Greg Simpson, founder of Press for Attention PR, helps you position yourself as an expert in the media.
Ever wondered how to position yourself as an expert? Or, perhaps more importantly, why? It comes down to trust.
Now, a lot of people do get this and that is why they tend to hire me. Positioning via profile. However, I also get a lot of people asking me why the media never asks them for their opinion and instead relies on what they see as “The Usual Suspects.”
They think this is “unfair” or that the media is being lazy, or it is a closed shop. Nonsense. Just consider how busy a journalist is. They get email pitches that run into the THOUSANDS every week. This means that they are unlikely to start merrily seeking new contributors until they are good and ready (and on a deadline).
So, you have three choices:
- Proactively pitch topics before they think of them.
- React pronto when they request expertise.
- Do s*d all and hope and then moan about not being asked to the dance.
We cover methods 1 and 2 as part of our retained services (1) and our Alerts Service (2).
The most recent example happened last Sunday (not by the time you read this of course), which was a deadly combo of both. It transpires that some idiot is doing the rounds on social media with a “recipe” for DIY SPF. Yep. What could possibly go wrong?
Now, thanks to proactive thinking by us and our new client, Dr Dimi, we already had SPF advice on his newsroom, and it had been pitched to the lifestyle press as the weather warmed up.
So, when this story blew up, I was monitoring media alerts seeking comments and could go to them with a qualified expert (a doctor) who had already given some useful advice on safer sun. The next step was to answer any specific questions about this DIY SPF danger. That was done over WhatsApp between clinics by Dr Dimi and I. The response was about 2 hours in total from me seeing the tweet.
What has happened since is coverage in the Daily Express, across the “Reach” local titles, including the one local to Dr Dimi (great for SEO), and this Sunday it has just gone in the Daily Mirror with links back to his website. SEO and PR gold!
How did this happen? Proactive plus Reactive PR efforts whilst taking a moment to add value. It took me 2 hours in total for the copy and pitch plus another day to write the original campaign (plus 25 years of doing this), and it took our client, Dr Dimi, 15 mins.
So next time you wonder whether it is worth spending the time to react to an alert or an opportunity or to actively cultivate your media profile as an expert, take a look in the Mirror. Naturally, as a vein PR guy, I do it Daily….
A former business journalist, Greg Simpson is the author of The Small Business Guide to PR and has been recognised as one of the UK’s top 5 PR consultants, having set up Press for Attention PR in 2008.
He has worked for FTSE 100 firms, charities and start-ups and conducted press conferences with Sir Richard Branson and James Caan. His background ensures a deep understanding of every facet of a successful PR campaign – from a journalist’s, client’s, and consultant’s perspective.
See this column in the August issue of East Midlands Business Link Magazine here.
