Becoming an authority in your niche and making your brand an expert resource for your specific area of knowledge is one of the best online marketing investments you can make.
We are now in the age where almost every interaction we have starts online. Whether that is meeting new friends or acquaintances, doing business or even dating!
In order to survive as an online entrepreneur you need to be an authority in your field.
You can’t be average in your knowledge or your skills and you must continuously find ways in which to repeatedly convey your knowledge and expertise to both existing and potential clients.
Everyone wants to do business with the foremost authority in the field. It makes them feel more confident about their choice, because no one wants to be wrong.
As a starting point, make sure that your website meets the guidelines below and if not, start making changes today until you can tick all of the boxes.
- Real genuine images of you, your team and your product.
- Client testimonials with videos or images
- If you have Accreditation logos, add them to your site
- Create Unique and relevant content which answers users questions
- Get an SSL certificate if you are requesting online payments
- Remove any pop ups or limit to one if you really must have them
- Have a unique brand name and tagline
Make sure that your Linkedin profile is up to date, accurate and really sells your knowledge and expertise.
Do a periodic review of your connections on Linkedin and be careful who you connect with. Just like in real life, your connections can say a lot about you and your professional standards. It’s ok to un connect with someone if you no longer want to be associated with them professionally. Building relationships is extremely important, but not at the cost of your professional image.
Volunteer as a speaker at conferences and local meet up’s, this is a great way to become recognised as a leader in your industry. But be aware, you need to offer a unique point of view and be able to backup your point of view with evidence. People will challenge your views but that is part of becoming an authority, the more popular that you become, the more people will surface who don’t like what you say (but that is a whole other article).
Document all of the offline activities you take part in, get photos of you at events, get reviews from clients and update your website regularly to make sure that the content stays fresh.
