Small Business
Brand authority can help to boost your company’s reputation and establish loyalty with customers. Learn about the meaning of brand authority and how to build it with Adobe Express.
Adobe Express
21/06/2024
Building brand authority is a key part of breaking into the UK market. People in the UK tend to respond well to brands that are viewed as experts in their field. So, if you’re trying to find success in the UK, you should make every effort to build up your brand authority and promote your business as the best option for your target audience.
In this guide, we’ll take you through what brand authority is, why it’s important and how you can build it.
Brand authority relates to the level of trust a brand has with its customers. It measures how much your brand is viewed as an expert in its subject matter, or the best in its field.
Brand authority can be influenced by a range of factors. For example, the quality of your products and services, your content marketing, and your online presence and social media engagement.
Though closely related, brand authority is not to be confused with brand loyalty. This is the behaviour displayed by customers who consistently choose your brand over competitors.
Building brand authority is important for all UK businesses. But it can be especially beneficial for small businesses looking to stand out in an increasingly saturated market. Here’s why:
Brand authority can help you develop trust between you and your target market. When a customer views you as an authority, they’re more likely to trust your content and messaging, as well as purchase your products and services.
Being perceived as a trustworthy source can work wonders for your reputation too.
Brands with authority can stand out from their competitors as top sources of information and goods. If you succeed in building brand authority, others may view you as the go-to in your industry. And clients and competitors will take notice whenever you present a new idea, product or service.
Once your brand establishes its authority in the market, your customers are likely to make you their first port of call for all relevant products and services. This brand loyalty is what motivates people to stick with your company instead of choosing competitors.
Not only can this help boost your sales and conversions, but it can also help with marketing through word of mouth.
People like familiarity and often prefer to buy from brands that they’ve created a bond with over time. Brands with authority tend to have effective marketing strategies that make them visible, and therefore more familiar to their target audience.
If a customer feels familiar with your brand, they’re more likely to choose your company over another one that they’re less aware of.
As an authoritative brand, you’ll have influence over the market you work in. But with this comes responsibility.
Think about who you go to for advice or information on a particular subject. Perhaps this is a handy family member that is your source of truth for DIY. Or a foodie family friend who is the fountain of all knowledge in cooking,
It’s the same in branding. If you gain the authority, you should use it for good. Be generous with your insights but protective over your brand’s unique expertise.
Not only can you influence customer decisions, but you could also impact other brands and the market overall.
Now you know what brand authority is and why it’s important, it’s time to find out how you can build it. Here are five top tips for building brand authority in the UK as a small business.
Good content can really make a difference to your website and the overall perception of your brand. Combine this with search engine optimisation (SEO) techniques like keywords and internal linking and you’ve got the recipe for creating effective, authoritative content for your site.
Brands like BBC Food do a great job building on their prestigious, long-standing brand with excellent, relevant and regular recipe content. As a result, they’re normally pretty high up the search rankings for recipes. Of course, the same goes for news, weather and many other strands of the BBC’s offer.
Social media apps continue to influence most markets in the UK and beyond. Brands can leverage this to increase their authority by being active on social media sites and regularly posting on platforms like Instagram, Facebook, TikTok, X (Twitter) and LinkedIn. This can help you boost your visibility and familiarity with customers.
Brands like Gymshark and Aybl do this particularly well, with tailored fitness content and collaborations on their social channels – and have built huge followings in the process.
Shouting about your accolades is another effective way of boosting your brand authority. You worked hard to achieve them, so why not tell everyone? If you’ve created an amazing product, or had a particularly great year, research awards in your sector and enter them.
Even a nomination is something to be proud of. Post your achievement across social media, and on your website to improve your brand authority.
Customers are likely to respond well to your services if they’re being recognised by other authoritative bodies.
Much like awards, positive reviews and testimonials are both great to celebrate and shout about. Create accounts on review sites like Trustpilot and Tripadvisor (depending on your sector). You could even add testimonial pages to your website. Many businesses, like Good Energy for example, add widgets to their homepage linking to their profiles on review sites to showcase their positive feedback.
Remember, reviews and testimonials don’t need to be text-based. Businesses like Clinique upload review content on to platforms like TikTok and Instagram to share customer sentiment and boost authority.
Last but not least, partnering with other brands in the local area or industry is a great way of boosting brand authority, especially if they’re viewed as authoritative themselves.
For example, when e-commerce website eBay joined forces with popular UK TV show Love Island, it gained more visibility in the fashion world, and is now seen as more of an authority in the sector.
