When looking to build brand authority you need to be using content marketing.
The more authority your brand has, the higher it appears in search results – pretty simple, right?
However, brand authority is actually measured by the trust you’ve built with your consumers. The more they trust you and love your brand the more likely they are to continue shopping with you in the future and recommend you to friends.
The best way of building brand authority online is with content. So, how exactly can content marketing help you to build brand authority to nurture and grow your consumer base?
Content marketing & strategic digital PR
When it comes to getting your brand name out there, PR is a sure-fire winner. There are generally two types of PR you need to think about as a business owner – company news and mainstream media.
When building brand authority with your consumers, you need to be targeting mainstream media. After all, your ideal consumer probably isn’t trawling business and finance news (unless that’s your niche).
The best kind of digital PR is shareable, viral and has a little bit of linkbait-y headline. Think things like surveys that reveal something about the general public. For example, check out this piece of digital PR from bathroom supplier, QS supplies:
There are loads of creative ways of crafting digital PR that mainstream media love. You just have to think a little outside of the box and not be afraid of being a little controversial. At the end of the day, PR is all about being salacious and gossip-worthy.
Good content sells itself and with some clever writing, your press release will be shared far and wide. Plus, digital PR also lends itself to link building opportunities which in turn work towards building a more authoritative domain from an SEO perspective.
Highlight reviews and case studies
People love to hear about other consumer experiences with a brand. With so much of the world moving online, it’s hard to ignore the power of the humble review. Whether that be on your own site or on Google, reviews can either make or break a brand.
The positive reviews you receive should be highlighted on your site. Make a point of showcasing them and include them on your social media profiles. With things like Instagram story highlights and Reels, you can easily show off your glowing reviews in a concise way that makes sense.
Use classic content marketing tactics with a blog
Bringing it back to some more traditional content marketing – blogging. Writing a blog has a reputation nowadays as being a bit of a waste of time. If that’s what you believe, you are missing a huge opportunity from an SEO point of view.
Blogs tend to be one of the biggest leads and traffic generators for most sites. The content you create on a blog is answering your consumers’ questions and providing insight into your niche. People who might never have heard of your brand can discover you through a blog post that appears in SERPs (search engine results page) for related search terms.
At the very least you should be creating three blog posts a week. Ideally, you would be doing more, potentially one every day if possible. These blog posts are an essential building block for creating brand authority.
Away from consumers, you need to be creating SEO authority and this comes in the form of links. The more blog posts you create and share on social media, the more links you’ll get from other websites. The more links from other websites, the more search engines consider your site to be authoritative and trustworthy. So, if you’re thinking of skipping out on a blog, think again.
Be transparent on social media
Bringing it back to the consumer-facing side of things – social media. Creating a community is one of the hardest challenge’s brands face on social media. It takes time, consistency and meaningful engagement to create a loyal following online.
@mandsfoodAfter a very important board meeting at Percy Pig HQ, the cuddliest (and piggyest) toy EVER is ready for launch at your local M&S! #percypig #fyp♬ THE BEAUTYS VIBES – Kevin Mcdaniels
One great way of doing this is to be totally transparent on your social feeds. This can be behind the scenes photos, videos and interviews that showcase how the business operates. For example, you may make custom t-shirts. To build authority and trust with your consumers, you could make a time-lapse video of how you create and package your t-shirts.
These little insights into your business not only stop you from being a faceless brand but also gives potential customers an insight into how you do things. This massively opens up the doors of communications and gives you a chance to showcase your expertise and knowledge for your industry.
Are you looking for support with your content marketing? Drop us an email on team@modo25.com to find out how we can work together.
