Here are 10 ways to become a leader in your field with Social Media. If you are a lawyer, accountant, dentist, trainer / consultant, chiropractor, or any other professional service, being seen as a leader in the field is one of the best ways to increase visibility, credibility, sales and have a constant flow of clients and references to your business. How can you make this happen? This article will show you. Your city can be a great place to demonstrate your expertise and gain visibility, before being seen as the leading authority within your industry.
10 ways to become a leader in your field with Social Media
1. Start a Blog
There is no better way to demonstrate your expertise and position yourself as one of the leading authorities in your area than by creating valuable content geared towards your local market. Providing interesting messages that show your knowledge as an industry leader and offering valuable information and solutions to the daily problems of your ideal client is one of the best ways to gain relevance in the landscape in which you move. Do not forget to spread your content on Social Media, this will ensure greater visibility.
2. Create a Twitter account
The tendency to be constantly connected and informed makes Twitter an excellent resource among all Social Media to get known and connect online. Use tools like Twitter and local Twitter search services to find interesting people and influencers in your area and start following them. Spread their information in addition to your own content, always adding value to the conversation.
3. Networking on LinkedIn
LinkedIn remains the largest professional network in the world. It offers you the opportunity to connect with your market locally online and gain credibility through its association with industry groups, opinion leaders, and other respected business owners. It also gives you the opportunity to search for your ideal customer. Not for nothing is the professional network par excellence within all Social Media.
4. Create a group on LinkedIn
Starting your own LinkedIn group helps you establish yourself as a thought leader and an influencer in the industry. LinkedIn groups allow you to create an online environment for your local market, where you can connect, share valuable information and resources not available anywhere else. When you have your own group on LinkedIn you have the ability to send messages (called announcements) to the entire group once a week. This is a great opportunity to promote the events you are planning.
5. Create a Facebook page
Pages are still the best way to do business on Facebook. Every Facebook page is indexed by Google and can offer valuable SEO opportunities. Provide interesting and relevant information to attract the attention of your target audience. You can also use questions or surveys to gain insight into their views on issues pertaining to your industry. promote your Facebook page through many online and offline media and you can even use Facebook’s targeted ads to build and create more relevance to you, your business, and your Facebook page. Remember that Facebook is the social network with the largest number of users within the field of Social Media
6. Live Webinars / Seminars
Webinars and seminars are a wonderful way to show your experience in the sector, they provide value to your target audience and also offer content that can be used repeatedly to increase your visibility. Get together with your local market and share valuable content that they can use and remember for a long period of time. Record the presentation and add the audio to the PowerPoint presentation with a tool like Adobe Connect and thus you will get content that you can use to continue showing yourself as an industry leader for a long time without trying to constantly broadcast on Social Media.
7. Marketing an editorial article
When used correctly, article marketing can become a primary method of driving traffic to your website. Write quality articles related to specific topics within your sector and offer solutions to the problems that your target market faces every day. This content can be placed on your website and shared on major article syndication sites to position yourself as an expert and increase the chances that your content will be shared more widely. You should also submit your articles to local media since they can publish them and you could even get an opportunity to be a regular contributor or have your own column.
8. Offer free reports
Free reports not only offer your market great value, but they also give people an incentive to sign up for mailing lists. Instead of simply asking people to subscribe to your newsletter, offer them something that will solve a problem or provide them with valuable tools for their daily activity. Make sure that the name of your free report is something that will captivate interest so that people are willing to give their email address to get it. It will be a win-win situation when they sign up for it.
9. Write a book / eBook
It’s all about content. Free blogs, videos, and reports all have their place in your marketing strategy. However, writing a book or e-book offers you the opportunity to go one step further to position yourself as an expert or authority on the subject. If there were two lawyers, accountants, or two even two dentists that you were considering to hire, who would you choose, the one who wrote a book, or the other, if in all other things they are equal? Most people choose the one who wrote the book because it gives them that added degree of credibility. Becoming an author is a great way to show yourself as the industry leader in your community.
10. Join local groups in your industry
Being a leading company in your community means that you have to be highly visible in your local market. Chamber of Commerce events, industry groups, and local community events can even give you the increased visibility you’re looking for. Don’t forget to be armed with a positive attitude, a kind nature, and an online portfolio that includes quality content where people can find out more about you. It won’t be long before they are reviewing your content and waiting for your presence long before you arrive.
Your path to successfully becoming the leading authority in your industry.
Nobody becomes an expert overnight. Start with great content, create your online profiles and participate in local and online activities. Consistently and permanently offering value is a way to quickly outshine everyone else in your industry. Although it is a process that includes many aspects, one thing is clear: becoming a leader in your industry can be as easy as taking the right steps in the right order and with the right attitude.
Here’s the best part, you don’t have to do it all yourself. You can outsource much of this to someone who knows how to do it for you, or you can hire a trainer or mentor to walk you through the process. Don’t wait to be able to implement all of these tips at once. Just start by applying one at a time and you’ll soon see how you position yourself as the industry leader in your sector. And as the leader you will see an increase in visibility, credibility and profitability.
I’m curious, which of these 10 steps to becoming an industry leader do you think you can put into practice right now? Share your answer in the comments below.