Tag Archive for: boutique pr firm los angeles

PR for AI Startups – Is It Too Late?

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Key Takeaways

  • Urgency for Effective PR in AI: AI startups must seize the current media attention and position themselves as thought leaders in the evolving AI landscape. With a high failure rate among AI startups, effective public relations strategies are crucial for differentiation and long-term success, especially as the industry approaches a pivotal phase before potential IPOs.
  • Consumer Education is Key: The AI industry has a significant opportunity to build positive relationships by educating consumers about AI technologies. Addressing fears and concerns through proactive communication can help demystify AI, making it less intimidating and more accepted by the public, which is essential for both B2B and consumer-facing AI companies.
  • Proactive Self-Regulation and Engagement: AI companies should take the initiative in self-regulation and stakeholder engagement to prevent government backlash and foster understanding. By guiding consumers and regulators through the benefits and implications of AI, companies can shape a favorable narrative and build trust in the technology’s future.

ChatGPT was a seismic event for AI PR. AI companies that focused on generating language models for prompts and voice commands were already years ahead. “AI prompts for ChatGPT” topics were all the rage, and for AI startups, that was actually quite frustrating because they knew there are so many deep, interesting topics to cover. And that’s why it’s not too late for public relations for AI startups.

As a PR agency specializing in emerging technologies, our clients definitely benefited from the burst of AI coverage after ChatGPT became a media darling. Still, our clients are already working on AI technologies that make businesses more efficient and embrace the human element to allow more informed decisions.

Journalists will cover artificial intelligence in the way they covered social media during its infancy: obsessively, as there are still a lot of stories to tell in commercial AI PR. AI-assisted technologies will continue to exist, so there will be endless types of articles to write, and they will not solely revolve around creating content or the disappearance of jobs.

The Case for PR Urgency

Executives and boardrooms are still unsure about what AI means for their companies. And tomorrow’s most relevant AI brands are taking the opportunity right now to create media coverage around topics that position them as thought leaders. An AI PR agency that understands the cyclical nature of PR for hyper-growth and emerging industries is an essential resource for AI startups.

85% of AI startups will be out of business in three years. From content to thought leadership to contributed content and niche audience trends, the PR strategies AI companies choose today will be the differentiator for AI startups from the earliest phases to pre-IPO. AI is dominating private equity and venture funding headlines and grabbing what venture funding dollars are available today, and that means tomorrow’s most exciting IPOs will be AI companies. And while those companies need PR for AI companies, even those who intend to stay private should embrace PR because the industry is at its most crucial stage.

Educating the Consumer About The Future of AI

Like with other hot emerging industries, AI technologies have the opportunity right now to develop positive relationships with stakeholders, customers, and consumers. As an industry, AI companies should take this very seriously because AI’s potential is scary to consumers, especially since consumers are still experiencing techlash from the unforeseen consequences of social media. Educating consumers about how the AI industry addresses their fears and concerns is a key opportunity for public relations for AI companies.

Even B2B AI companies should take the lead on educating the masses about AI’s potential. Why is this important? When the average person understands how AI will make their life better, AI will seem less scary and this is important to regulators.

AI companies can also take this opportunity to self regulate, instead of waiting for a government backlash from representatives who don’t understand what it is (see Mark Zuckerberg’s congressional hearing). Taking stakeholders along the journey enables them to see the future with you, as opposed to despite you. PR services are critical to this journey because today’s actions will have an outsized impact in the future.

From content creation to PR campaigns, AI companies should lean into tech where it makes sense, and lean into relationships where it’s most important.

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Consumer Spending Trends and Stats for 2023

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Key Takeaways

  • Consumer Spending Trends: Holiday spending in 2023 is projected to rise 4.5% to $1.3 trillion, with significant consumer engagement observed in gift-giving, food-related purchases, and increased loyalty towards preferred brands. Notably, 72% of U.S. consumers are ready to spend more on brands they trust.
  • Shifting Consumer Preferences: Economic factors are leading consumers, including higher-income individuals, to favor value retail options. Brands need to adapt by reinforcing customer loyalty through targeted incentives and maintaining relevance without overemphasizing purpose-driven messaging, which has seen a decline in consumer interest.
  • Trust in Advertising: There is a marked decrease in consumer trust in traditional advertising methods, with a 36% drop in purchases from banner ads. Instead, consumers are relying more on online reviews and authentic content. Brands should focus on creating quality owned content and leveraging social proof to build trust and drive sales.

2023 has been a roller coaster for businesses. From CPG to consumer electronics, consumer brands look for ways to see inside the looking glass for the pivotal Q4 holiday spending season. Mixed signals abound. In the spring, Kiplinger’s Economic Outlets says e-commerce and general merchandise spending remains strong and core sales (even adjusted for inflation) were up .6%, but sporting goods, clothing, and grocery continue to decline, this spring. But Father’s Day spending is expected to set records (National Retail Federation), as did Mother’s Day spending. E-commerce and DTC brands wonder how they should plan for the 2023 holiday spending season?

What are the top consumer stats for 2023 that ambitious consumer brands need to know?

  • 86% of consumers say online sources helped them make more informed decisions (Google)
  • Holiday spending in 2023 is expected to increase 4.5% to $1.3 trillion in 2023 (Insider Intelligence)
  • 98% of consumers plan to purchase a Christmas gift (Supermarket News)
  • 55% of consumers have made a purchase directly from email (Cheetah Digital)
  • 88% of consumers plan increased food-related purchases for Thanksgiving (Supermarket News)
  • 31% of consumers say inflation will have a moderate impact on their spending (Numerator)
  • Purchases from banner ads are down 36% (Cheetah Digital)
  • In 2022, 80% of consumers researched or browsed before making a purchase (Google)
  • In 2022, 20% of consumers made a purchase on impulse (Google)
  • 72% of U.S. consumers are prepared to purchase more from their preferred brands (Cheetah Digital)

 

 

Sometimes it’s hard to get a handle on how the consumer feels, especially since your analytics and stats are always backward-looking. That’s why it’s helpful to look at how major retailers view the marketplace.

What are big brands saying about 2023 consumer spending?

“We continue to see some improvements in many items, commodity prices are starting to fall – not back to pre-COVID levels in some examples, but continue to provide some relief – things like chicken, bacon, butter, steel, resin, nuts…Our average transactions, our shopping frequency is up…So those things bode well, but people certainly are spending their dollars where they feel like they should be spending them.” – Costco CFP Richard Galanti

 

“What we are seeing is the consumer making $80,000 a year is trading down…The current economic climate is driving more higher-income consumers into value retail.” – Dollar Tree CEO Rick Dreiling

 

“..We believe the desire to be with loved ones, go on vacation, and attend events has not diminished, and expect gift-giving and occasion-based demand to continue. – Macy’s CEO Jeff Gennette

 

Top trends driving consumer spending

 

Consumer Loyalty

Given rising prices, consumers increasingly choose to stick with the brands they know and love. Consumer brands can leverage this through loyalty programs and word-of-mouth incentives. Give your loyal customer a reason to share your email or recommend your brand, so the next time it comes up with their friends, your brand is top of mind. One way to do this is provide tips and social proof in your email marketing. It’s all about positioning. Your current customers don’t need to be “sold”; they need to have their choices reinforced. Therefore we recommend brands leverage PR coverage in their email marketing with a pat on the back and share an incentive to their existing customers. For those who are on your list and haven’t yet purchased, use a “look what others say,” message.

 

Values-Based Messaging

On the decline? Purpose-based messaging. Only 16% of consumers are voting with their wallets about “responsible brand” messaging. A huge shift in consumer product PR, this is likely because of a general fatigue of this type of messaging. Consumer brands sound continues with existing social-impact programs but present them to consumers as part of the brand, not as a defined campaign.

 

Advertising Trust Decreases

While searching online for third-party verifications like reviews and media coverage is up, purchasing from banner ads is down 36% – consumers know ads aren’t trustworthy. Consumers are overwhelmed with messages and struggling to keep up with all the “buy now” signals. They’re looking for ways to cut through the noise and they trust search results and social proof more than anything else. This is also a good time to invest in quality owned content. As search continues to evolve due to AI changes, quality content will become more critical.

 

In conclusion…

Consumer holiday spending will be up, but consumer brands will need to fight both harder and smarter for those dollars. This isn’t the year for ambitious brands to take their foot off the gas. You can examine ways to spend smarter with your existing agency or you can look for programs that decrease PR agency costs for consumer brands.

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6 Ways PR Helped Hypergrowth Healthtech Brands Thrive

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Key Takeaways

  • Strategic PR for Trust and Visibility: Healthtech brands like Hims/Hers and Kiira Health have successfully used strategic PR to enhance consumer trust and visibility. By sharing purpose-driven initiatives and personal stories, these brands have effectively connected with their audiences and positioned themselves favorably in the market.
  • Leveraging Content and Media: Utilizing platforms like Medium to share stories and announcements has proven beneficial for engaging early adopters and maintaining visibility. Consistent messaging through various media channels helps build brand credibility and awareness, as demonstrated by the successful communication strategies of healthtech startups.
  • Proactive Narrative Control: Brands such as Folx Health have taken control of their narratives by addressing healthcare inequities and advocating for their communities. By using data-driven storytelling and establishing a clear founding story, these companies have strengthened their brand identity and appeal, showcasing the importance of a culturally relevant PR strategy.

Ever since the pandemic, there has been a new emphasis on the emerging industry of telehealth, many of which are on the pre-IPO track. And while telehealth VC investment is expected to stay flat in 2023, the industry received an exciting $29.1 billion in funding in 2021, mostly for consumer tech services and apps, but B2B is also on solid footing. Regardless of funding levels, how has healthtech PR helped hypergrowth brands thrive through the disruptive business environment?

Hims/Hers HealthTech and Consumer Goods Maximizes Growth with PR

  • $233 million raised
  • First day of trading: Jan. 21, 2021
  • SPAC proceeds: $280 million
  • SPAC valuation: $1.6 billion, according to Forbes

Hims/Hers operates two websites offering medical services specific to men (Hims) and women (Hers). To catch the attention of VCs and to eventually go public in 2021,  healthtech PR helped hypergrowth tech brand Hims/Hers maximize their most opportune moments. With a total funding amount of $233 million and a successful SPAC IPO, Hims/Hers PR was strategic and purpose-driven, which helped it create consumer trust and make them a media darling at the right time.

Authentic Purpose-Driven PR for HealthTech

In 2021, Hims/Hers followed AirBnB in offering services to displaced Afghan refugees in the wake of the U.S. military’s sudden departure from Afghanistan. Not only did this create trust for their customers, many of whom expect brands to be socially impactful, but they also leveraged tech-based media such as TechCrunch to report the news and capture investors’ imaginations. It may have caught the attention of Walgreens, who missed the chance to contribute when their competitor, Walmart beat them to the punch because three months later, Walgreens started carrying the Hims & Hers personal care products in-store and online.

Targeting Early Adopters with Content

Although it went dark in 2021, Hims/Hers used Medium to own their story, create interest in the early-adopter crowd, and help them navigate the choppy consumer waters during the pandemic. Hims/Hers used Medium to make announcements, and they also hosted Q&As with medical professionals over topics that showed their consumers they understood them and their most personal medical problems.

Healthtech Kiira Health Leverages Healthcare PR at Opportune Moments

  • $4 million raised
  • Named one of the most promising startups in 2021 by VCs in Business Insider

Kiira is a healthtech startup that provides an online health clinic to college-aged women with an inclusive and culture-centered approach. The platform provided 24/7 365 access to trusted health experts, including primary care providers, ObGyn, nurse practitioners, and mental health experts. When the pandemic hit, many college-aged women found themselves without access to healthcare. This an especially acute issue because without “adequate resources and guidance, students are at risk for high rates of STDs on campus, unintended pregnancies, adolescent maternal deaths, and other adverse events.” according to CEO and cofounder Crystal Evuleocha, so she teamed up Dr. Candice Fraser, MD FACOG to solve the issue for millions of young women.

Using the Media to Reach Your Target Community

Both co-founders are open about their own experiences with a lack of access to care or questions about how to access care and the dangerous consequences. By leveraging personal stories that speak directly to the organization’s community, the co-founders have shown their audiences that they truly understand them, as they did in Forbes and Essence in 2021.

Moreover, when the founders speak to their community, they stay on message. They share the same information that inspired them to start Kiira Health and they underscore the most pressing issues for young women.

Using Press Releases For Corporate History

Should you issue a press release, or shouldn’t you? One time it’s crystal clear that you should, when there is a big corporate moment that will build your brand credibility with press and/or consumers, as Kiira Health did when it announced its first flagship location in Los Angeles. While press releases aren’t usually the source of media coverage by themselves, it likely didn’t hurt when Crunchbase included them in a story about health and wellness startups. This kind of press release acts a flagpole in the sand for future credibility building for both VC and media.

Folx Health Using PR to Elevate Understanding

  • $59 million raised
  • #28 on Fast Company’s list of World’s Most Innovative Companies 2023

Taking Control of their Founding Story

Folx Health is a healthtech platform that provides healthcare services tailored to the LGBTQIA+ community, starting at $59/month. In May 2020, Folx founder A.G. Breitenstein took to Medium to tell how Folx came to be. Although this Medium post is their only Medium post, it shows a particular media savvy. In December that year Folx’s $4.4 million funding led to coverage on Mashable, Built in Boston, and Crunchbase. The Medium post is so important because it is an early flag in the sand about the founding story of the then little-known startup Folx, which is important when a big media announcement hits and suddenly there is a lot of press and a lot of opportunities for the founding story to be misunderstood or misrepresented.

PR to Take a Stand

On the heels of its $30 million raise in October 2022, Folx appears to take control of its narrative again. This time, it does so as a fierce source of information about healthcare’s inadequacy for the queer community. Time after time, Folx uses an intelligent combination of data and storytelling to articulate Folx’s purpose and need to a broader audience. And this time, Folx CEO is the spokesperson for thier entire community: The American healthcare system, “at best, wasn’t built for us. And actually, more often than not, it’s openly discriminatory,” says Liana Douillet-Guzmán, of the LGBTQ community. Folx isn’t simply leveraging purpose-driven PR, they are CULTURALLY purpose-driven, making their PR story all the more attractive.

All of these hypergrowth healthtech brands provide examples of PR in healthcare brands, but these examples can also be useful for all startups in any phase of growth. Taking ownership of PR in the earliest stages can pay remarkable dividends in the early development and later hypergrowth stages. During times of volatility, PR can be the shining beacon into the future and light the path for future growth, even with past coverage.

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5 Ways to Save on Your Agency Budget

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Key Takeaways

  • Focus on Sticky Content: Prioritize creating high-quality, long-lasting content like owned and earned media. This approach not only provides enduring value but also allows for repurposing, enhancing ROI over time.
  • Strategically Reduce Scope: Instead of cutting services entirely, narrow the focus to high-impact activities. Consider consolidating efforts, such as working with fewer influencers or streamlining campaigns, to maintain effectiveness while reducing costs.
  • Plan Ahead for Savings: Proactive planning can significantly cut costs. Secure contracts early, book services in advance, and purchase press releases in bulk to leverage better rates and avoid last-minute expenses.

When the economy is unpredictable, it’s challenging to plan. Yet, plan you must. Even when you love your PR and marketing agency, during these times, it’s tempting to cut marketing and PR budgets. I know both sides of this fence. I’ve been an entrepreneur for 75% of my career, including during 9/11, The Great Recession, and the Covid-19 pandemic. Having witnessed the fallout from slashed budgets, I’ve learned that taking your foot off the gas doesn’t slow the engine. It kills it. You can’t eliminate marketing and increase sales. What you DO need to do is shift marketing strategies. These 4 ways to save on your agency budget will ensure you gain or maintain valuable market share while reducing marketing and PR agency fees. 

If you like your marketing or PR agency, keep them. You can negotiate with your existing agency; hiring a new agency has hidden costs. Eliminating a well-oiled, top-rated agency will cost you productivity and results when you need it most. If things are going well, check out our advice from leading agency owners about reducing your agency budgets. If you’re hiring a new agency, these tips will help you get off to a great start and a budget that allows for growth while you work efficiently with your new agency.

 

1. Content: Make It Sticky

When times are good, brands with ambitious goals do whatever they can to get meaningful results faster. But if you’re reducing budgets, you should focus on the longer-lasting things. As a colleague of mine once said, “I don’t know why everyone wants to go viral. I want my content to be cancer. I want it to stick around and be hard to get rid of.” This is the mindset to be in when trying to reduce costs.

Two types of media stick around forever: owned media and earned media. Your owned media is any channel you control, where create 100% of the content, like your blog or your email marketing. Your earned media appears on channels you don’t control or create, think magazine articles, and (organic) reviews.

Blog posts and earned media are the superglue of sticky marketing and PR levers. Because they DO last so long, and they are customer-facing, these are excellent areas to focus your PR agency on. The ROI will pay dividends now and in the future. 

There’s a third blend of content emerging – and that’s contributed content. Sometimes there are fees associated with contributed content, and it always goes through editorial control, but it is a highly credible way for you to (mostly) control the messaging. This type of content has another advantage: thought leadership. Activating your thought leadership is key to its stickiness.

But longevity is only one benefit of this content; repurposing is another. For example, blog posts that are listicles are excellent SEO boosters, and you can use a listicle to generate many social media posts, same with an article that includes your product.

You want your stickiest content to be the best quality. If you’re reducing your budgets in other areas, now is not the time to hire an untested blogger referred to you by your nephew. Now is the time to focus your budget on doing what you do well. Very well.

Highly useful, sticky content is the most valuable and should be a budget priority.

2. Strategically Reduce the Scope

Chances are your agency is providing you with a suite of services. Instead of eliminating high-value output, focus your budget on those items to reduce your scope.

Take a deeper look at what your agency did this year that worked for you. How did they excel? While you’re asking yourself this question, think about it in the “Make it Sticky” content but also in the areas where narrowing in on the scope would provide outsized value.

One way to secure high-value PR is product-driven PR and bringing thought leadership and awards programs in-house, or vice-versa. 

Another idea, instead of working with 15 different micro-influencers, you work with one on a strategic year-long campaign. Maybe your branding company could produce long-form content only and you can craft social media posts in-house.

Instead of a campaign every quarter, work with your agency to develop one excellent, well-thought-out campaign throughout the year and focus your efforts on making that campaign exceptional. This brings me to my final recommendation. 

Another area that can save your money is fewer meetings with your agency. While meetings are essential, especially early in the relationship, this area could drive some savings if you’ve been with your agency for a while. 

3. Plan Ahead

Nothing is more expensive than last-minute. If you’re reducing your budget, planning can save you a lot of money. For example, if you’re planning on a video shoot, secure your videographers and editors well in advance with a solid deposit and you’ll find it easier to negotiate the rate.

The same goes for your agency contract. Sign early regardless of whether it’s a new-to-you agency or one you’ve had for a while. Signing early gives you an edge in negotiation. If you like your agency and you will commit to a longer term, you’ll be able to command better rates, and even lock in “economic downturn” rates for two years.

Press releases can be purchased in bulk as well. So if you’re planning on several announcements, if you buy in advance, you can save thousands of dollars. 

4. Strategy: When They Zig, You Should Zag

To save money and get more bang for your buck, redefine your calendar. Shy away from the dates and times of the year when your competitor is most likely to do something, and instead select a campaign period when you can own the conversation.

Alternatively, re-thing your share of voice KPI. When dominance is your key strategy, you want to track it against your biggest aspirational competitors. If simply staying present is your goal, track your share of voice against a competitor nipping at your heels, one who is your peer and one who is aspirational. For your aspirational competitors, your strategy should be to cede some of your share of voice so you can squeeze in on your competitor’s territory. For your peers, you want to maintain equal, if not better, footing, and for the one nipping at your heels, you want to own the conversation so they don’t squeeze in on yours.

5. Maximize Partnerships and Internal Initiatives

Now is a great time to double down on successful partnerships or find new ways to align for new partnerships. Be creative in the ways you align, and you may be able to create a news worthy story just by creating a collaboration. Another way to maximize your budget is to turn your storytelling focus on highly valued stories the media is already writing about, like purpose-driven initiatives. These types of stories are much easier to get a lift on than the traditional “thought leadership” strategy that most of your competitors will flock to.

Reducing your agency costs doesn’t have to be all or nothing. Working WITH your agency to find the sweet spot for your specific needs can be an excellent exercise in creativity. By shifting strategies, outcomes, and outputs, you can find the sweet spot that keeps your marketing and PR on track even during cost-cutting seasons.

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Thought Leadership Best Practices

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There’s a version of thought leadership that looks like a lot of content with no authority to show for it. The companies that end up there aren’t less capable than the ones that build real influence. They’re usually executing without a strategy underneath. That’s a fixable problem, and it starts with being clear about what thought leadership actually is.

Since 2008, I’ve watched companies get this right and wrong. The ones who build lasting authority share one thing: they decide what position they’re building before they decide what to publish.

What Thought Leadership Is

Thought leadership is the sustained, strategic expression of expertise across channels and over time, with the goal of owning a specific position in a specific audience’s mind. It’s not a blog. It’s not a LinkedIn calendar. It’s not a speaking slot.

Joel Kurtzman, the founding editor-in-chief of “Strategy + Business,” coined the term in 1994 to describe someone with in-depth knowledge of a marketplace, a real understanding of customer needs, and distinctive ideas. That definition still holds. What’s changed is how much harder it is to stand out, and how much more measurable authority has become.

Strong thought leadership takes a clear position, demonstrates ongoing learning, and creates genuine value for others. It’s credible expertise expressed through content designed to educate, not to promote.

Who Builds Effective Thought Leadership

Thought leaders come from any background. What they share is genuine expertise in a specific domain, real opinions they’re willing to defend publicly, and the consistency to build over time. Effective thought leadership skills aren’t innate. They’re developed through practice, feedback, and a willingness to stay current.

Executives at growth-stage companies, founders preparing for exits, and CMOs managing investor perception are among the highest-stakes thought leadership builders because the business consequences of getting it right or wrong are significant.

Want More Insider Tips? Download Our Annually Updated Thought Leadership Tool Kit

Step 1: Define What Position You’re Building

Before topics, before formats, before anything else: what do you want to be the authoritative voice on?

Not a category. A position. What do you believe, why does it matter, and why is your company or executive credible holding it? That clarity drives every content and media decision that follows.

Connect the position to a business outcome. Review your current marketing and PR objectives. Are you building investor credibility before a funding round? Establishing category authority ahead of a competitive launch? Creating regulatory goodwill in a restricted industry? The outcome shapes the strategy.

Step 2: Assess What Already Exists in Your Space

Evaluate the landscape before you build. Who is already recognized as an authority here? What positions are occupied? Where are the genuine gaps?

This isn’t about being contrarian. It’s about understanding where you can actually own something. A distinct perspective in a crowded conversation is worth more than a well-produced take that echoes what everyone else is already saying.

This research reveals gaps, opportunities, and emerging themes you can build around.

Step 3: Identify the Right Executive Voice

Thought leadership built around a real person outperforms brand-level content consistently. It’s more credible, more citable, and more durable. Investors, acquirers, regulators, and journalists evaluate people, not logos.

The right voice has three things: genuine expertise, real opinions, and the willingness to be public with both. Select internal experts based on alignment with your mission, strong informed opinions, passion for the industry, and willingness to share experience. Thought leadership built on committee-reviewed, safe-for-everyone content doesn’t build authority.

Step 4: Create Content That Proves the Position

Once the position is clear and the voice is identified, content decisions get easier. The question isn’t “what should we publish?” It’s “what content proves this position to this audience?”

Start with longer-form content: articles, bylined pieces, substantive interviews. These create the foundation. Short-form content on LinkedIn and social channels should extend the longer work, not exist independently of it.

Consistency matters more than volume. A company publishing one deeply considered perspective per month will build more authority than one posting five times a week with no thread connecting the ideas. When content pulls in different directions, audiences and AI models alike receive a fragmented picture of what the company or executive actually stands for. I call this narrative leakage, and it’s one of the most common and most damaging problems in thought leadership programs.

Step 5: Distribute Where Your Audience Pays Attention

Great thinking no one sees is a wasted asset. Effective distribution includes:

For executive thought leadership, that means earned media placements in the publications your audience actually reads, podcast appearances beyond company-owned channels, and bylined content submitted to industry outlets, not just posted on the company blog.

If you’re pre-IPO or operating in a regulated industry, earned media carries additional weight. A published byline in a credible outlet signals to investors and regulators in ways owned content can’t replicate. If you run a more prominent company, consider working with reputation management experts to manage this at scale.

Step 6: Measure Authority, Not Activity

The metrics easiest to track are the ones that tell you least about whether the program is working. Posts published, impressions, and clicks measure activity. They don’t measure authority.

Track metrics like backlinks, organic traffic, media mentions, and total leads, but weight them against authority signals: share of voice relative to competitors, journalist citation rates, and narrative consistency across channels. Consider different ways of measuring progress and monitor whether your program is attracting the right audience, not just any audience.

For a full breakdown of how to measure thought leadership in a way that holds up in a boardroom, see Measuring Thought Leadership: Metrics That Actually Matter.

Thought Leadership and AI Search in 2026

AI search has added a layer to the measurement problem that didn’t exist a few years ago.

When a prospect, investor, or journalist asks an AI model a question in your category, does your company or executive appear as a credible reference? Showing up in AI search is now a measurable visibility signal. AI models pull from owned content, earned media, and how consistently your ideas appear across credible third-party sources. A scattered narrative shows up in AI responses the same way it shows up in search: incomplete, generic, or absent.

The best programs are built around 2 or 3 core narrative threads, consistently expressed across every channel. That’s what builds citation authority with AI and with human readers. What Thought Leadership Means in 2026 goes deeper on this if you want the full picture.

Best Practices to Follow in 2026 and Beyond

Stay Within Your Area of Expertise
Credibility comes from depth, not breadth. Stay focused on the subjects where your expertise is strongest and most defensible.

Keep Up With Your Industry
Your ability to teach others begins with your own ongoing learning. Stay informed on trends, changes, and innovations within your field.

Understand Your Audience
Know what your audience values, fears, and needs. Targeted insight always outperforms general commentary.

Use Technology Wisely
Use tools for research, content organization, publishing, and analytics. But don’t let AI-generated content replace original thinking. The scarcity of genuine perspective is exactly what makes real thought leadership valuable right now.

Commit to Continuous Learning
Remain open to new perspectives, insights, and feedback. Adaptation is what keeps authority relevant over time.

The Practice Most Companies Skip

Build the program before you need it.

The executives with the most influence at high-stakes moments — the funding round, the acquisition conversation, the regulatory hearing — are the ones who started building their public credibility well before that moment arrived. Authority doesn’t appear on demand. It accumulates through consistent relationship-building and visibility over time.

If you’re looking at thought leadership best practices, the most important one is this: start with a clear position, a specific audience, and stay consistent long enough for the market to catch up.

Any questions? Or maybe there’s something we missed? Connect with us about our Thought Leadership Program, especially for busy executives. Start with an Assessment.

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