Let’s do an exercise: navigate to your preferred social media platform, look at your followers, and analyze how many brands you follow versus how many influencers you follow. You probably follow more influencers across various niches than standalone brands.
This inclination is not arbitrary: when we seek recommendations, tips, or guidance, we prefer to find a person who provides this information as their advice feels more authentic and trustworthy, stemming from personal experience or expertise, unlike the perceived commercial motives of companies.
This is why you need to give your company a face, a person, a human being with whom your audience can stablish a genuine connection that transcends commercial transactions.
Who better to speak about your company than yourself? Precisely. However, I’m not suggesting you to become an influencer, creating ‘Get Ready With Me’ videos or vlogs detailing your daily life. Instead, I’m talking about leveraging your knowledge and expertise in the industry you work in to demonstrate to your audience that you are the driving force behind your business.
This is where developing your personal brand becomes a necessity because by doing so, you start to have the tools to humanize your brand, spotlight your expertise, and foster connections crucial for business expansion. In the framework of personal branding, there is expert spokespersonship. Let me explain what it’s all about.
What is expert spokespersonship?
Expert spokespersonship is a digital marketing tactic designed to maintain and enhance the reputation of a business through a spokesperson who conveys the organization’s messages; this individual should have experience and knowledge that provide credibility within the industry.
In simpler terms, an expert spokesperson serves as a corporate influencer: This type of profile shares valuable content aimed at impacting a B2B audience, showcasing deep industry knowledge and expertise relevant to your business sector.
The goal behind expert spokespersonship is to cultivate an element that facilitates the establishment of a strong corporate reputation. By developing it on a ‘social network’ like LinkedIn, it enables you to connect with potential strategic allies down the line.
For instance, if your business operates within sectors such as medicine or engineering, expert spokespersonship is the perfect tool to engage with industry leaders and become one yourself. Through mediums like e-books, informative videos, and podcasts, it empowers you to showcase your expertise in medicine or engineering, thereby solidifying your credibility and authority within the sector. This not only enhances your professional standing but also cultivates valuable connections with key figures and potential clients or partners.
Guide to developing your expert spokespersonship strategy
In addition to giving your company a good reputation, expert spokespersonship allows your personal brand to thrive. When this happens, it represents growth for your business as it becomes increasingly relevant within the industry. Here are 5 steps you should follow to have a coherent and functional expert spokespersonship strategy:
Optimize your LinkedIn Profile
The first step is to conduct an analysis of your LinkedIn profile because, like other social networks, it should be adjusted according to certain parameters, ranging from basic aspects such as your profile picture to the keywords you integrate into your description.
To optimize your LinkedIn profile, you should create a starting point where you identify what mistakes you are making, what information you need to add, and how you should structure it.
Engage with the Community
Now that you have optimized your LinkedIn profile, it’s time to put it into action: you need to engage with the community through likes, comments, messages, and invitations to make them aware of your existence and achieve effective networking.
It’s essential to make yourself known through your opinion on relevant topics, industry trends, etc.
Create Valuable Content
When developing your content strategy, it’s important to consider dividing it into two main categories: content that educates and content that entertains. While LinkedIn prioritizes posts about business, developments, news, etc., it’s still a social network, so people want to see the more human side of you through content that, while maintaining its value, is also engaging.
Develop Assertive Communication
Just like with any other brand, your expert spokesperson profile should have a well-developed tone of communication. This way, you can more effectively impact your audience.
It’s important that, in addition to establishing a personality archetype and a communicative tone, you decide what type of content you prefer to share: videos, podcasts, editorial articles, etc.
Generate a Wishlist of Connections
Ask yourself what types of profiles you would like to connect with: Would you want the CEO of a company that could be an ally? A respected professional whose opinions you admire? Someone who is an expert in a topic you know little about? Design a wishlist with these profiles to determine what kind of people you want to have in your network and how you can create content that aligns with their interests, passions, sector, etc.
Remember that we reside in a society dominated by social networks and digital interactions, so you must leverage these to your advantage. You decide what content to consume, what profiles to allow into your digital life, and likewise, you decide whether to use your own voice to promote content aligned with your interests.
Start presenting your business’s narrative online. This will allow you to engage with your audience, attract prospective clients, expand your network, enhance your reputation, and communicate who you are and your purpose behind your business.
