The Formats and Artifacts of Thought Leadership

We’ve already discussed the difference between “thought leadership” as a concept and a “thought leadership artifact” as a concrete thing. The grand concept emergences from the continued publication of the artifacts.

We’ve also discussed the types in terms of what tone or style something might take.

In putting this list together, I’m struck by all the facets through which you can look at any particular artifact.

• Format: is it words, video, audio, a presentation, etc. (this is what we’re talking about here)

• Tone: we talked about this in The Flavors of Thought Leadership; is it Investigatory, Theoretical, Experiential, etc.

• Channel: where is it published? Your own website, LinkedIn, StackOverlow, some industry publication, etc.

Given that let’s (try to) make a simple list of the actual artifacts someone might create.

A Blog Post, Article, or Social Media Post

This is words. Where it’s posted and what tone it takes are separate issues, but the fact remains that the web is made of mainly of words.

A Conference Session

This is both the actual event, given to the people in the room, and any recording or summary of the content presented there.

A Conference or Social Event

This is a period in time when a group of people is gathered, either in-person or virtually, and the memories created from it

An Audio or Video Perfomance

This is a recording of you – with or without video – saying something of value

A Video Demo

This is a screen recording showing the use of some product or some technique

A Tool or Asset

This is some helpful tool you have offered that is freely given for use by others.

A Survey or Other “Voice” Compilation

This is some aggregation of perspectives or opinions from the wider community.