Authority is a term that has been gaining a lot of attention recently. Whatever form it applies to, it’s all about credibility and demonstrating why other people should take you seriously. That’s crucial in a world cluttered with people trying to get attention on the web.
Authority is also something that makes a huge difference to your search engine presence too. Ever since Google introduced the EAT (Expertise, Authority, Trust) algorithm, knowing how to prove yourself in the digital world has grown in importance.
Unfortunately, while many companies now realize just how essential authority is for success, there are still many business owners out there who have no idea how to show off their credible side.
Here, we’re going to cover five ways that you can increase your authority online easily!
1. Add Social Proof to Your Website
There are few strategies better suited for earning your customer’s trust than social proof. With social proof, you essentially show your audience that you know how to delight customers with amazing products and services. Social proof might include:
- An endorsement from a celebrity or micro-influencer who has worked with your business or used your products in the past.
- Reviews and testimonials from happy clients shared on your social media pages and business website.
- Case studies from successful projects, or whitepapers that demonstrate the work you’ve done for other clients.
The best social proof is anything that appears authentic. Ideally, you’ll want any quotes or testimonials from your clients to be as detailed and specific as possible. Pictures of the people giving the reviews and names can be helpful too.
When Tesla received the Best Car Award in Germany, they posted a tweet to appreciate the 124,000 voters. The gratitude demonstrated the immense trust from their customers. Featuring your honors while showing your appreciation on your website, the use of social proof can be an efficient way to enhance your brand and boost your online authority.
If you don’t have any reviews yet, consider showing off the trust badges you’ve earned from certain regulatory bodies instead. You can also add certifications that testify what skills you possess or what courses you’ve taken.
Plus, don’t forget that you might have a better chance of getting a review if you offer a discount in return.
2. Connect with Your Audience
Connecting with your audience is crucial when you’re trying to build a successful brand presence. There are plenty of ways to do this, from blogging to share your knowledge with the masses, to reaching out through regular podcasts and videos.
One of the easiest ways to strengthen your connection with your clients and future customers is through social media. Social media provides an easy way for businesses and their consumers to stay connected on a daily basis.
What’s more, with social platforms, you can measure the success of your campaigns too.
You can answer industry-related questions on forums and groups through social channels like Facebook and LinkedIn too. This is a great way to show your audience how much you care about their needs.
Plus, answering common questions might convince a few on-the-fence customers to take the plunge and buy your product or service.
3. Collaborate with Industry Leaders
Sometimes, if you’re brand-new to your industry, it’s difficult to convince customers that you’re a reliable and credible person. However, if you know the right people, you can use their reputation as a springboard to success.
The key to achieving incredible things with influencer support is finding the right leaders to help you. Ideally, you need to find someone who reaches the same audience you've been looking for. You can share these influencers' posts online or ask them to test out your product with a freebie.
If you have a blog on your website, a regular video channel, or a podcast, you could even conduct an interview with the influencer to answer some questions for your audience. This is an excellent way to earn some extra traffic, as the influencer you work with will likely share the content too.
4. Write a Blog (Regularly)
Writing a blog is one of the best ways to make yourself into a more credible figure online. It's a chance to show how much you understand your niche and provide value to your audience in the form of insights and advice at the same time. When writing your blog, start by paying attention to your existing customers to find out what they want to know.
You can also check out your competition and determine whether there are any topics other companies are covering that you might need to address too.
Remember, although it's important to write in your target audience's language, it's also crucial to think about the search engines.
Conduct research into the keywords that your customers are searching for, and work on ranking for those terms. Boosting your SEO potential makes it much easier to attract audiences in the future.
5. Create Other Shareable Content
Content is king in the digital landscape, and it's not just blogs that make a massive difference to your audience. You should also look into sharing other kinds of content too.
Videos are excellent for capturing attention quickly and boosting your chances of virality on social media. Videos describe complicated topics in an easy-to-consume way.
If designing a video is too much work for you, you could start by creating your own infographic or shareable image. Some companies produce fantastic slideshows to showcase their work; others just pin beautiful pictures to Pinterest or show off visual content on Instagram.
There are tons of ways to make your knowledgeable side shine through in the digital landscape. Creating content that is informative, visually appealing and easy to consume is also a great chance to attract some potential leads. For instance, you can offer free mini video courses when someone subscribes to your email newsletter.
The more you experiment with different kinds of content, the easier it will be to see what your customers respond to best.
Earning Authority Online
Proving yourself in today's cluttered professional environment isn't always easy. Fortunately, with a little hard work and creativity, you can find plenty of ways to stand out online. From experimenting with content production to answering crucial questions for your audience on social media, there are all kinds of ways to impress your followers.
Remember, as you're working on your brand authority, keep a close eye on metrics like customer lifetime value, traffic, and follower count. This will give you an insight into which of your strategies work best.
