How to make AI work harder for your PR strategy
AI is one of the most incredible and intuitive tools we have at our fingertips to make PR and pitching easier. A lot of the time, it isn’t about reinventing the wheel, it’s about getting the cogs turning so your creative brain is engaged, and AI helps us to do just that.
Before we dive in, we should say that using AI for assistance is incredible, but it comes with a caveat about using it ethically and honestly. AI isn’t here to replace human writing, creativity, ideas, or flair, but it is here to help us get clear, gather information, and to start thinking about what we want to create.
So, with that said, let’s dive into how you can use AI, specifically ChatGPT, to support your PR strategy.
For research
Asking questions in your research stage is vital to shaping a strong pitch and story. But, we know that this can be time consuming, and before you know it, you’re up to your eyeballs in a research hole with no sign of a story. Using ChatGPT to help guide the research stage of your pitch is a sure fire way to stay on track, on task, and away from any materials that might pull you away.
Questions that lead you to deeper insights, further reads, and give you a bit more background to your story, angle, or industry will help you form a better understanding of what it is you’re saying and sharing, and will save you so much time in internet deep dives. Remember to fact check anything you get served, but for the most-part, this tool is sent from somewhere up above when we’re talking about research.
Here are some prompts you can use to shape and form the research for your PR strategy and articles.
“Tell me more about {insert industry] to help me write an article for a [insert product] brand.”
“Can you tell me about the benefits of [type of product] so I can write a press feature about it?”
“I would like to know more about [insert topic] so that I can write an article for a [insert product or niche] brand”.
These prompts are to inform and inspire, so get creative.
Credit: ChatGPT
For writing
You can use the tool for the writing stage of features and pieces, too, but with a note of caution. You still want the actual writing to be written by a human, but for forming ideas and playing around with headlines and structure, ChatGPT can be super useful.
Remember it is a tool to experiment with and start to see how different phrasing and sentence structures can make for a better read, use it as a guide not a guru, and you’re onto a winner.
Try these.
“Give me some headline ideas about an article on [insert subject] for a brand that does/makes [insert niche or products]”
“Can you create some PR feature ideas for a product that is [insert USP], for a brand that does [insert niche]. The ideas should be around [insert topic - such as sustainability], and [insert problem or issue that customers face].”
“Generate some catchy hooks for a press piece about [insert topic] for a brand that sells [insert niche or market]. The hooks should be eye-catching and written for the press.”
These prompts are to get the creative juices flowing, so go all out.
Credit: ChatGPT
For pitching
Pitching with AI looks a little different, because it’s not about getting the information, but rather crafting a pitch email that is to the point, compelling, and means that you leave the journalist wanting a tiny bit more. You don’t need to use AI for contacts (we have a database for that), and ChatGPT last got an update in January 2022, so what you do want to use it for is making sure you sound snappy, sharp, and sure of the brand you’re pitching.
Here’s how.
Start with your pitch email outline, and ask things like…
“Make it cheekier in tone.”
“Can you say this in three lines instead?”
“Make this sound snappier!”
These prompts are to add a bit more ‘jazz hands’ to what you’re writing, don’t be afraid to get sassy, and to lose some of the filler words and phrases in your emails to help them cut through. Journalists are busy, they just want the tea and none of the spills.
TIP: Whenever you’re using ChatGPT for support, get as specific as you possibly can, and save down a few preliminary questions that you can ask each time, so that the tool becomes familiar with the brand and what it offers, so the results that come back are less generic and more in tune with the brand and what it stands for.
AI is a tool that helps so many of us do our jobs more effectively and efficiently, and ChatGPT is one in particular that works so well within the PR landscape. For those who struggle to get in the zone, those who are dyslexic, those who are looking to save time and resources, it’s a must-have in your PR toolbox.
Unlock the power of AI for your PR strategy, and if you’d like more insights like this to get pitching with confidence, watch a demo of our PR platform that will help you go from press pitching to press coverage.