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What We Talk About When We Talk About Brand Authority

Forbes Communications Council
Paige Weiners
Senior Marketing Communications Manager at NYC digital agency, Blue Fountain Media.

The phrase “brand authority” gets bandied about quite a bit in marketing circles where it’s universally understood that it's a very desirable thing to have. Brand authority is presented as a solution to many marketing problems, and also as an end unto itself. Brand authority, we’re told, is something worth striving for.

Well, it just so happens that all of these things are true. Brand authority is desirable and developing it will bolster the success of your marketing initiatives. The problem is that it’s easy for a phrase like “brand authority” to be reduced to empty marketing jargon if you don’t define it, and explore both its meaning and its applications.

So, let’s pull back the curtain.

What is brand authority?

Brand authority is a concept that can be difficult to pin down in specific terms. It’s something we’re more likely to feel about a brand than we are to think of concretely. Still, in conceptualizing a definition of brand authority, it’s useful to think of it as a company’s perceived expertise within an industry or topic. If the public accepts a company as a legitimate expert within their field, then we can say the company has brand authority.

That being said, brand authority is not a status you can confer on yourself; rather it’s a reputation and an element of trust that others must assign to you.

That isn’t to say that your company’s brand authority is out of your hands -- in fact, the opposite is true. It’s all in your hands, but it takes time to develop and is something you must consistently demonstrate.

What is the value of having brand authority?

It mostly comes down to trust. Brand authority is a big part of helping consumers trust a company, and trust is absolutely critical to acquiring and keeping customers. Having brand authority means consumers will feel confident that you know what you’re doing, and thus that their money is well spent with your company. Consumers want to know that your company is one they can trust -- whether that’s trusting your expertise or your ability to build a quality product.

What is a good example of this?

Patagonia immediately comes to mind as a brand with a lot of authority. The company was founded by Yvon Chouinard, who is a rock climber, outdoorsman and environmentalist. It’s easy to see how he has infused these values into the company itself. Patagonia was dedicated to environmentalism and sustainability before it became trendy to do so, and the company puts its money where its mouth is by donating 1% of sales or 10% of profits (whichever is greater) to environmental causes. What’s more, the company has a stellar reputation for taking back equipment and clothing that doesn’t perform (even after years of wear), and for repairing and recycling items that have been damaged or worn out through everyday wear and tear.


Patagonia has been in business since 1974, and they’ve had decades to build brand authority. The fact that the founder is an outdoorsman signals that products are developed with the input of people who understand the needs of the outdoorsy consumer. The company’s verifiable commitment to the environment means that consumers can feel good about their purchases. Finally, Patagonia’s “ironclad” product guarantee speaks to their authority in design and construction because consumers know they stand by what they make.

How can you build brand authority for yourself?

1. First, define your niche.

Your area of expertise is largely determined by what your company does, but you need to hone in on subject matter that is both interesting to your target audience and at least tangentially related to what your company does. Take the example of Patagonia again. Much of its brand authority comes from their leadership in corporate environmentalism, which seems very likely to be interesting to their audience and relates to the products they sell.

2. Next, produce content.

This is the big one. To be recognized as an authority, your brand needs to begin to speak like one. That means creating high-quality content on a regular basis. Don’t limit yourself to corporate blog posts. Aim to provide real value instead. Some things to keep in mind:

Remember that your company is full of experts. Use their personal experiences, original research and observations to create truly unique whitepapers, articles, podcasts or webinars that can’t be replicated by anyone else.

Use case studies not only to highlight your company’s successes, but also to highlight the lessons you learned from them and the takeaways that might be useful to other people in your space.

Produce content that demonstrates that your company is filled with intellectually curious, creative, thoughtful and intelligent individuals. What projects are they pursuing? What skills are they working on developing? What trends are they watching?

Keep an eye on the conversations influencers in your industry are having and look for ways to create content that contributes to these conversations by advancing theories or providing solutions.

Speak like a human, not a faceless corporation. Your content should sound professional but not corporate -- there’s a big difference.

3. Commit to being an active social contributor.

You produced the content, now it’s time to go out and share it, right? Well, yes, but you need to be an active member of the community as well. You can’t just rush and start promoting your brand’s content without building relationships first. Make time to listen to conversations other people are having and contribute to them because you're genuinely interested, not because you’re waiting for your chance to talk about yourself. Be generous (and discerning) with shares, retweets and links to other people’s content.

The companies that invest in brand authority are the ones we remember. They’re the ones we want to come back and buy from or work with again and again. That’s because by successfully demonstrating their authority, they’ve won our trust and admiration as consumers.

