Entries Tagged 'become an expert' ↓

In today’s search driven world it’s a given that you should be blogging.

After all, Google has an insatiable appetite for fresh, quality content so if you want to keep in its good books you have to give it what it wants.

But blogging just for you isn’t going to cut it. Even if you blog religiously you need to widen your reach to be a success and that means guest blogging.

By persuading other bloggers to take your posts you’ll increase your web presence and reinforce your status as an expert in your field. This is especially true if you approach websites that are prominent in your particular industry.

I know what you’re thinking, guest blogging is hard work – that’s true, but if done well it will pay dividends in more ways than you can imagine.

Expose yourself

Please don’t take that literally.

Writing for other people will widen your reach as an expert, as with anything, the more often you’re seen the better. It’s just like adverts – consumers have to be exposed to a brand several times before they are ready to buy. So the more people who see your name (and in the more places it’s seen) the better. It will become lodged in their brain, so when they need your particular service they’ll call you.

Web cred

This is street cred for online marketers.

The chances of you being accepted by a big hitter in your field immediately are slim, so start off with some smaller sites to build a portfolio of guest posts. Then you can approach the big players.

Let’s face it, the bigger the website the more credibility you’ll get.

Incoming!

The beauty of guest blogging, other than getting your name plastered all over the web, is that it will generate valuable inbound links to your website.

Now, admittedly, not all websites will allow you to place self-serving links in the body of your article, but they usually allow an author’s bio that can contain a link back to your website.

Of course the bigger the fish you land, the more kudos the link will give.

Social media

How will guest blogging widen your social media audience?

Simple, just about every blog out there offers social sharing buttons. So when your article is read and loved (as it obviously will) the reader will probably share it through social media. It will then be seen by others, generating more Google+ and Twitter followers for you.

So as you can see, guest blogging isn’t just about getting links. It’s about gaining the right kind of exposure online and in the social world.

It takes a lot of time, but the rewards speak for themselves.

Author:

Sally Ormond is an international copywriter and MD at Briar Copywriting Ltd

These days, TV schedules seem to be full of reality TV shows. We appear to be obsessed with human behaviour (admittedly at times, it’s not so human) – how different people react in situations and how they interact with each other.

Whether you love them or loathe them, they do offer an insight into the world of social media and the people you will meet there.

Although social media happens in a virtual world, you will still come across the usual people profiles:

• Shy
• Confrontational
• Opinionated
• Funny (and those who think they’re funny)
• Confident
• Flirty…

The list is endless. This is why social media interaction should be based on real life interaction. You may not be speaking with people face to face but they are real people.

Make friends

If you were at a party you would mingle and chat, that’s what you need to do on social media. If you are a natural wall flower this is the perfect opportunity to make an impression.

In a real life situation you may not have the confidence to approach people and chat with them (especially if you don’t know them). But in social media you can because you don’t have to physically approach them. Sat in front of your computer, you can be whoever you want to be.

Join the conversation but make sure you leave your sales hat off. Concentrate on adding value to others rather than asking favours. Offer advice and information and become a valued member of the community.

Social butterfly

You must know someone who always manages to effortlessly fit into any social group, always has crowds of people around them hanging on their every word and generally being irritatingly popular.

Emulate that person by sharing tips, stories and advice. Also encourage others to join in the conversation by inviting readers to leave comments on your blog posts – get a debate started.

Always ask questions and be interested in others and what they have to say. If you engage with others in this way they’ll want to talk to you.

Watch out for the bully

Sadly they exist everywhere, even on social media.

There’ll always be someone somewhere ready to start a fight – they’ll disagree with everything you say and try to run you down.

First of all, if you can avoid this type of situation, do so. But if it does happen, don’t run and hide. Make sure you express your opinion and stand up to them but…

• Think before you speak – you don’t want to antagonise the situation
• Read your comment before posting – how does it sound? You don’t want to lose credibility through a knee-jerk reaction
• If you can add facts and figures to your reply – use stats to back up your position
• Don’t reply in haste – remember your comment will be on the internet forever

So, as you can see, social media really is a lot like real life. All sorts of people use it – some to engage with others and make new friends and contacts, others to promote their services and products.

To get the most from it you have to be part of it. Whether it’s Facebook, Twitter or blogging, dive in and join the conversation.

Do you have any tips you can share on engaging in social media?

Perhaps you’ve found yourself in a situation that’s been quite difficult or you’ve been the victim of a social media bully? If so, how did you deal with it?

Please share your experiences by leaving a comment below.

Author – Sally Ormond, freelance copywriter at Briar Copywriting and social media addict

Social media can be useful for every part of your business.

It’s not and should not be used solely as a tool for self-promotion. If you do that you’ll be about as popular as a skunk in a broken lift.

In the good old days the only way customers could get in touch with you was by phone or letter. If they were disgruntled they would moan to their friends about your service and products and you’d probably be none the wiser.

But now, they won’t just talk to their friends. Social media has given them an incredibly loud voice so if they’re unhappy about something, it won’t be long before the whole world knows about it.

How to use social media to your advantage

Monitoring social media channels can help practically every part of your business.

People love to talk and if you listen carefully you can learn a lot about their habits, their likes, their dislikes and their needs.

1. Sales

So let’s take a look at how social media can help your sales department.

The ideal time to sell to someone is when they’re ready to buy. But that’s not easy. Say you were a local electrical retailer and were looking to push a new line of washing machines. Monitoring social media channels will help you identify people who are asking advice about which washing machine to buy or those who are moaning because theirs has just broken etc.

By responding, making contact and offering advice puts you in the right place at the right time – when they’re ready to buy.

2. Marketing

Can it help with marketing?

Oh yes. Listening to your target market will give you an idea of whether what you’re saying and what they think are aligned. Do your marketing materials answer the questions they raise? Are you speaking the same language as them?

Many companies have the odd idea that they have to speak in a language all of their own. Their words have to sound impressive and convoluted – they think that’s what their customers will be impressed by.

Wrong. Customers want straight talking. If you’re a window cleaner call yourself that rather than a vision technician.

3. Customer service

As for customer service, that one speaks for itself.  I’ve already mentioned how useful social media is for disgruntled customers so make sure you’re listening. If someone has received bad service, make contact straight away and put it right.

This rapid response shows you as a company that cares about its customers. So you could turn a bad situation to your advantage.

4. Development

You’ve probably got your R&D boffins locked away somewhere trying to come up with ways to improve your products.

But surely it’s your customers you should be listening to?

Social media channels will let you eaves drop on their conversations about what they would really like your products to do. You can even ask them directly to do a bit of customer research.

5. Human resources

Yes, social media can even help your HR department.

How?

Well social media users have profiles showing their skills and experience. You can search for specific talent that your company needs. You can even see what connections they have. Head hunting has never been so easy.

So as you can see, social media can help practically every aspect of your business. These online channels are a direct link between you and your customers so use them.

Sally Ormond – freelance copywriter, blogger and social media addict.

One of the most vital aspects for any individual or company looking to boost their profile is getting involved with social media. Since starting out as a freelance copywriter I’ve embraced social media channels to ‘get my name out there’, offer advice and drive business my way.

But if you’re a newbie, where so you start?

There is a social media language that many find impenetrable – what do you do? Should you Tweet, Facebook, go with LinkedIn? Once you have set your profiles and accounts up, what then?

Well to help you get started I found this great post on socialmediaexaminer.com on How to Create Your Personal Social Media Brand which features a video interview with Mari Smith, author of Facebook Marketing: An Hour a Day. Mari talks how to create yourself as a brand and how to monetize your personality on social media.

By watching the video you’ll learn how to build your own brand equity with social media plus some amazing tips for both the self-employed and people who work for large companies.

Here are some of the things you’ll learn in this video:

• Why you need to carve out your position and brand equity
• How to start branding yourself on social media if you don’t have any brand equity online
• Why you need to use your name on social media
• How to brand yourself on your Facebook business page
• How Mari brands herself and what she does to craft the brand she represents

So grab a coffee and take a look – it’s only takes about 6 minutes.

The best way to get your name known (and in turn boost your business) is to position yourself as an expert in your field.

“That’s easy for your say, but how on earth do I make that happen?”

Well, I’m glad you asked me that because that’s what this post is all about.

Boost your knowledge

If you want people to see you as an expert, you have to know what you’re talking about. That sounds fairly obvious, but how many people do you know who think they’re experts but really know nothing?

Becoming an expert isn’t something that’ll happen overnight. It only comes to those who work hard to achieve it.

You’ll need to keep up with the latest thinking in your industry so that means reading – a lot! Be a regular to other leading blogs in your industry, read reports and the latest news. Books are another great source of information. As a freelance copywriter I read a lot of blogs, copywriting and marketing books and marketing materials.

Don’t forget other people in your industry. Seek them out and chat with them – you can learn a lot from their experiences and different takes on life.

You can also learn from your customers. Talk to them, find out what they really want. And finally, experiment. No one ever got anywhere by doing the same thing over and over. Everything evolves so why not be the one that experimented and came up with the next big thing?

All of this might sound a lot of hard work, but it doesn’t have to be. Reading can be fitted in as and when you have time. You’ll come across other people in your industry through your normal networking and you talk to your customers all the time (I hope).

Use that knowledge to become an expert

So, step two is learning how to use your knowledge to become considered an expert.

This can be done in 3 simple ways:

1. Blog

Using a blog is a great way to get your information out there. Make sure each post is informative, factual and interesting. Before long you will have a dedicated readership. Of course, the better your information the more likely you are to attract one way links which will give your search engine optimisation a boost too.

You should also consider guest blogging to widen your audience and produce short videos which you can include in your posts. While you’re at it, set up your own YouTube channel to gather even more followers.

If you are going to set up a blog, make sure you post to it regularly. Your readers will learn when to expect new information from you, so don’t disappoint them.

2. Articles

Submitting informative articles to sites such as ezinearticles is a great way to boost your expert status. Again they can also be used to help your SEO. Make sure they are informative and interesting. Also create an interesting author biography that will make readers want to click through to your site to learn more about you.

3. Be social

One of the best ways to get your name known is through the power of social media. If you use Twitter, Facebook or any of the other outlets, use it well and use it often. When someone asks a question about your field be ready to help. Sharing great information will get you noticed.

If all of this sounds like hard work – perhaps being an expert isn’t for you. But if you are prepared to work, increase your knowledge and share it with others, you will be propelled to expert status.

Why not  give it a go? Get your name recognised.