Building brand authority is a very important part of running a modern business. You want to stand out from the competition and, to do this, you need to show your prospective customers that you’re a reliable source of helpful information and an authoritative figure in your field.
In this article, we’re going to outline some simple ways you can build brand authority in your field. Let’s get started.
Make sure you develop your social media presence
Social media is one of the most powerful tools people and businesses can use to establish their brand authority and draw more traffic to their websites.
Here are a few types of social media content that you could post to boost your brand authority:
- Infographics that teach people facts about your industry
- News-inspired posts that show you’re up-to-date with the latest industry developments
- Images of your team at work to humanize your business
- Introduction posts that showcase your employees’ skills and expertise
Also, make sure you only use social media platforms that will serve you the best — it’s not always practical to use every platform, as you can spread yourself too thin. If you have a lot of visual content, Instagram and TikTok are good choices. If you market mostly to professionals, definitely go with LinkedIn. If you are looking for the largest potential audience base as your products or services can help a wide range of people, use Facebook.
Plus, focus on ensuring your social media profiles are updated regularly with the right links and that you post on a regular basis. If you need help staying on top of your posts, consider using a bulk scheduling tool to ensure a consistent output.
Showcase concrete proof that you’re great at what you do
Providing social proof is one of the most effective and trustworthy ways to show new customers that you’re great at what you do. There are a lot of different kinds of social proof you can display on your website, like reviews, testimonials, media mentions, or your qualifications.
On your website, display your social proof carefully to ensure as many people as possible will see it. For instance, showcase your positive reviews above the fold on your homepage or right night to the products or services they relate to.
Let’s take a look at a few examples of businesses that do a great job of showing off their social proof for inspiration.
Bizango, a web design service provider in Seattle, uses positive customer reviews to show that it’s great at what it does. If you scroll towards the bottom of their homepage, you can see a short quote from Leif Jackson, the founder of Jackson Remodeling. As one of their clients, he states he is very pleased with the services he’s received. The company’s homepage also features mentions of some of their more well-known clients. When website visitors see that Bizango has been trusted by a variety of big-name clients, they’ll be more likely to trust them. This will help boost their brand authority!
Quotes like this from past clients are likely to increase the chances of new website visitors trusting the company and spending money with them. Plus, as they prove that the company is skilled and knowledgeable, it can help them to earn authority in their field.
On your website, consider showing off quotes from your past clients and customers, too. This will give your website visitors a better idea as to the quality of your services, building your brand authority.
On the other hand, KiwiCo, a kid’s craft subscription service, showcases social proof on their website in the form of user-generated content. Towards the bottom of their homepage, you can see a series of quotes and images from customers’ social media pages, all praising KiwiCo. This does a great job of building the company’s brand authority, as website visitors will see that people just like them are talking about KiwiCo, making them more likely to make a purchase.
Consider showing off your social proof in a similar way. If your past customers have posted about your products or services, ask for permission to display their content on your website! This will build trust with website visitors, building your brand authority and making it more likely that new people will want to make a purchase with you in the future.
Create on-site content that demonstrates your expertise
Publishing high-quality content on your website is one of the most effective ways to show that you know what you’re talking about! There are a lot of different types of content that can show off your expertise. Here are a few examples:
- Ultimate guides: Outline everything a reader would want to know about a particular subject
- Tutorials/how-to guides: Tell a reader how to carry out a process
- Product round-ups: Show off some of the pros, cons, and features of different products in a category
- Original research: Conduct studies relevant to your field or industry and publish your findings
Let’s take a look at a few examples of businesses that have great authority-building content on their websites for inspiration.
For instance, Cisco Umbrella, a security software provider, has published a great ultimate guide to DNS Security that does several things well. The guide is very thorough and explains what this type of security is, who needs it, and more. Because the piece is very extensive and answers a lot of questions, it’s great for boosting Cisco Umbrella’s brand authority, as it shows they know their field of work incredibly well.
On your website, you should also strive to publish content about different subjects that you know inside and out. This is a great way to build trust with your target audience and boost your brand authority, which will ultimately get you more sales!
Blumenshine Law, a personal injury law firm in Chicago, does something similar on their website. For example, they have a very thorough guide to hiring a car accident lawyer in Chicago.
They cover when you may need a lawyer following a car crash, the value of representation, and more. This article shows that Blumenshine Law knows their field very well, which is sure to be very reassuring for people looking for a lawyer — investing in legal services can be intimidating, but this article builds the company’s brand authority and shows website visitors that Blumenshine Law is a trusted expert.
For your website, consider writing introductory guides to certain topics related to your business. This will show website visitors you know what you’re talking about and that you understand their needs, building your brand authority and making it more likely that people will want to spend money with you.
Guest blog for reputable websites in your niche
Guest blogging for other relevant and authoritative websites in your niche can help you get your name out there and make connections with others in your industry. To find websites or blogs to write for, head to Google with keywords related to your field and conduct searches like the following:
- (keyword) + submit a guest post
- (keyword) + guest blog
- (keyword) + write for us
- (keyword) + submission guidelines
These searches can help you find websites that cover topics related to your business. From there, look for submission guidelines or the email addresses of writers or editors. Shoot them an email and ask how you can pitch a topic to them.
Writing blog posts for other websites can help you to earn backlinks from other high-quality and authoritative sites. This is because publishers will often provide you with a website link in exchange for your tips and expertise. When this happens, Google takes it as a vote of confidence in your authority and gives you a rankings boost on the search engine results pages (SERPs).
Before building backlinks on any website, check out their domain authority using the Loganix domain authority checker tool. Domain authority is a metric developed by Moz to predict how likely a website is to rank on the SERPs. Typically, the higher a website’s DA is, the higher it will rank and, as a result, the more valuable its links will be. There’s no definitive score that’s considered a “good” metric — it’s best to look at DA comparatively. Look at similar websites in order to get a good idea of what an average score looks like in your niche.
Not sure how long your blog posts should be or unsure what to include? Check out the blog writing services from Verblio. They can help ensure that your guest blog posts help you achieve your link-building goals!
Enter industry awards and display your wins
Even being nominated for an industry award can help you get your name out there and build your brand authority! This means that you need to do everything you can to create high-quality products and services, then apply for relevant industry awards.
Head to AwardsFinder.com and plug in keywords related to your industry. They can provide you with a huge list of different awards to apply for. Choose awards and categories that are extremely relevant to what you sell to give yourself the best chance of winning!
Then, once you receive an award or a nomination, show them off! Display them on your homepage, post about them on your social media profiles, or announce them in your email newsletter. Awards you’ve won are an accomplishment to be proud of, and they will help you boost your brand authority.
Summary
Building brand authority is very important for modern businesses. In this article, we outlined different ways you can earn brand authority, including by applying for and winning industry awards, guest posting, and more.
Need more business help? Check out the BusinessCloud blog. They have helpful articles and tips on improving the customer experience, protecting company data, and more.
Author bio
Alex Ratynski is a Content Strategist at Loganix, an SEO fulfillment partner that works with agencies and marketers. The company focuses on helping businesses to improve their online visibility, so they can grow and reach their goals. If you enjoyed this article, visit the Loganix blog for more expert advice.