Is your business recognized as an expert and authority in your field? Or are you a part of the “we do that, too” crowd? These ten principles will set you apart. People will see you as “The Go To Guy” and expert in your field.
- Have you ever been in the news? Put those news logos on your website and even in your print marketing. Do you have published articles? Use the publisher’s logo. People instantly connect logos with trust and prestige. When you are mentioned anywhere, grab those logos and use them on your site and in your marketing materials.
- Do you have a logo or stylized font in your business name? Without one or both, your website may appear amateurish. These will even help your marketing look more professional. When you look professional, people automatically expect to find an expert.
- Here is a neat trick: “Media Exposure.” Sign up as a CNN contributor at www.ireport.cnn.com and start sharing your story through CNN. Just write your articles in the third person as an impartial, neutral party who is reporting a news event. This adds credibility and trust to your article.
- A published book is now the new business card. You can easily publish books on Kindle and Create Space, which is Amazon’s book publishing platform. The easiest way to create a book is to have five to ten people write one or two chapters. This gives you a multi-authored, ten chapter book which was easy to create.
- Create informative YouTube videos. Be present on Google Hangouts. These add to your online authority. Cisco Systems published the results of a study claiming that by 2015 95% of internet traffic would be people searching for information in video format. This simply means that every business needs to create and distribute content via informational and educational videos.
- Create a Panel of Experts – With a team of four to six experts with complimentary messages, products, and services to solve the problems of your ideal clients, you increase your position as a trusted authority. Plus, you are recognized as someone with valuable industry connections.
- Creating and distributing content is one of the most important elements of online authority positioning. This is how many well-known experts got their start. Now they give educational seminars, have their own radio or television show, and sell millions in online courses.
- LinkedIn should be everyone’s favorite past time. Every business owner needs to have a completed, well-optimized LinkedIn profile. When a prospect searches on Google, Yahoo, or Bing for your name or business brand, that your LinkedIn profile appears is critical. Consider your profile on LinkedIn as your online professional resume and biography. LinkedIn is a free website about you!
- The world has gone mobile! Most web searches for information, products, and services about your local business are made from a mobile device. Consumers expect businesses to have a mobile friendly web presence. If your business is not mobile friendly, you can be certain your website will be passed over in 2-3 seconds flat. Your ideal clients will continue to search until they find the information and solution to their problem from a mobile friendly brand.
- Social media is necessary for building brand authority and trust. Start sharing valuable content on your Facebook business page, LinkedIn, Twitter and Google+ pages. Engage your fans and followers in a conversation around your message. The more they are engaged through comments, sharing, retweets, etc., the more social proof you will have. And the more trust and authority will grow as your fans engage. Done right, your fans will even grow to love you.
These are the ten best things that every business should be doing for themselves… and most are not. That means if you follow these ten principles, you will move to the head of the line. Nice place to be when most people will pick one of the first three businesses they see.
