The Importance of Including Experts in Your Digital PR Campaigns

When it comes to creating digital PR campaigns there are many different things that need to be considered including relevance to the client, the availability of data metrics, and ensuring pieces are topical.

Here at Kaizen we also try to include experts in our digital PR campaigns, from pre-ideation through to outreach where relevant. Using experts throughout the process means that campaigns will be topical and relevant – something journalists and writers look for. 

Experts can be both from your internal client’s team and also a spokesperson from an external company whose skill set will complement the topics and sectors a client is known for. 

It’s important that strong relationships are built when you’re reaching out to experts. Make sure they know what they’re getting out of the arrangement otherwise it could turn sour. Benefits include getting their name into the national press and alongside your client’s brand, which depending on the client could be extremely beneficial. 

Here are five examples of when and why you should consider using experts in a digital PR campaign: 

Working with experts before ideation means your content ideas are timely and relevant

As an agency, we work across lots of different clients in lots of different sectors. We understand that our clients are experts in their fields. Having discussions around the wider sector before ideations mean that we are aware of the areas and topics that are most relevant and newsworthy to them at the moment. 

Alternatively, using external experts alongside, or as well as, client insight means that you can get a clearer picture of the industry and sector as a whole. The experts know the industries inside and out, it is our job to find the newsworthy and relevant angles that we know journalists will be interested in.

Running ideas by experts means they can point out interesting angles and topics

By extension, running ideas past an expert, as you would your client, means that they can point out any areas which could potentially cause controversy – which can be both good or bad depending on the client and topic – or any ideas they think are particularly interesting. 

Your experts may even know about data sources or other reports that can help inform your own research, ultimately saving you time which is so important when it comes to ensuring campaigns are turned around as quickly as possible. 

Show your research to experts means they can add wider context

Once you’ve done your research there may be certain anomalies or angles that you may think will work really well when it comes to outreach. However, experts can set the research in a wider context of the industry and sector changes. This could result in PR needing to re-angle the press release and on-page copy. 

Experts may also be able to point out particular findings that are of interest to them. If your expert thinks it’s interesting – it means the journalists you are targeting probably will too!

Using experts in outreach allows you to have a reactive approach

As stories break and new angles come to light, having an expert you can rely on means that you can use them for reactive commentary opportunities. Journalists need quotes from individuals and sources who are relevant and can most importantly add insight and knowledge to the story. 

Having a database of experts that you have worked with previously, noting the topics they are comfortable discussing and commenting on, means that you can turn to them quickly when needed. 

Ultimately, when working with experts, collaboration is key. Whether you are working with internal client experts or experts from the sector make sure you are all aligned on the aim and goal of the campaign. Experts give you context, industry insight, and relevancy, all of which will help you build a successful digital PR campaign. 

Find out more about our approach to creating digital PR campaigns and landing tier one coverage on our blog.