While many consumers buy products and use the services of others on a daily basis, few stop to think about why they chose one brand or person over another. The power of print, advertising, and images from television and film often have more of an effect on consumer choices then they may admit.
With a product or service to sell, you have likely already investigated the costs and demographics of various traditional venues for advertising, however it is likely that you have missed a key to selling and an easy way to gain attention for your projects and products—becoming an expert.
Choose a popular product or service associated with a person. It may be a diet book, a lawyer, or even a favorite band. The majority of these products started out as any other, gaining market share or attention through traditional advertising or word-of-mouth. But, at some point, the people associated with these products were regarded as experts, or as key people in their area. At that point sales likely significantly increased. With this evaluation, it is easy to see why a campaign to establish yourself as an expert can mean the difference between successful or mediocre sales or the difference between getting that job or promotion.
Understanding the benefits of this alternative advertising is simple. Understanding how to establish yourself as an expert or highly regarded person associated with a product is the difficult part. Those who have hired a public relations company and/or advertising firm may assume that establishing you as an expert is already a goal. Since this focus often takes longer than other forms of public relations, many firms forgo these efforts as they are rewarded for quick placements. That leaves this essential area of public relations up to you, the expert.
Perhaps you think you do not qualify as an expert. Just who can be an "expert," anyway? Almost anyone can be considered an expert in today's world. Aside from the obvious experts, those with significant training in their field, like physicians, lawyers, firefighters, etc., authors hoping to sell more books, assistant professors or lower level professionals hoping for the corner office, those with niche specialties, or those experience in an area, can qualify.
Establishing yourself as an expert is difficult to do without media contacts and without representation. Those with representation are taken more seriously and most journalists prefer to deal with representatives they can trust. Journalists prefer to communicate through representatives rather than spend their time hunting down the expert at work or on his mobile phone.
If your public relations firm does not focus, specialize, or include expert placements in your plans, (and most do not) find a service that does. The cost will be significantly less than other areas of your PR budget.
When considering expert placement keep a few things in mind:
1. A good representative will be able to tell you if they think they can place you given your experience and specialty area and will not take you as a client if they do not think you qualify.
2. If you write, speak with your representative about helping you with pitching to the appropriate media outlets. Though not an option for everyone, this can be beneficial for newer freelance writers and those with very specialized expertise.
3. Choosing a service that focuses primarily on expert placement likely means those who need experts seek them out.
4. Though cost is important, your best representatives are not necessarily the most expensive and the worst are not necessarily the least expensive. Email or call the company or individual to get an idea of how they work if their price is not what you expect.
5. While signed with a company, remember to always keep them informed as to how you can be contacted. If someone wants your services and you can not be contacted, it lowers your credibility and that of your representative.
6. Some experts will be more in demand then others. Rest assured that good representatives are working hard to place you as they want you to remain under contract with them and recommend them to others. Your success is their success.
7.If you are not getting placements try writing an article, highlighting recent sales, or informing your representative of recent activities. The more they have to work with to promote you, the better for you.
So, for your next or current project, try adding the expert angle to your public relations and watch the difference it makes for sales.
Candice Pascal, Esq. is President of Zen-Fusion Expert Management, a service which focuses on establishing clients as the experts behind their products and key contacts in their industry. Representing physicians, authors, attorneys, tradespersons, B2B service professionals, researchers, academics and many others, Zen-Fusion has, since 2001, served as a leader in expert management services. Visit Zen-Fusion Expert Management at http://www.zen-fusion.com to learn more. Zen-Fusion Expert Management is a division of Zen-Fusion Entertainment, LLC.
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