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Do you want to build your reputation as a trusted authority in your industry? With the six strategies outlined below, you’ll learn how to create useful and engaging content and build trust with your target audience so they see you as a trusted source of information. These strategies will help you gain more followers and ultimately help you become a trusted authority in your field. Let’s start!
Strategy #1: Create content that showcases your actual work
It’s a simple strategy, but many professionals feel guilty about promoting themselves on social media because they think it makes them seem pushy or needy. However, there are creative ways to showcase your expertise that can help you feel confident in what you share.
- Case Studies: Harness the power of storytelling in your case study posts and showcase your client’s transformative journey. What painful problems did they have, how did you come into the picture and how did you solve them?
- Behind the scenes content: Share sneak peeks of your process, challenges, and successes as you work on a project. This type of content provides a unique perspective on your work and helps build a personal connection with your followers.
- Ask for feedback: Post your work directly on social media and ask for feedback from the public. This content allows you to not be pushy, but instead look for honest feedback. Readers will be intrigued to look at your work.
Related: 10 Social Media Marketing Strategies for Business
Strategy #2: Do Live AMAs (Ask Me Anything Sessions)
There’s no better way to showcase your expertise than by hosting live sessions where you answer questions. People love to interact with experts who have hands-on experience in the field. People consider you a valuable resource when you make yourself available for questions.
You can host live AMAs once a week. Let your audience know there’s a live session on a particular day of the week, and they’ll be more likely to come up with questions in hand. Over time, this practice creates a domino effect on your authority, and more and more people in your industry will come to you. It also helps you position yourself as an expert, build a community around your brand, and uncover lesser-known but critical issues in your market.
Strategy #3: Bust the common myths in your industry
Every industry has its assumptions and beliefs. Show what you disagree with to create interesting content. Here are some ideas for you.
- Create a series that busts myths: Dedicate social media posts to busting the most common myths in your industry. It allows you to educate your audience and demonstrate your expertise over a long period of time.
- Present alternative solutions: Offer unique solutions to common challenges and problems in your industry. Show people how they can do it better, faster and cheaper. This demonstrates your ability to think outside the box and provide your audience with unique insights.
- Use humour: Debunking myths doesn’t have to be serious. Adding a bit of humor to your content can make it more engaging and memorable for your audience. Most importantly, it adds personality to your brand.
Remember that it is essential to be respectful, open-minded and knowledgeable when presenting unusual opinions.
Related: How to Establish Online Authority
Strategy #4: Share your pitfalls so others can avoid them
People love to read about your vulnerabilities and flaws. It helps people get a glimpse of the human side of you. This type of content gives your readers insights to avoid mistakes and get better results from their efforts.
Highlight what you learned from the experience and how it helped you grow and improve. Give advice to others who may be going through the same situation. Give them clarity on exactly what they need to think and do to solve those problems.
Related: Why Vulnerability Is A Strong Business Leader’s Most Powerful Weapon
Strategy #5: Create guides and show your deep expertise
Creating “how-to guides” as part of your social media content effectively increases engagement with your target audience and demonstrates expertise in your field. All “how-to guides” should start by introducing the problem to be solved and outlining the steps that will be taken to solve it. When completed, emphasize the benefits that come from completing each of these steps.
Make sure your manuals are detailed, easy to understand and useful. This strategy demonstrates your in-depth knowledge of the topic, which can lead to more engagement and ultimately more quality followers for your content marketing efforts.
Strategy #6: Predictions and Futuristic Content
Forecasts can be a powerful driver of social media engagement, give people insight into new or changing trends, or provide creative speculation about the future of your industry. Create content around predicting future trends and advancements/technologies in your industry. It helps you think quickly and position yourself as a thought leader.
This form of content also has its unique appeal: it taps into your reader’s collective curiosity and desires to learn about the unknown, fueling conversations that can spark interest. Of course you have to be careful with predictions on social media. To make followers trust your credibility with such content in the future.
Some futuristic content may include:
- Ideas on how your industry can prepare for the future
- The emergence of new developments and their consequences for your industry
- Your thoughts on what the future holds.
Some final thoughts
Gaining more trust and recognition in your field doesn’t happen overnight, but these six social media content strategies can take you a long way. Now it’s time to choose which of these content strategies to implement first.
Using the above strategies will give you the best result to be seen as a leader in your field, but don’t let that overwhelm you. Start small by identifying one or two of the above tactics and building from there. You should be able to see results over time if you stay consistent across platforms.
Which strategy would you like to try first? The power is in your hands!
