It seems like anyone can brand themselves as an expert these days. Every Twitter profile under the sun makes broad-sweeping claims that rarely bear any resemblance to actual talent or knowledge. This makes it tough for the really knowledgeable people out there to cut through the noise and communicate their subject matter expertise to the broader online community.
Even if you are an expert in your field, establishing that reputation online can be a long and uncertain journey. However, if you are persistent and use content to channel your efforts in the right way, you can quickly build your authority in your given area of expertise.
The following is not a prescriptive set of steps; rather, it is a general guideline for using content to establish credibility online for yourself or others at your company.
WRITE, WRITE, WRITE
Although we’ve seen an explosion of image and video content, the most common way to spread your ideas is through the written word. Writing is crucial for lending weight to your opinions.
Luckily, it’s easier than ever to get written content out there, whether you’re writing for a blog or sharing content on social media. There are numerous specialized publications with varying degrees of editorial scrutiny, making it relatively easy to get your work published somewhere within your industry. This allows you to develop a portfolio that you canultimately publish as front-facing content for you or your business. Consider posting your content to Linkedin or tweeting a link to your personal blog. Strategies like this will help you to build your portfolio and gain visibility—for free.
As a general rule, the more you can manage to write, the better. Since the end goal is to establish expertise, write about topics you know well and that impact your industry, and encourage your employees or company leadership to do the same.
KNOW YOUR AUDIENCE
In much the same way that you should carefully choose which topic to write about, it’s also important to have the right audience in mind. After all, building credibility online is not only about making sure people view you favorably, it’s also about making sure the right people within your industry view you favorably.
If you’re attempting to establish subject matter expertise in the IT community, it doesn’t make sense to write to anyone else but the IT community. Your content will ideally appeal to both industry insiders and the layman, but you should still put your core audience first.
This means understanding what the members of your community, i.e. your potential customers, are interested in reading about. What conversations are they having? Where are these discussions taking place? What interests them the most?
Start answering these questions by writing consistently about subjects directly relevant to the group in which you’d like to establish yourself as an expert. Storytelling on behalf of your business should always relate back in some capacity to your offerings, as well as your audience’s interests. Finding a balance of both is the key to being successful with your content and further establishing your authority.
How to Use Content Marketing to Build Authority and Subject Matter Expertise
