Craig Corbett
The advent of generative AI will lead to a tectonic shift in how startups do PR over the next few years. In July, the Associated Press became the first major news company to sign a deal with OpenAI, while media job cuts have reached record highs.
Gutted newsrooms could stymie one of the greatest engines of startup growth. While generative AI will enhance the capabilities of many publications, they’re also creeping onto news sites in ways we can’t foresee while journalists are laid off. Inevitably, some startups will choose to use AI to churn out thought leadership and PR content.
The problem with that is, if anyone and everyone can do something, then it becomes devoid of value. If any founder can ask ChatGPT to create a listicle on “5 reasons e-commerce will grow in 2023,” then the internet will become even more saturated with that kind of content. And that content is professional-sounding, yes, but impersonal, starved of real-life narratives, and flair-less.
The good news is, this will actually push startup PR to evolve. In-house PR teams will want to elevate their content above the tedious noise. PR agencies will strive to show startups why they shouldn’t be using ChatGPT to do their job. Editors will scream out for original articles over rehashed content. PR and human-written thought leadership will have to sharply differentiate itself from the unoriginal content of overused AI.
Seeing a strong voice of reason or controversy, a provocative response to current events and rapidly unfolding topics — that’s something people are always hungry for. It’s alive, shaped by the world around us, and helps us make sense of it.
Ironically, AI could make PR more responsive, human, relevant. So, where do AI’s limits lie — and where will successful PR strategies shine in the age of ChatGPT?
Embed yourself in current (and future events)
AI does not exist in the present. It’s trained on past datasets, but it can’t follow today’s news, much less if that news hasn’t been published online.
I know from my PR work that journalists take a heightened interest in a business leader when they can speak knowledgeably (and quickly) on unfolding events. As do readers: 62% of professionals want to see thought leadership on current trends.
But how will generative AI change this scenario? It’s likely that the role of journalists will move away from what’s generally achievable by AI — generic advice articles, listicles, etc. — and they’ll have more time to write articles on current events and hard-hitting trends, imbued with relevant commentary.
So, that’s what they’ll want to see more of from founders — commentary on the Senate just passing a new immigration bill and how that will affect tech talent; a thought piece on how startups can leverage a new TikTok trend for growth.
An effective PR strategy will involve a shift in behavior:
- Monitoring daily media for current events.
- Inserting yourself and your company into breaking news.
- Being a founder who can provide punchy opinions on select themes.
- Assessing which topics you can speak to beyond your niche: for example, a fintech founder can seek to become an expert in emerging regulation.
- Linking this kind of outreach back to your core mission and messaging.
Other than being timely, the difference between you and ChatGPT is that you have friends. You have your finger on the pulse of specific “offline” circles in a way that’s not possible for an AI bot. Journalists will value you being able to bring insights on the word on the street — what the sentiment is over X news story among your peers, the conversations you have with colleagues over the state of the industry.
Finally, you can also peer into the future. A true industry expert can read what’s happening on the ground — not just online — ask for peers’ opinion on a matter of interest, and offer predictions on where a trend is going. Be careful only to do so when your margin of error is small.
Draw from your life’s journey
ChatGPT can certainly be in the news, but it can’t exactly create the news. Another difference between you and ChatGPT is that you are living the experience of building a company every single day.
Journalists and editors will be craving the “human” aspect of your story more than ever.
Thought leadership content will have to be weaved through with personal stories, real-life and hypothetical examples, times you did things wrong and when you stumbled across the right strategy. Basically, why you are equipped — as an accomplished leader and flawed human — to give others real advice.
Where should you look for these narratives? Any pivotal event that you drew a lesson from and can share with others:
- A gaffe, like yesterday’s dumpster fire investor meeting.
- An “aha” moment, like your surprising feedback session with an employee.
- An unconventional business strategy: Perhaps you found a partner you didn’t expect.
- Tried and true pathways, like failing multiple times at a goal before getting it right.
- In short, narrative content you can share with the media to draw attention to your business’ journey, without ever being self-promotional.
As well as your individual narrative, you’re also uniquely positioned to add commentary from other leading voices in your niche. Reach out to people who can provide strong opinions, be interviewed for your op-eds. This doesn’t just raise the quality and nuance of your thought leadership.
One, it demonstrates to readers that you have a solid network within your industry that respects you enough to collaborate with you. Two, it helps build relationships with other thought leaders who may also turn to you for a contribution for their next podcast, article or event.
Pull out your own unique data
Generative AI can’t generate its own data. Well, it can, but it’s entirely made up and referred to as “hallucinating.”
This is a space that should be dominated by business leaders with entirely unique data on their niche. Journalists love to dig their teeth into exclusive, data-based insights that help readers make sense of a particular industry or market. Often, startups are producing that data for internal purposes anyway. See if you can leverage:
- Your own proprietary user data to depict global trends.
- The demographic or industry breakdown of your user base that speaks to market trends.
- How your internal metrics have changed over time, which may signal shifts in buyer behavior.
- Invaluable market data on your broader niche that sheds light on how your vertical is evolving.
This is all even better if you can package it in easily navigated reports and infographics (the packaging part is where AI tools can be valuable and save time).
You may not have enough nonconfidential data to share publicly. In this case, you can still do several things. You could run a survey with users and publish your findings and your analysis. You can also collate data that’s already out there — for instance, PitchBook statistics, Startup Genome reports — and provide exclusive analysis. Some smart VC funds are doing this by calling on their entire ecosystem to weigh in on VC investment data every quarter. That’s a great PR strategy because it also gives free exposure to people in their network, while they position themselves at the neural center of funding trends.
The more the internet sees content farms churn out static or evergreen articles, the greater the hunger for such original data and reports.
Nurture your relationships with journalists
At best, AI can stalk a journalist on Muck Rack and automate pitch emails. I’m guessing that will only further strain journalists’ bloated inboxes. A good PR strategy will build respectful relationships directly with journalists and editors, and seek to make their lives a bit easier.
Identify the current interests of the journalists whose attention you’re seeking by not only reading their articles but also checking their social media feeds, and occasionally their Substacks or personal blogs. It’s also great for your PR agent to simply ask a journalist (if they already have a relationship) what they’re currently writing about.
Demonstrate that you are part of that conversation:
- Offer them relevant commentary.
- Share links to studies they may have missed or that you published.
- Leave comments on a piece of their work on social media that really add to the conversation.
Paying such close attention to individual writers also helps you foresee where a journalist’s coverage may soon turn to, and preempt that with your commentary.
We have noticed that journalists are so overworked right now, they also appreciate you giving them options. They may not have time to write about the topic you’re pitching, so offer a potential guest article in the same email. Or ask if they’d prefer a short Loom video rather than an interview. A helpful relationship-builder is for you to offer to make an introduction to others in your network that can relate to a story they’re working on — whether or not it includes you.
Generative AI’s capabilities are broad, but it will never build a company, sit in on high-level conversations behind closed doors, or have a human relationship. Startups that want to be seen amid the flurry as AI enters the media will need to remember that what most people really want is a human story. A story they can trust happened in the real world, and not in a hallucination.
Comment