Rather than feel like it’s too hard a feat to make it to this level, take action, because it isn’t impossible. To put it simply, the key is staying top of mind in a hyper-competitive market, especially in terms of your PR and communication strategy.

Understand your “why” –  be clear from the outset as to what your objectives are and how you’re going to measure successes. If it’s book sales, for example, everything you do, should lead back to the book sales link, etc.

Media has a way of calling out anyone who doesn’t present their information in a way that’s truly unique and backed up by solid experience and credibility.

Before you embark on a campaign to raise your profile, understand your market and your target audience, and know how your offering differs. Think about why your audiences will benefit from what you have to say.

Back your presentations with research, data, statistics and within the context of the work you have done.  The higher the profile brand names you can tie yourself to, the better.

What are the pillars you want to own in the media?

You can’t be everything to everyone. Choose three pillars that you think are most relevant to your offering and stick to them.

If you start commenting on all sorts of issues, with no real strategy behind it, you’ll confuse the heck out of the market and no one will know what you stand for.

Think through this very carefully before you start, and make sure that the team around you are crystal clear on this too, so you’re all on the same page in terms of promoting your brand.

How much pre-existing content do you have to leverage as a thought leader?

Events and media are hungry for high-quality content that speaks to their audience specifically.

However, the content needs to be exclusive and professional in every sense. If you have built up a bank of blogs, white papers, opinion pieces and the like, you will have a lot to offer.

But be sure to refresh the content and tweak it to their audience so that it’s bespoke to them. If you become a trusted source, they will come back to you again and again.

Many of our clients achieve ongoing columns and guest appearances because they make themselves available, treat the outlets with complete respect, and provide meaningful and unique content.

The benefits lie in the reach that the outlets can offer you, and the links back to your site, which helps to drive traffic and your SEO strategy.

Which platforms are you going to use to own your space?

In order to have a campaign that’s newsworthy, it’s always good to have a fresh platform to work from.

This can be by way of a new book, a new course, a white paper, or a new research piece you have conducted that has not been seen before. If you have a platform, you can formulate an excellent campaign around it.

Are you repurposing everything you do across multi channels?

Creating content is only great if you leverage the heck out of it!  Make sure you have a content plan for the articles you write, your videos, and any earned media coverage you generate.

And know which platforms will be best to push this content out. For many of our corporate clients, LinkedIn and Facebook, as well as their website are the best channels to share their information and build a database of meaningful followers. Go into this knowing who you’re targeting and how to make the most of what you generate.

And remember, your content should be either useful or entertaining.

It needs to create some kind of value to your audience, otherwise, they simply won’t care!

Brutal, but true. Trust me on that one.

This post was originally written by Sharon Zeev Poole, the Director of PR and Communications agency Agent99for Start Up Daily and is republished here with permission.