Q & A: Tools to use to build your community and show your expertise in your industry

Q & A: Tools to use to build your community and show your expertise in your industry

Can’t see the video? Watch it on youtube

It’s Q and A day!

This week’s question comes from a lady from called Vanessa.

“Hi Karen, I am beginning to build an online community based around my new business about health and nutrition. I’ve got two questions for you; which social media tools should i use to build my community around? How can I demonstrate to my community that I am an authority in the area of health and nutrition?”

Hi Vanessa, thank you for your email.

Great questions. It’s not enough that we know what we know about our industries these days, we also have to demonstrate that we know what we know!

Let’s tackle your social media question first.

Blogging

We’ll start with your blog. It’s not enough to just have a blog but then have the tumble weeds blow across it. Harness it and get it active. Update it fairly frequently, say once a week, create a blogging schedule and use it to get the latest news, views and what’s happening in your industry out to your friends, followers and potential customers That way you’ll start building your authority there plus it’s a place for your budding community to come and see what you are up to and what your latest views are about your industry.

Twitter!

Anyone who knows me knows I’m a HUGE fan of twitter!

It’s great for growing your followers, sharing your content. You can answer quick questions and also hang out and interact with your friends and followers, get to know them and allow them to get to know you too.  Twitter is a great tool for everyone. Check out my tips for using twitter for business. 

Facebook

Although I’m not personally the biggest fan of Facebook, it would be remiss with me not to mention it. You might like it, or you might not, but more importantly your clients might just love hanging out there! And you have to be where your customers are going to be. So why not start a page or a group. You are going to share your new content there, your blog posts for example. If your audience likes your content they are going to share it amongst their own friends and followers.

Google Plus

Let’s not forget about Google Plus! It’s not the most popular platform, as in busy, but apparently content G+ Googles quite well because Google will favour content that is on their google plus platform! Whew lol. Also with Google Plus you have the unique functionality of live hangouts. Why not hold a live Q&A with your customers once a week or month? You can broadcast the session live on youtube as well and keep the recording to refer back to and use it for promotional purposes in the future.

That’s some of the social media side covered, but I haven’t finished yet! There are lots of other ways you can start building your authority!

So consider some of the following ways to show your expertise, and have a think about what’s going to work for you and your customers, and maybe test the water in a few areas.

E-Book

How about writing an ebook about a certain area of health? What’s a the most popular health issue you get asked about? What are the health concerns in the news at the moment? You could give away a chapter of your book to your audience, say people in your newsletter! Because don’t forget you can also have a newsletter too! An e-book will deliver value to your audience and address their real concerns.

Also published authors are more likely to get speaking engagements and that in turn could put you in front of a lot of potential new customers. If you’re talking and speaking in front an audience, if you decide to go down that route, and I recommend you do if all the circumstances are right for you, but then you can share a copy of your presentation online. That might be by video (Hello youtube!), or upload your slides and create a webinar out of it. and give that away. The beauty of a webinar is it you could potentially reach a large audience and you’ll have absolutely no travelling whatsoever!

 

5 ways to build your community and show expertise

[Tweet “5 ways to build your community & show your expertise online”]

Okay, so there are a few more tools and ideas for you to think about that are going to help support you in being known as an authority in your industry. You have the knowledge, you just have to get it out there and let other people know you know you have the knowledge!

I hope that’s given you some good answers to your questions Vanessa! And to everyone who is reading this, I hope that’s giving you some useful ideas as well.

If you have have any tips for Vanessa about how to build authority online in her health and nutrition industry, pop your suggestions in the comments below.

If you would like my social media and business advice, you are welcome to book a brain picking consultation here! 

If you had the burning question, please let me know here 🙂

Leave a Reply