You arrive at friend’s cocktail party and notice quite a few people whom you do not know. Then, in between mixing a gin and tonic and dabbing a few chips into the artichoke dip, you get cornered by said friend’s coworker. Turns out, this coworker has been everywhere and done everything, and after a few minutes you begin to realize you might spend the entire evening as this know-it-all’s hostage.
Yep, know-it-alls have a way of killing an evening, a relationship, a buzz. But we don’t want you to be that kind of know-it-all. We want you to become an expert in your field, so that you can show potential customers that you are a trusted authority who deserves their business.
The Internet is constantly evolving. Heck, it’s becoming smarter. The folks at Google and Yahoo and Bing are working around the clock to make sure their search engines provide quality results for their customers. In addition, the regular old Internet users, who are, um, just about everyone on the planet, are getting savvier at detecting authoritative websites that they can trust to publish helpful, cutting edge articles that inform their daily lives.
These constant changes on the World Wide Web are driving online marketing trends, and, to keep up, you must become an authority.
What is an authority?
1. An authority is trustworthy. What makes you trustworthy? You are an expert who breaks down difficult, confusing, or technical topics into user-friendly, easily-digestible content. And while you’re at it, you sort out and address all of the bad information floating around out there on the Internet.
2. Authorities help people. It’s pretty simple: if you aren’t helpful, you aren’t relevant. What are your audience’s pain points and questions?
3. Authorities are passionate. They bring energy and a freshness of perspective that is palpable, even through a computer screen.
4. Authorities are results-driven. They implement strategies that work. They understand the other components of online marketing, like web design and SEO. They have successful businesses and their unique content ultimately turns visitors into customers.
5. Authorities look at the big picture. To be an authority, you can’t be short sighted or tempted by short cuts that promise cheap, instant gratification.
Why should you pursue “authority” status?
1. To keep up with search engines: As an online marketing agency, a big part of our job is to know what the search engines want to see on your website, and we know that the giants like Google and Bing want to give their users quality content. Simply put, it’s a whole lot easier to produce great content if you are an expert in your field.
2. To be a thought leader: Becoming an authority will make you a better marketer. If you know it all, you can better determine what your business needs most and when. From here, you can start to predict changes in the market, and people will begin to rally around you, the thought leader.
3. To attract others: This is a chain reaction, really. People will want to know your opinion. They will want to buy your product or service. People will want to work for your company. The media will want to interview you, and other experts will want to meet you. Then, all of a sudden, your social media following rivals Stephen Colbert.
4. To be influential: In turn, your attractiveness as a stand-out in your industry will yield a higher sharing rate for your unique content. Then, your blogs begin to pull more links; your webinars and conferences draw more people, and, in the end, you’re making a lot more money.
You see the pattern here, right?
People are naturally attracted to real experts they can trust. And in our experience, those are critical components of a profitable business.
By Drew Himel