Position yourself as an expert

When you are known as an expert in your field, the media take notice of your brand and you are likely to get more media coverage. So how can you become an expert?

PR tactics like public speaking, writing articles and blogging allow you to share your specialised knowledge and position you as an expert. Combining some of these activities can help create an effective strategy:

• Write articles and pitch them to print and online publications. Start by looking at publications that your target audience read: observe their style, format and whether they publish contributed articles. Think about how to make your information useful and interesting, then pitch your article, explaining why it is relevant to their readers.
• Speak at events. Speaking at networking events or conferences conveys your messages directly to your audience. Consider where your expertise lies and create a speaking topic around this which will be interesting to a live audience. Start with small gatherings and work your way up as you gain experience!
• Write a blog. Blogs are another platform from which you can deliver your messages. Blogs can rank highly in search engine results and grow a wide readership quickly. You don’t have to blog every day, but keep it regular and post high quality content. When you are starting off, build up your readership by offering to write guest posts on better known blogs and link them back to your own.
• Be interviewed by a journalist. Look for upcoming features about relevant topics, and pitch your expert knowledge as an interview opportunity.

If you have specialised knowledge and you aren’t using it to gain exposure for your brand, you are missing out on great PR opportunities. Share your knowledge online, at events and in print media and you, and your brand, will soon become well known.