The concept of the thought leader can be a controversial topic. It’s one of those buzzwords that people throw about without really thinking about what it means. And this can be challenging, as some people have quite heated views about their personal definition of a thought leader.
Some consider it as merely a flasher-sounding synonym for an influencer. Others believe the two are very different and have quite passionate beliefs on the matter.
当该术语首次变得时尚时，它仅属于商业世界，甚至没有与在线世界有任何特殊联系。尽管该短语仍然倾向于专注于“严重主题”的专家，但它非常有意义地包括那些在网上展示其专业知识的人。但是我仍然不会认为很多人会称呼时尚的在线社交名流为“思想领袖”。
什么是思想领袖？
思想领袖的定义是什么？
Denise Brosseau, of the思想领导实验室，将思想领导力描述为知情的舆论领导者和专业领域的首选人。她认为它们是“可信赖的来源，他们以创新的思想来激发人们；将想法变为现实，并知道并展示如何复制他们的成功。随着时间的流逝，他们创建了一群专门的朋友，粉丝和追随者，以帮助他们复制并扩展自己的想法，不仅在一家公司中，而且在一个行业，利基市场或整个生态系统中。”
来源：quora.com
思想领袖在有意义的方式改变世界s and engage with others to change their ways. This is quite a level above your everyday leader. They don't just lead. They certainly don't only manage. You can’t even be a thought leader if you merely theorize. To be a thought leader, you have to act – you have to make an impact in your field, and engage with others, encouraging them to learn from your advancements in your field.
Skye Schooley in theBusiness News Dailytakes a more holistic view, and believes, "as a notable expert in a specific company, industry or society, a thought leader is someone who offers guidance and insight to those around them. In other words, a thought leader has a positive reputation of helping others with their knowledge and insight.”
How Do You Become a Thought Leader?
If you look at the narrower definition of a thought leader, then you can’t quickly become a thought leader by choice. It takes time for you to build a reputation that gives you that status. However, if you include thought leadership among your long-term goals, there are certainly ways you can help your progress towards meeting your aims.
You first have to build your knowledge and expertise in a particular niche. In most cases, this will be an ongoing process – subject matter doesn't stand still, and you will have to continually update your understanding of the subject matter as time progresses.
Arguably, you also need a particular character trait to achieve the status of being a thought leader. You need the tenacity and perseverance to make a change in your niche. This might not be about the subject itself (you can't change history, for instance, nor rewrite the laws of nature). But you must be prepared to change the ways you look at and interpret your subject matter. You have to do something truly innovative in your field if you are to be considered a thought leader.
来源：evannex.com
It is much easier to become a thought leader if you have already established your expertise in your field. This is one of the reasons why the term "thought leader" originated in business. The thought leaders of industry had already set up successful corporations, operating in novel and interesting ways. This has another noticeable flow-on effect. If you have already established a successful business, program, or other type of initiative, you will probably already have a community of people who talk about your topic of expertise. They possibly already discuss your achievements.
但是，这并不意味着您必须从头开始创建一些东西。许多老师以真正鼓舞人心的思想领袖而闻名。当然，他们没有改变他们教授的内容（尽管他们可能影响了课程的重点）。但是他们找到了新颖的创新方式来将这些内容交付给学生。
This doesn't just apply to a school or academic situation, either. Life coach, Tong Robbins, is renowned for his motivational speeches and seminars. Robbins didn't invent the material he teaches. He simply took heed of the content and used it to motivate others to succeed. He even learned to firewalk and uses it in his seminars. His reputation grew to the point that other life coaches and motivators now talk about Robbins with awe and undoubtedly consider him a prominent thought leader in their industry.
Probably one of the most vital requirements to be a thought leader is to have a clear, defined point of view. Thought leaders don't just report their subject without personal comment. They make thoughtful, original contributions to the conversation on the topic. They also recognize trends in their field of expertise and provide insights to others.
What Do Thought Leaders Have to Do with Influencer Marketing?
In most of our discussion on thought leaders so far, we have focused on the "thought" part of the term – the knowledge and understanding of some specialist topics and the ability to share ideas. However, we can't ignore the "leader" part of the term. Thought leaders aren't boffins who impart their knowledge and views but do little else.
Thought leaders have also to have core leadership skills. They have to inspire others and influence their behavior.
这就是许多思想领导者也是顶级业务主管的原因之一。他们对经营的行业有敏锐的知识和热情。在某些情况下，他们实际上是围绕关键概念或想法来建立自己的行业。一些思想领导者甚至发现了创造其部门或至少将其转移到新层面的创新。但是，这些人也是领导者，具有鼓励他人帮助他们实现梦想的必要技能。
But not all thought leaders are in business. Some thought leaders have found that their audience online. They have become online experts in their topic of expertise and developed an audience of people who are also passionate about the subject. These thought leaders have been able to influence their followers, and therefore can rightly be called influencers.
现在，如果您作为品牌可以说服其中一些影响者，您的产品适合其专业知识领域，值得他们推荐，那么您应该为真正的影响者营销找到真正的机会。金博宝188备用网址
Are All Influencers Thought Leaders?
This begs the question of whether all influencers are thought leaders. If you look at our post on什么是影响者？you will see that we define an influencer as being someone who has:
- 由于与他或她的听众的权威，知识，职位或关系，影响他人的购买决定的权力。
- a following in a distinct niche, with whom he or she actively engages. The size of the following depends on the size of his/her topic of the niche.
With this definition, you could consider the first paragraph as describing the “thought” part of a thought leader, and the second covers the “leader” section.
但是，许多人对影响者是什么有更宽松的看法。主流媒体强调了这一点。即使应该更好地了解“有影响力者”的利用的在线网站，也没有质疑那些人是否应该得到这个名字。例如，以下报告几乎愉快地报告了“不良影响者”行为 -How An Instagram Influencer Used IKEA To Fake A Vacation,Instagram影响者如何使她的追随者从150万美元中骗取她的追随者和Debunking 'dangerous' influencer claims wastes doctors' time, says head GP. Who said these people were influencers? Did they ever meet the definition of influencer we use on The Influencer Marketing Hub? It is undoubtedly debatable whether they ever were thought leaders.
说，即使我们缩小了影响者的定义，并付出了我们所看待的内容social media influencers.
Social media influencers are people who have built a reputation for their knowledge and expertise on a specific topic. They make regular posts about that topic on their preferred social media channels and generate large followings of enthusiastic, engaged people who pay close attention to their views.
即使有了这个定义，似乎您至少必须努力成为一个思想领袖成为有影响力的人。社交媒体影响者仍然需要在一个主题上拥有大量的知识和专业知识，他们必须能够将对话推向该主题。否则，为什么人们会不愿跟随他们？
也许，关注的领域是利基或专业主题的定义。很容易设想在线专家关于严重的主题被认为是影响者和思想领袖，例如健康，技术，政治，历史，哲学以及实际上在大学层面教授的每个学科等主题。将在线影响者视为思想领导者，将在线影响者视为思想领导者，这是更具挑战性的。
Backlash Against the Idea of the Influencer Being the Thought Leader
As we have seen with some of the articles linked to above, influencers are not universally popular. To quote Ryan Kucey in his thought piece,There’s a Difference Between Thought Leaders and Influencers, “Everyone and their dog (literally) is an influencer today. The term影响者在生日聚会上像五彩纸屑一样扔掉。”
The problem is that for too many people, the concept of influencer has changed. Indeed one of the issues is that influencer marketing has become so popular that people call themselves influencers now. And by influencer, they usually mean “I have lots of followers so I must be important."
These people are clearly not thought leaders. They don’t have expertise on any topic, and they don't try to seriously lead the discussion.
Don’t Call Yourself a Thought Leader or an Influencer?
One of the ironic things about being both an influencer and a thought leader is that you should never call yourself either. As Rayn Kucy says in his article, “Would you walk into an interview and upon being asked what your current profession is, claim to be an influencer? How ridiculous is that?”
真正的思想领导者是某个地方的影响者，但不一定在社交媒体或在线平台上。他们不仅在一个主题上具有专业知识，而且还喜欢与他人分享这些知识，并以宏观范围影响对该主题的思考。
大多数真正的影响者都是思想领导者。他们也有关于主题的专业知识，并喜欢分享他们的知识。
Self-promoting “influencers” who aren’t actually experts on anything, and don’t lead the conversation are neither genuine influencers nor thought leaders.
来源：dmexco.com
There is also the issue of influencers using visual social media to tell their story. Does this demonstrate leadership? Are they sharing expertise on a topic? Posts on Instagram may look pretty, but do they show thought leadership in the same way that a blog post, online discussion, or in-depth YouTube video could?
Kucy认为:“假设有一个20多岁的联邦应急管理局le fitness model with 150,000 Instagram followers. In most of her photos, she’s posing in her workout attire in front of a mirror. Once in a while, she’ll share a workout tip or two, but offers little in the way of fitness or nutritional advice. Is she an influencer? I’d argue not. Who and what is she influencing? What value does she provide to her audience? Why do people follow her?" Ignoring some inherent sexism in the example, he does have a good point. Who is the more significant thought leader in the sector: the fitness model described above or a personal trainer with 80,000 followers with a degree in kinesiology and a certification in nutrition?
The other real difficulty comes with people who genuinely lead the conversation on topics that the academics and purists may consider trivial and unimportant. That is where things become blurry and much more subjective
