How To Establish Thought Leadership In Your Niche
When it comes to building an authentic brand online, your audience needs to understand the value of what you have to offer them and how your expertise can truly help them.
There are several ways in which you can build authority in today’s digital-driven world. As trends and technology have changed, the term influencer has become broad and doesn’t project what a brand is truly about. You might be seen as an expert on a particular topic, subject or niche in your target market through remarkable content, publishing, and personal interactions on your social networks. This has now become known as thought leadership — making a mark through video, visual content, and live interactions with an interested audience.
Large brand sponsorships and high-level connections are the influencers of today. The reality is that most business entrepreneurs who want to sell a product or service should connect with micro-influencers, and then focus on building a reputation as an authority in their industry where you can become the go-source of reliable and trusted information. This all begins with establishing a loyal audience through fresh and original content, and building authentic relationships.
The Key To Successful Thought Leadership
The key to success is to start with a plan that will work best for your business model and to be authentic in your approach.
Focused and relevant posts and tweets can also help build an active and engaged audience that is truly interested in your products or services. Using the right hashtags can attract the right followers on social media. Here are a few key strategies you can use to build more visibility:
- Cross-promotion of your content to both email and social media
- Re-purposing content into video or podcasts
- Engaging in relevant professional niche groups on Facebook and LinkedIn
- Email updates and offers to subscribers
- A clear call-to-action on ads, blog posts and social media
- Communication with Fans and followers
- Paid advertisements on social media such as Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, and Twitter
In order to grow a great network, you need to engage with others who are active and involved in your industry and share their content as well.
Here’s how you can boost your influence online through thought leadership practices:
1 – Promote Your Products or Services Through Remarkable Content
Producing content over time will help improve your subscriber rate as well and help move your website up the rank as you include helpful information that can be featured in search. As your blog posts and/or videos are shared on social media, any audience reactions will also have an impact on your visibility through social signals.
You may also want to read: B2B Content Marketing Tips to Reach Out to a Wider Audience
2 – Publish an eBook or Launch an Audio/Video Series
A book and/or video channel can become your calling card to brand recognition and establishing authority in your niche. You can pull information from your existing blog posts or from ideas you have already gathered for an upcoming publication. Becoming an author or establishing a podcast or YouTube channel will help draw in an interested audience within your niche. Leverage live video to spark an interest and build this strategy into your overall digital marketing plan.
3 – Start Networking in Offline Events
Networking can open lots of doors, including opportunities for: You can open the door of opportunity to
- Speaking engagements
- Online events
- Being featured by other brands
- Becoming involved in conferences, webinars, and other major events in your industry.
Speaking, in particular, is a good way to boost your authority and connect with your community on a personal level. The more people you meet at these events, the better the chance for you to become a key speaker or presenter. Even if this begins with a simple podcast or video interview, this could be enough to lead into something much larger.
You may also want to read: Networking: The Essential Antidote To Blogging Alone
4 – YouTube Is Still a Top Social Network To Be Active In
Clutch and Smart Insights report that YouTube is in the top three most effective social networks for brands today. You can build your visibility here by sharing the videos you already have on a branded channel. While an occasional live event is good in attracting a larger audience quickly, it is just as important to put together something that is professional with the help of an outside source.
5 – Join Professional Groups on Social Media
It’s important to make new connections daily, and one way to accomplish this is through active and engaged niche groups.
The key to success is to be both helpful and supportive by:
- Answering questions
- Giving feedback on discussions
- Sharing valuable information that applies to the members.
As you demonstrate your authority through your answers, others will soon want to connect with you. The best places to start are on Facebook, LinkedIn, and more specifically, Twitter Chats.
You may also want to read: How to Leverage LinkedIn Groups to Boost Your Online Presence
6 – Mobile Is Where People Are Most Active
Mobile marketing has become a large part of reaching an audience on social media. Places like Instagram and Snapchat allow you to show a behind the scenes look and post content that your audience can relate to. Live videos and stories are becoming increasingly popular as your followers get to track your journey with you and interact.
7 – Include An Advertising Plan
Organic reach has dropped significantly over the last few years. You’ll need to set aside a budget that allows you to fill in the gaps and reach people through targeted ads. The key to success is to focus on a narrow audience with specific keywords on a particular topic. Use eye-catching headlines and graphics that let your audience know right away what your ad is about.
You may also want to read: Facebook Advertising Has Got Better And Easier
In Closing
Whether you decide to move beyond influence and into thought leadership, this all begins with careful research and reaching out to your community in a way that shows you not only care about what they are interested in but can solve their problems. Always keep the end goal in mind whether this is to become an author, speaker, full-time blogger, or successful eCommerce business. This will enable you to better focus on what you want your audience will look like and which leaders in your industry are best to connect with.
Featured image: Copyright: ‘https://www.123rf.com/profile_fizkes‘ / 123RF Stock Photo
Susan Gilbert
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