The era where people became famous for nothing, in particular, is over. In this new age, unless you have power in a niche, you can’t succeed beyond the euphoria of being a celebrity or popular.
Building your Brand Authority: becoming a force to be reckoned with in your industry.
Who is an authority?
An authority or “expert” is someone who has demonstrated expertise in a field of knowledge, through years of rigorous research and study, who can offer their knowledge to others for the benefit of society. An authority becomes the go-to-person in a field of endeavor. An easy reference point, who’s words carries weight and influence.
I don’t think it is difficult to find people who are considered an authority in one’s field. Typically, the name of any entrepreneur, investor, or anyone with a really high net worth comes up in that regard. However, for one to build their own set of credentials and become an authority in their field, they’ll need to invest heavily into their knowledge and go against the current norms. They’ll also need some luck on their side.
So, let’s look at how one can build an Authority.
Over the past decade with my experience in authority and Branding, I have identified some significant building pillars that individuals have used to build their brand authority.
Let’s get started.
Strategies to become an authority:
Find a niche:
Finding a niche that you are passionate about and can excel in is important, but it can be difficult to know where to start. To get started, identify the area of interest that you would like to become immersed in by asking yourself what your unique skills are and what type of work you enjoy doing.
Once you have an idea of an area to focus on, the next step is to find out if other people are already dominating this space. Quick exercise: List 3 areas in your chosen field that you will like to be the go-to person in, then find out if there are other competitors. Next is to prepare yourself to learn and master your craft. When I began I indentified a gap in the branding fields: personal branding. About a decade ago there were very few books globally on the subject of personal branding.
Invest in your field:
Once you have identified the area you want to build your expertise in, the best thing to do next is to build capacity. This way, you will have a high level of knowledge on what can be done and how it can be achieved. Study all the materials you can find in that field, research and learn so that you are knowledgeable of what is needed of yourself. You must also work hard by doing things such as taking courses and workshops. It’s your learning that will lead you into your earnings. You may need to invest in a professional coach or mentor to guide you along the way.
In 2010 when I started out as an author seeking to sell my books globally, I had to buy a US$100 ebook from a best-selling Amazon author to teach me how to become successful. And it paid off. There are some things you can only learn through mentoring and coaching. This period may take more time that, you need to be patience to learn am master your craft at this stage. This will not be a time to seek to be known, it’s a time to practice and polish your skills.
Establish your voice: Mimicking someone else’s voice or style does not make you an expert, it only makes you an exact copy. So this period is the time to craft your own voice and strategy. Certainly during the stage of learning, researching and mentoring, you would have picked a lot of information and skills from others, that’s great. Now work on making yourself stand out from the competition.
Work on positioning yourself in a different way to make the most of your unique skills and abilities. Work on all the things that will help you to be memorable. Build thought-leadership. As one wise man said, “Will you be missed when you’re gone?” What will make people miss you, your products and services. How different and daring are you? Don’t be afraid to be the only one, in fact that’s the goal, to be the only preferred choice in your field.
Build your platform:
It is important to understand that you will never grow very far if you are only leveraging on the platforms of other people. You must eventually take some time to build your own expert-status platform. Your platform is a place where you stand elevated, celebrated and commands influence. To be known as an authority one needs to have a platform. As I keep saying ‘Build your own platform and don’t beg for platforms”. You need to have a loyal, devoted fanbase that are willing to pay for your content and share it with the world. You can build it offline, using your own communities, or online using social media, blogging, podcasts, email lists and other such media. Remember that the platform building process doesn’t come cheap, it will cost you some time and money.
The best time to build your platform is when you’re relatively unknown and don’t have a lot of content.
For example:
When you’re just starting a blog and haven’t published many articles yet
When you’re just starting a YouTube channel and don’t have any videos out yet.
This is because when you’re not yet well known, you can still take control of all the content on your platform and make it all about you. It serves as means to test your works and find that sweet spot that meets the needs of your audience with your expertise. So begin today.
One of the things that helped me in building my author brand was blogging and podcasting, I was an early adapter and leveraged on those platforms to build and grow. I got discovered by a number of people through my syndicated personal branding podcast.
Write a book:
This is the icing on the cake. The crown that seals the title. Many content may come in divers forms to educate, inform and inspire but will eventually fade out, but a book outlives them all. A book is one of the best tools that establishes thought leadership and expert status. Think of any expert, thought-leader in any field of endeavor dead or alive, from head of states to corporate CEOs and you are likely to have a book in their name.
I’m glad to say that I have coached so many people to build author brands, using a book as an authority tool.
My books got me to places I wouldn’t have if not for those branding books. It’s a positioning tool.
Let me add that as much as you need a book to help you establish your authority, you don’t go and through any content out there as a book. Your book must command that authority, well researched, well written content that will help your audience.
In conclusion, stay consistent, credibly and creative and you will thrive.
>>>the writer is an Author, Speaker, Lecturer, and Corporate Trainer. Africa’s foremost authority on Personal Branding and Digital Book Publishing. An Amazon bestselling author of over 50 published books. As a speaker & trainer he has been known to simplify complex ideas about branding and life and present them to audiences in clear, actionable steps. He has over a decade of experience in digital publishing and has globally consulted for entrepreneurs, pastors, and people like you to write books and build brands. He hosts the number one ranked Career & Business Podcast in Ghana. Bernard is a brand strategist at BKC consulting and runs the monthly Branding & Publishing Masterclass. Email: [email protected] Website: www.bkc.name and Social Media: @bernardkelvin on Facebook & Twitter
