A simple and effective way to make your voice heard is to brand yourself as an expert.
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Your brand is the face your business presents to the world and is how consumers differentiate you from your competition. In oversaturated industries, many companies blend into the marketing noise, making it difficult to stand out from the crowd.
What to do? A simple and effective way to make your voice heard is to brand yourself as an expert.
Share your journey.
Expertise comes in many forms, and an impactful one is sharing your path to success. “Your journey is unique and should be incorporated into your brand,” branding expert Ajay Sirsi, a marketing professor at the Schulich School of Business in Toronto, told me. “For example, a man who couldn’t find a safe and healthy food for his pets decided to start his own pet food company. His products are now sold across North America.”
“This journey differentiates him from his competitors and is an integral part of his brand,” Sirsi added of this entrepreneur, Will Post, of Atlanta, who founded Hound & Gaots.
So do as that pet lover did: Incorporate your inspiration for starting your company into your brand. Describe the obstacles you overcame and the resources you accessed to address specific challenges. This story will engage your target audience and establish your expertise and entrepreneurial credentails.
Develop brand credibility — the authentic kind.
In an industry or market niche that relies on a specific skill set or knowledge base, capitalize on your expertise, to establish brand credibility. Audiences are overwhelmed with meaningless jargon that may carry the glitter of expertise but has no underlying substance — something those audiences soon discover.
When you consistently deliver true expertise, be it in marketing, fashion, app creation, finance or construction, people will notice and respond. Your goal isn’t to be an expert in everything, but to focus on those unique skills and experience you have garnered and applied to your field. This knowledge doesn’t have to be degree-based, but it does…
