Expert commentary is an increasingly popular tactic used in Digital PR to make pitches stand-out and to amplify campaigns. Expert comments grab attention and help to position your business as an authority. They also appeal to Google’s E-E-A-T guidelines, acting as signals of expertise which help to build trust in your site.

This blog will be our ultimate guide to introducing expert commentary into your Digital PR campaigns. We’ll begin by outlining what exactly an expert comment is, before explaining how to find them and place them effectively in your campaigns.

What is expert commentary?

Expert commentary refers to a relevant quote from an authoritative figure within their industry. You might hear it referred to as ‘thought leadership’ and it often comes in the form of a professional opinion about something, or an actionable tip. Expert commentary can also provide a bit of background context on the topic a journalist is writing back. No matter the form, these comments or quotes are designed to add credibility and value to an article.

To give an example: we used expert commentary to showcase expertise, enhance E-E-A-T signals, and build brand trust for our client Patient Claim Line, a market leader in the medical negligence space. After researching the news landscape across our client’s services, we circled in on areas we could provide expertise on. We located suitable experts within the company and outreached their comments to journalists. Our approach involved reactive newsjacking of relevant trending stories, partnered with commentary in-line with health awareness days.

We achieved 105 links, including coverage in national papers. We had ensured that the commentary was genuinely informative and useful in order to build trust with both Google and potential customers.This resulted in a boost of Patient Claim Line’s domain rank, while also improving their brand awareness.

Why do journalists value comments from brands?

It’s clear that journalists love a good bit of expert commentary, and that it can be a great way of earning valuable coverage and backlinks. But why is this? Well, a useful comment from a genuine expert really helps a journalist out – it adds a valuable element of expertise. This reassures a reader that what they’re reading can be trusted, making them more likely to continue reading and potentially share the article with others.

Not only do quotes from an expert help inform the actual content, they also help a writer meet their all-important word count. Expert commentary is a great way for a journalist to pad out or conclude their story. So, we’ve established the why, now let’s turn to the how. How exactly should you tackle getting expert commentary into your campaigns….?

How to use expert commentary in campaigns

There are various ways you can go about including valuable expert quotes in your Digital PR campaigns. Some methods we find get results at Cedarwood Digital are:

• Reactive Digital PR: Utilise an expert’s insights on an event or news relevant to their industry. Keep an eye on what’s trending and when you identify an opportunity, respond quickly with some thoughts from your expert.

• Data-driven campaigns: You can add an additional layer of authority to a data-led campaign by including comments from a credible spokesperson, discussing the data and providing unique insights.

• Answering a journalist’s request: Identifying opportunities to provide commentary will help to establish your expert as an authority. Sign up to services like Response Source and HARO, or just type #journorequest into Twitter.

This is all well and good, but where can these trusty experts be found? 

How to find the right expert within your business

There will likely be many suitable candidates right within your business, fully equipped with the knowledge to provide expert commentary. To pinpoint the right spokesperson for a campaign, it’s important to get your questions right when you reach out. Make sure to ask:

>Do you have knowledge or experience on this subject matter?

>Are you happy to discuss these ideas, for them to be shared?

>Are you happy to be named or pictured?

>What time frame can you work to?

>Would you be willing to potentially speak to a journalist?

Finding external expert commentary

If you’re struggling to identify a relevant expert in your company, do not worry, as a comment can often be sourced externally. Here at Cedarwood, we often make use of Twitter to find experts. It’s a great place to source a thought leader. To curate the most effective tweet, make sure it includes the following:

🐦Firstly, specify what you’re looking for, whether that be a particular role or a specific insight

🐦Give them an incentive, mention where their comments will be going

🐦Include a way of contacting you

🐦Finally, include popular hashtags to reach more of your target audience

How can expert commentary help a business?

By now, you’ve probably gathered that expert commentary does a world of good for you and the journalist in question. But there are a few added benefits you might not have considered.

Expert commentary can be instrumental to building good relationships with journalists. They are likely to save your details for future reference and are likely to reach out next time they need an expert comment,  leading to more opportunities for publicity for your brand.

Securing an expert comment in a relevant publication will also help boost your brand awareness and reach new potential customers. Ensure that the topics you’re providing expertise on are relevant to your brand and you’ll open the doors to users genuinely interested in your products or services.

Last but not least, expert commentary is beneficial for SEO as it helps to build up a diverse backlink profile and sends important E-E-A-T signals to Google. Expert insights, and the backlinks that come with them, shows Google that your website can be trusted. This increases its domain authority, and boosts traffic as a result.

If you’d like help building your brand’s backlink profile through expert commentary, get in touch with us today. We have years of experience pinpointing the right spokesperson to secure coverage and get results.