Crafting PR Campaigns for the Age of Siri, Alexa, and Google Assistant

Welcome. This is the Public Relations Review Podcast, a program to discuss the many facets of public relations with seasoned professionals, educators, authors and others. Now here is your host, peter Wolfolk.

Welcome to the Public Relations Review Podcast and to all listeners all across America and around the world. Now let me say this that I certainly look forward to continue bringing you public relations professionals from across the US, and a few from other nations, to provide you with substantive information that can benefit your public relations efforts. Now question are you aware of the public relations benefits of voice search devices such as Alexa, siri and Google Assistant? Did you know? At the close of 2023, 4.2 billion of these devices were in use globally? Well, I can certainly add my two to that number. That number will double by the close of 2024. So how, then, can these voice assistants be of use to public relations professionals? My guest today certainly has an answer for you, and returning for the second time is Sasha Dookhoo, vice president, Crenshaw Communications, a MADOP company. You may recall, I used a text-to-speech to convert her article into a brief segment at the close of 2023. However, because of the spectacular growth of AI and public relations, I thought this would be a great segment to further explore this particular topic. So, Sasha, taking it easy down in wonderful Gainesville, Florida, this time of year, welcome to the podcast again.

Thank you for having me.

So, first of all, how did you come about this information about how Alexa and Siri and others are being used in public relations?

Well, first, Peter, voice search is nothing new, right? We had Google voice search in 2011, and then Apple started it in 2012. So it's been around for well over a decade. So, as PR pros, we always have to be thinking of how we stay ahead of emerging technologies and how we can harness them in our toolkits, especially when all of the consumers are using them. So we have to consider how we leverage them for our clients and the ways that we can best leverage them to get the best results we want.

Well, let's talk about how they can use them then. So let's start at the top of your list. I think you had a number of different ways they can be used, so what would be the first way that you see, or have seen, that these are being used?

Yeah, so, first off, voice search is really reshaping how people seek information and, because consumers are using it so widespread, pr pros need to consider how we harness it for our use and how our clients can use it. So the first one is really conversational content. So these voice queries tend to be more conversational and long-tailed, so they reflect how people naturally speak. So PR pros need to optimize this content to align with conversational queries that really rank in voice search results. If we are not ranking voice search results, especially when it comes to local businesses and services, then your client may really fall off the discoverability radar and that could really hurt your SEO efforts and really impact their business and bottom line.

So it really is. I guess, as you said, they have to construct some content that meets the criteria that these search devices are looking for.

Absolutely. When it comes to voice search, we need to articulate how people are actually speaking. They may now always look for your business specificly. They may be looking for whether the top 10 places I can have brunch or coffee in my specific area and they may also add anecdotes about that Maybe it's the top can express those spots in a specific area. So we all need to ensure that the content it's pulling from is really key. And that brings us to the second point about content marketing. It's only as good as a result it can find easily. So if we're not feeding that SEO and putting that content out there that's really high in quality and can answer common voice queries, then search results will not find us and that will really impact how we're discovered. So we need to consider how to make it simplified and really take out all of that jargon filled, complex content that can fill a lot of our clients' websites and it's really about simplifying it and making it more effective.

Now you sort of identified those things that sound relatively easy to do in terms of putting the content together, let's say, getting a latte or a deal on a car or something along those lines. What about the non-tangible things, such as perhaps I need someone to help me with developing my artificial intelligence programming, so you again have to structure your content to highlight that request? Is that the best way of going about it?

Absolutely. Yeah, that's a great way to look at it. You have to find the niche that you fall into, especially when it's like a niche like artificial intelligence and structuring a program for it and ensuring that the voice search results can pull from that content. And speaking of artificial intelligence, yeah, so we also need to consider too, with the advent of ChatDCT and all of the general generative AI programs, that they're also only as good as the data you feed it right. So a lot of ChatDCT products are about two years old. Unless you're using ChatDCT4, then it's not pulling from the most current data when people are looking at that for more information sourcing.

Well, speaking of ChatDCT, I mean I've seen so many people using it so many different ways, including myself. I happen to use it, let's say, maybe just to develop a guide for me. I might say I want a proposal written that includes ABC and D and it outlines that for me, and then I have to go in and fill in all the nuts and bolts and substantive part. But at least it gets the initial layout for me done.

Absolutely yeah, and that's how a lot of PR pros are really using it right now. As it learns more, it gets better as well. So I found that the more I've used it, the more it understands the content I'm looking for, and the more I use it a lot for summary, so the more it can condense a lot of information.

Okay, so what would be the next way that you see these voice search devices being beneficial?

Yeah, it's really for reputation management. So when we look at reputation management, we're looking at how we enhance the authoritativeness and the trustworthiness of our clients online. So that includes maintaining a strong brand reputation that is accurate and positive, because a lot of the times we find that some online brands especially when it's multi-location brands they can't actively manage everything that's going on across all of their franchises and all their businesses. So they can use Marquek tools like one of our clients is Sochi to really look at how online reputation is managed and increased out voice search results and boost that SEO.

So actually what I'm hearing here is that obviously most people don't have the time to do the reputation management themselves, but there is software that they can engage to find it and bring it to their attention.

Absolutely yes. So we can look at Marquek tools on the market. A lot of them incorporate AI, like our clients Sochi, and they take the guesswork out of it right. It's like having a really strong tool in your toolkit that automates a lot of it with the advent of AI and automation.

So the search tools would work in combination perhaps with some of those other programs that actually, once they hear or spot something about your organization, they feed it to you, so that's maybe proactive. Sounds as though the voice search is maybe reactive, so you have to ask it to find it.

Exactly exactly. So the more you can maintain a positive brand reputation and ensure that your online listing is accurate, the better it can pull information and ensure that you're discoverable.

And I guess the most important thing to us, particularly if it's negative that you certainly want some timely response or feedback so that you're not behind the eight ball on this thing.

Yeah, absolutely. We conducted some studies with our clients, Sochi, and we realized that a lot of the times, online reputation management for brands is such an afterthought that 94% of them actually end up ghosting clients, which is terrible, right. Nobody wants to be ghosted by a brand. So just looking at it from that lens, of course that also impacts whether they can you know like what's the first thing they look when they find them using a voice search. It's probably a negative review on answered questions and it kind of leaves a negative perception from the get go, which can hurt their bottom line.

Well, again, that sounds to me that there needs to be some coordination, because you know, as I said, some, some tools are made so that if they run across anything negative, they feed it to you you immediately, whereas the voice search only comes because you ask it to go get it. So there needs to be some collaboration, or have both of them, so that you know you're not the last one to find out that things. I'm looking too good for you in this particular arena.

Absolutely yeah, Like like online reputation management, I feel like it's going to be such a huge friend. I mean, it has been a big trend, a lot, but going forward everybody's nobody's. It's not about how you can find someone by calling them anymore, it's all about the search and digital platforms. So it's it's really essential that we're maintaining a positive online reputation.

Okay. Well, the next arena where this voice search is valuable.

Yeah, it's really looking at trustworthy sources, and what that means is voice activated devices look at credible sources to provide the answers. So when you, when clients, can leverage tools like PR and gain earned media coverage, that's wonderful for voice search, because earning multiple media coverage in market tool publications increases the likelihood of being cited by a trusted source like virtual assistance, and it also allows us to one be discoverable and to like have a sort of positive reputation as well. So collaborating with reputable influencers and thought leaders and building that strong online presence is so key to all of this, and PRPROs can really help establish that for our clients.

Well, you know, that's something I just hadn't thought about that, because obviously we have done programs on thought leadership and we certainly know that being considered a thought leader is certainly a very, very positive aspect, that a lot of leaders would like to be in that position. So that makes it certainly makes a lot of sense under these circumstances, absolutely.

Yeah, like nobody wants to go somewhere that's not like from a trusted or credible source and voice search works the same way. Like it's not going to pull from a peer five or six rank something. It wants to pull from a peer one or peer two outlet and give you the best search result.

Oh, good, okay, and you have another benefit from using voice searches.

Yeah, so this is probably the most technical one of the five, but it's looking at structured data and schema markup. So when we look at structured data and schema, it's really a foundational element of SEO and it's gaining even more prominence with in the era of voice search, because these top tools can better help to better understand the content of the website and make it more likely to appear as a feature snippet or relevant answer when the voice search conducts its search. So we want to make sure that the schema and the data that it's pulling from is accurate, up to date and relevant, of course, because, again, it's only as good as the data you provide it and we want to ensure it's easily digestible as well, so it can really align to our client's content and also understand the conversational nature of voice search.

Now did you find that there's, when you looked at the primary I guess the three primary voice search devices, whether it's Alexa, siri, google that one stands out better than the other in terms of performance? Was there any way to make a distinction there about which one performs better?

I think it really depends on the consumer as well. Like, if you're an iPhone user, of course Siri is more likely to be used. If you're an Android user, it's Google, and then there's Google Home Assistant and Alexa if you're just at home. But I would say they all sort of like pull. They're pulling from the same types of data and they're also going to be pulling based on what's out there. So if you trust Google the most, you might want to use Google Assistant versus Siri. That's it.

But yeah, it's really up to the consumer preference and they typically all have the same capabilities and functionality Okay, and I think the other thing too is people need to be as precise as they can about what it is they're asking for, because if a question is too broad, maybe you get far more information that's coming in, but it's not all useful, because you just didn't tighten up your or fine tune your target, so to speak. Absolutely.

And then you also need to consider, too, that conversational voice is sometimes difficult for the device to understand. So just the other day, for example, I was looking for a nail company in like a news nail spot in my local area and I kept pulling up the name of another one that was very similar to your name and the name is Venus versus Linus. So it's getting one letter wrong and what I realized is if I just spelled it out for the voice or it works a lot better. So, yeah, consumers just need to consider the best way to provide that the right question and ensuring that it's shooting out the best response when it's provided with the correct like question, based on on the spelling of it as well.

You know, I think that now I think that's a very, very important sort of tip, because, I just said, broad questions will probably get very, very broad and maybe even inaccurate responses.

Exactly, yeah, so we want to be as condensed as we can, but sometimes too, like the broader is better for some consumers they may want to choose and narrow it down themselves, Like the other day I was looking for Brent spots in Orlando and I like I like to just put Brents, like I just said, Google Brent spots in Orlando and it gives me like a list of 20 and I get to choose from from it. But again that that also takes time out of my day instead of, like narrowing it down to specific area. I just wanted the more information to be able to make the consideration.

Good Well, sasha, as always, it is a delight speaking to you, and would you have any sort of closing remarks to our audience?

Yeah, I would just say that when we look at a voice search, we really need to consider that it's paramount because it looks at how a brand is perceived and trusted and media plays a big role in building that credibility. So PR pros really are stem, symbolic, symbiotic between this voice search and earned media and and we should consider how voice search it should be a part of our long term plans to ensure clients continue to be relevant and establish, establish themselves as industry experts, and that's really key.

Well, good, Well, Sasha, as always. Thank you so much for contributing to to the podcast. As you know, it is individual such as you that provides this type of content, that has allowed us to become a global podcast, Much to my surprise, and it was nothing that I designed ahead of time. But, yes, I do like to announce that we are heard in 143 countries and that Apple has rated us as one of the top one, top 1% of podcasts worldwide. So again, thank you for your contribution and let me say to my listeners if you've enjoyed this, certainly we'd like to get a great review from you and we look forward to hear you know, bringing you some more information, such as this on the public relations review podcast.

Thank you, this podcast is produced by communication strategies, an award winning public relations and public affairs firm headquartered in Nashville, Tennessee. Thank you for joining us.