Five Powerful Ways to Position Your Company as an Industry Leader
It’s one thing to KNOW that your company is the best at what it does, and something entirely different to woo others to embrace that belief as fervently as you and your team members. Needless to say, your advertising and marketing strategies should tout all the differentiators that set you apart from your competitors. And you can also employ social media to regularly showcase your know-how and promote all the things that make your company the crème de la crème. But to truly be viewed as an industry leader, your company will need a little “street cred” to back that image up. Whether pursuing these initiatives ourselves or promoting them to our clients, The Edge Agency has compiled the following list of five highly effective measures that hold the power to significantly enhance your prestige plausibility…
1) White Papers, Ebooks, and Blogs: A white paper is an excellent way to prove you really know what you’re talking about by tackling a tough topic that holds meaning for your target audience. Look to timely subjects or questions you receive on a regular basis for inspiration. In addition to positioning your company as a true captain of industry, it can be written as a downloadable “news you can use” report or guide and used as a tool to capture email addresses for prospective leads. The same can be said for ebooks. Our company founders – Alex Radford and Lauren Tatum – recently collaborated on an ebook for aspiring entrepreneurs. Titled “The Edgy Business Owner: Unconventional Entrepreneurship”, Alex and Lauren lent powerful insights from their experience launching and growing The Edge Agency. The result is a compelling and inspirational handbook for anyone considering starting – or scaling – their own business. A blog can be used as another means for consistently showcasing your company’s knowledge, so be sure to share them on social media and via e-newsletter to your database. The more compelling the subject matter, the more likely it will be shared – further expanding your reach and reputation. Our friends at Gentry Dentistry have used this tool to great effect.
2) Speaker Events and Workshops: Another excellent tool for showcasing your company’s industry knowledge is to pinpoint the best speakers on your leadership team. Book them for speaking engagements – like a convention or local chamber event – or create your own speaking event. When our client, Joanne Bolt, founded a one-of-a-kind networking group for women in the real estate industry called Real Boss Women, she made a BIG SPLASH with a two-day event. It involved a series of – you guessed it – speakers, including herself to showcase her vast industry knowledge and larger-than-life personality. As for workshops, with a wealth of experience in the real estate industry, The Edge Agency will occasionally host “lunch and learn” sessions for real estate professionals and local business owners.
3) Awards: Nothing says “industry leader” quite like the distinction of “award-winning company”! Do your research on some of the leading awards programs that are available in your industry – whether local, regional, national, or global – and then submit your project or team members for consideration. These often come with a price tag, but – if you win – the results could pay big dividends for your brand image. Our clients at Banks Stubbs & McFarland understand and embrace this concept wholeheartedly. Their most cherished accolades include being named Best of Forsyth seven years in a row, particularly since it’s a reader’s choice award from Forsyth County News where the law firm is based. They proudly showcase these honors on their website along with a number of industry-specific awards. When you visit The Edge Agency website, you’ll find our distinction as Best of Gwinnett displayed on our home page, too!
4) Reviews and Testimonials: Word of mouth is one of the most authentic ways to grow your business and reputation as an industry leader. Many people respect the word of other customers above all else. For that reason, glowing reviews and testimonials can go a long way in converting leads to customers. Our clients at Gillman Insurance are so proud of their 5-star Google reviews that they prominently display them on their home page, along with a button that reads “Wonder Why So Many Have Chosen Us Over the Years?” that leads to even more reviews. Mortgage Atlanta uses the same approach with its testimonials, which scroll across the home page in regular intervals – each one singing the mortgage team’s praises in a meaningful and impactful way.
5) Editorials and Advertorials: Whether you pitch a story idea, distribute a press release, or are called upon by a reporter for your insights as a subject matter expert, earned media can go a long way in positioning your company as an industry leader. Advertorials – which are articles with paid placement – are another highly effective tool for you to highlight your expertise. You may want to explore writing a pitch letter or press release, begin researching publications that offer advertorial opportunities, or look to The Edge Agency for help with your public relations needs. In preparation for our client’s omnichannel rebrand campaign, we helped secure a spot for the new owner of Southern Oak Woodwork as one of Simply Buckhead’s Rising Stars for 2022. While his company serves clients throughout the Southeast, Buckhead is one of his luxury cabinet company’s target areas. This feature will be a valuable tool for introducing both the new company name AND the new owner to potential clients.
For many of the above to be truly effective, they cannot be self-serving alone. You have to impart some wisdom – something that will educate, make an impact, and be remembered. Atlanta marketing firm, The Edge Agency welcomes the opportunity to assist you in the pursuit of positioning your company as an industry leader. Getting started is easy!! Simply contact our team to schedule your FREE initial consultation. We can’t wait to meet you and start brainstorming ideas. Take the leap and call us today at 678.270.7198, email us at info@theedgeagency.net.
