Building authority is something that every business and business owner needs, even if the company itself is fairly small and new to begin with.
Smart founders are those who build the authority before they need it. Treating their personal brand as a compounding asset, rather than using it as a marketing tactic, is how they help to drive traffic and interest to their door.
That quiet consistency, proof of work and genuine value is a lot more effective than loud self-promotion.
Shift from Shouting to Showing
Authority is built through evidence of success. It’s the proof of work rather than just the volume. Instead of announcing your expertise or the fact that some great product or service is coming, smart founders will take a showcase direction instead.
Look at how you can do this through the use of case studies and results. Sharing concrete client data that’s anonymised and frameworks is a great way to highlight how you’ve solved problems for clients already.
Try to document the highs and lows of the journey by sharing lessons learned, rather than just showing off polished wins.
The use of short tutorials and actionable tips or solutions helps to prove expertise without needing to be overly promotional.
Implement the Anti-Influencer Content System
To get recognised, you don’t need to be posting about your business and brand every day. The sustainable authority is one that’s built through a ‘less is more’ approach and focused on high-quality insights.
Look at creating one high-value piece of content per month or week where you can manage it. A newsletter, a deep-dive article, or video content can all be a good way of providing that long-term anchor in authority online and offline.
Micro-insights prove really effective for users, too, and for businesses to get more content across social media in general. Extract 3-5 smaller actionable tips from a single long-form piece, or repurpose your content to perform on other platforms than just the one it’s made for.
Borrow Authority
In order to improve your digital PR, borrow authority by engaging with established platforms and voices if you don’t have an audience currently.
The use of expert commentary is a good way to help improve your presence online and to help define you as one of the knowledgeable ones within the industry.
Spend time engaging with posts from industry leaders, even if that’s fifteen minutes every day. Offer thoughtful insights yourself, rather than just a simple one-word response.
Look at participating in industry podcasts, panels and webinars where available. All of this helps to reach the targeted audiences you’re after.
Fix Foundations Before Publishing
Before you publish your content, you want to ensure your online presence remains consistent in its details.
Make sure to match up your profile picture and bio across all your platforms that you’re currently present on.
The use of a personal website, blog or newsletter is helpful to provide your own individual thinking and one that’s not dependent on social media algorithms to push.
It’s also worthwhile to use schema markup for your website to help search engines understand your expertise in particular.
Focus on Depth, Not Just Likes
Smart founders will focus on depth and not just creating content for likes. Address content to your ideal customer and track engagement in terms of who is interacting rather than how many are liking your post. Look for signs of authority, quoting your phrases back to you or asking for your perspective.
By building authority early on, you build a foundation of trust that makes it easier in the future to acquire funds, attract talent and shorten your sales cycles.
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