I strongly believe that all small businesses should be using social media to position themselves as thought leaders within their industry.

In fact, as I get deeper and deeper into social media writing and social media consulting, this is the conversation I am having the most.

There are so many ways to effectively use social media to communicate with customers and increase brand recognition and sales. And most small businesses can do it without spending a penny. All you need nowadays is sweat equity.

However, the really smart businesses are not only using social media to communicate and connect, but to position themselves as an expert, as the “guru” of what they do.

What do you do in order to accomplish this? It’s simple. Follow these two steps:

Blog

Write a blog post every week that clearly states your expertise. If you’re a divorce attorney, post your tips for achieving a lucrative and peaceful divorce. If you’re a graphic designer, post tips on how to effectively create the perfect website header.

The most common comment I hear to this is, “I don’t know how to write like an expert, how to position myself as a thought leader.”

I saw, write the post and send it to me. 99% of the time they sound like an expert. They are just so entrenched in their field that they forget nobody else knows as much about their field as they do.

Disseminate

This is where social media comes in. Build a Facebook following, a Twitter following, a solid email list, and get that content out there.

Every single blog post I write goes up on Facebook and Twitter. Yours will too. Then your 300 followers will see your blog, read it, and realize you are an expert, you are a thought leader.

The next time they know someone who needs a divorce lawyer, they’re going to think about you, because you have made an impression as someone who knows what they’re talking about.

And it really is that simple.

Many of you are still skeptical. So my advice then? Just try it. You have nothing to lose but a few hours a week and so much to gain.