Featured Post from ExpertFile

Optimizing Expertise in the Higher Education Sector: Southern Utah University

Dec 10, 2019

5 min

Deanne Taenzer



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:


  1. 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.
  2. 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.
  3. 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.

Connect with:
Deanne Taenzer

Deanne Taenzer

Vice President

Connecting Experts, Thought Leaders and Great Minds

Digital Content to engage AudiencesCoaching and Team LeadershipCloud ApplicationsCloud Based ServicesHigher Education

You might also like...

Check out some other posts from ExpertFile

2 min

'R' Words and'D' Words - Our Economy Experts are Here to Help Tell the Difference

Economic downturns can have profound effects on businesses, employment, and financial markets, but not all downturns are the same. While recessions are common and often short-term, economic depressions are far more severe and prolonged, with long-lasting global consequences. Understanding the differences between these two economic phenomena and their underlying causes is critical for policymakers, businesses, and the public as they navigate financial uncertainty. With recent concerns over economic slowdowns, rising inflation, and shifting global markets, this topic remains highly relevant. Key story angles include: What Defines a Recession vs. a Depression? Examining the economic indicators that distinguish a recession from a depression, including GDP contraction, unemployment rates, and market performance. Historical Economic Downturns: Comparing past recessions and depressions, such as the Great Depression of the 1930s and the 2008 financial crisis, to understand patterns and recovery strategies. Causes of Economic Recessions and Depressions: Investigating key triggers such as financial crises, inflation, policy missteps, global trade disruptions, and pandemics. Impact on Everyday People and Businesses: Exploring how economic downturns affect job markets, wages, consumer spending, and small businesses. Government Interventions and Recovery Strategies: Analyzing the role of central banks, stimulus packages, interest rate adjustments, and fiscal policies in mitigating economic downturns. The Future of Economic Stability: Discussing current risks and potential warning signs for future recessions or depressions, and how governments and businesses can prepare. With economic uncertainty always a concern, understanding the factors that drive recessions and depressions is essential for making informed decisions at both the individual and policy levels. Connect with an expert about the economy: To search our full list of experts visit www.expertfile.com

1 min

Trade Wars: Economic Strategy or Risky Gamble for the U.S.?

As global markets become increasingly interconnected, trade wars have emerged as a high-stakes economic strategy with far-reaching consequences. A potential trade conflict between the U.S., Canada, and Mexico—key partners in the North American supply chain—raises critical questions about economic growth, job security, and consumer prices. While proponents argue that tariffs and trade restrictions protect domestic industries, critics warn of rising costs, retaliatory measures, and disruptions to vital industries such as agriculture, manufacturing, and technology. Understanding the impact of trade wars is essential to assessing the future of North American economic relations, with key areas of interest including: The economic implications of tariffs on American businesses, workers, and consumers How a trade war with Canada and Mexico could impact the USMCA agreement and cross-border trade The industries most vulnerable to supply chain disruptions and retaliatory tariffs The historical impact of past trade wars on economic growth and stability The role of globalization and shifting alliances in modern trade policies Potential winners and losers: Which sectors stand to benefit, and which face economic hardship? This issue presents a timely and complex discussion about economic policy, international relations, and the future of North American trade. Connect with an expert about trade and trade wars: To search our full list of experts visit www.expertfile.com

1 min

Tariffs are coming - and our experts can help with your coverage

The steel and aluminum industries are fundamental to the strength and stability of the U.S. economy, playing a critical role in infrastructure, manufacturing, and national security. These industries support millions of jobs, drive technological advancements, and serve as key components in everything from automobiles and construction to defense systems and clean energy. As global trade policies, sustainability efforts, and economic shifts impact these sectors, their significance continues to grow, making them a critical topic for public discourse. Journalists covering this issue can explore: The economic impact of steel and aluminum manufacturing on American jobs and industries Trade policies, tariffs, and their effects on domestic production and global competition The role of steel and aluminum in national security and defense manufacturing Innovations in sustainable metal production and efforts to reduce carbon emissions Supply chain challenges and how they affect construction, automotive, and technology sectors The future of American steel and aluminum in a rapidly evolving global economy This topic offers rich opportunities for coverage, highlighting the industries' influence on economic stability, innovation, and national security. Connect with an expert about the aluminum and steel industries: To search our full list of experts visit www.expertfile.com

View all posts
Powered by