New Year’s Resolution: Be a Thought Leader in 2019

If you’re like us at LinnellTaylor Marketing, you’re finding it hard to believe that 2018 has already come and gone. It’s downright frightening how quickly 12 months can fly by. But, as head spinning as it is to realize, 2019 is here.

The arrival of the New Year, of course, means it’s time for New Year’s resolutions. Whether it’s to exercise more, eat better or something else, nearly all of us make some type of promise to ourselves when the calendar turns to Jan. 1.

Perhaps you’ve made a resolution to establish or strengthen your apartment company’s reputation as a thought leader in the coming year. Here are some of the more effective ways for your company can do just that:

• Blogging and guest columns in trade publications. A blog on your company’s website is an ideal way to showcase your team members’ thought leadership.

The key is to avoid overt self-promotion. When you blog on your company’s website – or on a third-party channel such as LinkedIn or Multifamily Insiders – you want to demonstrate your expertise on the big-picture issues and trends impacting the apartment industry. The same strategy goes for guest columns in industry trade and business publications. Doing this shows investors, potential clients and other members of your target audience that your company is one that they should keep on their radar.

• Speaking opportunities. Appearing on panels at industry conferences is another way to establish an identity as a thought leader. But, as my LTM colleague Paul Willis recently noted, you also must steer clear of self-promotion during these appearances as well.

For additional reading, check out this blog on the array of benefits offered by speaking opportunities and this one on how to be an effective speaker.

• Media interviews. Of course, securing a media interview is easier said than done. But when members of the trade, business and local press know they can turn to your company for expert insight and commentary on major issues, that can lead to a consistent amount of coverage. In turn, this coverage can show potential partners that your company is one they should be doing business with.

These tactics may seem fairly obvious, but you should never underestimate the amount of strategic thought that goes into each of them. Whether you use a PR firm to help plan these efforts or you prefer to handle in-house, be prepared to devote real time and energy to them.

If you don’t, becoming a thought leader will be just one more New Year’s resolution that fails.