To become an authoritative brand is a tedious feat. But the benefits are worth the effort.
Becoming an authoritative brand is no easy feat, but the massive benefits are worth the effort. When you have established yourself as an authority in your market you can reap several advantages such as garnering potential customers, earning the trust of your clients and prospects, in certain cases even the competition begins to count on you and trust you.
So how can you establish yourself as the Batman of your field, while the rest of the competition, despite being more powerful than you, still begin to follow you. Here are six tactics you can use to become a dominant actor in your industry:
- Answer Questions your Customers Ask
- Create Reports and Studies that are Newsworthy
- Remember to Highlight reviews, case studies, and other proof of expertise
- Associate yourself with other Authoritative Brands
- Reveal Some of Your Secrets
- Utilize the Authority of In-House Experts
- Answer Questions your Customers Ask
We live in an age where people will question anything and everything. From the type of material used to the environmental hazards your business can cause. Some of these questions will be favorable, and some may make you upset. Yet, there is no question that should escape your radar.
Go through reviews, your social media handles, and the posts. Read any question and try to answer it with diligence. You do not need to haste with the response, but do not make it go to waste either.
Build on-site content to provide value which will boost your authority and build brand awareness. Not only customers, Google also does a huge amount of search for its users. Google search shows what it finds most apropos for a query. Hence, when people will see your brand at the top of a keyword or topic, they will surely visit your website, social media handles, etc and go through other queries and reviews that might intrigue them.
Key Takeaways
For a person who has always received the wrong size, ordering shoes online has been a real struggle. Then one day, I found a website where they provided a tutorial on how to measure my shoe size accurately, and match it against the sizes they gave. Needless to say, I ordered three pairs and each one fit me like a glove.
You should find out what your audience is curious about. Talk to your customer care providers. You can also do a detailed keyword search and determine how you can answer questions for existing ones better, or just fill in the holes.
- Create Reports and Studies that are Newsworthy
Another great way of demonstrating your authority in the field is to exhume new information about your field. It will show your commitment to your work and create buzz around your brand.
When you perform your research and data journalism you unveil new insights that provide value to your readers. In certain cases, the media can also pick up the story and give it the prominence your brand needs.
The benefits are obvious, you get media coverage, and earn high quality backlinks. Both of which will be crucial to your SEO.
Key Takeaways
You can start by analyzing questions that are still unanswered. Determine how you can methodologically answer them. Once you have created a report you can make use of digital PR to pitch the ideas to writers, journalists and even influencers.
The research could be focused on current events such as climate change, racism and weapon’s control, or it could be based on imperative historical events like the Civil Rights Movement, World Wars I and II, and Colonialism.
- Remember to Highlight reviews, case studies, and other proof of expertise
The internet is saturated with testimonials, reviews and social media share counts. The goal is to highlight the ones which speak the best about your products and services by figuring out the best placement for them.
You need to show people that you know what you are talking about. Your audience might not take your word for it, but might accept a third-party validation.
Key Takeaway
Reach out to your clients and customers, ask them for a quote and a comment. Put together the best reviews about your products and post it on your social media handles, website etc. to instill a sense of confidence among your customers about your brand.
- Associate yourself with other Authoritative Brands
Aligning yourself with well reputed brands can earn you respect as well. Some of the trust they have earned over the years might trickle down to you as well. Collaborate with such brands to help your cause.
Key Take Away
Look for brands which have an alignment with objectives and values you have. Brainstorm ideas on how you can work together to provide value to the audience.
You can go for tutorial sessions, collaborate on a live stream or even hold an event to take it up a notch.
- Reveal Some of Your Secrets
No, we do not need to know your embarrassing secrets. To many it might seem like a daunting strategy to give away some of the key elements that make your brand unique and great.
I get your apprehension but hear me out. Although this strategy may not work all the time, sharing information can help you get blind trust.
People appreciate it when you are honest with them. If people know your strategy, they will often partner with you or make a purchase because they might not have enough resources to pull it off.
Key Takeaway
Consider the information you have and you can share. I am not asking you to strip your brand naked in front of the world. But, make informed decisions on what secrets you can share. It could be one of those elements that your competition knows but has not shared it yet.
Such as if you both have the same provider for raw material you can share details about them: how they harvest the raw goods, how it affects the environment etc.
- Utilize the Authority of In-House Experts
The main challenge is for the smaller brands. Steve Jobs built a multi-billion dollar brand around his persona. For new companies it is intimidating but helpful. If you have subject matter experts working in your company, make use of them.
Many big shot celebrities are using this strategy to launch their beauty and makeup brands. Selena Gomez’s makeup brand: Rare Beauty shows her personality: simple and elegant. Similarly, we have Jennifer Lopez’s brand based on Olive oil because for years she has been promising that olive oil is the secret behind her beauty.
Key Takeaway
Ask your internal experts if they are comfortable in contributing blog posts to your website. You can ask them to hold podcasts, hold live sessions etc. to showcase their knowledge to the public.
It is a great way of showing people that you can put your foot where your mouth is.
Conclusion
Investing in a content marketing strategy is a great tool for developing your brand as an authority in the field. Creating content which is beneficial for your audience demonstrates you care about them, and your knowledge regarding your industry.
You can build your strategy based on sharing secrets, association with other brands, and new studies can gradually build trust with your prospects. Furthermore, Google algorithm will also recognize your authority and help increase your SERP rankings and SEO
