When you do a search for “digital marketing”, which websites appear on Google? It’s probably the usual suspects like Smart Insights, HubSpot, and Neil Patel. If you do not know them, they are leaders of the digital marketing industry, together with Moz, Copyblogger, and Kissmetrics. They have become authorities of the field, readily teaching us all about using search engine optimization to our advantage.
However, apart from their expertise, the main reason why they were able to create such a strong following and build their reputation is because they keep churning out content. So while it took them years to reach the forefront of the industry, they were able to slowly stamp their brand by creating content non-stop. And now we are studying how they achieved it.
Using content to build authority
Content is everywhere and it is an important aspect of any webpage; in fact, your tweets are your profile’s content. If you want to show a snarky persona on your personal account, you always craft your tweets to fit that persona. The same thing is true for content, especially content for business pages. It does not start and end with articles, it also involves graphics, books, case studies, podcasts, and so on.
So in this article. We will explore how you can make use of content to strengthen your credibility online and drive a lot of traffic on your page.
Article writing and ebook publishing
Let us assume that you have a website already, which means no one else has your domain name (you need to do a domain name check for that), and you have already been sharing your website on your social media.
To complement the existence of your website and add value to your brand, you need to write content that shows expertise. On your website, consider adding a blog tab where you will be posting everything you have learned about starting a business, about the gaps in the industry, and best practices that maybe needs to change. You can take this opportunity to write niche content and not stick with general topics.
You can also publish articles that updates your followers about trends in your industry or updates that might influence the way you do business, or make a case study.
Another technique would be writing ebooks that includes more detailed case studies, maybe graphs that were not included in the articles you have written, and a list of practices you think everyone should consider doing. This is a trend on all authority website, so do not hesitate to jump in.
Hosting webinars
There are people who prefer watching content than reading, so you might want to consider webinars too. You can use the live capabilities of Facebook or Youtube, you can even use Periscope. This allows you to provide content to a huge part of your audience who prefer visuals and audio rather than a big chunk of text.
Guest blogging
Now that you have content for your website, it is not time to network and post articles on other authority website. You will be able to tap into another demographic, and more importantly, this solidifies your credibility just as long as you choose a website that is trusted, too.
And do not forget to engage with your audience through social media. That is your chance to be personal and informal with them. Engagement is part of strengthening your relationship with your audience, and now that you have a big audience, keeping them interested is important.