Content Marketing: Showcasing Your Expertise Through Video

When it comes to selling yourself, and your business, one of the best ways to stand out is through content that showcases your expertise. Let’s take a dive into why this type of content works, and take a look an example. To learn more, check out our introduction to content marketing.

What is expertise or thought leadership content?

Expertise or thought leadership content is any type of content — including video, blog posts, infographics, whitepapers, and more — that educates potential customers on topics that you have special insight into. As a business owner, you are, no doubt, an expert in your field. You can share this knowledge to attract new customers.

For instance, a real estate agent has a deep understanding of the ins and outs of buying, selling, and renting properties. Creating content on things like what to expect when you sell your first home, how to stage a home for an open house, how a mortgage works, things to look out for when renting an apartment, and other topics can help draw in new potential clients. If a seller looking for articles and videos on what to expect when selling a home comes across your content, who knows! They just may end up being your next client.

Why does this type of content work?

So why does creating content around your expertise work? There are two main reasons:

1. **It helps you get discovered. **As in the real estate example above, having this type of content out there makes it more likely for potential clients to discover you in search. If your content is video or image-based, it’s important to include relevant keywords in accompanying text descriptions to make sure it comes up in search results. You (and others) can also share your content on social media platforms for further reach.
2. **It helps you stand out from competitors. **When you’ve got a lot of content showcasing your expertise, it shows your potential clients and customers that you know your stuff. This will help you stand out when they’re deciding to work with or buy from you, over your competition.

Expertise content in action

Let’s take a look at an example of this type of content marketing. Best-selling author and home stager Tori Toth created this video featuring five tips to decorate built-ins and shelves. She shares her expertise on the subject. The video is designed to attract people that are looking for home staging tips.

Notice, though, that while Tori is giving away this expertise for free, she’s also using it as a promotional platform for her book, Feel at Home. She includes a call to action at the end of the video, as well as a link in her YouTube description where people watching her video can click to order a copy.

When creating video showcasing your expertise, you can take Tori’s approach and record yourself talking on camera. If this makes you nervous, check out our blog post on feeling more comfortable on camera. Alternatively, you can create a video using photos and videos (without yourself speaking), and tell your story using text titles and captions.

Questions to ask yourself

Building a strategy for your own thought leadership and expertise-related content? Here are some things to think about:

• Is there a certain question (or questions) about your industry that people ask you all the time? Consider creating content around FAQs to drive traffic back to your blog or site, or on YouTube.

• Do you have a certain way of thinking that differentiates you from your competitors? Be sure to include this insight in your content.

• What type of content are you comfortable creating? We’re pretty crazy about video, and it’s not just because we’re a video company. Video can help boost your positioning in search results, gets further reach on social media, and four times as many consumers would rather watch a video about a product than read about it. Here are some other types of content to think about:

  • Do you enjoy writing? Share your expertise through blog posts.
  • Got design skills? Try your hand at an infographic.

Have you created content to share your expertise? We’d love to see it. Feel free to share your links with us in the comments or get in touch on Facebook or Twitter.

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