You can’t create great B2B content in a vacuum. You often need the help and insights of subject matter experts (SMEs). The problem is, SMEs are busy and hard to reach. Writing content isn’t in their job description.

That’s why B2B marketers consistently rate “Accessing subject matter experts (SMEs) to create content” as one of their top content marketing challenges, according to the Content Marketing Institute’s B2B Content Marketing Benchmarks, Budgets, and Trends reports.

So why is it such a struggle? And how can we address this perennial challenge? I collected advice from five veteran content strategy and product marketing leaders on how to get SMEs to participate in your content strategy, and how to make the most of their expertise. The full details can be found in Tendo’s latest CMSWire article. Below, we share video outtakes from the interviews and a summary of the 12 tips shared by the experts.

Why Getting SME Participation Can Be Challenging

Dennis Shiao, a content marketing thought leader and founder of the Bay Area Content Marketing Meetup, shares his thoughts:

How to Motivate SME Participation

Alicia Saia, director of product marketing at Redjack, stresses the importance of knowing your audience and building a partnership:

12 Tips for Working with SMEs on Content Creation

Read Tendo’s CMSWire article for complete details on these 12 tips:

1. Know your audience and market to them. “What do they care about? What’s in it for them?” says Alicia Saia, director of product marketing at Redjack. “Explain clearly what you’re trying to accomplish and how it benefits each of you and the company.”
2. Build a partnership. “Be clear with SMEs that you want to build a relationship and a collaboration,” says Millie Andino-Tyson, digital strategy and experience leader with past roles at NetApp, Automox, and Lenovo.
3. Communicate workflow and expectations. “Communicate clearly what you’re trying to do and what will be expected of the SME,” says Rich Schwerin, content strategy leader with past roles at Oracle, VMware, and Autodesk.
4. Make them look good. “Show the SME how their involvement will benefit them, especially with being published online and promoted through your company’s social media channels,” says Dennis Shiao,
5. Incentivize them with rewards. “Consider what mix of incentives would appeal to them,” says Saia.
6. Ghostwrite it for them. “Most SMEs aren’t writers, so write it for them,” says Lindy Roux, executive vice president and partner at Tendo. “The key is to conduct a productive 30-minute interview.
7. Leverage their existing work and discussions. “If an SME is delivering a webinar or presenting at a conference, for example, you can repurpose their presentation into other content types,” says Saia.
8. Give them something to react to. “Some SMEs respond well to an outline or a rough V1 draft that you’ve created on your own—rather than asking them to start from scratch,” says Schwerin.
9. Practice active listening. “When I talk to SMEs, I want to make sure they know I’m listening,” says Andino-Tyson. “I validate and repeat back what I’m hearing.”
10. Involve them in editorial planning. “Get SME input on your content calendar,” says Shiao. “They can identify the latest customer challenges that your content should address.”
11. Get hot takes on industry trends. “Ask SMEs to comment on broader trends and timely issues,” explains Saia.
12. Reuse SME source materials. “As you review interview transcripts and background materials, you’ll often find that they trigger ideas for future stories,” says Roux.

Leave SME Interviews to the Experts

At Tendo, talking to SMEs is one of our favorite things to do. Our skilled writers know how to unlock their expertise and insights. Learn more about our approach to editorial planning and execution, and how to put to to work for your brand. Learn more