5 ways to Build Brand Authority with Content Marketing

A brand authority within your industry: you don’t just become that. That costs blood, sweat, and… content marketing Come on: you can also shed a tear, but today we’re not talking about your grief now that you didn’t get your hands on a Playstation 5.

In this blog, we’ll show you how to use content marketing to build your brand authority. Or expand of course :). If you are a brand authority in your industry, (potential) customers and partners gain confidence in you. Partners want to work with you because you have made a name for yourself, customers buy from you because they trust that they are always comfortable with you.

Sounds good, doesn’t it? But the question that usually comes right after that is: how do I become a trademark authority, where do I start? Our answer: you start with Prevailing content marketing. You write that Prevailing content using the 5 ways you will find below. What makes this content marketing so good is the fact that you target your target audience in these ways. In other words: you don’t just whip content onto the big internet but know that there are recipients on the other side of the line who are interested in your content.

Table of contents

# 1. Answer me if I ask you something!
# 2. Share your knowledge
# 3. Are you really that good? Show your social proof!
# 4: Associate your business with other brand authorities
# 5: Psst, don’t tell anyone!
The Prevailing Conclusion

# 1. Answer me if I ask you something!

Everyone knows how annoying it is when you don’t get an answer to your questions. Asking a question to someone who is unable or unwilling to answer your question and then walks around talking: incredibly annoying.

They have a hand in it in politics. A well-known example is Jan-Peter Balkenende who does not want to answer a question during a TV debate. After some insistence, the presenter receives the comment ‘ You look so sweet ‘ at her head. We will never be able to determine with any certainty whether that comment (which was certainly what women were talking about). But what is clear: failing to answer (urgent) questions is not a good movie, and it can cost you sales.

Your (potential) customers are seekers. They not only look for products or services but also answers their questions about those products or services.

Example

Apologies to anyone who is still shedding tears because of the PS5, but here is another game console example.

Suppose you are looking for a new game console. Such a game console costs between 400 and 500 euros, so you want everything to go well with the purchase. You google for example ‘best game console’, ‘compare game computers’ and ‘game console costs’.

After some googling you see that two companies are consistently high in the search results. You’re probably thinking, apparently those are the experts, so if I buy a game console from them, it’s a safe buy.

It also works like this with other products: your clear presence in the search results when you answer queries ensures that searchers see you as an authority.

Content Marketing Performance

You want to know which terms that are relevant to you are what your target group is looking for. To find out the questions they are walking around with, do keyword research. You will find out which questions you need to answer if you want to turn searchers into leads and leads to customers. You process the questions found (and answers ;-)) in your content. Maybe you already have good content that comes close to a certain question and the answer to it, then you can also expand or optimize your existing content.

# 2. Share your knowledge

One of the best ways to show that you have knowledge in-house is to constantly show interest in your industry and by constantly sharing new information and insights inaccessible content.

Investigate your industry: what are the trends? What is now being skipped by experts? What interesting information do you come across internally?

New insights that you bring out in your content are not only interesting for your (potential) customer but can also stimulate lively discussions within your industry. If you do it really well, a good piece of content marketing  becomes so valuable to others that they voluntarily share it, which gives you backlinks, which in turn makes you interesting in Google’s eyes. Getting your backlinks in this way, however, has become really difficult these days: just about anyone with a bit of knowledge of search engine optimization knows the value of a backlink and therefore no longer just gives it away for free.

Even if you share your knowledge, it is important to always keep your reader (read: your ideal customer) in mind. To analyze which questions about your product, service, or industry are asked in Google. That will likely be quite a few questions. It, therefore, doesn’t hurt to filter. First of all, focus on questions where you see a gap: questions that others in your field do not provide a clear answer to. As an expert, you can really make a difference here by devoting a clear article to this question. Let this question come up among the frequently asked questions on your website and write a good, substantive blog about it.

# 3. Are you really that good? Show your social proof!

If you are really good, then you have proof of that in the form of social proof. Social proof comes in several forms. For example, think of:

• Reviews
• Shared posts on social media
• Brands and companies that are already customers with you

If you have it right, previous customers can confirm that you are indeed a specialist and deliver what you promise on your website.

The key is to identify what weight of evidence is most valuable to your potential customer. You want to show with your burden of proof: ‘You don’t have to believe us in our clear blue eyes, but look: others see us as specialists too.’ So you use validation by third parties to gain the trust of a visitor and make him a customer.

Implementation: reviews

Ask previous customers how they experience your service and/or product. Ask them to leave a review, for example via a review platform or by email. You can then use this review on your website and in your other communication. Do you have a very enthusiastic customer? Then consider shooting a review video with that customer. You really give your customer a face and let him tell you in his own words why he chose your company and what makes him so satisfied with that choice.

Execution: cases

In the image below you see a case that we made ourselves about one of our customers. Major Ingredients:

• Data: what has Heers delivered to this customer?
• Opinions: what does the customer say about Heers?

What we encountered ourselves: we sometimes find it difficult to share cases. You would think: easy right? Click Publish and you’re done. But we are not very good at that, because it feels a bit like overdoing it, like ‘Look at us having fun! What makes it easier for us is to share the cases with a literal quote from the customer. In this way, we do not show off ourselves and attract attention, but a customer puts the spotlight on us. Better still 🙂

# 4: Associate your company with other trademark authorities

Few companies can sell themselves without a sounding board. Even a company like Apple needed the genius, turtleneck-wearing Steve Jobs as a showcase. In short: if you as an expert sell your products or services, you need experts who can also disseminate that expertise.

You know the saying: ” Tell me who your friends zi j n and I tell you who j it is ‘? For companies themselves, this applies equally strongly. The relationships you have with other companies are, therefore, consciously or unconsciously, part of your (online) marketing. So choose your partners wisely 😉

Collaborating with other trademark authorities has several advantages. The trademark authority in question has built up its own audience over the years. By working together with such a brand awareness, you bring your company to the attention of a new audience. Think of Kitkat and McDonald’s with the Kitkat M cF lu r ry begin a collaboration. People absolutely love Kitkat, also want to know how the ice cream version taste. In this way, a new audience comes into contact with your product and company. The reverse is also true of course: e and M color ry fan the Kitkatvariant want to try. In this way, you create a win-win situation for each other.

Another example: Vodafone and Ziggo. Ziggo is primarily a supplier of internet and (online) TV. You can take out smartphone subscriptions with Vodafone. Thanks to a collaboration between the two companies, customers can close good deals and immediately arrange their internet and telephony for both home and away from home in one go. For a Ziggo customer, it is advantageous to also be a Vodafone customer, for a Vodafone customer Ziggo is extra attractive. And in this way, Vodafone and Ziggo can compete together with the all-around provider KPN. Collaboration isn’t that bad yet;).

# 5: Psst, do not tell!

Now comes the scariest step: share all your secrets with your audience. No, we don’t need to know that you secretly sleep in Feyenoord pajamas (sorry Jeffrey … but our sales are great! ), It’s about your company. By sharing your formula for success, you build a relationship of trust with your audience. Your audience appreciates it when you are open and honest. Of course, these are container terms, but it really works.

We have for instance often told that we are going to work fine transparent and that this process one of the reasons why a customer chose us he left.

Content Marketing Performance

Think about what information is valuable to share. Especially if your competitor does not share this information. Make it personal: say, for example, that you only have a small team, but that you do provide personal service. Tell us what you find difficult within your industry and how you solve it, that makes you human. Let your customers know if you have made an (estimation) mistake: people make mistakes and playing in good weather does not keep customers.

Of course, you put your best foot forward, but be honest about who you are. This is how you create a competitive advantage: your company positions itself clearly, you give your company a face. Keep in mind: all your customers are people, and people just feel most attracted to other people.

Reading Tips: 10 Common Mistakes When Building Your Personal Brand

The Prevailing Conclusion

Now is the time to improve your brand authority. As you have read, there are plenty of ways to use the content for that purpose. Investing in content marketing is a big step towards gaining brand authority. By creating content d he has value to your audience, you show namely that you have the right knowledge and your expertise utilized in the industry.

Do you have questions about the content marketing or do you want to know something else? Ask your questions do not hesitate because we like to help you make your authority build in the form of a content strategy.