How to Build Brand Authority with Content

Consistently attaining a significant ROI from marketing initiatives is the dream of every company. And the best way to do this is to develop trust among your existing customers and prospects. When you have a huge customer base that believes in the power of your product to make their problems go away, your business dominates the market. 

This is the power that brand authority holds.

What is brand authority? 

Brand authority refers to the trust a brand earns among customers by being an expert in a particular area of service. So if the public perceives your company as being legitimate in your field, then you have brand authority. 

Brand authority is not a status that you can simply give yourself. Instead, it is gained through earning reputation and trust that other people assign you. Although the ability to gain brand authority is in your hands, your audience is ultimately the deciding factor for if you deserve it.

What are the benefits of having brand authority?

The biggest benefit of brand authority to your company is the trust customers have towards you. They feel confident that you know what you are doing and they will get true value for their money in your company. Overall, brand authority accelerates the growth rate of your company by developing strong relationships with your prospective and existing customers.

#1 Increased consumer trust

When you have brand authority, more customers trust you because they feel you understand their problems and can deliver effective solutions. Consumers will abandon your competitors to try out your product because of the buzz that your existing customers have created around your products and services.

More consumer trust = more company revenue.

#2 Retain loyal customer base

If your existing customers believe that they are getting value for their money, then they will stay with you. Everybody loves a brand that speaks to their challenges and guides them along the customer journey to make intelligent purchasing decisions. It’s also advantageous for you to retain customers, because increasing customer retention rates by 5% increases profits by 25% to 95%.

#3 Attract the attention of influencers

What is the value of getting the attention of influencers in your industry? These people will come to you to help you promote your brand among their audiences because it also helps them stay relevant in the aggressive and evolving marketplace. The results of working with influencers include increased brand awareness and winning more customers, because they have access to and influence over their audience. That’s precisely why they’re called “influencers”.

#4 Accumulate natural backlinks

Backlinks are a powerful factor in SEO. The higher the number of backlinks your site has, the more likely it will rank in the first search engine results pages (SERPs). This is because search engine algorithms perceive your content as having such a high value that other sites link to it. The only way other websites will include your links on their sites is when they are convinced your content is trustworthy and helps their audiences solve their problems. 

#5 Higher conversion rates

Strong brand authority results in higher conversion rates because of the trust that customers and prospects have on your products. They believe that you are devoted to helping them improve their lives. So customers will complete any action you intended them to do whether it is downloading a resource, purchasing a product, or sharing your content on social media. 

How to Build Brand Authority with Content

Building brand authority begins by improving your visibility online through SEO and a dedicated content marketing strategy.

Why should you start with content marketing?

Because content marketing focuses on information vs. selling. If your goal is to get conversions, you might focus more on performance ads. But in the long run, ads begin to cost more and don’t do much for your actual brand.

So, the less you sell, the more trustworthy your brand feels. Focus on providing potential customers and leads with valuable content, and then they’ll not only convert, they’ll also stick around to purchase more, and even share that information with their peers.

To build brand authority with content, it begins with these five steps. 

#1 Develop a content strategy

Developing a content strategy entails defining your target audience and creating content around the solutions to their challenges. A formidable content strategy grabs the attention of your target audience because it empathizes with their problems and helps them at every stage of the customer journey. The result is a stronger relationship between your brand and your audience, which translates into sales.

#2 Produce informational content around the needs of your customers

Producing informational content is the easiest way to develop trust among your customers. It draws consumers to your brand because it shows that you understand their problem and have the ability to solve it. Create resources such as case studies, blog posts, guides, whitepapers, webinars, and ebooks around the solutions to the needs of your target audience to grow their trust in your expertise. 

#3 Create content with research and industry-related statistics

Any business can produce a piece of content, but the only way to stand out is to offer content that is rich in industry-related statistics and novel research. These figures persuade your audience to view you as an expert in your industry. Even better, competitors in your niche will link your content on their site because it helps them stay relevant in front of their audiences.

#4 Utilize the power of social media marketing

Social media offers endless opportunities for your brand. You can meet potential customers, develop strong connections with your followers, and build relationships with potential business partners. Social media marketing presents your brand to the online community and the best way to grow your authority is to produce helpful content that generates engagement with followers. When users love what you are curating, they will share it with their friends and that is how you increase brand awareness. Also, address any questions that followers ask about your product in a clear manner without sounding salesy.

#5 Participate in your industry community

One of the creative ways to position yourself as an industry leader is actively participating in industry events. Attend conferences and share your views about the future of the industry. You can also offer insights relevant to customer behavior. Fellow companies will start looking up to you as an authority. 

Leverage the Power of Content to Grow Your Brand Authority

Brand authority is all about nurturing trust among your prospective and existing customers. By consistently showing that you understand their problems and know the solutions, customers will trust your expertise.

I’m an expert in content marketing and know how to build your brand authority with high-quality content. I can help you develop brand authority in your industry by producing informative content around the solutions to the pain-points your target customers experience.