Successful people are key opinion leaders.
So how can you become an opinion leader (expert)?
How To Become An Expert In Your Specific Business
1. Choose A Topic Of Passion
Ask yourself:
What is a topic you can spend hours talking about and never get bored of?
Once you have your topic, start:
- Attending events that talk about your topic to connect with people that can add to your knowledge.
- Network with people online in the same niche and consider how you can work together in the near future.
The event doesn’t have to be large, but you want to slowly start to associate your name with your topic.
Make sure you are:
Creating a product or service around the topic as well. You do need to demonstrate how well you know your topic through the work you create around it.
For example:
Elaine Rau is a full-time blogger and teaches other people how to make money blogging as well. She has created several educational ebooks and courses and speaks at conferences all around the world about (guess what) blogging!
2. Start With Your Personal Branding
Next, you need to work on your personal branding.
Branding is how you show yourself to others and how they perceive you.
Check out these additional resources on personal branding:
- How To Build Your Personal Brand
- How To Grow Your Personal Brand
- How To Build A Strong Personal Brand
- 5 Ways To Use Social Media To Build Your Personal Brand
- How And Why It’s Crucial To Build A Strong Personal Brand
In order to send the right message about yourself, you must create two important pieces:
- Your logo
- Your pitch
Create Your Personal Logo
Base your logo on your name and the primary topic you will be talking about.
Don’t worry about hiring a designer, you can do it yourself with a logo creator.
Pick a color palette and symbols that have to do with the industry around the topic you will be talking about.
Look at this example:
Verona loves talking about Japan.
Her personal logo unites both concepts:
- Her name
- Symbol of Japan’s flag
- It also incorporates the color palette of the cherry blossoms which are very popular in that country
Create Your Pitch With Key Ideas Of What You Do
Part of your personal branding strategy is to work on your elevator pitch like an entrepreneur.
An elevator pitch is a small talk where you explain your project and get an investor’s attention during the time of an elevator ride. You should be able to say everything in 20 to 30 seconds.
Elevator pitch formula:
- It must be short and creative enough to grab people’s attention.
- Know who are you pitching to so you can customize the closing of your pitch according to their interests.
Follow these steps:
- Mention who you are.
- Mention your expertise.
- Mention how your expertise can help.
- Close with a question-proposal that could be interesting.
This article will help you perfect your pitch:
3. Create Original Content For Social Media
It’s time to create original content…
But what kind of content should you create?
Here are some ideas:
Create Marketing Videos
Make simple videos with key insights on your topic.
It’s easy with a slideshow maker since with a few clicks you’ll have a video ready to use for your social media strategy.
Make your videos short and visually beautiful so they are more likely to be shared.
Make sure to close your video with your logo design.
Look at Elaine’s example below:
She made a video about how to start blogging.
Write Blog Posts To Reach Different Audiences
There are a few options when it comes to blogging:
You can either have a professional design a blog for you, you can take a course on it, or simply publish your blog posts on a platform like Medium.
If you go the professional route, direct them to find a lovely blog template here.
It’s easy to create a blog, but please do it right!
Here are three essential elements to blogging:
1. Use Keywords In Your Posts
Discover what people are talking regarding your topic by using a plugin like Keywords Everywhere.
This is an extension that helps you see how many searches your potential keywords have.
Make sure to include words that have 500-6,000 monthly searches in your post.
2. Check Your Grammar Before Publishing
If you want respect in your field, make sure to write and edit your posts.
Double-check your texts before publishing with Grammarly.
This online grammar checking app is free and will also give you advice on how to improve your writing in case it needs it.
3. Look For Media Partners
Look for bloggers, online magazines, or any site that may be interested in publishing your thoughts.
The more eyes on your content, the better!
Here is an example of how to partner up with a blogger with 150K followers.
4. Spread The Word With A Social Media Strategy
Use a social media management platform like Hootsuite or SmarterQueue to schedule out your content.
Here are a few tips:
- Make sure you use the same avatar on all social media accounts.
- Your name must be the same on all accounts.
- Fill in your profile information and mention how people can work with you.
- Make sure all your images are of excellent quality.
- Always add videos since these are very successful.
5. Have Your Professional Biography Online
For this you have two options:
- Use a web directory like About.me to upload your bio and links to all your social media accounts, website, and blog. Having your biography accessible comes in handy when somebody asks for your information, so make it easy for them.
- You can also create your website with Milkshake App. This app is so easy to use that you can do it yourself. Your website has the same intention as the web directory. Just fill in all the scoop about you! Or why not do both? Make your bio interesting, use your style, and make them love you.
After you complete all these steps, people will start to recognize you and learn about what you’re doing!
You never know, people might start recommending you as well.
Good luck on this exciting journey of living your passion!