One of the benefits of writing this weekly newsletter is that I get to interact on a regular basis with my readers. Often, they ask questions or suggest ideas that I address in the articles I write.

Today’s issue is inspired by a reader who, after reading several recent articles focused on our recent High Growth Study findings, asked, “How effective is the Visible Expert framework, as I’ve seen less content on this topic lately?”

The short answer is that it is very effective. But that’s not a very satisfactory response. Let me, instead, share some data from the 2026 High Growth Study that supports my answer.

Let’s begin with this chart:

Top Marketing Priorities for 2026

This chart identifies the marketing activities that the fastest-growing professional services firms plan to prioritize this year. We define high-growth firms as those that grow their revenues 20% or more for three consecutive years. This group of firms grows 4.3 times faster and are 33% more profitable than their slower-growing peers.

The priority listed second most often is “developing thought leaders.” (At Hinge, we call experts who have exceptional visibility in their industry Visible Experts® —our name for thought leaders.) The fact that many of the best-performing firms are making Visible Expertise one of their top priorities suggests that thought leadership is a concept they know works.

The fact that many of the best-performing firms are making Visible Expertise one of their top priorities suggests that thought leadership is a concept they know works.

But there’s more evidence to unpack in this chart. “Creating content” sits in fourth place. Producing content, such as writing, recording educational videos and producing webinars, are acts of thought leadership. And they are essential components of a Visible Expert strategy.

Then there is the top priority—social media marketing. While this priority covers a wide range of activities, a Visible Expert uses social media extensively (especially LinkedIn) to network with prospects and other experts, publish articles, promote their thought leadership content, publicize speaking engagements, answer questions from people who are seeking expertise like theirs, and more.

By the way, study participants also ranked “promoting thought leadership on social media” as the second most impactful marketing technique in their arsenal (in a tie with traditional advertising).

In short, three of the five marketing techniques that the top performers are prioritizing support Visible Expertise.

We also asked firms what they most wanted to learn more about this year. Here’s how they responded:

Topics and Trends to Learn More About in 2026

Buzz about the promise of AI is everywhere, from the business press to the stock market. And businesses of every stripe are feeling intense pressure to understand it and find new efficiencies. It’s no surprise, then, that AI and automation take the top two spots on the list.

But sitting in third place—and the only item in this top-5 list that has no direct connection to technology or data—is “content creation and thought leadership.” This suggests that many of the high-growth firms that haven’t already deployed a formal thought leadership strategy are very interested in doing so.

There’s one more chart from the 2026 study that correlates faster growth and profitability with Visible Expertise.

How Active Your Subject Matter Experts Are in Producing and Promoting Thought Leadership Content

This bar chart shows the proportion of firms whose experts are engaged in thought leadership activities—such as public speaking, writing blog posts, producing research studies, writing books, developing white papers and participating in podcasts or webinars, to name just a few.

While 47% of high-growth firms have low activity in this area, compare that to the almost 70% of no-growth firms in that category. High-growth firms are 2.6 times more likely to have high Visible Expert activity. And almost 53% of them say their experts are at least fairly active.

High-growth firms are also consistently more likely to provide support and resources across a range of thought leadership activities, from marketing strategy and outreach support to graphic design and video production.

I hope I’ve convinced you that there is a meaningful correlation between firms that practice thought leadership and exceptional business performance. When you think about it, it makes a lot of sense. Business people seek out individuals who have deep expertise in the problems they are trying to solve. They read them. They listen to them. They watch them. And when they are ready to buy, they prefer those experts over all others.

Guess who benefits? The firm that employs those experts. And the more Visible Experts a firm has, the greater its potential.

Do you have a Visible Expert strategy?