Why would you want to showcase your expertise? The answer is simple - you want to grow your business, expand your career path, and claim a reputation you’ve likely already earned. By showcasing your existing, deep expertise, specifically positioning yourself as a subject matter expert, you develop authority and will be deemed trustworthy in the eyes of current or potential clients, colleagues, and employers.
What is a subject matter expert (SME)?
A subject matter expert is an individual who has become a well-known figure in their field based on the experience and knowledge they have. This has become an effective marketing strategy that can help you stand out amongst competitors.
Top 4 ways to showcase your expertise and become a SME
If you haven’t decided what you want to be known for, now is your time to explore your options. Take a moment to consider the topics you’re most interested in, the field within which you’ve gathered the most knowledge, the subject that gets you most excited - that’s the subject on which you’ll want to become a SME. Even if it’s not directly related to your business, if you have the experience and a passion for it, it’s likely to attract a crowd.
1. Join a Facebook group
Consider joining Facebook groups that relate to your field. For instance, if you’re looking to become a known expert on machine learning, artificial intelligence and data analytics, consider joining this Facebook group. Once you’ve joined the group, you can interact with people’s posts by liking and commenting when topics arise that are relevant to your experience or knowledge. By answering questions and adding thoughtfully to conversation, you can become a well-known expert within the Facebook group. This is one of the most underrated methods of becoming an expert on social media.
2. Share relevant content
Having deep knowledge on a topic or industry also puts you in an interesting position to comment on, add to, and corroborate with people sharing their own ideas on the subject. One surprisingly great way to establish yourself as a confident expert in a field, then, is to share the thoughts of others. When you come across a great article or some intriguing research from another subject matter expert, don’t hesitate to share it with your circle on social media. Although this may seem counterintuitive, you are actually setting the stage to build associations and maybe even direct relationships with other subject matter experts which will benefit you in the long run. Idea sharing is a great way to keep active on social media even if you don’t have any new content of your own to share.
3. Engage with your audience
Engaging with your audience is another way to become an expert in your field. Whenever you make a social post, make sure to respond to comments as often as possible. View every comment as an opportunity to have an engaging discussion. Be sure to stay open-minded throughout your discussion because it’s likely you will come across some who may not agree with your stance on the topic. Engaging in a friendly/welcoming conversation can lead to a more interesting conversation to be read by others.
4. Get featured on a podcast
This is one of the most up-and-coming methods of getting established as an expert in your field. In fact, it’s predicted that the number of podcast listeners will grow to 83 million listeners and 30% of the population by 2022. (Improve Podcast). Although this may not directly relate to social media, joining a podcast will give you great content to share on your social media. With podcasts becoming such a big channel to reach your target audience, it makes sense you’ll want to find a way to get in on the action. I recommend finding a podcast that relates to your field and reaching out to see if they’d be interested in having you as a guest speaker. Before you reach out, make sure you’ve written a brief but effective email about why you think you’re a great fit for the podcast and what topics you can speak on.
These are just a few of the ways you can pave the way to becoming a recognized subject matter expert on a topic you love. The beauty of this is that these tips can be applied to anyone looking to become a subject matter expert in any field. Whether you're in marketing, tech, healthcare, or entertainment, there’s always going to be a demand for an expert.
If you need more help on getting started - don’t hesitate to reach out. Let’s chat.
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