Position yourself as an expert

Do you want the media and your customers to take notice of your business? A great way to get noticed and gain media coverage is to position yourself as an expert. Journalists are always looking for experts in a particular field to provide professional comments or quotes for their stories.

If you have a good knowledge and understanding of your profession or industry, then you have the opportunity to become an expert that a journalist will interview.

Here are some PR strategies to help you position yourself as an expert.

Speak at conferences and events

You can share your industry knowledge with others by speaking at conferences and events that relate to your industry. Think about a particular topic that you know extremely well and create a presentation around it. Make sure the presentation is informative and interesting to other people.

If you’re not a confident speaker, then get coaching before you start presenting.

You should also adapt your presentation to suit your audience. For example, do not use technical language when your audience has no knowledge of your topic. Start by attending small conferences, and establish yourself as an authority on a particular topic.

Opportunities for comment

Many magazines, newspapers, and online publications plan the special reports or features that they will write about for the entire year in advance. You can look for a publication’s features list on their website or call them and ask for a copy of their media kit.

When you look at a features list, you can find upcoming topics that relate to your business. You can then email that publication and suggest yourself as an expert to discuss particular topics.

Make sure you include a media angle or story idea, and outline why you are an expert. Remember to send your information to a journalist with enough time for them to write the article before it needs to be published.

Write a blog

Blogs are a great way of sharing your expert knowledge and positioning yourself as an expert on a particular topic.

The key is to pick a topic and stick to it. You should post regularly on your blog and aim to spark discussion and share experiences, ideas, and relevant information.

To build traffic, read other blogs and comment so that it links back to your own blog. You can also offer to be a guest blogger on other websites to increase your exposure.

Write an article

You can write an article about an important issue in your industry or write about helpful tips and advice. You can then send this article to relevant publications in your industry and explain why it’s a great fit for their publication.

Make sure the article is useful, interesting, and easy for others to understand. You should also make sure the article is written in the correct style and format for publication.

By sharing your professional knowledge, you can build up your status as an expert in your industry. This is a great strategy to build your brand, gain media coverage and increase your exposure to the people that matter.

Catriona Pollard is the director of specialist PR and social media strategy firm CP Communications.