One of the most important ways businesses can build credibility online is by viewing their social media strategy as a means to educate potential clients. Regardless of your industry, chances are pretty high that over the years you've developed a little mental list of
- Things I wish my clients knew before they called me
- Top ten mistakes people make
- One thing people can do to make their life easier
In the medical field, this might include proper medicine storage, preventing disease, aftercare for certain procedures. In accounting it might include tips for daily bookkeeping, comparing interest rates and common mistakes businesses make in hiring new employees. Attorneys might want their clients to know how to respond to a legal summons, what NOT to do when they're thinking of suing someone or key clauses to look for in a new business contract.
Don't Blow Your Own Horn
We've all groaned at the old-fashioned commercials where professionals stood in their well-appointed offices and boasted their own achievements. Your degrees and certifications are impressive to those in your field but potential clients want to know what you can do for them.
A more blunt way to say this is that in today's consumer-centric marketplace, many of your potential clients are trying to google away their problems.
You can use this to your benefit by answering their questions before they ask. By establishing yourself as an expert, helpfully answering questions in LinkedIn Groups and creating useful instructional videos on YouTube or offering webinars or regular tips on Facebook and Twitter, you are establishing your own credibility based on your apparently never-ending knowledge of your field.
Social Media Strategy Ideas
Here are more ideas for building credibility in your field:
- Make a habit of creating blog posts designed to answer frequently asked-questions.
- Respond to relevant current events, bringing in your unique perspective as an analyst with experience in your field.
- Commission a graphic designer to create info-graphics that illustrate important things you'd like potential clients to know. Share those on Pinterest and Facebook.
- Add a press-relations page to your website that makes it clear that you're willing to speak at an event, contribute to other websites, or be interviewed as an expert.
If all of this sounds confusing, just remember you ARE the professional, and social media is a tool you can use to make sure everyone knows.
