No matter what field you work in, today's digital world gives you a unique opportunity to present yourself as an expert to your customers. Regular posting on social networking sites or professional websites can help you a lot, but it can also damage your image.
When you only publish messages on what you have managed to do and flood the internet with purely promotional materials, you do not look like an expert, but rather as a self-centered narcissist. An interesting article on this topic was published by psychologist Amy Morin on Forbes.com. She advises professionals to try the following steps in order to gain more trust and become more credible.
1. Do not only talk about yourself
Building a personal brand in the online world is not easy. You might think that once you've managed to get a lot of readers and fans, there is no reason to write about anybody except yourself. This is wrong. If you want to be seen as an expert, write about other interesting and successful people and their ideas.
2. Thank other people
You have surly not become the person your are by your hard work only. Tell your readers who you have worked with or who has inspired you. You may, for example, draw attention to new books or interesting events held by other experts. When you give credit to someone who helped you succeed, you will present yourself more credibly than if you extol yourself to the sky.
3. Do not hide your mistakes
Admitting a mistake does not, a priori, mean a lack of expertise, but quite the opposite. By admitting a mistake, you show that you know how to learn and your willingness to help others prevent mistakes. Try to write an article about what mistakes you committed in your early career and what you learned.
4. Stress the importance of experiencing failure
Your readers should see that you had to overcome various problems on your path to success and gained important experience. Show that you have experienced repeated failures and were able to overcome them. Readers will appreciate your effort and persistence.
5. Publish valuable content
When you continually promote yourself as the best expert, it's as if you are standing in the middle of a square shouting: "I'm so great!" People do not learn anything from this message and they probably think you are an exhibitionist or a desperate fool. Your marketing efforts must be balanced and offer something of value. Write about how people should behave, not why they should buy your product.
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