INTRODUCTION
Within your tech startup, you will most likely have at least one subject matter expert (SME), or a person with expertise and experience in a certain area. They are important to your company for many reasons, one being that investors and potential customers ultimately want to do business with experts.
In addition, subject matter experts who understand and can help guide the sales process drive growth in top-performing B2B companies, according to a Forbes article.
Your SMEs also can serve as the “go-to” person to answer questions from the media, if you brand them correctly. Following are tips on how to promote your tech startup’s subject matter experts.
HOW TO PICK YOUR SME(s)
When choosing your subject matter experts, keep the following checklist in mind:
- Do they hold some type of management position (CTO, VP of Product, Director of IT, etc.)?
- Are they full-time (preferable) or a consultant/advisor to your startup?
- Do they have time (generally 2-3 hours/month) to allot to developing/editing content and doing media interviews?
- Would they represent your company positively?
USE SMEs TO PROMOTE YOUR STARTUP
Your subject matter experts should assist in the areas of content marketing, media relations, public speaking and social media.
Make sure your SMEs have gone through media training so they are comfortable using your company’s messaging strategy. Once this is done, pitch your SMEs to industry publications or to a popular startup podcast to talk about how your tech product or service relates to or addresses a larger trend and use data to back it up.
Presentations at conferences and other events are a key part of building brand awareness. Therefore, have your SMEs go through presentation training so they sound polished and comfortable.
Lastly, use your SMEs throughout social media. For example, have them participate in targeted LinkedIn groups and industry-focused forums to share opinions and research on trending topics.