How to Promote Your Experts Within Their Niche

One of the primary reasons clients hire public relations professionals is to improve their company’s visibility within an audience. That audience might be the public at large or as specific as a trade or industry group. Regardless of the audience, the techniques to promote your expert within their niche remain the same. Here are five examples.

Register Your Expert on ProfNet

ProfNet was created in 1992 to connect reporters quickly and easily with expert sources at no charge. Managed by PR Newswire, ProfNet provides live media opportunities for your experts or organization. Once you develop a profile for your expert, you receive a daily feed listing opportunities that have been customized to your organization’s expertise using more than 300 interest categories.

Launch an Industry Newsletter

What do Robert Parker, Jonathan Bernstein, and Graeme Newell have in common? They are all successful industry-specific authorities who rose to fame through a newsletter.

• Robert Parker’s Wine Enthusiast was the first newsletter to provide independent ratings on wines from all over the world. Today Parker Ratings are one of the most sought-after scores by vintners and wine marketers.
• Jonathan Bernstein’s Crisis Management newsletter reaches more than 18,000 people “who are crisis managers, whether they want to be or not.” Bernstein’s expertise has earned him coverage by ABC, BBC, CBS, CNBC, Fox, NPR, Reuters, the Wall Street Journal, among others.
• Graeme Newell’s Marketing Ideanet is the most read industry newsletter for television marketing executives in the world. For more than 15 years, Newell has been dishing our ideas and job listings within the “promotion” industry.

Why point out these individuals? Because they are experts within their own field, just like you. By crafting a newsletter (monthly, bi-weekly, or weekly), you can establish yourself as an expert within your field or industry.

Publish a White Paper

A White Paper is a report that often addresses issues and how to solve them. Used as a marketing tool by many businesses, they tend to promote a company’s services or products as a solution to a stated issue. They also establish a company or individual as an expert on a particular topic, and are used in the public relations industry as a tool to increase awareness for a client.

When you write a White Paper, distributed it to news organizations and reporters who cover your field or industry.

Distribute a Press Kit

A press kit (also called a media kit) is a pre-packaged set of promotional materials of a persona, company, or organization that is distributed to the media. They are presented in pocket folders, usually with the company’s logo and contact information printed on the front, and contains these items.

1. A short one-page biography of each company officer or upper-level manager. Include the officer’s title, history with the company, quotable statements, basic personal information, theories or ideas about your company, and a picture when possible.
2. Compile all recent press releases, positive press coverage, and sell sheets.
3. Include your company newsletter, if you have one.
4. A company CD or DVD, if you have one.

Before shipping the press kit to the media, write an informative letter than briefly explains what’s inside and offer to provide any additional information. If there are business card slits in the pocket folder, include your business card.

Offer a Weekly Feature or Article

Newspapers and radio stations thirst for original content. Why not offer your expertise in the form of a weekly on-air appearance or feature article?

One of my clients in a medical malpractice attorney who wanted to increase the visibility of his practice. We approached a local talk radio station about a weekly segment where they discussed the topic of the day—a murder trial, Congressional hearing, or baseball contracts. Rarely does my client speak on medical malpractice issues, but his weekly “drip” has expanded the name recognition of him and his firm. That exposure has increased the number of phone calls to his firm, and, as a result, the number of clients they serve. In return, the station receives quality content. Win-win.

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