Nine Steps to Creating an Expert Source Program
Posted by CommsAdmin on Jul. 10, 2014 / PRSA Mid America, The Media, Events / Subscribe 0
A few of the St. Louis chapter members at PRSA Midwest District Conference, including PRSA St. Louis President Tressa Robbins (far right) and Steffani Bolhofner (far left).
Steffani Bolhofner was one of nearly 20 PRSA St. Louis members who attended and/or presented at the 2014 PRSA Midwest District Conference, held in Springfield, Missouri, June 18-20. It was an outstanding opportunity to network with pros from multiple states and learn new skills. Steffani, who won a free registration to the conference from the chapter, shares what she learned in Karren Jeske’s, APR session, How to Create an Expert Source Program.
All of us are good at something. At the first session of PRSA’s Midwest District Conference, Karren Jeske, APR, communications manager at Standard Processes, Inc., taught us how to take people’s strengths and use them to create positive publicity.
Creating an expert source program (ESP) allows you to have a bank of resources to pitch to the media. And knowing who you can call on in your company empowers you be proactive in responding to the media.
In nine steps you can go from zero to expert.
1. Identify your goals
What do you want your expert source program to achieve?
Goals for each organization will be different. Maybe you need to gain credibility, increase brand loyalty or engage target audiences in your brand. Perhaps internal results such as assisting with employee recruitment and retention and aiding in professional development are your key motivators.
There are a number of different reasons to have your company seen as a valuable resource. One of the most important might be securing your own employment! Who wants to get rid of the person getting the company awesome publicity? That’s right. No one.
2. Identify your target audience(s)
Examples -
External Audiences: journalists, bloggers, consumers, business leaders, investors, legislators and vendors
Internal Audiences: employees, sales force members, board of directors
3. Identify your internal and external experts
It’s now time to identify your internal subject matter experts. These are people who can be experts in a brand-related subject. This could be anyone from the accountant down the hall to the CEO with a vision.
To find external experts, draw from customers, association leaders (PRSA contacts might be a good place to start) or other outside constituents who are experts on subject matters related to your business and akin to your brand’s philosophy.
BONUS: Guess who else can be an expert. YOU! Don’t discount the subjects you’re an expert in.
4. Identify key outlets where you can pitch your experts
Jeske listed industry trade, consumer, business and social media as key outlets. A couple others that the crowd suggested were bloggers and being a part of trade shows. Maybe even consider presenting at the next PRSA conference.
5. Create the forms you will need to manage your ESP
- Intake Form: ask potential experts to fill out their name, degrees, affiliations/professional memberships, boards served, expert areas, awards/recognitions/published works and what type of help they'd like to give, whether it's an interview, an article or a blog post.
- Expert Source List: keep track of everyone who is willing to be an expert and their information in an organized spreadsheet to easily see who can help at any given time.
- Article Checklist: keep track of what has been published, who was interviewed or wrote for each outlet and what has been pitched. This is key! Use your track record to prove the worth of an expert source program.
6. Contact potential internal and external experts
When recruiting, you will most likely have to do a little convincing. Make sure to explain the benefits of being part of an ESP. Need a list? Below is Karren Jeske's list of convincing benefits.
- Develop oral presentation skills
- Develop writing skills
- Develop presentation skills
- Establish themselves as an expert in their profession
- Receive company recognition as a leader/subject matter expert
- External Experts: increase exposure to their key audience(s)
Be up front about the time commitment involved in being part of an expert source program, including the time needed to write articles and to be interviewed, how the news media works, any industry regulations and make it clear that there is no payment involved.
7. Reach out to outlets to pitch your experts
Only reach out to media outlets when you truly feel that you can help reporters, bloggers, editors, etc. do their job and only pitch experts who fit the bill.
8. Provide guidance to your experts
You may do this type of thing all the time, but your experts may need help with editing or their presentation skills. Some good old fashioned encouragement goes a long way! Be sure to send a thank you to the expert and his/her boss.
9. Evaluate and refine your expert source program
Did you meet your ESP goals? How many pitches? What's your success rate? How many new experts? Did experts add new skills or topics? Knowing these facts can help you prove the worth of the program and justify the time you spend working on it.
If you’re interested in some of the resources/templates Karren Jeske provided, you can email her at [email protected].
This post is courtesy of Steffani Bolhofner, PRSA St. Louis member. She is a Project Manager & Content Strategist at Integrity Interactive in The Loop. Steffani earned her bachelor’s degree in advertising and public relations at Southeast Missouri State University. You can find her on Twitter @hofboss.
0 Comments