Companies can position themselves as industry authorities when their executives, leaders and subject matter experts share their knowledge and insight. Leadership, director and manager teams are full of talented individuals with a wide array of professional experiences that can benefit others in their industry while also illustrating their company’s expertise in the field.
Public relations is the bridge that connects these thought leaders with media platforms to share their knowledge. Whether via interviews, speaking engagements, bylines or op-ed articles, PR professionals identify topics of interest to industry professionals and the best opportunities to convey that knowledge.
Below are some examples of how these different media opportunities can be used to highlight your team members’ expertise.
Media Interviews
The quintessential media opportunity, media interviews introduce audiences to thought leaders through a reporter or journalist who conducts an interview. These can be done by phone, video call, written Q&As, live and recorded podcasts, live and recorded TV segments, and much more. It depends on the audience you’re targeting, the message you’re sharing, and what the reporter is interested in. The PR team is here to help you define those variables to identify the perfect outlet and secure an interview.
Speaking Engagements
From conferences to workshops, event attendees are all looking to gain insights, tips and tricks from successful peers in their industry. If a leader on your team is interested in speaking to a live (in-person or virtual) audience, PR professionals can help identify and secure speaking engagement opportunities. These applications sometimes ask prospective speakers to provide examples of past speaking engagements to determine if they will be a good fit for the conference and the audience. PR pros can help illustrate why a leader will be a good fit, as well as identify ways to show off their speaking abilities whether or not a conference has been recorded before.
Bylines + Op-ed Articles
PR professionals can draft, finalize and pitch bylines and op-eds on a subject matter expert’s behalf. Executives and directors are responsible for setting a company’s strategic direction, so not only do employees look to their leadership for guidance, but they also anticipate their leaders will be up-to-date on industry trends, have a unique take on those trends, and know how to respond to them. Customers, clients and prospects want to know this, too, and sharing your insights in your own words can reach a targeted audience.
PRo Tip: What’s the difference between a byline and an op-ed?
- In PR, a byline is a contributed guest article from a respected member of an organization or industry. A byline can serve as an alternative to traditional interview-to-story coverage and gives media outlets quality content to add to their publishing queue. Importantly, bylines cannot be brand promotional.
- An op-ed is “an opinion piece by a guest writer that makes a clear argument about a topic usually (but not always) in the news.” The Washington Post notes, “The name is derived from the traditional placement of these pieces opposite the editorial page of the printed newspaper,” though most people refer to them as opinion editorials today.
The above opportunities are made possible through strategic public relations planning and dedicated outreach. Our team has vast experience developing individualized strategies for company subject matter experts to share their expertise in virtually any industry.
Are you interested in identifying ways to get your leaders heard far and wide? Connect with us to discuss how Dittoe PR can create a robust thought leadership strategy.
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