How To Build Brand Authority Online: 8 Steps

Building an impactful brand identity takes a lot of work, but building brand authority online may seem even harder.

How can you increase search results, stand out in an over-saturated digital environment and build customer trust?

And once you’ve earned that trust, how do you keep driving them back to your brand hub — your website?

These are the key challenges businesses face, but they can be overcome with strategic content creation and smart SEO practices designed to make your brand both visible and credible.

In this article:

1. Build a Foundation of Trust
2. Harness the Power of Content
3. Embrace SEO Best Practices
4. Garner Social Proof
5. Engage Through Social Media
6. Elevate Your Brand Through Collaboration
7. Understand the Long Game
8. Use Tools
   • How to Scale Brand Authority Efforts with PreWriter

• Final Thoughts
• FAQ: How can I enhance my brand authority using content and social media strategies?

1. Build a Foundation of Trust

The bedrock of brand authority is trust.

People tend to shop more with businesses they trust. That trust is primarily built online through various means — anything from your website and social media channels to email marketing campaigns and customer service interactions.

When it comes to your website, though, nothing is more important than quality if you want to show up in the search results.

Google uses its Search Quality Rater Guidelines program to assess the quality of search results. They write:

“Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness and Trust (E-E-A-T) are all important considerations in PQ [page quality] rating. The most important member at the center of the E-E-A-T family is Trust.”

What Google is saying here is that it assesses the quality of pages and websites by how well they exude experience, expertise and/or authoritativeness, which all lead to trust.

2. Harness the Power of Content

Content is the foundation of building brand authority online. It must provide valuable, insightful and consistent messaging that addresses the search terms your audience uses when using search engines, while catering to their needs and interests.

Of course, that means diving into keyword research and defining your target audience, two challenging tasks that will prove worthwhile in the long run for your SEO program.

3. Embrace SEO Best Practices

Imagine this: you have created amazing content but your target audience cannot locate it. This happens a lot more than you think, and fortunately we can utilize SEO to solve this problem.

Understanding how people search online allows you to tailor your content (and your website) to those searches, dramatically increasing your visibility.

Focus on relevant keywords, optimize your website content and earn high-quality backlinks.

Backlinks can boost your website’s authority, and ultimately your brand authority because they are essentially a vote from one business to another, saying, “This is great content; you should read it!”

4. Garner Social Proof

It’s no secret that people trust the opinions and experiences of others, especially when making purchasing decisions.

77% of shoppers specifically seek out websites with ratings and reviews, according to a PowerReviews survey.

Overall sentiment about a brand may improve or harm your search engine rankings, too.

Think about it: Does Google want brands or websites with a bad reputation to rank high? Of course not.

In fact, sentiment is increasingly seen as a critical trust signal in SEO. Sentiment plays a significant role in shaping a brand’s online reputation.

Google’s algorithms assess overall sentiment — positive or negative — through online reviews, social media mentions and other user-generated content.

When sentiment about a brand is overwhelmingly negative, it can hurt rankings. This makes sentiment analysis a powerful tool not only for monitoring brand health but also for enhancing SEO efforts.

By addressing negative feedback and resolving customer issues, businesses can rebuild trust, improve user experience and potentially boost their search rankings.

5. Engage Through Social Media

Social media has quickly become the go-to channel for product discovery among Gen Z and Millennials, meaning social media and SEO go hand in hand.

Engage with your target audience by offering valuable content, participating in relevant conversations and responding to comments and messages.

Engaging a strong community around your brand increases its exposure. That way, when people search online for solutions, your brand will stand out as one that people trust.

6. Elevate Your Brand Through Collaboration

Building relationships with other authoritative voices in your industry is a great way to boost your own brand.

Partnering with influencers, participating in online communities or contributing guest articles exposes your brand to a wider audience.

This can, in turn, earn you more website links, contributing to your overall authority.

Just be sure you approach guest posting the right way. Don’t give away all your best content because you want to drive traffic back to your site, not someone else’s all the time.

7. Understand the Long Game

It’s tempting to view brand authority as a destination. You might think of it as a finish line you cross after implementing a series of marketing tactics.

However, it’s an ongoing journey of building, nurturing and reinforcing your brand’s reputation online.

Regularly assess your SEO and content strategies, gather customer feedback and adapt your approach to stay relevant.

As I’ve written previously:

“[SEO] needs to be an ongoing concern for the life of the site. In fact, SEO is only “done” when people stop searching, Google stops changing things, and all your competition dies.

Until then, we must make continuous, strategic decisions about our websites. We must take into account things like the nine search changes Google averages each day (and growing), a million competitors for every separate keyword, and technology and content upgrades that, if not done, make our website irrelevant.”

With consistent and quality content marketing, social engagement and SEO, you can increase your domain authority, gain a noticeable uptick in organic traffic and sales — all the while solidifying your brand as an authority in your field.

8. Use Tools

Building brand authority is hard enough — let alone not having any assistance or data.

Every effective digital marketer will have a suite of tools that will help them do their jobs more efficiently.

With the availability of AI, creating content that helps build brand authority is becoming easier than ever before.

Using tools like PreWriter.ai, our AI-powered writing assistant, can significantly boost productivity.

PreWriter allows you to generate content drafts quickly by automating the research and outlining stages.

Writers can focus on refining AI-powered drafts by adding brand personality and expertise, reducing content development time by up to 60% in some cases.

PreWriter also supports multiple languages, making it easy to localize content for different markets.

Tools like these empower teams to scale content production without sacrificing originality.

How to Scale Brand Authority Efforts with PreWriter

Incorporate PreWriter into your content creation process. This tool combines research, organization, fact-checking, proofreading and editing strategies to create expert-level content.

1. Use PreWriter’s Research Capabilities

Thorough research establishes brand authority and is the backbone of content creation. PreWriter has advanced research capabilities that can be leveraged to provide readers with new and exciting information.

2. Evaluate Content Outlines in PreWriter

Effective outlining ensures a logical flow of ideas and comprehensive coverage of the topic.

In PreWriter, you have the option of viewing content as a whole so that you can evaluate the way that it’s organized. Or, you can provide PreWriter with an outline, and it will generate a whole content draft.

3. Fact-Check All Research

If you skip the fact-checking step, you can harm your business’s online reputation. Fact-checking guarantees the accuracy and reliability of the information you present.

PreWriter eliminates errors and enhances the professionalism of the content. However, human editing further improves the overall impact of the content, which ultimately leads to enhanced brand authority.

4. Create Optimized Content

PreWriter has SEO functionality, which makes it a game changer for writers looking to establish brand authority. When content is optimized for search engines, the amount of organic website traffic skyrockets.

When creating content in PreWriter, you can discover strategic keywords to implement, generate content optimized with certain keywords, and publish content that will boost your search engine ranking.

5. Scale Content Production

Consider all the steps in your marketing funnel and it quickly becomes apparent that creating content for every step is essential to successful conversion. Normally, scaling content takes a lot of time.

With PreWriter, you can tailor your content to the different stages of the funnel and significantly increase the amount of content that you produce.

Final Thoughts

Building strong brand authority online demands a strategic blend of consistent branding, quality content, SEO and active social participation.

But, how to build brand authority online comes down to a simple idea: Being helpful and adding value for your audience.

(It’s worth reading up on Google’s advice for creating helpful content as a next step.)

By demonstrating your expertise and establishing trust, you create a cycle. Your audience recognizes your value, elevating your brand within your niche.

And remember: It’s a marathon, not a sprint.

PreWriter.ai can help you accelerate content production and establish brand authority. Sign up here to start your free trial.

Don’t have the time or resources to go at it alone? Our SEO experts can help you build brand authority and stand out in the search results.

Arrange a free consultation

FAQ: How can I enhance my brand authority using content and social media strategies?

Enhancing brand authority requires several strategies that establish your business as the go-to expert within its industry. One effective tactic for doing this is producing engaging and informative content regularly — something your audience won’t soon tire of seeing again and again! This will cement brand authority within an audience’s minds while giving them value through experience-led articles and posts.

The intertwined use of social media strategies complements this content, amplifying its reach and impact on establishing authority. LinkedIn and Twitter, when utilized creatively and authentically, can dramatically boost brand visibility and trustworthiness among audiences in your field of expertise. Your aim should be for them to view you as the go-to resource in that arena.

Content fatigue is a problem often experienced by audiences, wherein too much information becomes overwhelming for their comprehension. To overcome this, create content that cuts through the noise with originality and relevance, thereby building genuine connections and authority.

Buyer intent terms, such as “industry leader insights” and “expert advice,” should be naturally embedded into your materials, ensuring they align with what your audience is searching for, thereby increasing discoverability and engagement. Authentic engagement in social media conversations also cultivates stronger brand relationships and enhances visibility.

Further boosting authority involves leveraging collaborations with influencers who align with your values, which can exponentially increase credibility and exposure. Showcasing case studies and success stories not only demonstrate your capability but also create trust with your target audience. Constant engagement through thoughtful responses and stimulating meaningful discussions further establish your brand as an authority figure.

Personalized content tailored specifically to the needs of your audience will likely be shared and recommended, increasing its exposure. Analytic tools can offer insight into which pieces work best so adjustments can be made so your efforts meet with success.

It is vital to stay abreast of technological trends by adapting AI/ML technologies as part of a content strategy strategy plan to stay ahead of technological innovation and stay at the cutting-edge. These advancements support seamless personalization at scale, enhancing the audience experience and reaffirming your brand’s expertise.

As digital trends and environments change, so must your strategies for strengthening brand authority. Adopting an attitude of continuous improvement ensures your brand continues to deliver relevant, engaging content for users to enjoy. Moreover, demonstrating thought leadership through both content and conduct enhances trust and reputation significantly.

The intersection of authentic content and strategic social media usage becomes the cornerstone of an unyielding brand authority.

Enhancing your brand authority using content and social media strategies requires a dynamic approach. By consistently offering valuable and authentic content while engaging your audience through social media, you cultivate a reputation that speaks volumes about your authority.

Answering this question becomes a comprehensive journey of applying insights, technological advancements and personal engagement to bolster your brand’s standing as an industry leader.

Step-by-step Procedure

1. Begin by conducting a thorough brand audit to gauge current authority.
2. Identify key buyer intent terms and incorporate them naturally into your content strategy.
3. Develop a content calendar that aligns with your brand voice and audience needs.
4. Use data-driven insights to identify trending topics, adjusting content accordingly.
5. Create high-quality, original content that addresses pain points and provides solutions.
6. Build a robust distribution strategy using social media platforms suitable for your audience.
7. Engage consistently with your community through genuine comments and conversation initiation.
8. Establish KPIs for measuring content performance and brand perception.
9. Use social listening tools to monitor mentions and sentiment, optimizing responses.
10. Collaborate with industry influencers who share a similar audience and brand values.
11. Continuously innovate with emerging technologies that can enhance interactivity and personalization.
12. Leverage multimedia content like videos and podcasts for dynamic storytelling.
13. Maintain relevancy and expand reach by regularly revamping evergreen content.
14. Encourage user-generated content in order to increase community involvement and brand credibility.
15. Leverage customer testimonials and success stories to build trust.
16. Analyze the performance of all content-related campaigns.
17. Invest in SEO and keywords to increase content visibility.
18. Stay updated with algorithm changes on social media platforms.
19. Foster relationships with media outlets for broader exposure.
20. Train internal teams on new content and social media trends to ensure cohesive messaging.
21. Create a crisis management plan to maintain brand integrity in adverse situations.
22. Continuously gather feedback from audiences to refine content strategies.
23. Develop a reward system for loyal brand advocates to enhance brand loyalty.
24. Conclude each campaign with a review and adapt future strategies based on learnings.