Insights
Subject-matter Experts: A Marketer's Content Edge
The recent discussions around "expert advice" and "non-commodity" content made me rethink this stat:
Nearly 75% of enterprise marketers say fewer than 15% of their subject-matter experts (SMEs) contribute to thought leadership.
— Content Marketing Institute: B2B Content and Marketing Trends
SMEs as content sources
While the CMI report focused on enterprise teams, you'll find SMEs in most brands and businesses, and the knowledge locked inside their heads is an excellent source of non-commodity content.
I'm not just referring to CEOs, CFOs or CTOs, etc.
Sales leaders, product specialists, and customer support managers all have deep experience, strong opinions, and stories to tell. What they often don't have is the skill or time to sit down and write an article.
That's where you come in.
How to turn internal knowledge into content assets
Keep the process simple because this aids 'buy in' from your clients.
Use this basic workflow:
- Schedule quarterly interview cycles with experts (record and transcribe)
- Send questions in advance so the conversation is focused and efficient
- You're not asking them to write anything (unless they choose to bring notes)
- Look for patterns, anomalies, and unusual events or stories
- Pair those insights with surveys, usage trends, customer behavior data or other internal reporting
- Convert your findings into clear and engaging narratives
I've found that people who would never sit down to write a blog post will happily answer 10 questions over a coffee. And, when you treat SMEs as research partners, they'll willingly share their knowledge, advice, and insights.
Done consistently, this process gives your clients original, data-driven articles that are on brand and can't be copied.
The Digital PR benefit
Original insights travel further.
Journalists, analysts, and industry creators want fresh angles and credible data, so your interview/research stories are far more pitchable than a roundup of third-party data someone scraped off Google.
If AI search results now reward information gain, experience, and expert advice, then these assets are worth the investment for any brand.
The Expert Advice Update
As Google rolls out updates to AI Mode and AI Overviews, I wonder how the new "Expert Advice" section will influence clicks to niche sites and communities?
In their May 6 blog post, Google stated, "AI responses will now include a preview of perspectives from public online discussions, social media, and other firsthand sources."
The “expert advice” layer is not an experiment.
You'll see it in the most visible part of the Search page as Google begins prioritizing “experience” as a ranking signal (E-E-A-T again). This also fits in with their push toward "non-commodity" content.
This could go one of two ways:
1. It will drive additional clicks to content written by people with provable experience in their field. We'll see original insights, ideas, and opinions that an LLM/AI can't replicate.
This would be a plus for publishers, creators, and brands.
2. There's always a chance Google will surface content from people who have zero idea what they're talking about!
If conversations and discussions become core sources of AI answers, then forums and communities might gain more exposure than they already have (looking at you, Reddit).
Will Google get this right or are we about to witness Reddit overload in our search results?
Go vote in my poll on this…please.
Reminder
Google I/O is scheduled for May 19-20. We've had hints about additional AI product updates, but nothing is clear.
Will we finally get meaningful click and traffic data for AI features?
A month ago, Eli Schwartz predicted that AI Mode would launch as the default search experience.
What do you think?
| Will AI Mode launch as the default in Search at Google I/O? |
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