‘I want to be in The Wall Street Journal’: How to harness your subject-matter expert’s lofty goal in your media relations program
Subject-matter experts usually have a particular publication in mind when they decide to engage in a media relations program. Often, it’s a well-known business publication like The Wall Street Journal or Bloomberg Businessweek.
“Yeah,” the expert thinks, imagining their name and photo (or Journal-style hedcut) used in a pull-quote box next to their pithy, astute words. “I like the looks of that.”
Such a specific goal can give a media relations professional some instant heartburn. Take a step back to see the positives of a goal like this – if you harness it correctly.
For starters, a difficult-to-attain goal shows your subject-matter expert is envisioning what media mentions can do for their profile and the firm’s fortunes. The expert will need to invest their time and reputation in this effort, so having a positive outlook on what can be achieved goes a long way. It is far better to work with an expert with a lofty goal that needs some refining than with a reluctant participant who will bail at the first signs of difficulty.
A goal that seems out of reach also can be a powerful incentive. It can help your expert power through reluctance at doing things that are necessary for success in media relations. Things like spending time on developing and refining pitches, and preparing for interviews, and agreeing to do interviews with niche, well-regarded industry publications that may not have that “wow!” factor of the expert’s ultimate goal.
Embrace the sentiment, if not the outlet
My initial reaction to a goal like this is to find a way to cautiously support it. Something like this:
“I agree, that’s a great publication. They do excellent work on [something relevant to your industry] and [reporter name] is fantastic. Over time, we can tee you up for opportunities at publications like that. Let’s develop a plan to elevate your profile so reporters at publications like that will be receptive to interviewing you.
“Patience is the key. It’s difficult to make it in a single leap from where we are now to being quoted by publications at that level. It’s like the Chinese proverb that a journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step. It’s a long way, for sure, but with a plan and dedication to implementing it, we can get there. And the steps we take along the way will immediately boost awareness of you and the firm.”
Four keys to success
Keep these ideas in mind as you build a plan to reach the expert's goal (or a publication in a similar media tier):
Start or ramp up your monitoring of the goal outlet and relevant peers. Make a targeted search with these outlets on your media monitoring service. Create a private list on Twitter with potential target reporters and editors and other accounts that feature work in the specific area you would target, e.g., @NYTHealth.
Work back from the target group to pick trade media outlets for extra attention. Your monitoring is deepening your knowledge of what the target group are covering. The stories from other outlets that your target group retweets are very revealing – you get a better sense of what a national outlet reporter is reading to stay current in the industry. Add these reporters and outlets to your monitoring service and Twitter list and look for immediate pitching opportunities.
Connect each step to the end goal. Remind the expert that to achieve our goals, these steps are necessary. Here’s an example: When we are pitching top-tier media, they will look at previous stories quoting the subject-matter expert. They are going to evaluate whether the SME is worth their time, just as you researched whether this reporter and outlet would be beneficial to the expert – except the reporters have a lot less time. They need to see it right away. Tell the expert that these trade media clips will be linked in pitches to top-tier media to demonstrate their skills.
Revisit the goal with the subject-matter expert. After reviewing a few media interviews that worked out, ask the expert if they still have the same media relations goal in mind. Ask if their thinking has changed after seeing the impact of appearing in more targeted publications. Over longer time periods, ask if their business imperatives have shifted (a question to ask periodically in any case) and, if yes, does that change what would be their “wow!” publication. Top-tier media may still be a priority, but the specific outlet may have shifted.
An expert's lofty goal can put a media relations professional on the spot. Use your subject-matter expert’s eagerness to appear in top-tier media outlets to motivate them to do the necessary, unglamorous work that leads to sustained success in media relations.
Image from Free Photos via Pixabay