Building Brand Credibility Through PR: Expert Positioning
With PR initiatives, there are a variety of goals that small business hope to accomplish when being featured in the media. Sometimes it’s spreading brand awareness, generating customers and sales, driving website traffic or supporting SEO initiatives. However, within those goals, I always find that the idea of becoming a trusted authority within their space always comes up as a secondary thought. In reality, building brand credibility is one that shouldn’t be ignored as a major benefit of PR.
Brands who are seen as a trusted authority by consumers and peers have a huge leg up on others. Building brand credibility helps with everything from generating buzz, creating loyalty and growing word of mouth. Overall, when your company is seen as an expert and leader in their field, your brand is seen as strong and grows exponentially.
What’s the number way to do this? Expert Positioning.
Today on the blog, we’re talking about what exactly expert positioning is and how it differs slightly from traditional PR. Many clients LOVE those stories that focus 100% on their own brand. Who doesn’t? Those articles will tell the story of the business, the founder, the growth, the product and so on. It’s a great representation of who the brand is and what they offer. However, Expert Positioning is slightly different.
The idea here is that we offer up a company representative who is an expert in something that journalists want to know. At Little Bird Boston, we pitch the story idea of the topic first and offer up our client as a potential source for information for the journalist. So, the story might come out featuring several sources that support an overall story, or you may be the only featured expert.
This is a great way to generate press, position your brand as an expert in their field and also build trust and develop rapport with journalists who can call on you for future stories.
As of lately, many of our clients have been featured as experts in their field and we wanted to share these results:
Our client, Coolidge Yoga was asked to provide input into SHAPE magazine’s article about the benefits of yoga during pregnancy. Owner and Yoga Instructor, Tatyana Souza is an expert on all things yoga, particularly during pregnancy and for new moms with babies. She was able to build a relationship with the journalist who called on her for this article and has also asked Tatyana to weigh in on additional articles for several other national publications. Read the full interview here: https://www.shape.com/fitness/tips/benefits-yoga-during-pregnancy
Commonwealth Learning Online Institute, a non-profit resource for teachers to obtain professional training and classes was recently featured on a podcast, The Cult of Pedagogy. Lisa Brooks, who currently serves as Principal Director of the Commonwealth Learning Center’s Professional Training Institute in Massachusetts, was invited on the podcast for an interview where Lisa dispelled some of the most common myths about dyslexia, shared some traits teachers can look for that might indicate dyslexia in students, and talked about some things teachers can do inside and outside of the classroom to support these students and help them be more successful. Listen to the full podcast interview here: https://www.cultofpedagogy.com/spot-dyslexia
Our Interior Design client, Magnifique Homes, was recently featured in the Business of Home to give her experience of an unlikely place where she found a unique treasure for her designing needs. She was featured alongside several other industry experts, positioning herself as a leader in her field. Read the full interview here: https://businessofhome.com/articles/the-thrill-of-the-hunt-designers-share-their-most-unlikely-sources
These are just a few examples of our clients being featured as experts. Each one of these articles helped to position the company and staff as leading experts, helping to gain trust and authority with their customers and prospects as well as growing their brand profile and also supporting SEO efforts.
If you are interested in showcasing your own expertise and building brand credibility through expert positioning, get in touch today to talk through your PR strategy at: holly@littlebirdboston.com.
