In an age in which new language and ideas are constantly being thrown around, it can be tricky to keep up with new terminology and what’s what. For many, the difference between the terms ‘blogging’ and ‘thought leadership’ is hard to understand. Since thought leadership content is often written on a blog, can a person be both a blogger and a thought leader? What makes them similar? And what makes them completely different? Let’s take a look…

Something to say

These days, anyone can create content – in fact, it’s never been easier to have your voice heard. You could set up a blog, write a post, and throw in some keywords and you’d officially be a blogger. However, you might be saying the exact same thing as ten other people. If you’ve put some content on a blog, congrats – you are a blogger!

Thought leaders, on the other hand, are those who actually have something important to say. A thought leader won’t reuse someone else’s old ideas or content. Nor will they add more ‘noise’ to the internet’s collective conversation. Rather, because of their immense knowledge and expertise in their field, a thought leader is able to constantly introduce new ideas and spark conversations with their readers. 

Audiences no longer want to read information they can find elsewhere; they’re after information with meaning and value that they can apply to their own lives and businesses. That’s why it’s the constant generation of new ideas and how you apply your hard-earned knowledge that will define you (or your brand) as a thought leader and set you apart from a blogger. 

Quality over quantity

Thought leaders know their stuff and have plenty of valuable knowledge and passion that deserves to be shared with readers. Because of this, thought leadership involves the creation of well-written, meaningful content. So when it comes to thought leadership, it’s definitely a case of quality over quantity. Rather than rushing to get articles written and published constantly, a thought leader aims to create something really important and engaging – even if it takes a little longer. 

There’s an old marketing rule that you should make everything understandable for a 10 year old and while that’s true to a point, thought leadership content can aim a little higher. If you know that your audience is interested, engaged, and fairly intelligent, why adjust content to suit the lowest common denominator? While you should always get rid of jargon and make sure your content is understandable, thought leaders can still create eloquent, intelligent content that’s aimed at their specific audience. In contrast, bloggers are often writing their content for a conventional audience, meaning writing is often generic or ‘dumbed down’ in order to appeal to the masses.

Working together

Whilst the two terms are distinctly different, blogging and thought leadership do tend to go hand in hand. Blogging is arguably the most critical tool that thought leaders can utilise. For thought leaders, blogging is the most valuable platform with which to share their expertise and passion.  A blog is a crucial foundation in order to be recognised by others as an expert in their field; more often than not, people are exposed to thought leader’s ideas and content by coming across their blog posts. Without a blog, a thought leader may struggle to communicate with their audience.

In fact, it is difficult to think of a method of sharing ideas and opinions that is as easy and accessible for all as a blog post, so don’t ditch the blog just because you want to be a thought leader; instead just make sure you elevate what you are saying on it. 

So what?

We can preach about the differences and similarities of bloggers and thought leaders all day, but why even care? 

You could keep doing what you’ve always done and be a blogger. You could share what other people think, say the same thing differently, or not say anything at all. But doing that won’t build the reputation you want. It won’t establish you as the authority in your field.

Thought leadership is about driving the market, not being market-driven. It’s about creating, not just curating. It’s about adding to the conversation, not just watching it go on around you. 

It’s about giving meaning, connection, solutions, and possibilities – and it’s hugely powerful.

At Intelligent Ink, our goal is to move you from experienced expert to trusted authority. We take your existing expertise and create meaningful content that has an impact on more people than you could reach day-to-day. 

To find out more about how you could utilise thought leadership content to connect with your market, earn raving fans, build your reputation, and lead your industry, get in touch.