Laurie Sullivan

Good episode of 'Search Off The Record' covering a confusing topic for site owners and SEOs -- hreflang and internationalization. Includes... LDCP - 'Language demotion, country promotion', the lang attribute in html (and if Google cares about it), when and how to use x-default, the 'hreflang magic trick' (which I have written about several times), how only canonicals are reported in GSC (and why that can be frustrating for site owners/SEOs), why hreflang can work faster when provided via html (versus sitemaps), learn if hreflang used for discovery, and more. #google #seo

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We are taking a stand! There are so many good reasons why marketing groups should have their own AI Ethics policies. Here are just a few: - marketers collect, store, and use data differently than other groups in a typical company - AI has changed the way we interact with customers - the advent of new technology and software has blurred the rules of engagement There are many more reasons, but you'll have to check out the latest issue of AI Marketing Ethics Digest to find out. (While you're there, don't forget to subscribe. It's free!) If you're a business or marketing leader, don't miss this one. And I'm not saying that just because I wrote it...😂

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If you thought you could do away with all your content and SEO people now that Google is offering AI generated responses, think again. Unless you're ok with AI telling people to "jump off the Golden Gate Bridge" if they're depressed, "add non toxic glue" to their cooking, "run with scissors" for cardio exercise, and "smoke 3-4 cigarettes a day when pregnant" - I'm not kidding, check out other examples in this article: https://lnkd.in/gWT_vw6T I've spent almost 15 years working in content in some form. It's much more complex than many people think. But I don't need AI to create content, I need it to help solve critical, complex world issues, and I need it to replace the mundane manual labour that humans don't want to do. Leave art to the humans. Art is human connection. And, content is human connection at the core.

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Ad Age's Asa Hiken breaks down the Apple "AI" event and what it means for marketers. Their apps are going to need an update if they want to be useful on iPhones. Also: What happened to Web Erase at WWDC, the scariest potential update for advertisers on the internet? #Apple #AI #WWDC #Advertising https://lnkd.in/eA8uTw6z

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New directions from Office of Management and Budget for agencies for how to successfully, securely, safely buy #AI tools and technologies. My story breaks down the new 36-page memo.

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If you are a man writing a newsletter and you compile a list of links to thought leaders on a specific topic—say, AI or marketing attribution or SEO or whatever— make sure to include at least one take by a woman or nonbinary person. Every time. It's basic editorial equity. If you cannot find any women or nonbinary people writing about the topic of your choice, ask yourself why. (Is it because you didn't bother to look outside your own filter bubble for takes?) I'm always bemused with how many men publicly declare their feminism, then talk over, forget to link, don't bother to read, or straight-up don't include an equal amount of women in their professional media diets. I don't hold it against you, but I notice. The trend of men not bothering to acknowledge the ongoing contributions of women remains especially problematic in exec-level tech industry thought leadership.

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Online news publishers receive just 1.28 percent of brand advertising spending, according to Christian Juhl of GroupM. That's down from 60% in 1980 according to NewsGuard. And we wonder why information integrity is failing, why public discourse is slapstick, and why lies are running rife? If we don't fund decent news and reporting, how can we expect anyone to trust the information they find online? MFA sites might hit media metrics, but the result of encouraging junk in our information ecosystems will be even worse performance of our online advertising, and probably some societal breakdowns. Join Conscious Advertising Network to find out how to advertise more effectively, with thinking that's long term. #Advertising #MFA #InformationIntegrity

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Editorials serve as a platform for expressing opinions, sparking debate, and engaging readers. As such, they often attract a diverse range of feedback and comments. Navigating this feedback requires discernment. It’s crucial to differentiate constructive criticism from mere trolling. 

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AI for communicators: What’s new and what matters.

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Heads-up, not sure if this is related to the spam policy documentation update yesterday (and possible manual actions coming), or if it's tied to the algorithmic tremors we have seen since the August core update completed, but Forbes Advisor is dropping heavily as of yesterday. 1.7M queries have dropped in rank (or are lost). Again, I have no idea if this is a manual action or algorithmic, but very interesting to see timing-wise. #google #seo

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*𝐑𝐄𝐏𝐎𝐑𝐓 𝐋𝐀𝐔𝐍𝐂𝐇* There’s little doubt that Gen AI is rapidly disrupting the work of media and communications professionals. But how exactly, for whom, to what extent, and how rapidly? The 2024 Gen AI x Comms Report surveyed more than 300 media and comms professionals across Asia Pacific to find out. The 41-page report, produced by Media Collateral in partnership with State of Digital Publishing (SODP), documents an industry in flux. Adoption, use cases, fears, hopes and frustrations have rapidly evolved since the inaugural Gen AI x Comms Report in December 2023. Understand how #GenAI is reshaping #media and #communications work. Gain actionable insights to navigate the shift. 𝐃𝐨𝐰𝐧𝐥𝐨𝐚𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐟𝐮𝐥𝐥 𝐫𝐞𝐩𝐨𝐫𝐭 𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞: https://lnkd.in/grvx_QJh 𝐄𝐱𝐩𝐥𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐮𝐧𝐢𝐪𝐮𝐞 𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐩𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐛𝐥𝐞 𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐠𝐢𝐞𝐬 Thanks to Andrew Thompson, the lead researcher and author. And the 9 industry contributors who shared their insights. Dr. Lisa Dethridge, Senior Research Fellow, RMIT University, Media and Technology Binoy Prabhakar, Chief Content Officer, Hindustan Times Digital Scott Purcell, CFA, Co-founder, Man of Many @Karen R., Deputy Editor, BOOM Live Jaemark Tordecilla, Nieman '24 Fellow, Harvard University Rachel Chitra David, Journalism Consultant, TrueInfo Labs Josh Mann, Head Creative, Movember Shreya Kapdi, Founder, SAVAI 𝐒𝐧𝐚𝐩𝐬𝐡𝐨𝐭 𝐅𝐢𝐧𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐬 𝐈𝐧𝐜𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐞𝐝 𝐀𝐝𝐨𝐩𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐃𝐞𝐞𝐩𝐞𝐫 𝐈𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐠𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧: Gen AI adoption has risen to 80% in 2024, with a significant shift towards full integration into daily tasks (See p. 11) 𝐅𝐮𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐖𝐨𝐫𝐤 𝐎𝐩𝐭𝐢𝐦𝐢𝐬𝐦: Fears of job losses have subsided. 22% of respondents now believe Gen AI will create more job opportunities, a 12% increase from 2023 (See p. 31) 𝐒𝐡𝐢𝐟𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐒𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐬: Marketers' initial enthusiasm has tempered, with many scaling back from deep integration and returning to the experimentation phase. In contrast, journalists show signs of overcoming initial resistance (See p. 12) 𝐒𝐄𝐎 𝐃𝐢𝐬𝐫𝐮𝐩𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧: 76% of respondents believe Gen AI will significantly disrupt or even make SEO obsolete (See p. 22) 𝐄𝐯𝐨𝐥𝐯𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐔𝐬𝐞 𝐂𝐚𝐬𝐞𝐬: Content generation remains the primary use case, but there's a notable surge in using Gen AI for video and design creation, as well as more tactical applications, such as audience sentiment analysis and predictive content targeting (See p. 15) 𝐏𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐞𝐧𝐠𝐞𝐬: Fear of inaccuracies (72%) and ethical concerns (50%) remain top challenges, underscoring the need for responsible AI governance and transparency (See p. 27) 𝐉𝐨𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐮𝐩𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐰𝐞𝐛𝐢𝐧𝐚𝐫 Join the Gen AI x Comms Q&A Webinar on 29 August, 4:00 PM AEST, where the report’s authors and industry contributors will explore unique perspectives and actionable strategies. Sign up to the webinar. Download the report: https://lnkd.in/grvx_QJh

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I recently spoke on an Atypon panel, "Unlocking the Power of Data: Strategies for Audience Engagement," with Leslie Eager (Health Affairs), Rachel Bock (Wiley), and Hannah Smith (Wiley) to talk about the why, what, and how of building an audience strategy. The recording is now available. The link is below in the comments. I've also included in the comments a link to a blog post I wrote, "Audience Strategy for Publishers and Associations." For organizations looking to be more audience-centric, I offered the following 8 tips: 1. Bust silos: Organizations have a single, multifaceted audience, not separate disconnected ones. Within an audience, individuals often have multiple roles - e.g., reader, author, member, and event attendee. Recognizing these interconnected roles requires breaking down internal silos to develop a view of each community member, enabling personalized experiences that transcend traditional departmental boundaries. 2. Reimagine (and invest in) marketing: To fully capitalize on the benefits of an audience strategy, marketing needs to be modernized and valued (i.e., invested in). Organizations should look to other industries where marketing has been central to driving business success. 3. Data need to be actionable: Marketing teams must be able to quickly activate data for campaigns and personalized experiences without IT bottlenecks. Staff in all functions should have access to relevant reporting, analytics, and KPIs to inform their decision-making. 4. Challenge existing tech: AMSs and CRMs are not sufficient to achieve audience centricity. If this is an organizational priority, additional investment will be required. 5. Business-outcomes led: An audience strategy often requires investment. Start by identifying high-value use cases and business case framework first. Different organizations have different needs and financial upside potential. Careful analysis is required to determine the best path forward. 6. Tools do not tool: Build a strategic roadmap and be clear what you need. Do not look at tools in isolation. There is no single magic bullet tool. 7. More than tech: Change is not just about purchasing new technology, but the strategies and skills needed to adopt the tech. Successful adoption often requires changes to processes and organization design. Don't purchase technology before understanding the total cost of ownership and the change required within your organization. 8. Balance roadmap with quick wins:  While a single customer view is important, it is a long-term destination. Many use cases can be advanced without fully achieving it. Adopting technology requires a disciplined focus on specific use cases. The goal is to achieve value quickly, prove that value, and then continue to extend capabilities. You don't want a twelve-month project before seeing benefits. Instead, aim for incremental improvements that deliver tangible results along the way to a more comprehensive customer view.

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Want to stand out as an industry leader? Publish a white paper. Often mistaken as an archaic form of writing, white papers are coming back in a big way to highlight primary and secondary research to build credibility and earn trust with your audience. The best part is that white papers can be repurposed for blogs, social media content, book sections, and more. We love the idea of repurposing white papers so much that People First Content has added a new service called a Content Waterfall. 💧We'll start with a well-researched white paper 💧💧 Then turn that into 2 blog posts 💧💧💧💧Then turn those into 4 LinkedIn posts And then we'll turn around and do it all again with a different topic. Learn more at https://lnkd.in/gru-QCqH #content #whitepaper #thoughtleadership #peoplefirstcontent

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Great write-up by Jo Roberts following my presentation on AI and content automation best practices. Keep it human people!

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The next phase for AI in PR will be the deployment of agentic solutions. What that will look like for agencies is a hotly debated topic, and views on how agencies will evolve to sustain their relevancy, are still polarised. My view is that in the next 36 months, the operational architecture of the brand-agency relationship will fundamentally change across five areas: 1. How agencies collaborate with clients 2. How agencies collaborate with journalists & alternative media 3. Work done by humans vs machines 4. Who agencies hire 5. How agencies charge Software, workflow automation, AI and internal people processes will envelop each of these board-level discussions - and underpinning this will be a technological transformation that unlocks a new way of working, delivering a new wave of business model innovation in PR. In April I wrote a piece for PRWeek about the industry needing a new taxonomy for PR agencies integrating AI into their work, and how I believed it was important to make the distinction between agencies adopting consumer-grade AI solutions, deploying prompt engineers, and those building their own proprietary technology. Further development of our software and evolving ways in which we collaborate with clients, agencies, and journalists, has lead me to add a new category to this original taxonomy - based on the rise of agentic PR. Below I have shared my thinking for how this will affect agency operations in the future, and provided some insights against business model changes we're witnessing first-hand. Thanks ever to Gideon Joseph, Paul Stollery (he/him), Darryl Sparey (Chart.PR, FPRCA, FCIPR), Nick Wilkins, Vinay Chaudhri, Kim Rubey (she/her), Justin Westcott, Steve Loynes, Marcus Exall, Justina Chung, Camille Oster, Robin Dhara, Simon Fransson, Piotr Bombol and Felix Meston for the mentorship, and providing a sounding board against this development of process and thinking.

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Is your company or client exhibiting at a trade show? Why not set up meetings with reporters and editors who are attending the show? Here’s how: ➡️ If you’re paying to exhibit, you can ask for what is known as the pre-registered press list. This includes publications that are sending editors to the event. ➡️ Then, you can review the list and contact relevant publications to schedule brief meetings with your spokesperson in your booth at the show. It’s a great way to meet face-to-face – which helps build relationships. You can chat about what’s new at your company, what you have coming up and how it might fit into what they’re covering in their publication. I do this often when working with my manufacturing PR clients, and it really does help you get to know each other. This means editors may be more likely to remember your company when they have story opportunities that may be a fit. #manufacturingPR #PRTips #B2BPR #publicrelations

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BlueSky is the latest attempt to displace X. Behind-the-scenes, the network effect pulls people back into Twitter (X's) orbit. Remember Threads? Oops, failure. Remember, Google+. Oops, failure. Whatever your politics, network effects (https://lnkd.in/gynrMqH3) are real and substantial on the Internet - Amazon (THE place for shopping), Google (THE place for search). Facebook/Instagram (THE place for friends, family, and photos), YouTube (THE place for video content). What are your thoughts about BlueSky?

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