>> Listen to the episode on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and others.
TRANSCRIPT:
DOUG: There are huge changes affecting companies in terms of how they’re going to be discovered, and we’re going to focus on that specifically in the tech industry. So, Gerard, let’s start off. What’s the biggest change you’re seeing in discoverability?
GERARD: I’m going to answer that question by mentioning one thing that hasn’t changed, and that is strong referrals. People sharing word-of-mouth is still a part of this equation, but the big thing that’s changing today is people are using AI to discover resources, vendors, products, and opportunities. And that’s where our agency has focused a lot of its attention lately.
DOUG: Yeah. And, obviously, one of my top areas is earned media. And earned media seems to have the pendulum swing back, holding the power. What’s going on with that?
GERARD: Yeah. So, years ago, when we were first talking about search engine optimization and the correlation between earned media, owned media, the copy on your website, and the blog that you created. We’re also having similar conversations today on how your content and your story are finding themselves in these large language models. And that obviously plays into discoverability because people are going there to find out answers.
DOUG: Yeah. And there’s been a tremendous increase in the percentage of searches, if you will, that are being done through the large language models. And it also has a growing role in business-to-business, where a number of the tech companies play these days.
GERARD: The Hoffman Agency is a business-to-business business. And, you know, oftentimes when people reach out to us asking about our services, I ask them, how did you hear about us? And I will tell you, over the last six to twelve months, over half of the people I’ve asked that question have told me, I went to AI. I used ChatGPT, or I went to Claude, and I asked it, give me the top ten tech PR agencies in Silicon Valley or in the United States or in Asia, and that’s how people are finding things. And back to your earlier point, Doug, it’s often earned media that is informing these large language models, and so that makes our role as a PR firm even more important today.
DOUG: Yeah. We’ve seen that with a number of leads coming in through ChatGPT. When we ask how they got that, you know, three years ago, guess what? That was a big zero on that. So, you know, technology brands always have to differentiate themselves, but now it’s about differentiating themselves for discoverability within these machines and large language models. How do that in such a competitive environment?
GERARD: Yeah. So, I think if we take a step back and we think about what’s going to land earned attention for these tech companies. And the obvious place a lot of the tech companies want to go to is our technology. Our technology is great. It’s fast. It’s small. It’s energy efficient and all those things. And yet that’s not really what the media is interested in, and that’s not so much what large language models are tracking. They’re tracking respectability. They’re tracking third-party validation. And so, when we try to connect all these dots, that’s what we do. That’s what an agency like us does. When we try to connect all these dots, we’re trying to put this technology story in terms of impact and how actual humans are going to be impacted by that technology. And when we do that, it seems to connect the dots across all of these different places that are becoming more important for discoverability.
DOUG: Are you looking to optimize those earned media placements? Not only thinking of, hey, let’s get a story, and it’s great that people are more focused on earned media and need that support. But the idea of: will this story then get picked up in large language models? And does that change how you’re coaching people? How you’re sharing with the media what the story’s about? I know it’s done that quite a bit on our end, but I’d love to hear from you first.
GERARD: What you’re talking about is how we used to think about SEO, right? Like keywords, phrases, and search terms. It’s a little bit different here, but it’s also very much the same. And what I mean by that is the language you’re using, the domain you’re talking about, is still really important, but the other parts of this are really about looking at where your competitors are being mentioned in large language models and why, and looking at that opportunity space for our clients. So, then we can target media. We can target the topics. We can target the types of stories that are actually informing these large language models. So, it’s a little bit of both of those things, Doug, and I think it’s ever-changing, and it’s changing super fast.
DOUG: Do you ever want to focus on where competitors aren’t necessarily being mentioned, as that might be a part of the playing field where you can show up and own that to yourself?
GERARD: Yeah. It’s fascinating, Doug. We’re looking at this playing field, this kind of emerging playing field over the last couple years, as an opportunity to differentiate in messaging. So, when we’re doing, you know, an updated narrative for a company, or we’re looking at their messaging and potentially thinking about updating it, a lot like what we did ten, fifteen, twenty years ago in SEO land, we’re looking at the opportunity space. Where’s the white space? How can we differentiate ourselves so that we’re not just another SaaS software solution?
DOUG: So, what are the tricks or approaches you’re taking to tell more compelling stories about tech and the clients you work with? What should people be thinking about when they’re trying to craft these messages and opportunities?
GERARD: Yeah. So, I recognize that not every brand is telling a tech story, but most brands are much more technical than they think. If you consider your brand innovative, you’re probably using technology in some way, shape, or form to get there. It could be in product development. It could be in how your employees are doing their jobs day in and day out. It’s how you’re manufacturing the widget that you’re selling in, you know, the corner store. All those stories are opportunities to, I think, tell a tech-led story in a way that connects to real people, real impact, and real businesses. And so, when I go back to what our advice to our clients is, it really hasn’t changed, Doug, because what works with the media, what reporters, editors, and producers are interested in, is the same thing that a lot of the large language models are interested in too.
DOUG: Your point about so many companies being engaged with tech even if it’s not at the core of their business. We saw a study from the US Chamber of Commerce about small businesses, and there was a huge number of them that were using different technologies. They were outperforming competitors and were more satisfied with how business is going. Is there anything that I guess I’m contradicting myself now, anything that sort of “not traditional” tech companies can learn about what you’re doing to help position tech companies more effectively in this new age of discoverability?
GERARD: There are a couple of things. And, again, this is also the kind of stuff that has been good, you know, storytelling for years and years, and that is using things like conversational language and creating contrast in your storytelling. You know, you said differentiate. We often just try to contrast what other people are saying to help differentiate, you know, a little drama, a little bit of levity, and then a lot of humanity. If we can use those elements in our stories, we can be successful in media relations, but that can also be helpful in making sure that the large language models pick this up. Because remember what we’re up against. We’re up against these large, you know, phrase-based prompts and questions. It’s not keyword necessarily. It’s conversational. And so, if you can start putting your company’s story and brand, whether you’re selling a soda or a semiconductor chip, if you can put that into conversational language, you’re more likely to show up and be discovered in these models.
DOUG: Well, it’s been great to speak to you as a master in conversational language. So, thanks so much for being part of the podcast.
GERARD: Thanks, Doug. Thanks for having me.
