Ten Ways to Use Social Media to Position Yourself as an Expert

These days, businesses want to be continually engaging with their customers.  This requires the constant creation of content.  Some of this content can be self-promotional in nature, but the quickest way to find yourself ignored in the social media universe is to repeat yourself like a broken record.  I recommend that companies looking to engage customers without overloading them with advertising find ways to position themselves as an expert in their industry, either by creating original content or passing along useful content from others.  For example, I work with a modeling agency that’s constantly posting content about the fashion industry.  It’s not a novel concept, by any stretch, but it works because when people choose to follow you on social media, they are signaling that they are interested in your field and look to you as a reliable source.  This makes social media an excellent way for companies to keep themselves on the top of consumers’ minds.   In short, creating and passing along information in a particular field brands you as an expert in that arena.

For companies looking for ways to brand themselves as experts in their fields, I recommend the following social media strategies:

1) Blog. If you’re an expert in a given arena, the best way to prove it is to write about that field.  It’s easy to set up a blog these days (I use WordPress).  The harder part is investing the time to do it on a regular basis.  There are a ton of tips for writing blogs on the internet, such as these, so I won’t reiterate them here.

However, I will urge you to consider your blog in the context of your overall online branding strategy.  It takes a while for a blog writer to discover their voice, and also to figure out how much time they can realistically devote to writing.  For example, I discovered early on that I go through up and down cycles when I blog.  Some weeks, I’ll post an article every day; other weeks, I won’t blog at all.  This is because while I consider blogging important, it’s not central to my business.  As a result, it makes little sense for me to be overly concerned with writing timely blog articles.  I am not writing news (like TechCrunch or Politico) or topical opinion (like the Huffington Post or Perez Hilton).  Instead, I write practical social media strategies for businesses, which ought to be just as relevant months from now as they are when I first write the words.

My blog’s “voice” also informs the way in which I measure the success of my blog.  Because my blog is not necessarily topical, I am not overly concerned with the traffic it receives in the first 24 hours after it I post an article.  My blog entries may still receive traffic much farther down the road.  However, you may decide that your blog needs to be topical and thus, the immediate traffic matters a great deal.  This will influence the way you write and measure your response.

2) Comment on Blogs. In addition to writing your own blog entries, engage with other people by commenting on their blogs.  Don’t overtly use comments as a means to direct traffic back to your blog; use it as a tool to engage in actual conversation with other people.  Remember, the goal here is not to drive traffic to your website, but simply to brand yourself as an expert in your field.  Comment enough and people will begin to recognize your name and discover your site on their own.

3) Ping Things. As you keep up on the latest news in your industry, pass the most relevant articles along to your social media followers.  I could suggest that you utilize any number of micro-blogging tools: Twitter, Tumblr, status updates on Facebook and LinkedIn, etc.  Instead, I recommend that you update them all in one fell swoop by setting up an account with Ping.fm, which lets you post to multiple social media sites at once.

Once you’ve got your Ping account up and integrated, there are a number of tools that make it easy for you to forward web pages along.  If you are using Firefox, consider adding an extension like PingFire.  If you use Google Reader to find the latest news, you can forward stories directly to Ping by following these instructions.  Many blog entries will give you the option of Pinging the post (or forwarding it through any other number of social media networks) right there on the page.

My use of micro-blogs affects and is shaped by my use of blogs.  I choose to use micro-blogging to pass along topical content by others, while I use my blog for original articles that are less time-sensitive.

4) Re-Tweet. In social networks like Facebook and LinkedIn, all of the relationships are reciprocal; that is, a connection requires the approval of both parties.  This is not true of Twitter, where you can follow somebody regardless of whether or not they are following you, and vice-versa.  As a result, somebody may alert you to a particularly interesting piece of information through a Tweet that your own followers don’t receive.  You can pass this information to your own followers through a convention known as Re-Tweeting.  Get in the habit of regularly re-tweeting information that you think will be of interest to your followers.

5) Answer Questions. There are a number of sites that allow you to offer your expertise, such as eHow and Answers.com.  Personally, I like to use LinkedIn.  Once you’ve created a profile, go to the “Answers” menu and select “Answer a Question.”  Browse the categories based and answer questions when you feel you have insight to offer.

6) Create a Tutorial Video. YouTube allows users to create channels with their videos, while other sites such as HowCast specialize in how-to videos.  So create a video that allows you to show off your expertise.  If you’re filming in the real world, pick up a Flip MinoHD camera – a cheap way to film your video in high definition.  If your video simply requires that you capture the the actions you perform on your computer screen, use a program like Screen Toaster.  After you’ve recorded your video, plug your camera into your computer, upload the footage into a program like iMovie and edit it.  Or, send the footage off to a company like Pixability and have them edit it for you for just a few hundred dollars.  If your video is more informational and less instructional in nature, consider using a site like Animoto to create a super-cool slideshow, complete with music and a MTV-style transitions.  (The “Introduction to Social Media” video on this site was created with Animoto.)

7) Help a Reporter Out. Reporters regularly write articles that require quotations and insights from experts like you.  When that needs arises, they are increasingly turning to Help a Reporter Out, an ingenious email newsletter.  Three times a day, the newsletter is sent out, requesting experts on a wide array of topics to contribute to stories by any number of media outlets, including newspapers, magazines, blogs, podcasts and more.  Contribute to a reporter’s story and you’ll not only market yourself, you’ll also do your good deed for the day!

8) Host a Webinar. Use the power of the internet to host your own online seminar.  There are a wide range of tools for doing this, from the free DimDim to the paid Webex.  (Instructions for using DimDim are here – on eHow!)  You know what they say: Give a man a fish and they’ll assume you bought it at the store; teach a man to fish, and he’ll think you really know what you’re doing.  Or something like that.

9) Launch an E-mail Newsletter. Send out a monthly newsletter with articles in your area of expertise.  Don’t just repeat the information that is available to the public through your website.  Offer exclusive content only available to subscribers, such as extra information, secret contests or special deals.  Make your subscribers feel like they are getting rewarded for subscribing, not just receiving an advertisement (read: spam).  Be sure to include a photo of yourself in the newsletter, along with your ontact information, a link to your webpage, links to your social media accounts and a link that allows people to forward your email to others.  Constant Contact, iContact and MailChimp are great integrated email services.

10) Interview Other Experts. Nothing beats the power of association.  John Peel of the BBC and Kurt Loder of MTV may not be in bands themselves, but they are widely recognized as experts in rock music.  Why?  Because they have conducted hundreds of interviews with people who are in bands over the last several decades.  Position yourself as expert by conducting your own interviews in your blog/email newsletter/blog to associate yourself with other experts.

And here’s what I left out: There are a number of other things you could do to spread the word about your genius, but frankly I think they should only be used by the most aggressive companies that have a lot of time and resources to dedicate to these undertakings.  These include recording podcasts, which are technically difficult, less interesting than video and need to be updated regularly; writing white papers which are an excellent way to position yourself as an expert if you have the time and inclination to do some serious research; writing a book, if you also have the ability to track down somebody who will publish it for you; issuing press releases, which may or may not get picked up by other media sources; and pay-per-click advertising touting your expertise, which will put a dent in your pocketbook. These tools may work for some, but probably not for most.

What social media do you use to position yourself as an expert in your field? How has it worked for you?