Creating Authority with Your Business Blog

I’ve talked a lot about how your business blog can be used to build trust with prospective clients – especially if you’re in the business of “selling your knowledge.”  However, there’s another term which is emerging which may be an even more compelling reason to begin blogging for your business.

That term is AUTHORITY and it’s becoming a buzz word in the world of business blogging because business blogging is a powerful and effective tool you can use to establish your authority.

Authority is powerful stuff.  According to Dictionary.com, one of the definitions of authority reads:

“right to respect or acceptance of one’s word, command, thought, etc.; commanding influence: the authority of a parent; the authority of a great writer.”

Think of authority as the natural next step in the whole “trust building” process.

Authority =  trust + power… the power to motivate people to take action.

There have been lots of behavioral studies surrounding the power of authority.  One of the most cited works on obedience to authority is the Yale study conducted by Stanley Milgram.  In the study, inspired by the trial of the Nazi war criminal Adolf Eichmann, Milgram sought to answer the deeply troubling question of whether authority could cause a person to contradict their deeply held beliefs.

In the study – volunteers were recruited and told they were part of an experiment which tested memory and learning in different situations.  The “administrator” was dressed in a lab coat and armed only with a clip board. and  the “student” was actually an actor.  The true subject of the study was the volunteer – who was assigned the role of “teacher” in the experiment.   The volunteer was instructed  to administer increasing electric shocks to the “student”.  The results of the experiment were sobering to say the least… 26 of the 40 volunteers went on to administer the maximum (fatal) voltage three times, despite the student’s pleas for mercy and apparent impending death.   Only one participant refused to administer shocks to the student.

That’s the power of authority.

In the study – the stage for the administrator’s authority was planned carefully.  The administrator was dressed in a lab coat and given a clipboard.    In later subsequent studies, it appears the “uniform” is an important control in creating the appearance of authority.  While the uniform in the original experiment was a lab coat and clipboard, subsequent experiments and a few well known scams have used police uniforms to create the authority required to quickly gain the trust needed to influence people to act in ways they would not without the misuse of the  power of authority.

Blogs are the “uniform” of authority on the web

So if you’ve been wondering what all the “fuss” is over business blogging – it’s this:  Business blogs are great tools for building authority.  Bloggers in every niche are constantly being cited regularly as “reliable sources” by various media outlets.  Search is a tool used by journalists worldwide – and blogs are very search engine friendly.

Which is why – blogs are quickly becoming the “uniform” of authority on the web.

However, it’s important to remember that trust – and the resulting authority – are not earned quickly nor easily.  The newly minted police officer who abuses the privileges his uniform imparts is quickly dismissed from the police force.  The same is true of your business blog.

Blogging authority does not come from a single blog post.  It doesn’t even come from a dozen or so blog posts.  In many cases, it comes from literally HUNDREDS of blog posts on a specific subject.

The path to authority begins with building a foundation of trust.  You gain the trust of your blog readers by providing lots and lots of quality content.  You answer the questions your readers are struggling to answer with your blog posts.  You give behind the scenes “glimpses” of how you solve problems.  You demonstrate your expertise time and time again through your blog posts.

Lather – rinse – repeat.

That’s how you “earn”the uniform of authority via blogging on the web.  It doesn’t happen overnight – but it does happen – one authority building business blog post at a time

Comments

  1. Yep, Blogging can be a powerful thing.

    Authority cannot be gained overnight, you have to work at it. Many people seem to believe that internet marketing is some sort of magic that instantly brings success. In reality, this is far from the truth. It takes time and effort to build relationships, trust and authority.

    I love blogging for another reason besides building authority – it is great for SEO – longtail SEO – the most powerful kind – if you have hundreds of blog posts on your specialist subject you are bound to pick up the longtail phrases, that your potential customers are typing into their search engine of choice.
    .-= Amelia Vargo´s last blog ..SEO News – @yahoo + @twitter Sitting in a Tree…T.W.E.E.T.I.N.G. =-.

  2. Amelia – you’re so right… “Blogging is great for SEO”. You’re right on the money – as always. I have clients who don’t know anything about SEO who are getting page one SERPS for competitive keyword phrases – simply because they’re blogging regularly about their customers/clients problems and the solutions they provide.

    It’s a beautiful thing…. but as you point out – it’s not an overnight occurrence. It takes time, effort and most importantly – FOCUS!

    Ah, here I go -preaching to the other members of the choir! 🙂

  3. Another way of creating authority online is by making a noticeable presence online. Your blog is definitely a wonderful way to do it and at the same time we can also consider submitting articles and press releases to start creating authority in your niche.

    Jerry
    Viral Submitter Pro Review
    .-= Jerry Larach´s last blog ..What is Viral Submitter? =-.

  4. Blogging is really powerful thing…It can be very informative and helpful for all…

  5. You’re so right. When you use your blog to inform – you’re well on your way to business blogging success! Thanks for your input Thomas

  6. blog is very important for every business including offline business. i also planning to add a wordpress blog to my online business

  7. Blogging is becoming more and more important for modern businesses. Customers are becoming more discerning, and it is crucial that businesses have a web presence beyond old fashioned brouchure style websites. Blogs are a great way to help your customers, and for them to communicate with you.

  8. Google alerts is great for finding stuff to blog about. Stuff which is relevant and timely. And because it is timely it does make you look like an expert because you appear to be ahead of the pack with relevant information

  9. Great point! I hadn’t considered the fact that you can appear to be “super human” thanks to your blog!