Build Relationships With Media That Matters Most To Your Business

Thought leadership – opinions and perspectives on business, management and specific industry issues – are an excellent way to position C-level leaders as authoritative experts in their field. Customers look to thought leadership as it demonstrates the level of market intelligence an organization has and how it contributes to the industry at large; they’re more likely to gravitate toward your company or brand as a result.

You may already know that Google recently updated its Quality Rater Guidelines known as E-E-A-T, an acronym which now stands for Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness and Trustworthiness.  The new Experience part pertains to thought leadership. This means that when people do a Google search for a particular topic, Google will rate you based on your depth of experience in the public domain on a subject.

This is another reason why building a portfolio of press coverage adds tremendous brand value.
When senior leaders can share their knowledge, research data and insights – which are spotlighted and featured in news articles, broadcasts, blogs or podcasts – it’s akin to a third party endorsement, and that carries a lot of weight and credibility with stakeholders and Google.

In terms of E-E-A-T, Google will now assign a higher rating in search when references with your name are located including feature articles, interviews, commentary, and byline articles. Such coverage can and should be leveraged in your company marketing too – don’t forget to include news coverage in email newsletters, blogs, and social media.

You can secure news coverage by first identifying your business objectives, then looking for the publications and digital media outlets where you’d like your news to appear.

Because this is such an important topic, over the next few months I’m going to be sharing my tips on how to reach out to and connect with the right media. This month, I’m addressing how to enhance your LinkedIn profile to capture attention.

Before You Reach Out to Media, Optimize Your LinkedIn Profile

Before reaching out to any media, you want to make sure your LinkedIn profile immediately jumps out, showcasing who you are, what you do, and why you are an expert in your industry.

Profile Photo: A professional headshot is a must and your LinkedIn profile should be optimized using Creator Mode which gives you the “Talks About” section where you can list hashtags of key subject areas – critical in LinkedIn search.

Header Image: Upload a header image that communicates what you do via a graphic or statement.

“Say” Your Name: Use the Name Pronunciation feature (from your smartphone) to record a 15 second statement about what you do. This will show up in the header via the sound icon.

Maximize Your Headline: Make the most of the space allotted in your headline by going beyond your job title. Get creative and include information that showcases your personality or what you love to do.

Create an Informative About Section: So many people ignore this section thinking the photo, headline, and experience information is sufficient. But the About section gives you 2,000 characters to provide an overview of your professional life – achievements, career choices, volunteer work, activities that demonstrate your personality, whatever you want to include to define YOU.

Complete Your Contact Info: Provide as many touch points as possible – email, phone number, and a hyperlink to a webpage/website (a relatively new feature).

If you’re looking to increase brand visibility and executive presence, let’s talk. Click here to schedule a free discovery call today. Sign up to receive our free monthly PR Tips here.