We seek authorities. Clients value them. Reporters use them as sources. Conferences ask them to speak.

The mindset of an authority is different from traditional sales and marketing. We explored the steps for an organization to become an authority in a previous post.

This time, we'll concentrate on the mental side of the process.

Mindset of an Authority

1. Perspective

Authorities understand the history and evolution of their chosen field.

For example, let's take authority. It originated as clans and tribes evolved from egalitarian to societal. This gave rise to institutional and religious authority. Philosophers elevated the concept further and set the stage for academics (scientific), who used the printed word to share their discoveries with the world.

Business leaders adopted authority to differentiate themselves from the competition.

The most recent evolution of authority can be found online. Google and Technorati are just two of the businesses using authority to connect readers to the most relevant content.

2. Synthesis

Authorities combine ideas to create a new category.

Kipp Bodnar and Jeff Cohen launched www.socialmediab2b.com to explore how B2B companies can embrace social media for their benefit. Their blog is less than one year old and ranked among the top 100 by AdWeek.

Dan Schwabel (www.personalbrandingblog.com) approached social media from an entirely different perspective. He elevated from a personal networking platform to a strategy for personal success.

3. Contribution

All authorities elevate people's knowledge of a subject by contributing something unique -- often without asking anything immediately in return. The advent of free and inexpensive publishing tools has made authority a potential strategy for anyone or any organization. Contributing relevant, valuable information to the conversation is what separates experts from authorities.

Creating the Mindset of an Authority

We said before that authority demands a different mindset. Here are our criteria for building the right approach.

The first part is research. Authorities commit to understanding their topic as well as or better than anyone. They start with a complete understanding of their own organization and solutions. Then they expand to their industry as a whole, collecting what others are saying and filing it away for later use.

The second part is time. More accurately, it's the commitment of time. Authorities have to publish. The cost of publishing is 1% technology. The other 99% is the time to research, synthesize, network, brainstorm, etc.

The third part is a good filter. Like writing, a good filter requires experience and practice. It's a vital skill to sort through all the junk while finding the relevant, timely information that is important to your audience.

About the Author

Brannan Atkinson, APR, is president of Atkinson Public Relations.

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