We often get questions about how company leaders in niche markets can leverage thought leadership to their benefit. Here’s a little advice: No niche is too small.
While you might not realize it, the people you want to talk to — your target audience — are already out there Googling, Binging, and searching for solutions to their problems, and they would benefit from hearing your expertise.
The only problem: You don’t have the thought leadership content out there to back up that expertise.
Take Evan Silva, editor of Rotoworld. Silva is one of my favorite examples of a thought leader in a very niche industry.
He recognized a lack of credible fantasy football knowledge and took the opportunity to leverage his own expertise on the subject through insightful content.
Now, there are thousands of fantasy football fans looking to Silva for guidance on their next trade, lineup decision, or anything else fantasy football-related.
Four Things Silva Is Doing Right
By producing consistent content, Silva has made himself an authority in the fantasy football niche. Below are four tips business leaders can take out of Silva’s playbook.
1. Provide Consistent, High-Quality Content
From previews of weekly matchups and score predictions to breaking news in fantasy football, Silva is constantly producing high-quality content that positions him as an expert in the fantasy football niche.
As the editor of Rotoworld, content is Silva’s job, but he goes beyond the role of a typical producer.
Silva provides his readers with the relevant information and education they want while also leveraging his expertise to introduce readers to the products and services Rotoworld uses.
Doing this helps monetize Rotoworld’s season pass and partnerships with other sites.
2. Participate in Social Activity and Availability
Silva consistently makes himself available to help and give advice via social media.
Have a question on which player you should put in this week? Need insight on a trade you want to make? Silva is there to give you his quick opinion on what you should be doing.
Silva is not only leveraging his expertise and increasing his credibility in the process, but more importantly, he’s building a strong personal connection with his audience.
3. Foster a Community
One of the smartest moves a brand can make is to create a community around its product — or, in this case, its content — and Silva has done this beautifully.
The Rotoworld editor has branched out beyond the site’s current audience reach, engaging with readers, customers, and fantasy football fanatics across other platforms.
He consistently makes guest appearances on podcasts, video interviews, and radio shows to share his fantasy football expertise and grow Rotoworld’s community.
4. Showcase Your Passion
The most crucial factor of Silva’s success as Rotoworld’s thought leader is quite possibly his genuine passion for fantasy football.
Silva doesn’t just offer helpful advice on Twitter to position himself as an industry expert or do radio interviews to increase Rotoworld’s website traffic — he genuinely wants to help his audience and has a passion for talking football.
This authenticity shows not only in his social media activity, but also in the content he produces.
The next time you ask yourself, “How can I use thought leadership?” remember that no industry is too small or too niched. In fact, oftentimes the more targeted it is, the better.
The real key is finding and then reaching the right people — those who are interested and stand to benefit from what you have to say. Eventually, you’ll find your niche and build a community of followers — providing you with authority, credibility, and industry leadership.
Post by Joshua Johnson.
