Lately there has been a little debate and discussion over use of the term”Expert” vs. “Leading Authority” when promoting yourself.
James Malinchek – a nationally-known speaker who coaches other speakers – says it’s better to deem yourself a “Leading Authority” instead of an Expert. According to Malinchek, because everyone uses the term “expert,” and thus we hear it so often, we have a tendency not to give the expert any credibility.
In contrast, we are not oversaturated with the term “Leading Authority.” In her book, “Makeover Your Business in 6 Weeks or Less,” Michele Scism (The Results Lady) says that being “The Leading Authority” is a different way of saying expert. It is not as widely used and thus your brain has a tendency to accept it more readily. Scism’s book gives several examples, and the author says that being “The Leading Authority” gives you additional credibility and helps when building relationships.
So I posed the question to Dan Janal, founder of PR Leads (www.prleads.com). Because Janal focuses on getting publicity for entrepreneurs and businesses, he has a different perspective. He asks: 1) “what do you want to be known as?” and, 2) “If people wanted to find you, what would they type into Google?”
According to Dan, it is easier than ever to get publicity in this day and age because most web pages and websites just want content. When you write and send out a press release, they are usually printed word-for-word, so therefore whatever you want to portray yourself as will come up in searches. In other words, which phrase are people most likely to look for and thus type into an Internet search engine – a publicity consultant, publicity expert, or a leading authority on publicity?
So now I pose these questions to you:
Is the term ‘expert’ an overused word?
What if you are already an SME (Subject Matter Expert) vs. a Leading Authority?
What has worked for other people?
I would love to hear your thoughts on this fascinating and relevant topic!
