Building brand authority with your content marketing strategy

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Jan 29, 2021 / by
Building brand authority with your content marketing strategy

Authority is a loaded word with many connotations. In the case of tactical SEO marketing, however, it simply relates to how respected your name is within your field. When we think about tech companies, for example, brands such as Apple and Google have the most obvious brand authority.

But how did they get there and how could you hope to build your own brand to those same lofty heights? There are hundreds of routes to brand authority, of course, but one route that’s not often discussed is through your content marketing strategy.

So, how do you utilise your content marketing strategy to build genuine lasting authority and start 2021 off on the right foot? That’s a topic so dense it would take hours to truly digest. So, here’s a neat little starter course of handy tips.

Answer questions that are actually being asked

A brand that answers the questions its audience genuinely wants the answers to is a brand that has already won half the battle. All of your content marketing should be focused around providing the answers that your audience is expecting, otherwise (simply put) you’re just doing it wrong. Answering questions builds trust and brands that are more trusted are more authoritative. This is an easy strategy to execute too, as it basically involves researching things your target audience is curious about and there are countless tools like Answer the Public that can assist in that task.

Be the news

As a copywriter, I’m asked to pull on reports and studies every day to reinforce my content. By pulling in that authoritative content, I’m making the brand that commissioned those reports part of the narrative and am lending added legitimacy (and authority) to that brand in the process. Commissioning studies and reports into areas of your business that matter to your audience is a wonderfully organic way of building brand authority and it will also help you learn more about your audience in the process. A true win-win!

Use the expertise of your experts

There are some brands that are arguably built around a person or a persona. Take Colonel Sanders from KFC, for example, or Steve Jobs from Apple. These are not only authoritative brands but authoritative people. If you have a person in your wheelhouse that you feel could be an authoritative voice for your brand then don’t leave them sitting on the sidelines.

Don’t be afraid of your own achievements 

Nobody likes a boastful brand but then nobody is going to be aware of your achievements either if you stay quiet about them. Identify the testimonials, reviews and case studies that prove how great your brand is at what it does so that you’re showing off what other people have said about your brand. Because, ultimately, people are going to trust other members of your audience more than they’re going to trust you.

Don’t be an island!

Finally, while we’re not saying you have to be sleeping with the enemy to get ahead here it can never hurt to ensure that you’re socialising with similarly authoritative sources. Align yourself with the brands you respect and they’ll share some of that respect and authority with you and vice-versa. Collaborations can be exciting content marketing strategies that utilise the best of two very powerful brands. And we’re always stronger when we work together, right?