How to build your reputation as an expert
Let’s make it clear from the start: in this article, we will not discuss how to be known as an expert by copying someone else’s content or retelling other experts’ ideas. The point at issue is how a real professional can make a name and thus bring value to as many people as possible.
The easiest way to start is to begin sharing your experience. Publish posts on social networks, write on your blog, make useful videos. But first consider these 3 steps:
- Determine what you really care about, what inspires you and gives you energy
- Understand who your target audience is
- Combine your interest with the needs of your target audience
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Why is it worth starting with the search for true interest? It is possible that you are competent in several areas at once. No wonder: they say that every person is born with at least 7 talents! But sometimes we pick a field of expertise which is not our favorite. We just think it has a great commercial potential. I myself made the same mistake, and nothing good came of it. Therefore, I sincerely recommend going after your passion, and not after money. After all, you can become a real expert only in the field that really inspires you.
So, you have decided on the nature of your business and the target audience. What’s next?
1. Choose the content strategy
Decide how you will pass on your knowledge and experience. Blog, videos, presentations, webinars, articles or maybe your own books? Ideally, combine all these formats, but first, understand what is more convenient for your target audience and what it reacts to better.
2. Share useful information
It is important that your content is useful to your followers and helps them solve their problems. Useful content is:
- sharing practical tips and recommendations
- teaching specific skills
- answering burning questions
- warning the audience about possible mistakes and obstacles (especially if you have gone through them yourself)
- discussing the latest trends in your area and their possible impact on the audience
Do not forget that you can share information or give training sessions both online and offline. You can also combine both options.
3. Analyze what your competitors are doing, and do things differently
It is unlikely that your niche is unique. But what you offer to the clients must be unique. For example, if you are a life coach, do not offer your services to everyone around and do not promise to improve the quality of their life in all areas. Better focus on some of the “hot” requests of your audience: love and relationship, finding their calling, improving their financial results, etc. If you want to work with multiple requests, create content for each of them separately and spread it through separate channels.
4. Be aware of the new trends and help your followers get a grasp on them
We live in an era when social networks change algorithms almost every month, and business literature becomes obsolete every 2 or 3 months. To maintain the expert’s reputation you must always “keep an ear to the ground”, know what is happening in your industry and help your clients understand it.
5. Become a speaker at business events
Public speaking is an indispensable part of building an expert’s reputation. This is what will raise your profile and make you visible both online and offline. If public speaking is not your strength, I suggest reading my article “All up on stage! How to master public speaking”.
There you will find many useful tips for overcoming stage fright and preparing your speech. The next step is getting the event organizers interested in you. First, prepare your speaker’s profile with a professionally made photo, your experience and 4 or 5 topics of your speeches. Send it out to the speakers bureaus (for example, start with ours: MeetSpeakers ), as well as the organizers of the events where you would like to speak.
Lifehack
Mark Twain said: “It usually takes me more than three weeks to prepare a good impromptu speech.”
Therefore, the only thing that will make you a good speaker is the regular practice. Rehearse and perform as often as possible: join a public speaking club, a stand-up comedy school, or make a presentation in your child’s class.
6. Make networking your priority
I never get tired of saying: go to the right events, prepare a proper self-presentation, meet people and make contacts. This is the shortest way to create an expert’s reputation.
When I came to Singapore, I attended several events every week. This helped me build a network fast, gain the support of influential people, and soon begin to speak at the biggest events in South-East Asia.
7. Let people see you not only as an expert but also as a person
A personal story is always more interesting than a professional one. That’s why Facebook personal profiles get more coverage than professional accounts. Let the audience know what kind of person you are: share your values, sometimes publish your family pictures, be honest and don’t pretend to be someone you are not. All this will help you find your own voice and style in the diverse choir of other experts.
8. Become strategic partners with other experts
Remember the saying: if you want to go fast, go alone but if you want to go far, go together. Think about how you can catch the interest of other experts in your field, be useful to them, develop relationships and create partnerships. Together you can achieve the most ambitious goals.
9. Present your cases and results
Nothing maintains the reputation of an expert as well as real achievements. And it’s not about the received diplomas or certificates. In the early days of Tony Robbins’s career, he was asked: “What qualification do you have to claim to be the best?” He replied: “I have a Ph.D. in RESULTS.” If you do not yet have specific results that you can show off to the world, do your best to get them. For example, give free consultations in exchange for a testimonial. Or call your customers to find out how their lives have changed after working with you. This is important not only for building the reputation. It is for you to understand what value you are bringing to other people.
10. Start now
Of course, you will not become an expert in a day or a week. Developing a reputation is a hard and time-consuming process. But the sooner you start, the sooner you will come to the desired goal. So start right now to implement these strategies:
- Choose your field of expertise based on what you are really interested in
- Identify who your target audience is and what its needs are
- Create useful content for your audience and select the ways to spread it: social networks, blogs, webinars, books, etc.
- Analyze what your competitors are doing, and do things differently
- Be aware of the new trends and help your followers get a grasp on them
- Become a speaker at business events
- Let people see you not only as an expert but also as a person
- Become strategic partners with other experts
- Present your cases and results
- Start now