Sir, Yes, Sir! Authority and Expertise in Marketing.

“I think, therefore I am.” – Descartes 

“Reality is created by the mind, we can change our reality by changing our mind.” – Plato 

“Gimme them Nike shoes right now before I blast you, muthaf#@%r!” – Aristotle 

I know what you’re thinking. 

There’s something clearly wrong with one of those quotes. 

And you’re right. 

That first quote by René Descartes is very questionable indeed. Many have argued that he shouldn’t have presupposed that there is an "I" which must be doing the thinking. He probably should have revised his statement to specify that "thinking is occurring", not that "I am thinking", which would’ve been more accurate. How could he have not understood that?! I mean, c’mon! 

Ok, ok… all joking aside, I’m pretty sure Aristotle never really tried stealing anybody’s sneakers. 

However, the fact that people still quote notable individuals who died hundreds or even thousands of years ago, to me, demonstrates the power of authority. 

What’s even more interesting though is that while these people may have indeed been knowledgeable in some matters, they were also completely clueless in other areas. And yet, some of their admirers regard them as infallible and would take their advice on issues that have nothing to do with their area of expertise.

Why is that?

It’s because those people are seen as authority figures!

An important principle of psychology that every good internet marketer should be aware of is that human beings tend to look up to authority. 

I’m not necessarily talking about literal police officers here or something, but rather anyone who is an expert in their respective field of work, craft, skill, or knowledge. 

And this makes sense.

People have a limited amount of time and energy, so it’s impossible for everyone to be an expert at everything. It’s much easier to take the word of someone else who appears to know what they’re talking about. 

However, a person can often times be regarded as an “expert” simply for being famous or well-liked. 

Plenty of popular athletes have advertised fast food that they didn’t really eat. Many musicians have made commercials about soda they didn’t really drink. 

“I once scored fifty points in a single game. Now let me tell you which greasy cheeseburger to stuff in your face!”

All that matters is that these so-called “experts” are admired for one thing or another that they’re really good at. Either that or they fit some preconceived notion of an authority figure. A real connection to the product that they’re advertising isn’t actually necessary. 

People who are under the impression that they are following directions from an authority figure have even been shown to do some pretty crazy things. A famous example of this was the Milgram experiment conducted in the 1960’s by psychologist Stanley Milgram at Yale University. 

I won’t go into too much detail about the experiment here, but the basic gist of it was that seemingly good people were often willing to do harm to others when they were instructed to do so by a supposed man of science wearing a stereotypical white lab coat. 

I certainly don’t condone hurting anyone or doing anything unethical, but what is important for us here as marketers and business people is that we can use these principles to our advantage. 

Let’s say you’re trying to sell some toothpaste. Try getting an endorsement from a well-respected dentist!

Want to sell your copywriting services? Mention any previous well-known clients you may have had! 

Running a Google Ads campaign? Find a few people who best personify the keywords that you’re using and see if you can get them to give you a testimonial! 

Need to write a blog about the influence of authority figures? Grab the reader’s attention by quoting Aristotle and his Nike-shoes-stealing ways! (Still kidding about that by the way. Aristotle seems like more of an Adidas kind of guy to me). 

There are many ways to incorporate these principles into your marketing and content creation strategies. And you don’t necessarily have to shell out the big bucks to get some expensive celebrity endorsement. 

Because here’s another important part of the equation… 

Just because someone is famous does NOT mean that they’re necessarily well liked! 

In fact, likeability is itself an important principle in digital marketing. 

And in this day and age of polarizing opinions, any given person can go from hero to zero real quick. Being disliked can actually negate the benefits of celebrity status and the general public has shown that people just aren’t very impressed by mere fame without the likeability factor. 

Sometimes just having a few short written testimonials from a niche e-celeb or some generic expert in a given field can be much better than hiring a widely recognized professional entertainment industry spokesperson. 

Another option is trying to score a deal with a good joint venture sales partner, especially if that partner is well known for their expertise. 

JV partnerships are a significant topic that deserve a separate discussion. For now, however, it’s important to note that if you can get a similar authoritative joint venture partner for whatever it is that you’re selling, there’s a very good chance that your sales will improve. 

And speaking of working with good people, if you’re looking for an expert on custom Squarespace web design and digital marketing, then you’ve found your man! Book a consultation with me today! 

You won’t even need to worry about any Greek philosophers stealing your sneakers ;) 

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