Using your blog to showcase press coverage: #FollowFriday Professor 2, Bill George

Bill George“#FollowFriday Professor” is an editorial series focused on professors’ best practice in digital communications. Every Friday, I highlight one academic who is strategically leveraging the power of digital communications. I do a quick analysis of what he/she is doing well and provide examples of best practice that can be gleaned from the individual highlighted. The goal of this feature is that if you are an academic or thought leader looking to establish an online presence, you will be able to draw on this archive and use it as a source for inspiration in creating / refreshing your own personal brand presence.

#FollowFriday Professor Feature #2: Bill George

Title: Harvard Business School Professor, Former CEO of Medtronic

Where on the web:  BlogFacebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Faculty Bio

Content focus: Leadership and management

Noteworthy communications tactics from Bill George
1. I was attending a conference and presenting on how academics can make a name for their schools and themselves through the media. An interesting question came up in the Q and A: What do I do with a press clipping once it occurs? While there are a number of different tactics to apply, Bill George’s blog serves as an example of how academics can use their owned channels to highlight their media appearances. The CNBC video links on the right hand column of his blog are a great way of showcasing George’s credibility as a commentator. His site also summarizes his press mentions in print articles and blogs. Highlighting press visibility is also a good media relations practice – journalists will in all likelihood appreciate it.  In an era of pageview journalism (journalist’s being positively rewarded for visibility for their stories), prominently featuring press coverage on a popular blog is a sure way to drive traffic to the media hit. Thus, a journalist will know that he or she has a trusted partner to count on in promoting their stories.

So what are you doing with your press coverage? If they are buried in your bio page, or not displayed on any of your owned channels, then think about showcasing your coverage on a blog, similar to what Bill George has done.

2) A number of Bill George’s blog posts feature his own expertise on management and leadership linked to current events. For example, George applies managerial and leadership insights in a post that analyzes the future of Obamacare, New Year’s resolutions and Nelson Mandella’s life. The majority of his content has a link to current events.

So if you are thinking about what to write in your blog, then consider how your areas of expertise link to what is making news headlines.

Archive
The art of integrating interviews into thought leadership: #FollowFriday Professor 1, Karl Moore