The Role Of Social Media In Cultivating An Authoritative Online Reputation

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Building The Right Kind Of Content

Although social networks probably won't be the native ground for your most authoritative content, you should still make an effort to craft your work in a way that lends itself to promotion via social media. Content that concentrates on making a visual impact (e.g. infographics, videos) is particularly suited to this role. Good visuals can serve as the entirety of your content or be deployed simply as adjuncts to strong text.

As noted above, your content needs to go into some depth and explore new territory in order to establish your reputation as an authority. Take the time to write content that will deliver genuine value to people who discover it through your social media promotional efforts. Include strong reference links that support your ideas and guide your audience to even more information they'll find useful.

Finally, don't forget to mount standard social sharing buttons on your content pages. Your entire goal is to get more people to take notice of your efforts through increased social visibility Give your audience the tools it needs to help you achieve that goal!

Engaging With The Community

As noted above, social networks are all about unbiased, back-and-forth communication. This makes them uniquely suited to engaging far more directly with your audience than other venues. Embrace this feature of social media rather than shying away from it. Encourage readers to reach out to you by addressing your social profiles and do your best to answer questions in an insightful, respectful way.

Social networks give you the opportunity to interact with people who are already seen as authorities in your field, too. Take advantage of this by keeping up with the latest trends in your niche, and don't be afraid to reach out to influential people when you have something meaningful to say. Getting a little communication flowing between yourself and your niche's thought leaders can bring you to the attention of a much larger audience.

Ultimately, planning out your ideal social media marketing strategy will depend on your personal situation, your goals, and your resources. The general principles detailed here should serve you very well if you want to use your social activity to improve your reputation and become an authority in your field.

Patrick Godknecht is a successful entrepreneur and business owner. He operates an online marketing agency, PDGWorldMarketing.com which serves Local Businesses. One of the key services they offer is a Positive Review system for local business. It guarantees 10 positive reviews in 60 days.

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