How to become a media “go-to” expert
Have you ever had to scramble for an interview for a senior White House staffer after pitching – and being rejected by – his friends, Connie Chung, Barbara Walters or Diane Sawyer? Or found out that your client was booked to speak at Comic Con 2009 at the exact same time that James Cameron was presenting the first public screening of 3-D footage from Avatar?
If you’re Marsha Friedman, founder and CEO of EMSI, a pay-for-play PR firm based in Florida, that’s all in a days work.
Marsha Friedman, CEO of EMSI and author of "Celebritize Yourself"
Friedman launched EMSI in 1990 and since then has represented clients as diverse as Teamster’s President Jimmy Hoffa Jr., Motown Group, the Temptations, and Sergeant’s Pet Care Products.
She also authored the book Celebritize Yourself: The Three Step Method to Increase Your Visibility and Explode Your Business, last year. Friedman says that by following the three steps, anyone can become a go-to expert regardless of their profession and industry.
“We live in a celebrity world,” Friedman says. “There are celebrity political pundits, attorneys, chefs, poker players, bounty hunters and even dog trainers. These people didn’t start as celebrities, they were just experts in their field who became celebrities because they were able to find a spotlight in the media, television and radio.”
And while a lot of hard work goes into finding that spotlight, the formula for doing so is surprisingly easy:
1. Write
2. Speak
3. Sell
Writing a book immediately gives you more credibility in your field, Friedman says.
“You don’t need to be a writer to author a book,” she says. “Most people don’t realize that most of the “How-to” books they see in stores are written by a ghost writer or in collaboration with a ghost writer.
“It will still be your thoughts, but you’re delegating your ideas to a skilled writer.”
Once you have a book, you use it to promote your expertise, Friedman says.
“The media is looking for experts,” she says. “A book makes you eligible to be a paid speaker. It’s a networking and marketing vehicle. You have to take advantage of that positioning.”
And even if the media isn’t coming to you directly, you can still position yourself as an expert through social media and social networking.
“The options with social media are phenomenal,” Friedman says. “It allows you to get out there and attract attention. It can help you become known globally.”
But it’s not just about building your list of followers and friends, she warns.
“Building connections is important, but it is also important to drive them to your website; to get them to opt-in to an RSS feed or email campaign,” she says. “You’re not just building people. You have to build interest.”
And building interest, she says, leads directly into her next step. Selling yourself.
“Selling is a byproduct of media and social networking,” Friedman says. “If you offer good advice on TV or Twitter, people will want to buy your book. You have to be a really good pitchman.”
Marketing is essential to every business, and being an expert celebrity is the business of marketing yourself, she says.
“Take ownership of being positioned as an expert and maximize on your opportunities.”
Oh, and by the way. Things turned out pretty good for the two case studies introduced at the beginning of this article.
EMSI managed to get the senior White House staffer on 60 Minutes to promote his book.
They also booked Michael Uslan, a key producer on The Dark Knight, on a few morning radio shows in San Diego to drum up anticipation and try to salvage an audience for his presentation at Comic Con. Even with Avatar debuting in another room, Friedman says Uslan spoke to a full room.
“They were all interested to see the man behind Batman,” Friedman says. Though she admits booking Uslan in the 6 a.m. timeslot on the local CBS affiliate didn’t hurt – especially since he was surprisingly interviewed by a man in a Robin costume.
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Liz Harter has a degree in English Writing with a minor in Spanish from Saint Mary’s College in Notre Dame, Ind. She is an award winning journalist on the collegiate level with a strong background in journalism. She currently works in PR and is a social media autodidact Google+
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