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How PR Shapes What AI Says About Your Brand
The Digital Slice Podcast is brought to you by The Friedman Group, LLC
PR is no longer just about media coverage; it’s shaping what AI says about your business. AI search is changing how customers discover, evaluate, and trust brands long before they click a link or visit a website.
Join Brad Friedman and Jackson Wightman as they explore the intersection of public relations and AI search, how PR influences what large language models say about your company, and why building credibility across the entire marketing funnel matters more than ever.
Jackson Wightman is the founder of tech PR agency Proper Propaganda and the author of the Amazon bestselling book The Tech PR Playbook.
Proper Propaganda primarily helps companies build their brand and presence in the U.S. market while connecting PR efforts with the other channels and stages of the marketing funnel.
In this Episode:
- Jackson explains why PR remains primarily an awareness, reputation, and credibility channel rather than a direct-response tactic.
- Jackson discusses how traditional PR now intersects with AI search and the sources large language models use to generate answers.
- Jackson explains why platforms such as Reddit and Wikipedia may carry greater weight depending on which AI platform a company wants to influence.
- Jackson shares why PR can be difficult to attribute directly to revenue and how it can improve performance marketing results over time.
- Jackson explains “narrative drift” and why consistent brand signals across the internet matter to large language models.
- Jackson discusses how PR helps brands enter a buyer’s circle of consideration before that buyer ever clicks through to a website.
- Jackson shares how third-party reviews, media coverage, and influencers can help businesses build credibility and trust.
Quotes from this Episode:
- [00:01:00] “PR is really a top-of-funnel or out-of-funnel channel.” – Jackson Wightman
- [00:02:20] “A lot of the work of PR is really intersecting with AI search.” – Jackson Wightman
- [00:02:45] “AI search and, and AI presence I think are the new frontier in reputation.” – Jackson Wightman
- [00:07:40] “The way you show up across the internet from owned, paid, shared sources, it has to be consistent.” – Jackson Wightman
- [00:11:40] “You have to be around, you have to be familiar, you have to be viewed as worthy of consideration, credible, trustworthy.” – Jackson Wightman
- [00:13:01] “The most obvious and easy tactic is to go out and get the product that you're trying to sell or the service you're trying to push reviewed by third parties.” – Jackson Wightman
Today's Guest:
Jackson Wightman:
- Proper Propaganda: https://www.properpropaganda.net
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jacksonwightman/
- Book – The Tech PR Playbook: https://amzn.to/46TRpay
- Free Audiobook Version: https://thetechprplaybook.podbean.com/
Connect with Brad
Brad Friedman
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- X The Friedman Group: https://x.com/FriedmanGrp
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- LinkedIn Brad: https://www.linkedin.com/in/bfriedman/
- LinkedIn The Friedman Group, LLC: https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-friedman-group-llc
- YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/friedmansocialmedia
- Website: https://friedmansocialmedia.com
You can also call the office at 720.248.8185 or email brad@friedmansocialmedia.com.
Books
- “Brad Friedman on Digital Marketing,” by Brad Friedman
- “The Small Business Owner's Guide To Inbound Marketing,” by Brad Friedman
- “100 Livestreaming & Digital Media Predictions,” by Ross Brand with a chapter by Brad Friedman
Sponsors and Tools
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Thank you for trusting me with my honest opinion on future purchases you may make after listening to this podcast. I am always completely transparent with you. As a friend of The Friedman Group, LLC you allow me to be able to use affiliate/referral links when suggesting items for purchase. Please know I am a customer myself or have done sufficient research to feel comfortable sharing these links with you. When you click on a link and purchase the item I may receive a small “commission.” This allows me to continue to provide you with quality content and doesn't affect you in any way at checkout.
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