Andreessen's Former Health Editorial Lead on why Founder-led PR is a Competitive Superpower

Editors’ Note: I would be remiss not to share that the topic of this column is the thesis of my upcoming book, “The Storyteller’s Advantage,” which hits bookshelves September 23. If you’d like to pre-order because this resonates with you, please use the discount code FARR20 and order from the link here. And if you order right away, there’s a sale at Barnes & Noble to unlock further discounts.

I’ve spent my career writing about healthcare and working in healthcare communications, most recently at the venture firm Andreessen Horowitz (a16z). In this age of AI, many are concerned that AI will replace aspects of public relations, particularly given its ability to generate creative content. But I’m here to share that I believe that the opposite might be true. Because of AI, public relations — and in particular, human-led editorial work — will be more important than ever.

Let’s take a step back in time to May 14, 2024, when Google officially integrated AI Overviews into its search engine. Most news coverage of this update focused on the model’s high energy usage and occasionally incorrect results. Less covered in the media was how this update would force the public relations sector to adapt.

As journalism jobs have vanished and newsrooms continue to shrink, PR has shifted from press releases and high quality reporter pitches to SEO. For companies, that has meant trying to show up as high on the list of Google search results as possible by paying tribute to the algorithm using keywords, responding to popular searches, and other optimizations. Too many companies pursued this strategy, paying PR firms to play around with backlinking and other tactics instead of being strategic about what to cover and how to share information. The result is that the companies blow huge budgets on SEO with little to show for it, rarely getting the press coverage or meeting the KPIs that they’re looking for.

Now that the top Google search result is an AI-generated response pulling from several different sources that the model has decided are most authoritative, building a brand that rises above the noise has become even more imperative — and challenging.

The focus on SEO obscures the truth: the best way for founders to share their company is to share it themselves, in a novel, thoughtful way. A founder is the person best situated to share what makes their company interesting, and therefore reach their intended audience.

There may be more of a learning curve to become a founder well-versed in the media ecosystem, but it pays major dividends through the life of a company. And instead of being a tool for pumping out content and SEO, I believe communications teams and PR agencies will rally instead in supporting their leaders in sharing this kind of authentic content. As I’ve seen from my time in venture, people gravitate towards high value thoughts, analyses and opinions, which stand out in a sea of AI-generated content and SEO.

Why will algorithms reward this kind of content in the future? While the algorithms themselves are opaque, tech companies like Google want to answer the questions that people are asking. And the most valuable people on LinkedIn and Twitter want to find information that helps them with their jobs or lives. If you can provide that information in a consistent and engaging way, the right eyeballs will find you.

In other words, I believe AI will force PR and comms teams to reevaluate their goals. It should no longer be SEO or maximizing impressions for a social media post. Instead, the best PR and comms teams will be identifying specific audiences that they want to reach and thinking about how to drive value for those audiences. The PR strategy should be built around that goal, rather than KPIs that prioritize clicks. And the key to this goal is almost always preparing the founder to be in front of these specific audiences (on social media, in reported articles, or on stage at a conference) and explain their companies in a dynamic, exciting way.

I’ve spent much of my career working with founders on this very push. Some find it easier and more natural than others. For those who are embarking on the path, let’s shift to the tactical. Here are some of my favorite prompts to think about:

Decide what’s truly unique about the company, and why anyone should be excited about it

Too many founders struggle with explaining their company externally because they secretly know it’s just a play for funding or social media clout. For other people to think your company is cool, you also have to think it’s cool. And it can’t just be because you have vague ideas about how your company will bring access to healthcare to all Americans (there’s no way that’s true), or totally reinvent all of biology (also no way!). It has to be a genuine evaluation of how you’re fixing a problem that you’re excited about.

Jenni Maier, a content strategy consultant who was Senior Director of Strategy at Thirty Madison, noted, “Today, you can Mad Libs almost any LinkedIn post with a different industry and still get the same result. That’s a massive opportunity for founders, if they’re willing to actually say something.”

And please, healthcare founders, unless your story about a family member with chronic illness is really why you started the company, don’t go for the maudlin explanation. People can tell the difference. Take a few hours, think about it, and then articulate the truth.

Think through what you want your brand to be, and who the customer is for it

My other theory is that founders spend way too much time on X and decide they want to be the next All-In or Joe Rogan podcast host. Chances are, that is probably not going to happen. It’s not easy to build that kind of brand, and most people don’t have the time or the personality for it. Those guys spend a big chunk of their lives being podcast hosts. They didn’t wake up one day with witty, fast-paced commentary bursting out of their brains. They had to practice.

First, genuinely think through who you’re trying to sell to. Is it the general public? Probably not! It’s probably VCs, insurance brokers, health system CTOs, or some other subset of individuals. Where do they get their information? It’s probably not Forbes or the Lex Fridman show. It’s likely a smaller, nicher industry publication or podcast. That’s what you should be aiming at.

The good news is that smaller industry publications are usually staffed by reporters who are more expert at covering specific topics, and they get far fewer pitches. So the next step becomes much easier.

Build relationships with reporters

If you’re about to announce your company and you have no idea who to talk to, back up. You should first evaluate what news sources you rely on (it should not just be X), and which writers you tend to read frequently. Then think about who your customers read most frequently. Make a list. Start emailing those people and ask to chat. Think about this as cultivating relationships just as you would with VCs.

Any professional relationship is about a give-and-take, and relationships with reporters are no different. Alyssa Alsheimer, VP of Marketing at Form Health, emphasizes the need to put in this relational work in a strategic way. “You can’t boil the ocean and build a close relationship with every reporter,” she notes. “So find someone who’s covered your space or something that’s interesting to you, and build a genuine personal relationship with that reporter.”

Too often, founders get scared of reporters and fail to engage, then get irritated when reporters don’t understand their startup or why an announcement is important.

Reporters are trying to accurately and interestingly cover a sector that they necessarily sit outside of. You can help them by talking through the sector, explaining how your company fits within it, and sharing any research or noteworthy policy changes you’re keeping an eye on. Your relationship with reporters does not have to be antagonistic. In fact, the more you engage with reporters, the less scary it will be when you’re actually pitching something, because you’ll have a better sense of how information flows through the journalist ecosystem. Think of reporters as another segment of customers — what are they looking for? How can your product (in this case, information or an explanation) help them?

Just be sure that you go into the engagement knowing (1) where your red lines are ahead of time — you don’t have to discuss anything negative or dish any information if you don’t want to (but don’t blame a reporter if you blab and then they end up writing about it), and (2) the journalist rules of the road — what “on the record” vs. “off the record” means, and how to invoke it.

Go direct

Over the last few years, the idea of going direct has provided excuses for people to avoid the media (and then get irritated when the media doesn’t, in turn, provide the coverage they’re looking for). This isn’t mutually exclusive with having good relationships with reporters. Instead, it means building up your own ability to share information in a cogent, interesting way — be it through a LinkedIn post, blog post, podcast, or investor newsletter — yourself. I’ve seen many founders neglect their own channels while they’re building the company and then regret it when it comes time to share news.

If you nurture your writing ability and keep your audience up-to-date with company news, you’ll have a bigger audience when it’s time to announce something big. Ideally, you’re announcing it both with your own direct post and with an article stemming from your relationship with a reporter. But if it’s too small for a reporter to cover or it just didn’t happen, you still have your own channel. Alyssa really values these owned channels: “If someone wants to learn more and all you’re doing is issuing a press release or getting a quote in one article, you’re doing a disservice to your audience by not giving them additional context. If there’s no way to learn more, it will really derail your PR efforts.”

Fortuna Health is one example of a company that has built a strong PR function for the age of AI, despite its small size. Fortuna is a seed stage company that launched less than two years ago. But their editorial engine wins them thousands of impressions on LinkedIn (and I would guess quite a few leads as well). They do their own interviews, webinars, product videos, and guides to Medicaid policy, aimed at potential clients in health plans and partners. Their content is engaging, useful, and targeted, and it rises above the LinkedIn noise. I chatted with cofounder and CEO Nikita Singareddy, and she noted that it doesn't take a big team to produce this editorial. "The founder has to have a POV and be able to share it clearly," she said. "Editorial is a reflection of authenticity, which is ultimately a reflection of your product. So it's something we've really prioritized."

AI is making it easier than ever to generate low value content. But AI Overviews are prioritizing authentic, useful work that answers questions for people. PR and comms teams are beginning to adapt, but the future is coming faster than ever. It’s time for these teams —and founders — to learn to be specific, honest, and thoughtful about the information they’re sharing so that they can rise above the noise.

That’s it, readers! At Second Opinion, we’re always interested in receiving highly tactical takes from authors in the know. Reach out to me at christina@secondopinion.media.

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