Many companies wish to have visible experts, also known as thought leaders, present on LinkedIn. This both benefits the company, the employees’ brand, and contributes to better premises for a strong positioning. But how do you become a visible expert? What does it take, and how do you keep nurturing this position? In this article, we present you with the value and key points of being a visible expert.
The competition for attracting people’s attention on LinkedIn is intense and will probably not change anytime soon. Thus, creating valuable content and acting as a visible expert for yourself and your company is more relevant than ever concerning gaining peoples’ attention and engagement. This underlines the fact that 70% of visible experts are found through search engines, webinars, and LinkedIn.
What is a visible expert?
A visible expert is someone who is actively present on social media, for example, on LinkedIn. Someone who takes the lead in sharing enriching content of trustworthy character to represent themselves and their company well. Being a visible expert is about tapping into the talent, experience, and passion of your industry. You have to consistently address the major questions and topics of your target audience through sharing various content and engaging in conversations.
One way to characterize visible experts is through the five levels depicted in “The Five Levels of Expertise” pyramid. In the model, visible experts can be placed on five different levels depending on their success with being the person other people seek out for industry insights. The five levels are:
- The Resident Expert
- The Local Hero
- The Rising Star
- The Industry Rockstar
- The Global Superstar
The breaking down of subject-matter experts into five silos helped the authors of The Visible Expert organize their findings and conclusions into a cohesive narrative, and I strongly recommend the book.
The value of visible experts
So what are these personal and company-related benefits gained from being a visible expert? First of all, being a visible expert can open doors to other companies and markets you possibly want to be in contact with, or connected, on LinkedIn for various purposes. Once these doors are open, there is a better chance of exploiting these contacts and connections when being active and present on LinkedIn, as you might have caught the attention of the relevant influencers and connections. Second, 60% of the asked experts said that visible experts increased the companies’ growth rate and business development. Third, visible experts will strengthen the position of building both the companies and the personal brand. Thus, investing in resources to develop and gain visible experts can positively affect your company.
Steps to becoming a visible expert
The first step to becoming a visible expert is identifying the specific audience connected to you and your brand. Also it is important to determine who is most likely to appreciate your expert knowledge on the relevant subjects. Once you identify your audience, the second step is to uncover the topics experiencing the most significant interest and to prioritize these when creating content, such as articles and enriching posts. The third step is to post, share, engage in conversation and discussions, and continuously present on LinkedIn. The continuous basis is essential to emphasize as an only regular activity, and keeping up a certain pace significantly benefits your own and your companies’ position.
Thus, there can be significant value in being a visible expert or having them representing your company as gaining peoples’ attention.