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Business owners looking to market their business have a lot of options when it comes time for them to make an impression on potential customers. But how do you stand out from the competition? It might be easy if your company is unique in some way or if you’re a celebrity, but what if you’re not?
Using authority marketing is the best way to position yourself as the go-to authority in your industry. Authority marketing means using thoughtful, nonpromotional content — instilling values and creating trust and servant leadership in all your marketing efforts. Essentially, your impact on people’s lives should be a priority, and with meaningful service to others, revenue will follow.
Using these tactics sets you up for a considerable advantage over the competition. People will see you as an authority and come to you and your business before others. Many businesses solely focus on ads and promotions or generate leads and sales through stale methods. The drawback of generating leads is many businesses miss an essential aspect of marketing, creating a meaningful business relationship through trust, loyalty and increasing likeability.
Related: What Is ‘Authority Marketing’ and How Do You Achieve It?
This is what makes the difference between chasing leads down and attracting leads. Don’t get me wrong, as entrepreneurs, we’re driven to create opportunities; however, authority marketing makes the best of the opportunities we create simply by differentiating ourselves in the market.
Becoming an industry leader through authority marketing will allow you to successfully grow your business. Follow these tips, and you will surely stand out in your industry.
1. Harness the power of high-quality content
If you are not utilizing online marketing, you miss a large demographic. Establish your presence as an authority in your field by understanding SEO and sharing high-quality content via social media and blog posts on your website. Social media is a powerful digital tool for reaching many of your target audiences. Create content and create it regularly. And focus on producing high-quality content to spread your reach. Nobody wants to hear about how great you are at doing business … besides your mom, that is. Focus on showing how great you are, using your content to prove it.
2. Provide solutions
Most people are looking for a solution to a problem in their niche. Showing them that you can solve real problems and pain points will create genuine trust. Helping people and building trust can naturally create lead generation through your online presence and inspire people to recommend you through word of mouth. This is where niching down to a specific persona is powerful. If you look at the data and see a commonality between the people you’ve worked with, you can find their common pain points and provide specific solutions. Knowing your customers — and the issues they want addressed — will help establish that invaluable authority.
Related: Using the 7 Pillars of Authority Marketing to Conquer the Affluent Market
3. Get in the media
Build authority by reaching out to journalists and writers who cover your field or write publications or press releases for yourself until you can break through. Build relationships with journalists or bloggers and have them write about your successes and big announcements. You can handle these media relations and marketing on your own or hire a public-relations specialist to assist you. Consider using the last two tips along with this too. If you’re getting national and local exposure, make it work even harder for you with value-driven content that identifies and solves the pain points of your audience.
In reality, every market is saturated, but unique and carefully planned approaches always win the day. When you think outside the box, you will succeed in establishing yourself through authority marketing. Using these simple but tried-and-true tips is the first step towards building that authority in your industry — and towards your business’s ultimate success.
Related: 4 Ways to Position Yourself as an Industry Authority
