“Go see what ____ has to say about ____. That’s who I personally reference.”

The more frequently someone fills in those blanks with your name and area of expertise, then you will find yourself taking on quite a bit of additional business as a result. Trust and strong reputation are marketing devices every bit as strong as word-of-mouth and are certainly not mutually exclusive of one another.

Becoming a recognized authority in your field and area of expertise helps attract new business, ensure future business, manage your online reputation and extend your brand recognition.  In today’s business environment, many people are actively looking for help and advice regarding their industries, which is why ‘how-to’ blogs are the most popular. Developing a reputation as an authority or ‘guru’ on a particular topic also builds your reputation and insulates it from the occasional negative comment.

The following are 14 tips on how to establish yourself as a recognized authority in your field.  The faster you perform these tasks, the sooner your intended audience will take notice:

1. 1. Brand yourself with a keyword domain name relating to your field or brand name.  Several days after registering your URL, go to Alexa, develop your profile and define your value statement in the profile.
2. 2. Create a Wikipedia listing for your brand and define yourself as you would like to be known.
3. 3. Develop a LinkedIn profile for yourself. Get involved in groups on LinkedIn related to your topic: start discussions, leave comments. Get involved in social media: Facebook, Twitter, Digg as well as communities specific to your expertise.  Develop your profile on as many social sites as possible, carefully crafting your profile to best represent your value statement.
4. 4. Utilize a site such as startpr.com or yourversion.com to monitor the Internet for activity and comments regarding your field of expertise, brand, topic, etc. Involve yourself in as many conversations as you appropriately can, extending your reach and brand awareness.
5. 5. Write articles and submit them to like-topic blogs and article distribution services to get your name circulating.
6. 6. Create and distribute a press release or two broadcasting an accomplishment, service, article or seminar involvement in which you are highlighted.
7. 7. Become active in the blog community for your topic. Read the blogs of others in the community and leave good comments, ensuring that you utilize a keyword or two in your post. Each comment will include a link back to your site as well as your email address. This will build good backlinking and make your name more recognizable.
8. 8. Try to get highlighted as a guest blogger on a reputable blog.  Again, this adds backlinks and builds your reputation.
9. 9. If you have the knowledge, consider publishing some of it in the form of an ebook, releasing it in chapters on your site.
10. 10. Subscribe to HARO, an excellent daily resource with reporters actively looking for contributors for their stories, articles, interviews and shows.
11. 11. Create an abundance of informational products for your site: tips, white papers, podcasts, videos, online tools, resource databases, etc.
12. 12. Give seminars and get involved with other companies giving seminars, ideally being granted invitation to be a guest speaker.
13. 13. Volunteer your services to a nonprofit organization that is applicable to your field.  In the current business environment, nonprofits can use as much assistance as they can get. Furthermore, there are potential benefits from aiding nonprofits. Many have support from people in various “high places” with whom networking can vastly strengthen your efforts.
14. 14. Get involved in your local Chamber of Commerce events or any industry-specific events. The more visible you become, the more recognizable and reputable you become.

Obviously, the above list could be a lot longer. These are best practices that we employ ourselves and recommend to any site or business person looking to become a noted authority in their field.  Reach Out Media Group can assist you and boost your brand awareness and potential through our specialized marketing services. Inquire Now for a site analysis and quote on how we can take you to the next level of your success.

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