Considering the same study I mentioned above found that expert content was the most influential at every point in the new buyer’s journey (Awareness, Affinity, Purchase), the idea of ignoring the fact that not everyone that blogs or writes articles is an expert is just plain troublesome.
But this doesn’t necessarily make it easier to discern, it only magnifies the problem, which at the rate by which content is being generated will grow exponentially in the future.
So How Does One Discern Between Expert and Pundit?
While there is no 100% foolproof way to tell between an expert and their wanna-be counterpart, there are some things readers can do if they are seeking to assure that their “Expert” content really comes from an expert.
- Consider the source: There are many good blogs run by individuals, but in a world where self-publishing is extremely cheap you need to know that just because it is published on the internet doesn’t make it true. I always recommend reputable sites and sources for instance for Technology it may be a source like CIO or Information Week whereas for business it may be Forbes or The [entity display=”Wall Street” type=”section” active=”true” key=”/wall-street” natural_id=”channel_1section_6″]Wall Street[/entity] Journal.
- Check the facts: Multiple layers of sourcing and fact checking always help. For instance, the stats given in this article came from Nielsen who is a reputable source, but sometimes people may claim stats from sources without documenting. Most well written pieces will link to the article where their primary or secondary research originated. If you cannot verify the source then it is warranted to question the author and their content.
- Search or Nimble the Author: In the age of [entity display=”Google” type=”organization” subtype=”company” active=”true” key=”google” ticker=”GOOG” exchange=”NASDAQ” natural_id=”fred/company/1821″]Google[/entity] there is so much to learn about just about anyone via search or using tools like Nimble (Learn what I mean by Nimble here). Generally, you can find out someone’s credentials and background by searching them and in the information age you can verify that their bio is indeed accurate.
If expertise is in fact what drives buyer behavior, then making sure the expert info we source to make decisions is legitimate may be more important than finding the information itself.
How are you separating the experts from everyone else?