Activating Your Experts for Thought Leadership
We talk a lot about building executive visibility. That’s because people do business with people. If your prospects don’t know you, you can’t win their business. This means that every company needs to get as many of their executives as they can into the public’s eye.
The argument we get most often is that companies want to funnel all media inquiries through a single person, who is often a spokesperson with no specific knowledge of anything except the company’s position on certain issues. You need those people, but you can do so much more.
The good news is that most successful companies are sitting on a goldmine of underused talent: their subject matter experts. These are people who know their jobs and do them well. They understand what’s going on in the marketplace and what impact current events are likely to have on their customers.
At RGA PR, we help clients create SME programs that turn internal expertise into external authority, without overburdening the team or diluting the message.
Why Your SMEs Matter
Executives are busy, and often too far removed from the day-to-day to speak to technical details. SMEs, on the other hand, are solving problems, talking to customers, and leading projects every day. They bring a level of specificity and credibility that audiences and journalists love.
When the company finds a way to highlight these experts, it builds trust with clients and prospects, increases internal morale and recognition, and strengthens the company’s recruiting brand.
The problem is that few companies know how to start such a program. We always begin by identifying team members who have deep domain knowledge, are comfortable communicating (or who can become comfortable with a bit of training), and who reflect the company values.
Once we have those experts and spend some time with them, interviewing them for blog posts and recording them for podcasts, we get to work matching them up with opportunities. These could be:
- Blog writing or ghostwriting
- Podcast guest spots
- Quotes for media stories
- Speaker slots at industry events
Most of the SMEs we’ve worked with did not wake up in the morning hoping to get on stage at an industry conference. But it doesn’t take much training to get them ready to deliver real thought leadership.
Support matters. Give SMEs time, training, and editorial help so they can show up prepared and aligned with company messaging.
We advise our clients to diversify their expert bench. Don’t rely on one or two spokespeople. Build a bench of 5-10 prepared experts, each ready to speak on a different topic. This allows you to respond faster to media opportunities and create more diverse content.
It’s also important to provide additional training on a regular basis. Review what worked and what didn’t. Celebrate their wins publicly.
If you want to activate your hidden experts and build a thought leadership program that scales, let’s talk. We can help you.
