Maintaining Expert Status - REEA 2016
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Maintaining Expert Status - REEA 2016
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- I specialize in technological trends and their impact on learning. In the past few years, there’s been a big shift that not a lot of people are talking about. Establishing Expertise and Authority. I hear two big misconceptions about this idea: True professionals don’t need to give anything away. People should come to you and ask you for your expertise. You need to give your stuff away. You need to be on all social media platforms, blogging every week, tweeting every hour, Facebooking every minute. You need to give all your secrets away. Both are kind of true, kind of false. Yes, you need to be willing to share. But there’s a strategy to it. This strategy is what we’re going to spend the next hour talking about.
- How many of you have watched this? Will you indulge me for a few minutes for those who haven’t seen it? Let’s all watch Chewbacca Mom. If Chewbacca Mom recommended a self-help book on how to bring more joy to your everyday life, would you believe her recommendation? Would you trust her to do your taxes? But, if she ranked her top ten favorite up-and-coming comedians, would you trust her judgement? You’ve never met her. You haven’t seen her resume. She did not deliver an elevator speech describing her 10 years experience studying the methods for adding joy and humor into everyday life. But she carries amazing authority on that topic right now. Why? Let’s just let that question hang in the air for a bit. We’ll come back to it.
- Authority was once a bit more obvious. The person with the most authority was the one with the highest rank. The best title. The highest quality suit. The one in standing in front of the classroom. But the internet has changed that. Yes, there are shiny websites with a professional presence (the equivalent of a nice suit). And yes, there are high-traffic sites (the equivalent of standing in front of the room). And all of that is important, but there's more to it.
- Everyone gets a voice online, regardless of where you fall in the traditional hierarchy. You don’t need to have a degree to publish content. You don’t need any credentials whatsoever to share your skills, knowledge, and expertise online. This development has caused a substantial breakdown in the old structures. While phDs and credentials still count for something, they are far less in valuable in the online world because online, people don’t see your credentials first. Knowing things, and hoarding that knowledge until you get in front of a classroom does not further your status as an expert. Online, people get to know you through your content. Through the contributions you make to the public conversation. By bumping into you in the same online locations. By seeing your face pop up through overlapping networks. There are very specific ways in which we intuitively judge authority online. From the title on the top of your website to the photos you choose to post on Instagram, you are (or are not) establishing your authority. And, as often happens, the worlds are blending together. How we judge authority online is seeping into how we judge people in person. The nicest suit no longer wins. You can pull off a pair of jeans if you have been previously established as the master of a subject. Here’s the rub. It was already hard establishing authority with a classroom of adult learners who are pretty sure they already know everything. But now, it’s even harder because expectations have risen. They want to already feel as though they know you and trust you before they ever walk through that door. So how do you maintain that expert status? And how do you do it without giving away all of your proprietary knowledge?
- Let’s start with a bit of a game. If you have internet access right now, feel free to play along on your own device. We are going to look for an expert. I’ll probably take the same steps that you would take, but then we’re going to pull them apart and look at each step. Since you folks are in the know and can probably name a number of niche experts in real estate, we are going to jump to a different industry. Let’s say I have a dog. (I do.)
- Let’s say my dog is afraid of storms. (He is.) I need an expert. I want to know the best methods of dealing with dog anxiety. I’m looking for products to buy, techniques to try, whatever. How do I start? I’ll give you hint. I’m going to start with Google. But now what? Someone shout out my search terms. (Dog storm anxiety) First, I never click beyond first page options. If I don’t see compelling options on the first page of my Google search, I assume my search terms weren’t quite right, so I try different terms. The sponsored ads and products I skim sometimes, but mostly ignore unless it’s a perfect match for what I’m looking for. I generally focus right here: options 1 and 2. So this looks promising. Let’s take a look. I immediately notice the website address and use it to gauge legitimacy. Given the way Google works, this will rarely be a blog or a small business website, unless my search terms were super specific. (Labradoodle storm anxiety treatment aromatherapy) But I’m going to read the first couple of articles anyway. The first thing I stumble upon in the articles are names - people who have been interviewed and quoted. Their credentials are right there, adding legitimacy. And they have something enlightening to say about the subject. Let’s take a look at the next result. I’m not surprised to see Cesar Milan pop up in the list immediately. He’s built his entire brand around dog behavior, from his tv show to product lines. If you have his kind of celebrity, I don’t think you need this session. We’ll assume that you don’t, though, and keep looking. Okay, so I’ve browsed a while. I’ve found some advice, but most of it I’ve tried before. I decide what I really need is someone local I can meet with, and who, preferably, can meet my dog. So I change my search and start looking for someone in Tampa. Note that I’m not looking for a nationwide speaker or even a statewide educator. I search for my city because I don’t want to drive more than an hour. I see a couple of companies, but I also see some individual names. I’m going to pop into a few of them. Now I find some compelling options. And, although they don’t quite address what’s on my list, I am reminded of my other needs. My dog is generally really good, but he is a food stealer. If we stay at my brother’s and his toddler sets down her crackers and walks away, Red will snatch them in a second. So, I think I’ll sign up for his whole class and ask my specific question in context. If I still haven’t solved the problem by the time of my next routine visit to the vet, I’ll ask him. He’s the most qualified, licensed person I know. His advice lines up with what I read online, but was insufficient. I ask if he has a recommendation for a trainer in the area, and he hands me a flyer. Excellent.
- Let’s go back through that story and pluck out some authority-building action items. Nearly everything I did was online. So here’s an easy one: have a web presence.
- Have a Web Presence I'm not saying web presence just to sound pretentious. There's a reason for it. The rules are changing. Once upon a time, a slick polished website was absolutely essential. And its still very important. But, chances are your personal website is not the first way people are going to find you online. If they search you by name, then they already know you and you’ve probably already established some authority with them. A robust web presence, spanning from Facebook to Pinterest to your profile on REEAs website all matters. You're going for a broad reach, because its not about who you know. Its who knows you. We'll cover pieces of this in more detail later. For now, just assume you need a web presence in some form.
- Let's go back to the first step. We didn't search for "thundershirt for dogs" or "aromatherapy" or "behavioral training for dogs". We used a problem statement.
- Problem Statements This is one of the reasons blogs do so extraordinarily well in search results compared to other websites. When you build a website, you often focus on what you provide. Your website may include something like "In my code of ethics class, you'll learn how to spot and avoid common violations." But no one searches for "common code of ethics violations." The people who need this class are searching other keywords, like "Representing yourself in real estate transactions" or "Using escrow money to pay for repairs." If you had written a blog article titled "When is it okay to use escrow money to pay for repairs?", Google is likely to find you. And, at the end of that article, you could add a quick blurb that you cover this issue, as well issues A, B, and C in your Code of Ethics course. Click here for the calendar. And you don't even need to write the blog. You can just list the common questions you cover during the class. The key is in your description. People generally don't search with solution words. They search with problem statements. So, if you're trying to be found online, include these problem statements in your online content.
- Lets stay on those Google search results for a minute. Quick poll by a raise of hands: How many of you have used Google this week? Okay, keep your hands up. After viewing the search results on page 1, how many of you clicked to page 2 to view more results. So, the million dollar question is: How do you get your site to show up on page 1 of Google's search results? Actually that's a multi-billion dollar question.
- SEO SEO is part art, part science. How many of you know what SEO is? For those of you who do, how many of you can effectively utilize SEO strategies to drive web traffic? Okay. Short and simple, SEO means Search Engine Optimization. Basically optimizing your website so search engines, like Google, find you easily. Let’s start with the basic idea. Someone searching for an expert on international real estate sales might search for “international real estate sales.” Or perhaps a problem statement like "Negotiating real estate sales with Chinese investors." Let's say you have filled your website with the terms "real estate sales Chinese investors.” That’s a good start. But, let’s do a quick search. 29 million other people have also included this in their website. So how does Google decide which ten to sites to show on that first screen? They use crazy intelligent algorithms. They take into account the age of your site, how frequently it’s updated, how many other sites link to it and how high of an SEO rating those sites have. They look at what you name the pages, what you name the image files, how many times that search key term is used on site, whether it’s a one-off article or the main focus of the site. In the early days, people used to try to to trick Google. They would type the key phrase over and over, then paste it the same color as the background so the search engine could read it but site visitors could not. Or they’d fill the metadata with keywords. Google’s algorithm is the basis of their business. So, if your first instinct after hearing about SEO is a list of ways cheat Google, don’t try. They have teams of people who devote all their time to figuring out how to see through cheap strategies and improve their algorithms in general. While you probably shouldn’t try to cheat Google, you can cater to it. There are tried and true SEO methods that always help improve your results, and the web is full of tools to help you learn them. ClickMinded put together a great checklist, complete with links to additional tools, if this sounds appealing. http://www.clickminded.com/seo-checklist/ Still, this is the method most people start with, and it takes a ton of work to make your personal website show up on the first page. But here are a few items that will help substantially: * Include your niche topic in your website title or URL. It’s more likely people will be searching by topic than searching for you by name. * Update your site frequently. * Carefully select your keywords. Link your pages together. Include a link to your website in your Facebook and LinkedIn profiles. Really, it's a very long list. Check out ClickMinded.
- Localize. Include your city and street address.
- Localization. This is a little counterintuitive, especially if you're marketing online classes, but hang with me. If I'm looking for an online class, I'll probably put that in the search terms and find you. "International real estate negotiations online course." Adding your address will not take anything away from that result. But most people don't start there. They search for "International real estate negotiations class." And then they add their city. Once they find the class and read the description, visitors may decide they are receptive to an online class afterall, since it sounds so amazing and is going to address all their problem statements (which, of course, you put in the class description.) There's another reason for doing this. For a long time now, internet trends are skewing for more personalized, which means more localized. When I'm at the hotel searching for a pizza delivery, Google knows I'm in Denver. It prioritizes the Denver results, even though my search history would indicate I order pizza to my house in Tampa with alarming frequency. Having no local information harms your website. You exist in the void of cyberspace, but not in someone's backyard. But looking around the room, I'm seeing all corporeal beings who really exist. So tell Google where you are. Specifically. I'm guessing if I go to some of your websites, you will tell me you are a national speaker. Perhaps you'll tell me your home state. You will link me to a class calendar (which is probably a 3rd party tool that you've embedded into your site.) On the calendar, I can see the class title and the city. If I click the class details, I'll find an actual street address of the location. Positioning content in this way makes it hard for Google to find and personalize. Another approach is to create a separate page for each of your classes (like that course detail page). Include the full location, including street address, in the description. Right out there in the text. Even better, embed a Google map as well. Still include a calendar. That's a great feature. But make sure that the content within the calendar actually lives on your website, not solely within a scheduling widget. Now when I search for "international real estate negotiations class Tampa" I'm likely to find you, along with all of the pertinent info I need. Create a local business profile on Google. This boosts your SEO while adding legitimacy to your claims as an expert.
- Let's switch gears a bit. We've been talking a lot about students finding your directly through your website, but that's only a slice of picture. It's one thing to establish your authority when I am actively seeking a class, but most of the time I'm not doing that. There are many other ways to reinforce your expertise status. So let's look at a few.
- Interviews for Online Articles During our dog anxiety search, we found articles right away. Most were simple articles by amateur journalists for niche publications. And they interviewed people. There is a massive amount of content being created for online consumption, and you can be a part of it. Journalists are always looking for an interesting angle. So give them one. Most people start with the big ones. I'm going to reach out to Inman and let them know I'm available to be interviewed about a specific subject. But that's the wrong approach. Think small and local. Reach out to your local University's international student group and offer to provide an interview on the complexities of global real estate leases. When they interview you, they'll include your name, title, and maybe a link to your website. A few weeks later when an agent searches for info on global real estate leases, they'll find the article, and you. Since Google prioritized local results for them, it's likely they live within driving distance of the university, and thus, of your live class. Here's where it helps to really understand your niche and play to it. The trick is to be the real estate expert within some other industry. If you specialize in contracts, reach out to the local builder's association. Offer to write an article or be interviewed for an article on effective ways to include substantial home repairs in a buyer's contract. When someone searches for their problem "How to include home repairs in a buyer's contract", they'll find the article from a reputable source, and they'll find you as the expert. Sometimes you'll hear that you need to give your knowledge away online to build rapport. This is what that looks like. You don’t have to give away all your class notes or post a video of your full course on YouTube to build your platform. I'm talking about the deliberate sharing of knowledge to broaden your platform and help other people recognize that you are the expert of a certain topic.
- Blog If you like to write and blogging sounds like fun, go for it. Write up a series of well-researched, well-crafted articles that pertain to your niche. But if do this, don't stop there or they'll just drift aimlessly around cyberspace. Blogs need momentum. Ten years ago, people used to follow bloggers and religiously read their new posts when they were notified by email. That's not an effective method for gaining readership anymore. Try some of these instead.
- Contribute to the Conversation If you're on Twitter, follow people who discuss topics related to your niche. Aim for the influencers - the folks with tens of thousands of followers. When an influencer posts an article, say on the local abundance of international students who stay for grad school and need off-campus housing, retweet it with a quote. Your quote says something like: "In addition to more affordable housing, international students also need to know the complexities of international leases." The complexities of International Leases just happens to be the title of the blog post that you linked to that Twitter update. They may or may not click through to your blog, but you still showed up to the conversation as an expert. That's a big part of the process. Too many people are trying to pull people to their websites to have conversations. But you don't have to. The conversation is already happening. Find it and contribute. Find the Facebook groups that discuss International Investments and add your intelligent insightful commentary. When relevant, link back to something that you already wrote about the topic to further the conversation. And make sure your profile on those social sites presents your professional self, and drives people back to your website. Write For Someone Else's Blog Successful bloggers stick to a regular schedule, usually posting new articles once or twice a week. This is a ton of work, and sometimes they just want to take a vacation from it. And they do. They get guest bloggers to fill in for a few weeks. This is a great alternative to owning your own blog, which takes time and long-term commitment. You can write 6 articles. Find a blog in which they would be a good fit and offer to provide them as a guest blogger. With conditions, of course. You are prominently cited as the author of these articles, and the citation includes your mini bio and a link to your website. Much less work then running your own blog, and you get to take advantage of someone else's core audience. In the meantime, the blog owners meets their delivery schedule without doing any work. eBook Your Posts Let's say you have a pile of articles already written that just aren't doing anything for you anymore. You can bundle up into an eBook. Your going to include a full bio page. Use a service like create space to get it all formatted for seamless responsive delivery. eBooks don't have to obey the same rules as traditionally published books. There are many eBooks available that are only 10-50 pages long. Include a clear table of contents so folks can jump around by topic. Offer your book for cheap on Amazon. $3.99 is the magic price for new novels, but you can base your price on length. If it's only 10 pages, it should be free. If you have 100 pages worth of well-crafted content, you could try selling it for $12 or so. There's a lot of advice online on how to price your eBook based on format and style. But the goal is not necessarily to make money with the book (although who doesn't love an additional stream of passive income?). The ultimate goal is to help more people find you. People who search the Kindle store for hard-to-find topics will stumble on your book. And you can link to your book from your website, reinforcing your expertise once again.
- So let’s go back to Chewbacca Mom for a minute. Why did she become the current expert on enjoying the simple things in life? She’s really the key to all of this.
- All of this adds up to one thing: authenticity. A polished website is important. But the emphasis on online expert status is not driven by that. It’s driven by showing up. Bringing your passion, your insightful commentary, your unique perspective to the public. This is the fundamental shift that has occurred over the past few years. People expect to be able to get to know you as a person through your interactions online. It doesn’t need to be all-consuming or take a massive amount of time. Write about the topics you love. Re-post articles you find fascinating and add commentary. Craft a website around the problems you know how to solve. Root yourself in your local community and make that evident online. Share your sense of humor. In short, help people see that you are a whole human being who has an authentic passion and expertise in particular topics. This is what establishes your expert status and your authority before student ever step into that classroom.