The Makings of An Expert
What is an expert anyway? By definition it is someone having comprehensive or authoritative knowledge in a particular area. In theory that sounds nice, but let me ask you a question:
How does that translate online?
In today’s content rich digital economy there are literally hundreds of thousands of pieces of user-generated content published every minute. With the evolution of social media that number continues to grow exponentially and this is precisely why 90% of the worlds data has been created in just the past 2 years.
With so much content being created in so little time how does the average reader determine whom is an expert versus who is just an online user creating content?
Does that get determined at the site level or is there some sort of advanced criteria that you can (should) run someone against to determine whether or not they are really credible in a particular area and moreover if they are an expert?
In the old days you could go into their office and look at the degrees on the wall like with a doctor or attorney by which you could deem expertise. But today even resumes are extremely hard to decipher and with so many rapidly proliferating roles in companies like social media manager and big data specialist, it begins to feel like finding someone that truly fits the term expert would be like trying to find a needle in a haystack?
Let’s take a quick look at what online sources people trust.
So while these experts in many areas may be hard to find, there is no doubt that people are seeking out the guidance of “Expert” content to help them make purchase decisions. In a recent article on Forbes I refer to a study performed by Nielsen that showed expert content was 88% more effective in creating brand lift than a brands’ own content. What gives?
Is Expertise Too Subjective?
The most obvious challenge as it pertains to expertise is it is far too subjective. As mentioned above there is just no real set criteria in the vast majority of fields as to what makes an expert.
In some industries like the Information Technology industry, brands have almost self regulated the role of the expert. While there are technical degrees available from colleges in the information technology trade, companies like [entity display=”Cisco Systems” type=”organization” subtype=”company” active=”true” key=”cisco-systems” ticker=”CSCO” exchange=”NASDAQ” natural_id=”fred/company/978″]Cisco Systems[/entity] have created the “Expert” by developing training programs where you can attain actual “Expert” certifications such as their prestigious CCIE which means that you are a Cisco Certified Infrastructure Expert.
While I suppose in a fast changing world like I.T. the need for expertise and credentials may be important, the idea of a brand dictating who is an expert versus who is not is as interesting as it is further revelation of the subjective nature that is “Expertise.”
Another highly subjective area of “expertise” is relevant experience. In many industries there are not clear-cut degrees or certifications that deem one an expert, and furthermore relevant experience may make you an expert even if you didn’t study a field formally.
In many fields an expert may be someone who has done it for a long time. For instance if you have a favorite mechanic to work on foreign or classic cars, there is a chance that person studied how to be a mechanic, but there is a better chance they learned by spending a lot of time under the hood. Having said that, if I was considering the purchase of a car of similar type to what the mechanic works on, their opinion would carry a lot of weight.
Understanding The Role Of The Expert In Brand Influence?
Daniel Newman is the co-founder of V3*Broadsuite and is an experienced C-level executive, serving as a strategy consultant for small and mid-sized businesses. He’s also an insight/analyst partner to four Fortune 50 enterprises and previously served as the co-founder and CEO of EC3, a hosted IT and communications services provider. Prior to that, he served as the CEO of United Visual, Inc. in Chicago Illinois.
He is a widely published writer who contributes weekly to Forbes, Entrepreneur, Huffington Post and industry publications such as Commercial Integrator, Sound & Communication and Corporate Tech Decisions. He’s also author of three best-selling business books including The New Rules of Customer Engagement, The Millennial CEO, and just recently Evolve: Marketing (^as we know it) is Doomed.
Daniel has established a reputation as a leading thinker in topics such as Social, Big Data, Cloud and Mobile. He has been named to many top influencer lists in all of these areas, including recognition by the Huffington Post as one of the 100 business and leadership accounts to follow on Twitter. He is also an adjunct professor of management at North Central College.