Written by 6 Easy Ways to Build a Strong Presence Online
What is a strong online presence?
A strong online presence means that when prospects search for the products or services you offer, your website and promotional channels float to the top of the search. A strong web presence increases your chances of being noticed by customers and chosen over your competitors.
1. Host a Podcast
Podcasting is such a fantastic way to build authority because you can create your show and position yourself as the expert on whatever topic you want your show to revolve around. With podcasting, it’s all about positioning. You have the ability to position yourself as someone who is an expert, starting with something as simple as your job title. You also get to position yourself as an authority in the marketplace because you have a show that speaks about a specific topic on a consistent basis.
It’s like a news broadcast. Walter Cronkite was a respected newscaster for 65 years because he delivered the news (and only the news) night after night on the same TV station. He announced bombings in World War II, JFK’s assassination, combat in the Vietnam War, our landing on the moon, and so many more huge events in our history. Even today, though Cronkite hasn’t been on the news in decades, he’s still seen as the authority on how to properly deliver the news. Your podcast will do the same for you in whatever field you are an expert in.
To that end, podcasting gives you instant authority, credibility, and access to trust and celebrity. You can have influencers on your podcast that will give you even more credibility and gain trust through their listeners and their followers. Also, by having a podcast, you can get on platforms such as iHeartRadio, Audible, Spotify, iTunes, etc., which allows you to leverage these big-name platforms to add credibility to you, your podcast, and your business.
2. Get interviewed
There are several ways that you can get interviewed on the topic(s) where you are an expert. Start with those you know that have a podcast that aligns with ideas and topics around which you are an authority. Reach out to them and ask them to be a guest to help pour into their audience. You can plug yourself into Facebook groups such as “I’ll Be a Guest for That” and connect with podcast hosts for mutual benefit. And there are also websites out there where you can add yourself to their directory for podcast guesting.
Being interviewed as an expert is a sure way to build authority. This is a form of second-person validation that you are the expert in your field.
3. Get featured in articles
Gain authority quickly by being featured in an article. There are many great ways to do this, but one place I highly suggest is to sign up for HARO, www.helpareporter.com. You’ll receive a list twice a day of reporters looking for experts just like you to get featured in their articles. Your strategy here is to speak on topics that will showcase your expertise and have you show up on the front page of Google.
The tip to landing an article feature is to dial in your pitch. When you pitch to media outlets, make sure you are pitching the subject at hand and then you as the expert. Media outlets are looking for relevancy, so make sure you use timely news hooks and statistics to back up your pitch.
4. Have unique content strategies on social media
You can generate authority online by doing super-cool stuff on social media that are innovative or not regularly used. For example, one content strategy is creating story stickers and GIFs. Story Stickers are animated stickers you can add to your TikTok videos, Facebook, Instagram, and Snapchat stories. These are a great way to brand yourself.
There is a process you have to go through to get featured on Facebook and Instagram stories, so not everyone can do this, although it has been a great way for me to build authority in my niche because it creates curiosity, making people want to know how you got the stickers on your Facebook and Instagram stories.
To get your GIFs and stickers featured, you will need to create a brand-approved channel through GIPHY, www.giphy.com. Be sure to have fun with your stickers and showcase your personality!
5. Create a course
What better way to show people that you are an expert at something than to create a course instructing other people how to do what you can teach them to do? This is a way for you to establish authority and also to reach people who haven’t heard of you.
Once you create them, you can sell these courses or use them as a gift to get people to opt-in so you can build your mailing list.
6. Publish content around your expertise
Lastly, an easy way to establish authority online is to publish content around your expertise. This can be done most easily through eBooks, downloadable PDFs, and white paper reports. You simply take the content that you’ve already created and transcribe it so you can create a publishable document that can be consumed by prospects who prefer to read.
These pieces of content can be giveaways or used as a call to action while you are a guest on a podcast or speaking on stage.