Great post, @blockcurator.
Unfortunatelly, like most basic things, many people do not follow the basic steps that might consolidate them as authorities in any given field.
I have seen tons of content creators who call themselves "experts" in latin american affairs, for instance, or interview "experts" for their videos and they just put on a sorry show.
I think that some of the most important aspects in building a reputation (besides knowledge) are objectivity and reliability.