5 Steps To Become An Authority In Your Field

Before you turn off and think you can’t become an authority because you don’t have a PhD, have won a Nobel prize, or have a unique topic to talk about … listen up because spoiler alert: everyone can become an authority. Even better news – hardly anyone achieves this status because it does require commitment and effort.

So if you want to become the go-to-person in your field, stand out without having to be loud and want be in control lover your own level of success, then this blog post is for you!

This mini training is one to bookmark (if that’s even a thing with podcasts) because it will help you over and over again. 

It doesn’t matter if you want to stay in your industry and want to establish yourself as the go-to-person or if you want to jump ship and do something new. The only way to cut through the noise and be seen as the only option in your field is by becoming an authority.

Since the world is changing faster, industries and professions get disrupted left, right and centre and starting something new is becoming the norm, being able to establish yourself quickly as the one and only solution for whatever you want to stand for, is what every high flyer needs to master to stay ahead of the curve.

So the question obviously is – how do you become an authority and what’s the difference between an expert and an authority?

Expert is someone who knows a lot

An authority is someone who has the ability to influence others 

If you have a look at considered authorities in their field, they aren’t necessarily those who came up with a unique approach or insight. They have curated existing research and insights and have broken into easy-to-understand content and models for their audience.

And that’s an important factor here – ‘their’ audience. Not every audience

Same goes for you- you can establish yourself as the go-to person with the caveat: in your world; not the entire universe.

Think about it- it’s a lot harder to be known for everything and by everyone and it also doesn’t even make sense. You want to be known for knowing something in particular. That doesn’t mean it can’t change later but to break through the wall of invisibility, this is where you start.

What was ‘the rock’ – Dwayne Johnson known for before he has become an all rounder? Yes - wrestling.

What about my fellow Austrian- Arnold Schwarzenegger? He was known as the champion bodybuilder before he ventured into acting, politics and now back to acting.

Gary V was known for wine tasting before he has become an influencer in social media, personal branding and entrepreneurship.

The list goes on and on but it shows you the importance for being known for something before you can go broad.

That leads us into step 1:

Carve out your niche

Can you be an expert in marketing or technology or productivity?

Maybe, and that’s if you’ve been in the game for a long time and have established a reputation and an audience. For most of us, this isn’t the reality. These topics are way too broad.

So you need to drill into a specific expert niche if you want to build thought leadership around that.

This is a three-fold decision that involves YOU, the marketplace, and your audience.

Your expert niche = An alert market that is actively looking for help with solving a specific set of problems +  your ability to deliver what they want.

But how do you define an alert market?

Look for trends, where people pay attention and money to.

I love to research and some of the best resources to see what resonates with people is to check Amazon on the best-selling books but also LinkedIn learning to check the best performing courses.

There is always a theme there. Most often it is the 101 of the topic, even when they buyer is considered as advanced.

This doesn’t have to be a course. It could be coaching, services, events or even physical products.

Heard of the saying money follows passion?

That’s not always true especially since the market place is changing so rapidly and just because you like or enjoy something or are really good at it, doesn’t mean there is demand for it.

However, this is also the opportunity for you to define your niche. For example- there are a gazzilion personal branding coaches for entrepreneurs, female only businesses and solopreneuers but hardly any (if any at all) for corporate professionals. 

Since my background is corporate and my personal brand story which by the way is next week’s topic is centred around my corporate career being disrupted and it was a wake up call for me to not only build my career but my personal brand, it is a gap that I fill.

And that brings us into step 2:

Become visible by the right people

Now you know your specialisation, you also know your audience. In my case, they are senior corporate professionals who want to make a bigger impact, who know they have a message that matters and who don’t necessarily want to run their own business.

Now I want to be seen by those because they matter to me. Could I build an audience on TikTok since the algorithm is super favourable at the moment? Sure thing, I could. Do I do it? Nope – I don’t even have the app.

My go-to platform where I build my network and community is LinkedIn, followed by Instagram. This is where most of my efforts and time go in as building authority doesn’t just mean to build your profile and presence where it matters but also engaging with them and having a dialogue.

Authority status means you need to be visible to those who matter, the decision-makers, your peers and the up-and-coming professionals who want to learn from those who are just ahead of them.

So chosing your platform is the next step after clarifying your positioning.

👇

Now, since you have to earn your authority and don’t get to just claim it, you also need to create value for others and make people aware of you. Simply having a profile won’t get you discovered anymore.

So how do you go about it?

This is step 3: Create and curate content

If you simplify it, then Authority = Brand

A Brand is the go-to person for a topic who makes it easy to understand for others 

👉and that means, content marketing in action 

In order to demonstrate your value, you need to change perceptions and mindsets and be(come) the person other people turn to to make sense of it all.

That requires you creating content. Not just the standard reshares and curated content but original content that breaks things down, that include stories and examples and is written in a way that makes sense to their audience.

One of my best performing posts to date was only a few days ago. It is an upside down pyramid that describes the personal brand strategy. I thought it was quite a basic graph however, I have never had so many reshares, comments and connection requests. There are a few posts where I have a few hundred more likes but none of them triggered this kind of reaction. That shows me that – although it is nothing special – it is communicated in an easy to understand, action and shareable way. That’s what thought leadership is all about. The concept I shared isn’t anything new. I just packaged it in a different way and for an audience that hasn’t been addressed much.

Bingo- that’s a sweet spot.

However, creating your own content and reusing existing ideas and packaging it into a new format isn’t the only way to build your authority status.

Another – tried and tested – approach is tapping into the power of brand building by association.

That is step 4:

Brand building by association

Once you are clear about your positioning, the platform you want to build your presence on and the type of content you need to publish to demonstrate your point of difference, you can amplify your message by leveraging existing thought leaders in that space. Honestly- you can do it simultaneously to creating your own content. 

However I’d be clear about the overall message you want to communicate and the angle you want to take, you can then find and approach influencers, thought leaders and authorities who have a similar, complementing, sometimes even controversial angle to it. 

Simply by giving others the stage whilst you facilitate the conversation can make you visible and credible. Plus- you build relationships with those who are already a step ahead of you and as we know … relationships are the key to getting ahead.

Last but not least – step 6:

Stay a life-long learner

No matter how established you are, how respected you are and how much experience you have under your belt, staying a life-long learner is what really makes you a thought leader. What worked yesterday, doesn’t mean it works today, leave alone tomorrow.

If you say ‘but I have no time’, think again!

No one has time. You make time for what matters and learning, and ongoing development need to be on your priority list right up there. 

It could be in the form of listening to podcasts (I’m probably preaching to the converted) but also tuning in to TedX talks, subscribe to relevant industry newsletters, be part of a mastermind, join conferences and online summits, get a mentor and coach, form a peer group and have regular catch ups to discuss certain topics.

The list is endless when it comes to ways to stay relevant and ahead of the curve. Simply having conversations can spark new ways of thinking and ideas you can weave into your content strategy.

To sum things up:

Everyone can be an authority in their own field and it isn’t something that people are born with. It is earnt over time and requires to have a deep level of expertise that is then packaged into a message that resonates with the audience you want to get seen and heard by. Remember – expert status means how much you know. Authority status is how much you can impact and influence others by sharing what you know in a way that makes sense to them.

Ways you can build your authority status is by:

• Curating content from the best resources, research it and explain it in simple terms.

• Sharing an opinion or take on topics that matter.

• Communicating a system, process or method which may not be entirely new but is very relevant to the industry or what’s happening right now.

• Consistently learn, challenge the status quo and share those learnings along the way.

Final thoughts.

To wrap up, it does take time and effort to position yourself as an authority on your topic but the benefits are absolutely worth it. When you are seen as the go-to person and become top of mind for your decision-makers, you have already won half the battle. Then it just comes down to following through and delivering on your promises, which should be a given.

So to quickly recap, the 6 steps for you to become an authority in your field are:

Step 1: Define your niche

Step 2: Become visible by the right people by building a presence on relevant platforms

Step 3: Create and curate content

Step 4: Brand building by association

Step 5: Stay a life-long learner