Content creation—how to claim your expertise
“When you come out from behind the curtain and take a stand for something you care about, others will lean in to hear what you have to say, so say something that serves them.”
Your opinion matters
That’s the lead line for many surveys, but in this snack-sized training workshop, you’re going to get new ways to look at positioning yourself as an expert in your niche clearly and easily. But before I get into my recommendations, there are some methods of publicizing credibility and expertise commonly used in marketing and brand building:
Education, degrees, awards and certifications
Major employers you’ve worked for who are recognized as industry leaders
Titles and/or roles you have held at prior employers or boards you serve(d) on
Geography you serve or specialize in
High-profile and/or successful projects you’ve worked on (professional experience)
Length of experience delivering a specific solution or working in a specific industry
Social proof (LinkedIn recommendations, guest/PR appearances, testimonials, etc.)
These elements are important legitimizers, some more than others depending on the industry you claim. However, what I want to cover in this workshop is centered on authentic, virgin content that YOU create. Let’s dive in.
Swimming in a sea of sameness
You may be in a crowded specialty such as life coaching, massage therapy, interior design or business consulting. But YOU are YOU and YOU are UNIQUE. There may be hundreds if not thousands of others who—on the surface—look like they deliver the same service you do, but underneath they really don’t, I promise.
This isn’t about demographics, like people who buy Tesla over KIA cars or the Android vs. Apple crowds. This is about YOU creating a conversation with your audience that does these five things:
Creates a clear identity of who you are (your brand)
Offers a new, fresh perspective on your specialty (your authority/expertise and problem you solve)
Speaks loudly and clearly about your ideal client, so they KNOW implicitly you are talking about them (empathy and clarity around your ideal client)
Offers actionable value for FREE (generosity, law of reciprocity)
Facilitates frictionless engagements (aka next steps and ease of doing business)
Every piece of content you publish and promote should do these five things, every time. This is a great exercise to outline any piece of content, whether it’s a blog post, freebie, video or ebook.
So when you feel like you’re swimming in a sea of sameness and trying to stand out, stop trying to stand out. Just be yourself. Claim your opinion, put it out there and be of service.
The frequency, consistency and professionalism surrounding your virgin published content will speak volumes to the people you’re meant to serve.
Run the above checklist against the content you’ve been publishing over the last six months and see if it stands the test. If not, you have a wonderful opportunity to seize and claim your expertise with confidence.🍀
