? Lean into frameworks like the 5-3-2 rule, which suggests that, out of every 10 posts you publish, 5 should be value-driven (e.g., tips and insights), 3 should be curated (e.g., sharing someone else’s content and adding your own thoughts), and 2 should be personal (e.g., inspiring stories and business wins). While you don’t need to adhere to this rule strictly, it should get you moving in the right direction.

One last thing: Thought leadership isn’t just about broadcasting your ideas. Engagement is equally as important. Responding to comments, joining industry conversations, and commenting on posts that interest you can increase your chances of showing up in your followers’ feeds.

3. Create newsletters, blogs, and podcasts to grow your audience

To become a thought leader, it’s key to develop your own on-demand audience, independent of social media algorithms. This is where newsletters and blogs come into play.

These channels afford an opportunity to explore ideas in-depth with your following and move beyond rapid-fire social updates. Just as important, you cultivate a more personal relationship with your audience and amass an email list for direct reachouts.

Starting your own podcast is also a powerful, but considerably more time-intensive, way to share your thought leadership and build a following. Pro tip: Ease into podcasting slowly by lining up appearances on established podcasts (more on that below).

4. Secure bylines in industry publications

In addition to posting content on channels you own, thought leadership also involves having your insights show up under your name in trusted industry outlets — like Forbes, Business Insider, Entrepreneur, and relevant trade publications. Securing bylines not only helps you further establish your authority, it also can enhance your SEO strategy, making sure that folks searching for relevant keywords come across your content.

But with so many thought leaders competing for finite space, how exactly do you get articles published in these outlets in the first place?

It starts with creating insightful content that fits in with each publication. Once you’ve written something you’re proud to stand behind, start pitching it to outlets.

Pro tip: Instead of trying to be your own PR firm, join forces with an earned media agency that already has relationships with decision-makers at top-tier publications who can help you get to the front of the line. 

5. Land public speaking engagements and media appearances

Public speaking is one of the most powerful skills that thought leaders can possess. In fact, 75% of executives say it’s the most valuable skill in business, and effective public speakers influence 32% more decisions in corporate environments. Securing public speaking engagements doesn’t just make your thought leadership more visible, it can also lead to new business.

Relevant conference keynotes and panel discussions are obvious targets for emerging thought leaders. But also work to secure podcast and media interviews, which lend third-party credibility to your efforts and expose you to new audiences.

6. Measure your impact & continuously refine your approach

No matter how good your thought leadership efforts are going, you can always improve. And, with one study finding that thought leadership can deliver 156% ROI, any time you spend fine-tuning your strategy is worthwhile.

As you start publishing thought leadership content online and in social media, track quantitative and qualitative metrics, including web traffic, impressions, engagement, followers, comments, and mentions. Try to revisit this data at least once a quarter to identify trends, figure out what’s working best, and adjust your approach accordingly.

This is an area where partnering with a social media management agency can make a huge impact.

With a multi-channel thought leadership strategy, you can increase the chances your messages find the people you’re looking for.

Thought leadership: Real-world examples & best practices

To give you a better idea of what this looks like in the real world, let’s briefly examine three under-the-radar thought leaders and why their content works.

Theo Pak, entrepreneur

Ever hear of Theo Pak? Me neither — until this post appeared in my LinkedIn feed. In it, Pak outlines how he’s leaving a high-level role at Adobe in order to fight back against a surging wave of “AI slop.” By staking out a bold position and aligning it with his passions and business goals, Pak offers an example of thought leadership in action.

Why this works: For thought leaders, impactful social posts need to be unique, authentic, and offer readers value they can’t get elsewhere.

Naomi Simson, entrepreneur

One key thing to remember about thought leadership is that your efforts for one channel can often be used to bolster another, and vice versa. Naomi Simson shows how effortless this can be with a simple post on LinkedIn highlighting her newsletter on the platform. With more than 47,250 subscribers, Simson’s clearly doing something right.

Why this works: Simson’s message is simple and straightforward, with a clear call to action. By sharing lessons she wishes she knew at the beginning of her career, she delivers real value free of charge.

Sam Altman, CEO and co-founder of OpenAI

Since the release of ChatGPT, Sam Altman has become somewhat of a household name. If you pay attention to media, you’ve almost certainly seen Sam somewhere. Whether creating content on social channels, sitting down for podcast interviews, or giving talks at conferences, he’s a great example of how using multiple channels can really accelerate thought leadership efforts.

In July 2024, Altman published an op-ed in the Wall Street Journal called “Who will control the future of AI?” A provocative title to be sure — one that no doubt piqued the interest of scores of readers, some of whom might be learning of Altman for the first time.

Bottom line? With a multi-channel thought leadership strategy, you can increase the chances your messages find the people you’re looking for.

Why this works: Anyone can post on channels they own. When thought leadership content appears in respected third-party publications, it brings more credibility to your personal brand with the added bonus of exposing you to a new audience.

Can anyone become a thought leader?

Thought leadership isn’t reserved just for well-known CEOs and world-famous experts. Ultimately, what makes someone a thought leader is having unique insights people want to hear, a willingness to share actionable advice, and the patience to know success won’t come overnight.

By joining forces with an agency that has helped executives like you establish themselves as thought leaders, you can accelerate your path to becoming an industry authority.

Learn more about the advantages of working with a thought leadership agency.

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