If a member of your leadership team wants to devote more time to building his or her profile in the press, it can be challenging to know where to start. Building an executive’s profile is a long process, but it can be helpful to think about in three key steps.

Our Health Media Insights team has some thoughts on getting started.

• Identify a message. Reporters ultimately want to speak to experts who have something meaningful to say. Before reaching out to press, sit down with your executive to talk through priority messaging. This session should be focused on identifying a platform that meaningfully adds to the media conversation, not just as a press release for your organization.

• Focus on the building blocks. In the early days of building an executive’s profile, penning an op-ed for a local outlet or trade publication is a good way to build a baseline presence, as is participating in industry conferences or panels – bonus points if those conferences are filmed (more on that in step three!). 

• Leverage what you’ve built. Now that you have a foundation, you can weave existing materials into your pitches at higher-profile outlets. For example, an op-ed can help establish an executive as the type of thought leader a reporter wants to talk to. If you’re looking for broadcast opportunities, we also recommend including examples of past live appearances – whether it’s on a local TV channel or a conference panel – so producers know your executive is telegenic. 

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