Our world is one of total content overload — never-ending newsfeeds, mailers, ads, media, podcasts, and more… we’re bombarded.

And we’re still living in cynical times. You only have to look at recent events in the world of politics, increasing occurrences of cybercrime, the poor handling of our data, and the continuous presence of misinformation on social media to understand why finding trustworthy sources of information has never been more critical for brands.

In 2025, your in-house experts are still seen as ‘trusted’

Findings from the most recent editions of Edelman’s Trust Barometer report appear to buck the general trend of subject matter experts (SMEs) being seen as trusted as sources of information.

On Edelman’s scale of credible experts and peers, it’s an organisation’s subject matter experts who are amongst those we trust the most; placed third under ‘scientists’ (1) and ‘teachers’ (2).

*Image above taken from the 2024 Edelman Trust Barometer.*

It means that your organisation’s subject matter experts (SMEs) are more valuable than ever when it comes to bolstering your content marketing efforts. Not only because of the depth and detail they can bring with their inherent knowledge and experience, but also because of the trust and ‘gravitas’ that content authored by your SME can command amongst your target audiences.

These internal experts may be your senior directors, consultants, or even ‘hands-on’ specialists squirrelling away behind the scenes. They know their stuff, and they even know what all those confusing industry-specific acronyms and buzzwords mean…

“Not so simple, perhaps, is the act of creating this kind of content in collaboration with them. For freelance and in-house content writers alike, the prospect of using an SME’s input to form a new article, paper, or report can make one’s heart sink. ”

Because, without a proper content operations process in place, working with SMEs (not to mention other internal stakeholders) can be fraught with a great many false starts and sudden stops, and several indefinite periods of silence in between.

Challenges content writers often face when working with SMEs

Many possible hurdles can arise when you first try to engage with an SME about creating content for your brand.

Here are just a small handful of possible scenarios:

They may be unresponsive to having an initial meeting/phone call.
They may not express any interest in writing something, and are perhaps reluctant to have their ‘name in lights’.
They might show keenness to contribute, but they’ve got a heavy workload, so after that initial conversation, things go a little quiet…
They’ve written a piece before, but didn’t enjoy the internal process (in fact, they became quite frustrated by it).

But… there are many things you can do and put in place so that content creation with an SME goes far more smoothly next time.

How to engage with your SMEs for smoother content creation

1. Provide them with a good reason to contribute

Whether or not you’ve worked with that chosen SME before, there’s no harm in reminding them about why it would be so brilliant for them to commit some of their time to contributing.

Beyond the fact that they’d be supporting a current campaign — and the business as a whole — it’s also a great way for them to raise their professional profile, both within your organisation and as an industry thought leader in the outside world.

Consider sharing any recent successes where another SME colleague has penned something. From clinching an intro meeting with a hard-to-reach prospect to being invited to speak at a prestigious industry event… even mentioning webpage performance and social post engagement can often ignite the sudden willingness to give things a try.

2. Give them a really clear brief

‍Day-to-day, SMEs can be caught up in the details and technical complexities of their role, so if you can make what you want from them clear from the off, you’ll save time for both parties and prevent misunderstandings from happening.

“Use a content brief and always provide a hard deadline (in writing) for their first draft.”

3. Provide examples of content to inspire them

Just because your SME is an expert in financial crime or mechanical engineering does not mean that they know how to write a blog. So, offer a few finished examples (ideally sourced from your own marketing department!) to help them visualise and understand how a finished piece of content might look.

4. Be transparent about how the review process will work

Be clear and honest about the content workflow process, whether you have a proper one in place or not.

If the draft will be subject to editing by you or a colleague, make this clear to the SME. If there’s a risk that four other people may suddenly be invited to review their draft, forewarn them that this is a possibility.

Why go to all of this trouble?

Not all SMEs will be super protective of their drafts, but being upfront about what they can expect helps avoid any friction between you and your SME later down the line.

It’s also wise to give them an idea of when you’d expect to publish their piece. Again, this sets expectations on the turnaround time and helps avoid the SME becoming frustrated or impatient.

5. Be flexible and supportive

I’ve worked with SMEs who have lacked the confidence to write a full draft by themselves. I’ve also worked with SMEs who manage to complete a first draft, but have since realised they don’t like writing.

Whatever the case, if you need to take the strain and assist with the writing process more heavily, there are a few ways to help them.

One way is simply to ask them for some detailed bullet points on what they’d include in the content, either via email or interviewing them on a video or phone call, you can go about drafting the piece independently (don’t forget to check in with them on any specific details you might need clarity on though!).

Alternatively, you could offer to dedicate some time to write with them in real-time — this is known as ‘pair writing’.

6. Keep communicating with them

Find out how they’d prefer to liaise with you, whether it’s via email, phone call, or video. Tapping into their habits will help you slot in far better than trying to reach out to them in a way they wouldn’t usually opt for.

Beyond that, once you’ve received the draft from them, it’s just common courtesy to give them a brief update every few days on how the piece is progressing.

7. Let them have a final say on the content

I’ve seen instances of content being drafted by an SME only for it to be radically changed and published without their sign-off. It’s awkward, it’s rude, it’s unprofessional, and it’s a terrible idea.

Not only do you eradicate any support they would otherwise show for the published piece, but you radically reduce your chances of ever collaborating on content with them again. :(

“It all comes back to being transparent and honest during the entire process. If their draft has received some suggested amends, let your SME see those amends. ”

It may feel almost painful to even think about this prospect, but being open to discussing and compromising on content changes with your SME— however minor those changes may be — will save a lot of aggravation in the long-run.

SMEs are still an important asset for your brand

Brands need to work harder than ever to earn the trust of their audiences, so building strong relationships with your organisation’s SMEs really is worth your time.

In the long run, it strengthens your content creation efforts and lays the ground for achieving better lead generation results, higher levels of brand awareness, and building your brand up as an authoritative voice in the marketplace.

As we’ve touched on already, the best way to achieve all of this is by being transparent, supportive, and fair in your dealings with the SMEs.

When you know your SMEs trust you with their words, it opens up a whole new raft of content creation possibilities. And in time, you’ll create a reliable bank of specialists that you can return to for content input, time and time again.

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