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Annie Ginty, Ph.D., assistant professor of psychology and neuroscience at Baylor University was interviewed by Waco, Texas' KXXV for a story about the benefits of exercise during times of stress -- specifically during this time of coronavirus (COVID-19). During the interview with reporter Erin Heft, Ginty said: “Some research from our lab at Baylor has shown that people who exercise more, when they are faced with some thing that makes them feel stressful or anxious, they actually perceive that is more helpful, so the feeling of anxiety makes them feel they’re able to cope with that situation" "Exercise is a good stress on our body, because what it’s doing, our systems are changing, it’s increasing heart rate, it’s adrenaline. But everything’s increasing in balance, so our body is maintaining homeostasis." To view the complete story, visit KXXV's website.
Baylor Expert on Remote Work Shares 5 Key Tips to Make the Most of Working from Home
The international response to the COVID-19 public health crisis has led millions of workers to make home their new office as communities and organizations promote social distancing to slow the spread of the virus. For many individuals, this spring marks the first time they will have worked from home for a substantial amount of time. Sara Perry, Ph.D., assistant professor of management in Baylor University’s Hankamer School of Business, an internationally-recognized remote work researcher and author of a 2018 study published in the European Journal of Work and Organizational Psychology, offers tips in five key areas for employees to consider as they make the most of working from home. “Research has given us some good empirical evidence of key areas that will help remote work be more successful,” Perry said. Create a physical work space. Perry: If it’s possible, we have to have a separate working space, especially if you can close the door to focus. This would be ideal, but if you can't do that, try setting up different workspaces around your home that are well-defined and that you can “close” at the end of the day to help maintain a balance in terms of your family and your work. Now, if you have kids in the mix as well, then I think we need to set up a workstation for them as well. It can be the kitchen table or the bar. Younger kids can have stations of their own, too – like the stations they would have in preschool. Some people even talk about making a standing desk with books, to be able to move your position throughout the day. Everyone in the family might even like to rotate around throughout the day, sharing the different work spaces. Think about how you can work outside, too, weather permitting. Adhere to a work schedule – and take breaks. Perry: We aren't going to have clear boundaries of time. We're going to have to make them. The best thing to do is to start with a schedule similar to what you would already be doing if you went to work. If you can try to stick close to the same schedule, you're going to find the transition easier. Don't start sleeping in and doing things completely differently — that will make the adjustment a lot harder. Take breaks. Research by my colleagues Emily Hunter and Cindy Wu found that optimal breaks come mid-morning, and it can set you up for the rest of the day. It’s important to get up and move away from the screen periodically. A short break can help preserve your focus and attention resources for the rest of the day. For your further well-being, you will need to turn work off at the end of the day, because no one is going to shut it off for you. Pick a way that you're going to do that, whether it's to put your stuff away, or by planning some sort of transition time that would replace what your commute would have done. Some people will call someone or listen to a podcast. For others, or a walk around the neighborhood provides something to transition and decompress. Think about what you would normally do (or want to do) and see if you can work that in for your own transition from work to family time. Connect with others. Perry: The change in physical environment is going to be a big change even for people who are used to working remotely. At work, you may feel a sense of connection to people even if you don’t even talk to them. You at least have their presence, and we’re going to miss that in the coming weeks. One of the biggest concerns in the remote work literature is isolation, and while individuals who have families at home might not feel isolated from people in general, we might feel isolated from our professional lives and identity. We’ll have to be more proactive about using technology in a way to stay connected while still remaining productive. We don’t want to have virtual meetings for the sake of meetings, but we might want to have some for the sake of connection. For leaders, check in and make sure people have resources and that they are doing okay as we all adapt to a virtual workspace. Try to be proactive about it. Maybe we have a video call simply to check in for 30 minutes at the end of the day or whenever, just try to stay connected. Help children and family adjust. Perry: With my children, I’m thinking about how to create some type of structure, taking lessons from our homeschool friends about how they set up their day. I’ve found that my children and my friends’ children get excited about reconstructing their own schedule from school at home. So, let them have some input about what their day should look like, and try to work your schedule in tandem or in parallel with that. Scheduling loose blocks of time for tasks throughout the day can help with this, too. Blocking off time can help you communicate, “for the next 30 minutes or the next hour, we’re all going to work on this activity at our separate stations, then meet and redirect. We know it's possible because a lot of schools have a model where students are self-directed. You give them direction and then they go do it. However, we also don’t want to over-schedule, or over-do anything. We need to enjoy the time that we have with them, and be grateful for that, and practice gratitude daily as we try to manage all of this.” Manage expectations. Perry: In light of everything that we're facing, it’s important to stay flexible. That’s true for leaders—really try to have flexibility and allow your employees to figure out how remote work best works for them. We can't micromanage from afar. We can check in, make sure everyone has resources, make sure people are doing OK. Some people need a little more of that than others, but we really need to just adapt and be flexible. It’s important that everyone should try to be realistic, be clear with expectations, but also try to be realistic about what's actually going to happen over the next several weeks. All of us are under a lot of stress, more stress than normal. So, we just have to have realistic expectations and recognize that all of us, and our leaders, are experiencing a learning curve. We need to think about the big picture as we roll this out, and really keep employee wellbeing as the number one consideration. Note: This interview is adapted from Dr. Perry’s interview on the Baylor Connections podcast. Visit the Baylor Connections website to listen to the full interview. ABOUT BAYLOR UNIVERSITY Baylor University is a private Christian University and a nationally ranked research institution. The University provides a vibrant campus community for more than 18,000 students by blending interdisciplinary research with an international reputation for educational excellence and a faculty commitment to teaching and scholarship. Chartered in 1845 by the Republic of Texas through the efforts of Baptist pioneers, Baylor is the oldest continually operating University in Texas. Located in Waco, Baylor welcomes students from all 50 states and more than 90 countries to study a broad range of degrees among its 12 nationally recognized academic divisions. ABOUT HANKAMER SCHOOL OF BUSINESS AT BAYLOR UNIVERSITY At Baylor University’s Hankamer School of Business, integrity stands shoulder-to-shoulder with analytic and strategic strengths. The School’s top-ranked programs combine rigorous classroom learning, hands-on experience in the real world, a solid foundation in Christian values and a global outlook. Making up approximately 25 percent of the University’s total enrollment, undergraduate students choose from 16 major areas of study. Graduate students choose from full-time, executive or online MBA or other specialized master’s programs, and Ph.D. programs in Information Systems, Entrepreneurship or Health Services Research. The Business School also has campuses located in Austin and Dallas, Texas. Visit www.baylor.edu/business and follow on Twitter at twitter.com/Baylor_Business.
While a huge focus is on health and mortality during the coronavirus outbreak, not to be forgotten are those who are grappling with death from natural causes, diseases, accidents and crime. Funerals and visitations are the customary means of support friends and loved ones — but restricted travel and social distancing poses challenges. Here are suggestions about grieving from Candi Cann, Ph.D., associate professor in the Baylor Interdisciplinary Core of the Honors College and author of “Virtual Afterlives: Grieving the Dead in the Twenty-first Century”; and Bill Hoy, clinical professor of medical humanities and author of “Do Funerals Matter: The Purposes and Practices of Death Rituals in Global Perspective.” Q: Funerals and visitations are such a time of hugs, hand-holding, prayers, closeness — simply being there. How might travel restrictions, social distancing and concerns for personal health interfere — and how can family and friends be supportive? CANN: I think live-streaming of funerals is a great option and allows people to be present from a distance. Most companies also offer virtual guestbooks where one can leave a teddy bear or flowers, light candles, etc., online in honor of the person. Many cemeteries are also moving online so that each gravestone will have a corresponding virtual memorial, filled with the deceased person's playlist, videos, pictures and memories. Of course, as with all technology, the capability of funeral homes varies from business to business, but my guess is that from an industry perspective, we are going to see a jump in virtual and online offerings as the funeral industry tries to stay relevant and contemporaneous. Also, if presence is important, one can choose disposal options that allow for the return of the deceased into the home, such as being cremated into cremains, or made into a diamond that one wears, or a record that one plays. You can insert cremains into the vinyl and make a record, or a glass sculpture with the cremains mixed into the glass. So, you don't have to be separated from the dead. HOY: I agree that live-streaming may have to suffice, but our experience shows it is a poor second choice. From time immemorial, we have seen that physical presence is vital, and I think that is what is so alarming to me about some of the current discussion in our culture. I was taking care of AIDS patients in Los Angeles in the 1980s when we saw some of the same disenfranchisement of grief, requiring direct cremation of the body and in some cases, forbidding the gathering of people in funeral rituals. It did not turn out to be a psychosocially sound practice and is creating a high level of concern on the part of my clinical colleagues. Q: Have there been times in history when this has been an issue as well when it comes to contagious disease? Have people taken safeguards before? HOY: Two notable examples were the 1918-19 Influenza Epidemic — unfortunately misnamed Spanish Flu — and the 2014-15 Ebola crisis in West Africa. In both cases, high numbers of dead coupled with high levels of contagion caused health authorities to create quarantines and eliminate gatherings such as funerals. Recent research out of the Ebola epidemic indicates that at least in some cases, these measures were counterproductive in that “secret” burials took place and those who had money were able to bribe officials to look the other way. I think we want to be especially vigilant to make sure we are being economically and socially just in the policies we put in place. Fortunately, we do have media to help bridge those gaps now that were not available in those other events, so that will almost certainly help. I am going to stop far short, however, of suggesting that media even approaches a point of providing the same psycho-social-spiritual benefit that sharing a space, rubbing shoulders and sharing tears do. CANN: The most recent epidemic in the United States was the AIDS epidemic in the 1980s and 1990s. By October of 1995, there were over half a million cases of people with AIDS, and many people did not know how to treat or interact with those who were infected. And just this month, a second person was cured of HIV with a stem cell transplant. I have lots of faith in our scientists and that they will be able to create an effective vaccination or cure for COVID-19. Q: Besides finding new or different ways to express support and love to others, what about oneself? We hear about self-isolation – what about self-comfort and self-care in other ways? HOY: This is a great time for self-reflection. What I am doing for myself are the things I recommend to others. Besides being vigilant about what I eat and getting out in the fresh air, I am taking care of myself by limiting my exposure to media. I have not been a big user of social media anyway, but I recommend to folks to be very careful about that because the COVID-19 misinformation is rampant. Instead, I check the National Institutes of Health website once each day for scientific updates, and I have taken all the news update alerts off my phone. Instead, I am trying to give more time to talking with family and friends by phone and video conferencing, journaling and reading. Of course, like other professors, I am spending time talking with students and getting ready to take my classes online next week. In my personal Bible study time, I decided I would spend some time looking at Scripture passages that address fear and have particularly enjoyed hearing God’s perspective on this. CANN: I think one of the hardest things about death is that life goes on without the dead. The birds keep chirping, the flowers keep blooming, people keep being worried about the most mundane matters — and that's difficult when a part of our world has stopped. But this is also what is beautiful about death. It forces us to see life all around us — its fragility, its constancy and its beauty. So, for me, self-care in grief is talking about death, talking with others about the one we lost and living again — in honor of the person who died who doesn't get to be here living anymore. As we embrace life, I strongly recommend that people reach out to friends and family. Social distancing does not need to mean social isolation. I'm also going on regular walks and spending time outside. We need to stay healthy and in shape during this time. Some people are finding it fun to do group-gaming and discovering new ways to spend time with family and friends either virtually in games or via video. Catholic churches are offering drive-through Eucharist and confession, Protestant churches are live-streaming their services and youth groups, Islamic mosques are live-streaming prayers and Buddhist temples are live-streaming meditation sessions. ABOUT BAYLOR UNIVERSITY Baylor University is a private Christian University and a nationally ranked research institution. The University provides a vibrant campus community for more than 17,000 students by blending interdisciplinary research with an international reputation for educational excellence and a faculty commitment to teaching and scholarship. Chartered in 1845 by the Republic of Texas through efforts of Baptist pioneers, Baylor is the oldest continually operating University in Texas. Located in Waco, Baylor welcomes students from all 50 states and more than 90 countries to study a broad range of degrees among its 12 nationally recognized academic divisions.
Hacking billionaires and the link between Bezos, Iran and what’s next for America
It’s becoming the ultimate he said/she said between the ultra-rich and world elite. Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos is claiming Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman hacked his phone via WhatsApp. The motive seems routed to the murdering of the Washington Post’s journalist Jamal Khashoggi. However, as the billionaires debate and deflect what actually happened, the event should be a warning sign of what could be on the horizon. America is still on guard and expecting retaliation in one form or another from the assassination of General Qasem Soleimani, and online attacks and targeting cellphones could be the preferred method from America’s enemies abroad. “We should expect attacks from Iranian hackers or those sympathetic to their cause who appear to be civilians without nation state sponsorship will hit low level targets on the basis of ideological/national pride,” says Michigan State University’s Thomas J. Holt. “There will likely be nation-state sponsored attacks though it is unclear how quickly they will launch or how effective they may be.” This is an area that is familiar with American military and intelligence circles, Holt further explains. “Historically the U.S. has been involved in cyber-attacks that are able to severely affect Iranian capabilities, such as Stuxnet. Their counterattacks have been less public and seemingly less effective. However, they’ve already begun as with that web defacement against a US government website reported last week that appears to have Iranian ties or origination.” And as America waits and watches... What are the obvious and perhaps not so obvious approaches to breaching American cyber-security that we can expect? Will it be app based? Will the general public be a target or is it in the best interests to hit higher- and more visible properties? And if Jeff Bezos and all of his resources are vulnerable – is there any true way to ensure anyone is safe online? There is a lot to be explored as this story progresses and if you are a journalist covering this topic – then let our experts help. Thomas J. Holt is a professor in the School of Criminal Justice at Michigan State University whose research focuses on computer hacking, malware, and the role of the Internet in facilitating all manner of crime and deviance. Professor Holt is available to speak with media about these issues – simply click on his icon to arrange an interview today.
Generalists and Specialists – Key Ingredients for an Innovation Ecosystem
David Epstein describes in his book Range: Why Generalists Triumph in a Specialized World, the relationship between specialists and generalists. Specialists being the masters of depth while generalists integrate across a range of options and diverse applications. The combination of the two leads to powerful potential for innovation. InventionShare seeks to create a similar relationship between inventors and corporations. Leveraging inventions that have very broad applicability, InventionShare systematically researches across many industries searching for businesses that are poised to leap forward with a strategic technology injection. One such technology is called Circuit Seed which redefines analog electronic design with a new paradigm that enables configurable analog in a scalable digital format. This technology dramatically lowers the cost, power, noise and temperature thresholds enabling breakthrough advances in a diversity of applications such as: automotive radar, Lab-on-a-chip and many more. By applying Epstein’s principles, InventionShare through its unique business model, is creating an innovation ecosystem spanning many industries through partnership and collaboration. For more information, please contact: Lesley Gent Director Client Relations, InventionShare™ lgent@InventionShare.com (613) 225-7236, Ext 131 Or visit our website at InventionShare.com
Optimizing Expertise in the Higher Education Sector: Southern Utah University
Higher education institutions are amongst the wealthiest knowledge-based organizations when it comes to expert resources. While many of these organizations acknowledge the value of their in-house experts, they often struggle to harness their expertise and communicate their strengths to external audiences. But when higher education institutions do take steps to market their expertise, the payoff is exponential. Here’s how Southern Utah University (SUU) leveraged expertise marketing to celebrate their staff, grow their digital presence and drive close to a 10x increase in media inquiries. Embracing Expertise SUU has been acknowledged as a leading university in the U.S. Most recently, the U.S. News and World Report’s 2019 Best Colleges list ranked SUU as one of the top Regional Universities in the West and the highest-ranked public school in all of Utah. Southern Utah University President, Scott L. Wyatt, attributes these accolades to the people within his organization: “Our faculty and staff have dedicated themselves to creating the best educational experience at Southern Utah University,” said Wyatt. “This recognition acknowledges their success and the wonderful learning community they have created!” In fact, SUU is so proud of their people that their initial motivation for expertise marketing was to show their experts exactly how much they were valued. SUU’s faculty and staff bring a wealth of expertise in their professional disciplines, but they’re also deeply immersed in the university’s culture and surrounding environment – including the region’s breathtaking national parks. With this in mind, SUU set out to celebrate their experts’ professional and personal achievements through expertise marketing. Optimizing Expert Content While SUU had expert content on their website, they didn’t have a great process for structuring, organizing and publishing. “We had an Expert Directory, but it just didn’t have background structure we needed to nimbly change profiles and deliver up-to-date content,” said Kenzie Lundberg, Internal Communications Specialist at SUU. ExpertFile’s Platform gave SUU the tools they needed to manage their content, but they still needed a bit of help optimizing their expertise marketing program. They reached out to our customer success team to see how they could better leverage the ExpertFile tool and implement best practices for expertise marketing. After auditing their digital presence, we identified three main areas for SUU to focus on: Showcasing Faculty with Relevant Stories: While SUU had some expert content on their website, it wasn’t structured in a user-friendly way. ExpertFile suggested that Spotlight posts would help them make their content more accessible and encourage audiences to get in touch with their organization. Unlike a standard blog post, ExpertFile’s Spotlights enable users to connect with experts or media relation teams directly from the post while simultaneously distributing the post to the Associated Press, Dejero and ExpertFile Search. By using Spotlights in multiple areas of their website, SUU would be able to drastically improve their visibility and gain better traction with media outlets. Highlighting Specialized Areas of Expertise within SUU: SUU used the ExpertFile Platform to organize and attribute areas of expertise in their expert profiles, but our audit revealed that the topics needed to be more specific to garner audience engagement. ExpertFile recommended that SUU add areas of niche expertise to their expert profiles. For example, a biology professor might list topics like “Invertebrate Evolution” or “Cardiovascular Physiology” in addition to the term “biology.” This optimization would make it easier for audiences like journalists and media outlets to find experts on specific topics. Expanding SUU’s Digital Footprint: One of the key advantages of the ExpertFile Platform is how easy it is for organizations to improve their digital presence. For example, the ExpertFile Design Lab allows marketers to quickly create, publish and manage Expert Directories and Spotlights across various pages on their website (click links for examples). To help SUU better utilize this feature, we suggested linking to their Expert Directory and Spotlights directly from the homepage. This would make it easier for audiences to find their expert content and increase opportunities for engagement. SUU’s Results SUU took the ExpertFile Customer Success team’s advice and their results reflected just how valuable expertise can be to the bottom line. From Q1 in 2018 to Q1 in 2019, SUU went from 3,030 views and 12 media inquiries to 11,949 views and 115 media inquiries. And their success didn’t end there. SUU’s latest analysis of their expertise marketing program revealed some truly impressive results: CALmatters Feature: David Berri, professor of economics, was requested for an interview on equal pay in sports in September 2018. From the interview and stories that followed, SUU received the equivalent of $112,500 in publicity value and 25.3 million unique views. The State Journal Feature: Michael Mower, executive director of SUU Aviation, was asked to be featured in a story highlighting SUU’s partnership with Marshall University in March 2019. The story was published on The State Journal’s website and had the potential to be seen by 800,000 unique visitors. Qualtric’s X4 Conference: Ravi Roy, assistant professor of political science, was asked to join the ranks of the visionaries and leaders behind the world’s most iconic organizations and present at the 2019 X4 conference. Other presenters included President Barack Obama, Oprah Winfrey, and Sir Richard Branson. Over 15,000 people attended the conference. “I really enjoy using the ExpertFile Platform,” said Lundberg. “It’s great that I’ve been able to learn about our experts’ backgrounds – we have some really fascinating people. It’s so unique to be able to see all of their talents and to be able to highlight that for them.” Kenzie Lundberg – Internal Communications Specialist SUU The team at ExpertFile is thrilled that SUU has seen so much success from the optimization of their expertise marketing program. We can’t wait to see what the future holds for their organization and their experts. Download the Complete Guide to Expertise Marketing For a comprehensive look at how expertise marketing benefits the entire organization and drives measurable return on investment, follow the link below to download a copy of ExpertFile’s Complete Guide to Expertise Marketing: The Next Wave in Digital Strategy or download one of our tailored Guides for Corporate & Professional Services, Higher Education Institutions, Healthcare Institutions or Association & Not-for-Profits.
7 Tips for Executing Expertise Marketing
Now that you understand the value of expertise and have defined who your experts are, you might find yourselves asking, “What’s next?” Our research with hundreds of organizations reveals that there are major gaps in the way organizations present their expertise and how it impacts the effectiveness of their digital content. The challenge for many marketers is that they don’t know how to approach the creation and publication of expert content, but it starts making a lot more sense when you look at the bigger picture. Expertise marketing is about evolving our content marketing initiatives to deliver a more engaging experience to audiences. And because it’s so closely related to content marketing, it borrows several of the core principles we already use for our digital channels – but with an expert spin. At the end of the day, we’re simply collaborating with experts to ramp up the credibility, authenticity and integrity of your digital presence. The Core Principles of Expertise Marketing In the list below, you can see that expertise marketing shares a number of best practices with content marketing. The difference is in how we execute them and the quality of the end product. By following these seven core principles of expertise marketing, you’ll be able to create and deliver the content your audiences are looking for. Discoverable: If you work in the digital space, you know how important search is to your success. Experts produce a wealth of structured information that can be optimized to improve your rank on Google and increase your overall market visibility. Rather than limiting content to an About Us page or corporate intranet, you should make it more discoverable by publishing it across multiple areas of your website. Personal: Expertise marketing takes an inclusive approach to getting expert content mobilized across the organization. But even when we ask our experts to create content, we tend to attribute the outputs to the organization rather than the individual. When showcasing the work of your key employees, it’s important to personally recognize this. It builds trust with your audiences. Remember that people want to deal with people so let your experts be recognized and they will support your growth. Relevant: Organizations often miss opportunities to position their expertise for breaking news and emerging stories. In many cases, you may be an expert in the field, but if your content doesn’t align with current news topics, broadcasters and reporters won’t know to come to you for insights. Your overall readiness to speak to the topics in today’s news cycle greatly impacts customer engagement and your potential for earned media. Credible: Journalists and other audiences looking for expert sources require proof that your employees and their content are trustworthy. It’s not enough to have a headshot and bio on your About Us page. Enhanced profiles should be easy to scan and complete with important fields like education, certifications, research, publications, awards and media/speaking appearances. Visual: If you want interaction, you’ll need to first get your audiences’ attention. Rich media such as video, social media feeds and interactive content are proven to outperform text which can be tedious for audiences to read. It’s now critical to feature multimedia assets in a way that creates a more dynamic presence and maximizes audience engagement. Curated: Audiences are consuming more digital content than ever and it takes a lot of work to feed the content beast. Rather than rushing to market with sub-par content, organizations need to think about how their content serves a range of audiences looking for expertise. Is your content aligned with today’s emerging topics? Is it specialized enough to be relevant? Is it up to date or does it look tired? Audiences are becoming more discerning and even Google is determining search rank based on these factors. Distributed: As specialized third-party search sites grow in popularity, organizations need to ensure that expert content isn’t confined to a single website. This means thinking about social channels, directories, and reputable sites that help get your message out there. By dynamically synchronizing your expert content across internal and third-party sites, you’ll increase your reach, drive more visitor traffic and initiate better digital conversations. Download the Complete Guide to Expertise Marketing For a comprehensive look at how expertise marketing benefits the entire organization and drives measurable return on investment, follow the link below to download a copy of ExpertFile’s Complete Guide to Expertise Marketing: The Next Wave in Digital Strategy or download one of our tailored Guides for Corporate & Professional Services, Higher Education Institutions, Healthcare Institutions or Association & Not-for-Profits.
EXPERT PITCHING 101: The Power of Spotlights
Of all the angles and perspectives, when pitching your experts, you need to figure out how yours stands out amongst the rest. How are you getting the perspectives of your subject matter experts out there? Have you figured out your 'bench strength' to know who can comment on what and how? Do you have a good way to get your people out there to the public? Sadly, when asked these questions, most PR and Marketing professionals struggle to give you a straight answer with confidence on how they get their people to comment on certain storylines. With a defeated tone, I often hear, “Well – we have our resident rock star, Professor Jones, who does most of our media interviews” often followed by, “but he’s not always the best person for the story.” Although, most organizations have a list of subject matter experts, they are often over-reliant on the same ‘go-to’ people. Here’s why: First, these people are tried and true. For media, it’s a big deal when contacting an expert for comment - especially if the interview will be conducted on camera. So, why risk the chance of speaking with someone new? The second thing, it’s time consuming. It’s easy to find a previous expert pitch in an email and forward it on to someone new. However, gathering this content for each new person every time an individual is being pitched is very time consuming and difficult to manage. Especially, when this content is strewn across the web and you need to add links for videos on YouTube, books on Amazon, articles on ResearchGate, presentations on SlideShare etc. Once you’ve found the right person for the story, and you’ve aggregated the necessary background content to send, you must tie the loose ends and make the person contextual and relevant. Why is this person the best individual to comment on the story? What angle is this person going to provide? What sort of background qualifies this person to being the subject matter expert on the topic? Don’t worry, help is on the way At ExpertFile, we’ve heard the stories about organizations missing out on opportunities to get national or international media coverage because of their small team. These understaffed teams don’t have enough bandwidth to continuously pitch their people and comment on storylines. Their websites don’t paint a full picture of their experts’ abilities and knowledge. So, we got together with these PR, Marketing and Comms people, and looked to develop a solution. Then we created “Spotlight” - putting all of the necessary tools into the hands of PR, Marketing and Communications teams. Spotlight allows you to contextualize the relevance of your expert with a the story. Write your expert pitch to explain why that person is the best to comment on that topic, and the angle they’d be able to provide. Combine that with rich media profiles created by the ExpertFile team, you now have a central home for all of your experts’ content, and it provides a more engaging representation. So, when the media are vetting, they can now watch a video of that individual speaking in front of a camera, see their latest Media Appearances to know they have experience talking to reporters, and a Contact button for the quickest way to reach that individual, while simultaneously routing to any other internal stakeholders. This last part is important to consider as every story has many angles. Take the recent United Airlines debacle, where a passenger was viciously pulled out of his seat due to the plane being overbooked. Aside from the traumatic events from the video that surfaced of the incident, after the dust settled media are left scrambling to find out more on the protocol for overbooked flights, the global impact (there was a big uproar in China due to initial reporting that he was of Chinese descent), and the economic impact on the company. Which means, you don’t need to limit yourself to an aviation expert in order to comment on an aviation story. Every story has multiple angles - this lets you offer up a unique perspective, pitch a concept others are not covering and insert your expert into an already crowded narrative. Spotlight helps you grow those invisible experts into great sources, and it helps you efficiently pitch when you have resource constraints. Spotlights in Action Since the launch of the ExpertFile News Digest service, we’ve seen some significant results for our customers. We've only been with ExpertFile a short time. We've been using Spotlights from the News Digest and have noticed a lot more attention from media. They're easy to request - and the turnaround is fast. We recently were asked to comment on the Supreme Court nominee and booked a radio show thanks to a Spotlight. It’s been a great way to get additional exposure for Augusta University. We've only been with ExpertFile a short time. We've been using Spotlights from the News Digest and have noticed a lot more attention from media. They're easy to request - and the turnaround is fast. We recently were asked to comment on the Supreme Court nominee and booked a radio show thanks to a Spotlight. It’s been a great way to get additional exposure for Augusta University. -Kelly Jasper Senior Digital Media Coordinator - Augusta University With Spotlights we are seeing immediate pick-up of the stories we want to be part of. It’s letting us tell the Cambrian College story to a wide audience. As well, we’re noticing one Spotlight generates multiple media contacts. Once one outlet sees or reads our expert weighing in on a trending topic - the others follow. It’s an earned media coup. -Shawn Poland Associate Vice President, College Advancement - Cambrian College Once I integrated my Spotlights onto the Emory University business school website, it was so simple for me to have the ExpertFile Newsroom team whip up a pitch and publish it. Especially with limited resource on my team, it’s been a huge help to get my people out there in a more efficient manner. -J. Michael Moore Senior Communications Manager, Emory University - Goizueta School of Business Want to see an example of how to pitch your expert? Send your storyline to success@expertifle.com and we will have our Newsroom team send you a draft Spotlight ASAP. Is there anything that I missed? I’d love to hear what’s worked for you to get your people speaking with the media.
With 2018 in full swing there’s no sign that the issue of fake news is going away. In fact, it continues to plague major social platforms such as Facebook as well as the traditional media players. This erosion of trust begs the question – how can we ensure the right experts on important topics are at the center of the conversation? If your organization has experts, there is a silver lining. There has never been a more important time for experts – the real ones – not the “fake it till you make it” collection of posers and promoters that have read a blog on personal branding. We’re talking about the people who have put in their 10,000 hours of researching, building and publishing. Presenting your top people in a more visible, engaging and approachable way presents huge opportunities for you to build trust and deepen relationships with a variety of audiences, including customers and partners – not just the media. However, to really capitalize, you have to look closely at how audiences interact with your expert content. Based on our work with thousands of experts and their organizations, we’ve prepared a list of key trends and predictions you need to watch if you’re a communications and digital media professional. Trend 1: Organizations are measuring their “Internal Bench Strength”. The power behind any organization is its people, but many organizations fall short in taking stock of their roster of experts who are capable of building voice and reputation with key audiences. Communicators are increasingly turning to internal pulse surveys and annual assessments that better identify competencies, professional interests and attitudes across the organization. Smart organizations are using surveys to create an efficient roster of internal experts and match them to the news cycle. Identifying a “core group” of go-to experts who will best benefit from programs such as media training and carefully mapping key topics to experts will ensure the organization is aligned to support communications objectives – both for proactive story development and responding quickly to breaking news opportunities. Trend 2: Organizations are starting to function more like newsrooms. As newsrooms in the print and broadcast world continue to be streamlined and downsized, organizations can play a key role in helping journalists by making relevant content and credible sources more accessible. Incorporating better search features that allow journalists to quickly find experts using simple keyword searches is an important starting point. Showcasing experts in the context of key news events in a content hub with interesting story angles are increasing in popularity Trend 3: Next generation newsroom platforms will change how media find expert sources. Journalists have a challenging role today amidst a backdrop of fake news and increasing cynicism about the credibility and sources of information. They still have the same day deadlines, but with an increased responsibility to get the story right, so reliable sources are critical to their success. So it’s not surprising that journalists, television bookers and producers are gravitating to solutions that make it easier for them to discover, evaluate and connect with expert sources. We recently integrated our ExpertFile global directory into the Associated Press newsroom software which is used by thousands of print, broadcast and digital newsrooms around the world. The AP, as the world’s leading news organization, recognizes the pressures that publishers and broadcasters are under. They are committed to technology advances that help news organizations. Few journalists have the time to rummage around in poorly designed corporate websites and university faculty directories looking for the best expert. And if you think it’s just junior reporters using these online tools think again. We’re seeing seasoned journalists from top media outlets including The New York Times, CNN, Time Magazine, NBC, The Washington Post, the BBC, NPR Radio and the CBC making regular use of the ExpertFile platform. The bottom line: If you aren’t thinking about broader distribution of your expert content beyond your website you are missing out. Trend 4: New search technologies are helping organizations cut through the content clutter. Searching for the right person based on attributes such as key topics, publications, or geography inside an organization remains a challenge – even for those organizations that have invested heavily in content management solutions and intranet platforms. The organic and onsite search user experience has become a top issue for marketing and IT teams. Audiences who have been spoiled by “Google-like simplicity” expect to find relevant information, or they’re gone within seconds. That’s why many organizations are investing in new search technologies powered by machine learning to provide faster discovery and connections with their subject-matter experts. Last year we built Elasticsearch features right into our platform to save our clients the time and money of doing this for themselves. Search remains one of the biggest opportunities to quickly drive more market attention and audience engagement, as well as to improve internal collaboration between experts. Trend 5: Video will continue to outperform all other forms of content. There’s nothing quite like video to drive the value of owned content. But remember that video is becoming essential to boosting earned media. We’re continually impressed by the new research that continues to emerge on the power of video content. Last fall, LinkedIn reported audience engagement numbers for its new video feed feature that showed 20 times more engagement for video vs. all other forms of content on its platform. As more audiences demand video content, so does the demand in television newsrooms for broadcast-ready experts. That’s why we also partnered with Dejero to help broadcasters who use their platform to search for experts suitable for interviews. If you are looking to get more television coverage, then you have to invest some of your budget on video to showcase your experts. We predict that the most successful organizations will adopt a video-centric approach to storytelling, creating snackable multimedia content that connects with a range of audiences. Many marketers are overthinking video as something requiring a massive production with a big annual shoot”. That doesn’t work for audiences such as journalists who are feeding a real-time news cycle. Our simple advice – look carefully at your video strategy and identify opportunities to use video across your digital properties in areas such as your homepage, media room and even landing pages. We’re interested to hear how your organization is capitalizing on these trends to better promote your experts to key audiences. For more information on how ExpertFile can help your organization incorporate the latest software and services innovations into your thought leadership and expert marketing strategies please drop us a line at dtaenzer@expertfile.com.
Working with Faculty Experts to Build Reputation and Market Visibility
The Baylor University Playbook Featured in CASE Currents Magazine PHOTO CREDIT: BAYLOR UNIVERSITY MEDIA COMMUNICATIONS As traditional and social media organizations such as Facebook race to expose and disrupt the onslaught of “fake news”, a major opportunity exists for higher education institutions to more prominently feature their research and expert opinion to quell this steady flow of misinformation. We know that the gold standard of news reports and social media posts are substantiated with expert research and opinion. What gets in the way of comprehensive reporting and dialogue? It’s often the lack of input from great institutions and their experts. More than ever, traditional media organizations need to provide a steady flow of credible information to trump the influx of unsubstantiated content. But the media (from local mainstream editors to award-winning international investigative journalists) struggle with big challenges: growing editorial demands, small budgets, little time, limits to accessing information – all restricting their ability to pursue new research, data and expertise. So how do they get around this and cut through the clutter? A lot of the responsibility falls on organizations to be more approachable to journalists to help them with expert sources. Schools doing this well are already boosting their reputation with media and other key audiences by showing the relevance of their institution and faculty. In this month’s CASE Currents magazine, a feature article titled “Are Your Professors Ready for Their Close-Up?” Eric Eckert, Baylor University’s Assistant Director of Media Communications and Faculty Development, shares with other institutions the process his team took to prepare its faculty experts for the media spotlight with an in-house training program and the necessary tools to succeed. the Baylor playbook is a great read for any organization looking to boost media coverage and build reputation. Eckert, whose list of responsibilities at the university includes “Faculty Experts”, notes: “We demonstrate our commitment to this program by investing in tools that spread awareness of our researchers’ work. In addition to the time we devote to training and promoting our faculty members, in 2017 our office started using ExpertFile, a content marketing platform that includes the capability to create dynamic faculty profiles that expose our professors to a wider audience of journalists. We can also manage media inquiries through the platform. The software has reduced the time we spend updating faculty profiles. We can quickly add photos, videos, and links to an expert’s media hits and create faculty spotlights—a feature that helps us rapidly promote a professor’s expertise to take advantage of breaking news.” ExpertFile worked with Baylor to develop a searchable platform and content placements for their experts integrated into the Baylor website. To extend the reach beyond the website, Its experts are now also synchronized with the ExpertFile global experts directory and are also visible to thousands of newsrooms throughout the world through our partnerships with the Associated Press and Dejero. Eckert goes on to explain his organization’s use and success with ExpertFile Spotlight. Spotlight is a unique content hub solution that is growing in popularity with marketing teams looking to quickly feature their experts in the context of breaking news, emerging stories, valuable research and newsworthy events. Virtually all of our clients are seeing the importance of providing relevant story angles that can be produced to help journalists on same day deadlines. Eckert goes on to speak of his experience with Spotlights: “In September 2017, we created a spotlight to distribute a Baylor law professor’s comments on President Donald Trump’s decision to withdraw authorization for the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program. A media inquiry received through ExpertFile resulted in a guest appearance on a nationally syndicated radio program in Canada.” Other coverage generated recently by the Baylor team includes: Are you ‘phubbing’ right now? What it is and why science says it’s bad for your relationships The Washington Post You might be cheating on your spouse with your smartphone The Toronto Star Four bad habits that executives should nix The Economist Can ‘bedtime’ teas really help you fall asleep faster? Women’s Health The better way to take a break Fast Company The profile that experts develop through thought out programs such as Baylor’s can extend well beyond media to other key stakeholders, including potential research partners, funders, event organizers, student enrollment and employee recruitment. How are your marketing, communications and media relations’ teams working with your experts across the campus to build market visibility and reputation for your institution? We’d like to know. For more information on how ExpertFile Spotlight works or to read more success stories please drop me a line at Deanne Taenzer at dtaenzer@expertfile.com