You’re looking to establish credibility online and feel that social media is the best way to do it – but how can you successfully make this happen? What and how you communicate on social media can position you as a trusted resource in your industry. Here, we’ll offer 4 key ways to effectively use social media to prove your place as an expert in your field.
- Find the Right Social Channel
In order to become an industry leader through social sharing, you must firstly decide which social platforms fit your expertise and audience and then direct your efforts to those particular channels. While it’s a good idea to share your content on multiple channels, you don’t want to do so at the expense of reaching your main target audience. To capture the attention of that professional audience, you have to know where people spend their time – and that’s where you should spend most of your time sharing content. By choosing the most valuable social channel for sharing and conversing, you’re getting more exposure, and likely more conversation, which, in turn, can lead to trust – one of the most basic components of becoming a thought leader.
- Create Relevant Blog Content
Many brands complain that social doesn’t work for them because they have nothing to post. The reality is, they’re probably right. If you aren’t busy doing, creating, or finding relevant and interesting things to post about, social media will never work for your brand. If you want to be a thought leader, go ahead and put your thoughts out there. Your success relies on publishing quality content (and sharing it elsewhere). In most instances, blogging is in an important part of conveying expertise. Of course, different industries call for different types of content, so look at creating videos, case studies, whitepapers and infographics – whatever works for your audience. You have to know your audience and cater to their needs.
- Cross-Promote and Engage
As noted in #1 above, the best place to share your content is on the network where your audience is most active. However, that doesn’t mean you should disregard the other social channels. You want to give your content the best chance at being seen. t’s OK to share similar content across social networks; just make sure you optimize for each platform’s expectations. Timing, visuals and copy all matter and should be tweaked for each social network. Before you start sharing, research best practices on each social platform. Even if you have the best content and a receptive audience, your shares will fall flat if they aren’t spread effectively. Your goal, of course, is to get people talking about your content once it’s shared. The most effective way to convince people of your knowledge isn’t broadcasting; it’s opening up a dialog about your subject of expertise and inviting those interested to join the back-and-forth. If you want them to continue to talk, you have to get in there yourself—be an active participant. The more your content is seen and shared, and the more conversation around it, the more likely you are to establish your company’s credibility and its role as an industry thought leader.
- Collaborate with Social Influencers
An association with the right brands (or individuals) is a valuable asset when it comes to establishing credibility. To gain that association, you need to actively collaborate with the people your audience views as influencers. Joining forces with other industry influencers not only has the benefit of associating your brand with established leaders, it can also spark lasting relationships that are mutually beneficial down the road.
If you’re looking for a quick fix and rise to the top, I’m sorry to say that it’s not going to happen in a month or two. Building a lasting quality reputation through content marketing and social media takes consistent, concerted effort. It’s constant work to create quality content, share posts, align with existing influencers and keep up with conversations. But, businesses that commit to this regimen reap massive rewards – and end up as an industry leader on social media.
Want to discover other key ways to become an industry leader? Click below for tips on business blogging!
