Think about the formidable competitors in your industry.  What makes them formidable?

Most likely, it is because they are considered by many to be the foremost authority on whatever products or services they sell.  Whether it be shoes, art work or accounting services — we buy from those we believe are EXPERTS in their field.

How, then, can you establish your tiny business as an expert in your industry?

Chances are that you are already an expert in your field and if you are not, I am wondering why you chose to enter the market.  This post will discuss the ways in which you can make your expertise known to your market.

Establishing yourself as an expert in your field can be done, over time, through the use of a Content Marketing strategy.  Start engaging in the activities below on a consistent basis and watch your authority and your sales grow.

Write and Publish Articles

Text is still the king of all content creation and it is where all Content Marketing strategy should begin.  Not only is it the preferred content type by search engines, but text is also widely consumed by nearly every industry.

Text can take many forms, the most important of which should be in the form of written posts on your business blog.   You should be creating a consistent stream of valuable text posts on your blog.  Your business blog should be the hub of your Content Marketing strategy and should house all of your content including text articles.

Other forms of text content include:

• White Papers
• Tweets, Facebook Updates and other Social Media text
• Guest Post articles for other blogs
• Articles distributed through article directories like Ezinearticles.com
• Press Releases

Seek Speaking Engagements

When you speak, you are perceived as an expert on the subject matter you are speaking about.  It is really that simple.  You should be looking for opportunities to get in front of an audience and teach them something about your industry.

When you do so, publish your Powerpoint through a service like Slide Share and embed the slide show on your blog along with some commentary and a video of the presentation.  Pick up a cheap and easy digital video camera like The Flip camera.  The video, slide show and text blog post you create gives your speaking engagement an infinite life span that will contribute to your perception as an expert.

Run a Podcast

Start a radio show.  No — i’m not kidding.  Start a radio show about the topics, trends, conferences, gossip, etc. in your industry.  Interview vendors, competitors, freelancers and other members of your vertical on your program.

If your industry would lend itself well to an audio podcast, you will find that this will be a major boon to your level of perceived expertise.

All you will need is a decent microphone (less than $100) — I use the Samson CO1U and it does just fine for a beginning podcaster.

Create Online Video

Video is hot, hot, hot.  Creating video around topics in your industry is a powerful method for increasing the perception of your expertise.

Creating video is not as difficult as it sounds — you can use the aforementioned Flip Camera or just a cheap web cam to shoot head-shot video.   I use the Rocketfish RF-WED2C and it is less than $30.  Most laptops and desktops sold today come with a web cam built in.

Upload your video to as many video sharing sites as you can using a service like Tube Mogul and then (of course) embed the video on your blog.

What about you?  How do you go about letting your market know that you are an expert in your field and you deserve their business?  Leave a comment!

Image credit – Pete Prodoehl

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