The renewed focus on housebuilding and infrastructure by the new government has created a hotbed of media opportunities for the property and construction sector.

With so many policy changes to dissect and discuss, media outlets are clamouring for content from experts who can give their thoughts, opinions and advice. In return, companies can leverage the opportunity to raise their profile and the personal profile of their experts. 

With even more opportunities on the horizon, we’ve put together a guide on why and how to maximise a media moment, using the recent Planning and Infrastructure as a case study on how we did it best.  

What is expert profiling? 

Expert profiling means to strategically elevate your companies’ profile through positioning their senior teams as experts. This can be through a variety of formats, such as supplying thought leadership articles to key trade titles, or through securing speaking slots at industry events. 

What benefits does expert profiling have?  

As well as the usual benefits that come from generating media coverage – such as raising brand awareness, supporting SEO aims through backlink generation, and getting third party credibility – expert profiling goes one step further.  

A properly considered and curated expert profiling plan can help ensure that a few key people within your company become the ‘go to’ voices in the industry. This, in turn, helps the credibility of the business overall, positioning the company as thought leaders.  

How do media moments fit into an expert profiling programme? 

While an expert profiling programme is usually a long term strategy taking place over a number of months or even years, meaning many of the topics and issues covered are big picture, long term problems – such as sustainability or AI – there are opportunities to reactively comment on media moments. 

A media moment – a news story that generates a lot of interest or coverage – such as the Planning and Infrastructure Bill, which is revolutionary in its reforms and will undoubtedly spark conversations in a number of sectors and cause controversy for the public, gives your experts the opportunity to relate these big issues to topical events. It also demonstrates your business has its finger on the pulse of issues that affect the industry, or your customers directly.  

By becoming a ‘go to’ voice, it can increase the chances of media outlets featuring your content when these media moments happen, further positioning the expert as a thought leader while making the process smoother overall. 

Our tips for building an expert profiling programme: 

• Consider who you want to profile carefully 

While it may be tempting to give everyone their own program, selecting a few key people who can really ‘own’ certain issues helps to build their reputation as being an expert in that field. It also means that resources are not split between too many people, and a greater impact can be made through the programme.  

• Include a variety of opportunities 

Expert profiling can cover anything from published articles, going on a podcast or being a panellist at an industry conference. Diversifying the type of outputs and mediums will help broaden the audience bolstering the expert’s profile.  

• Know your target audience 

It’s important to evaluate an opportunity on more than just how many people will read, watch or listen to it. Perfecting your outreach approach will ensure your communications are tailored, increasing the likelihood of engagement. Consider more niche events or publications that are specific to your industry, as well as the showstopping events or national media for a well-rounded expert profiling programme that packs a punch. 

• Be consistent  

Both quality and quantity are equally important in expert profiling, so it’s essential that these programmes have regular outputs in order to become a frequent and loud voice in the industry.  

• Maximise the opportunities through owned and social channels 

It’s important that owned and social channels are leveraged to further support the programme, such as providing blogs, contributing to newsletters, hosting a company podcast or regularly posting on their LinkedIn page. This ensures that more of the expert’s work can be found if people click through to the company website because of one of their outputs increasing the trust, while also further amplifying the reach.  

Want to maximise media opportunities but don’t know where to start? Working with an experienced PR and comms agency can help to spot and plan for opportunities to get the most out of them. Get in touch with the Pearl Comms team today for advice and recommendations.