If you touch any part of comms or content at your SaaS org, you are definitely discussing AI right now. The AI topic is making its way into even the most conservative verticals, and you are hard-pressed to find any media outlet or tech leader without a public POV on AI.
When it comes to forming a compelling AI narrative, it’s crucial to understand where the conversation is headed. Jake Doll, Director of PR at PANBlast, helps his clients develop AI narratives that catch the tails of what’s trending vs. piling on top of an already-dead topic. Join us as Jake tackles what’s currently “wired” and ”tired” in AI storylines.
PR’s part in shaping the AI narrative
AI has taken the tech world by storm, and everyone wants a piece of that AI pie. Jake shared that virtually all of his clients have an AI-related conversation they want to be a part of — but therein lies the challenge. If everyone is talking about AI, how can one client’s voice stand out amongst all the noise? According to Jake, it’s up to PR professionals “to be the eyes and ears for what’s currently being discussed” to help drive clients’ narratives in a unique direction.
“Being a partner that has a solid vantage point of what all of our clients are saying, what the media is talking about, what their competitors are pursuing, as far as media relations go, is a very valuable part of our partnership,” said Jake. When you have a holistic view of the big picture, it’s easier to identify untapped angles and guide clients toward distinctive conversations.
There are countless tools available to help you identify hot topics in the industry, but Jake reminded PR professionals not to count out their intuition, saying that if your gut is telling you a topic is “going to have some fire behind it,” take advantage of that and jump on it. Your client could end up being one of the leading voices on the next big thing.
Curating client conversations
After identifying an appropriate gap for your client within the AI discourse, see what they have to say about the topic. “When we’re actually speaking with the experts, we’re actively listening, hearing what they’re passionate about and digging in deeper to questions or points that we haven’t heard before,” said Jake.
But not every client will immediately have a fresh perspective, and some may be hesitant to take a “spicy” stance. If a talk track starts going down a path that you know is saturated, don’t be afraid to push back to help lead the conversation in a more novel direction that will get more traction. And don’t forget — bolder is better.
Jake said, “If you can go niche and focus your talking points or your point of view on something that you’re seeing is more prevalent, but the larger audience just needs a little bit more education on, that’s another opportunity to have the unique placement rather than a vague statement about the future.”
Listen to episode 373 of SaaS Half Full for more of Jake’s insights.