Media Relations Best Practices: Nicole Conley on AI, Thought Leadership, and B2B PR

What new media or digital trends are you watching closely, and how do you think they’re changing public relations?

I’m closely monitoring the rapid rise of AI-powered PR tools that automate media outreach and personalize pitches at scale. After decades in media relations, I have mixed feelings about these technologies. While they can help attract attention and boost efficiency, they also risk losing the human element crucial to building strong relationships with journalists, editors, and reporters.

Successful media relations have always relied on knowing a reporter’s beat, interests, and audience. As inboxes become increasingly crowded with AI-generated pitches, I believe we’ll see more pushback from journalists who view these messages as impersonal or even spam. AI can assist PR efforts, but it should never replace the thoughtful relationship-building that leads to meaningful media coverage.

When managing media relationships, how do you determine which reporters or outlets to prioritize for your clients?

For our clients, I prioritize reporters and outlets based on four key factors:

Industry Relevance: I focus on journalists, analysts, and influencers who cover sectors aligned with our clients’ expertise. Today, that could mean a traditional reporter, a respected industry analyst, a Substack author, a YouTube channel, or a podcast host.

Audience Fit: The outlet should reach the decision-makers, buyers, investors, and influencers our clients want to engage with for the news announcement. Even the best story has limited value if it doesn’t reach the right audience.

Relationships and Coverage History: I’ve spent years building relationships with members of the tech press, and that’s often where I start. I also closely follow recent coverage to understand what topics reporters are interested in, how they’ve covered similar companies, and where competitors have earned attention.

Style and Preferences: Every journalist works differently. Some are highly news-driven, while others prefer longer-term trend stories. Some want a live interview, while others prefer email responses. Others may be more interested in a contributed article than an interview. Understanding these preferences allows me to tailor each pitch and make it as useful and relevant as possible.

What’s one PR myth you’d like to bust?

One common myth is that B2B PR is less exciting than consumer PR. In reality, B2B PR often sits at the forefront of innovation.

At Tanis Communications, I work with AI, semiconductor, and deep-tech companies developing technologies that will power the next generation of smart glasses, wearables, autonomous vehicles, and AI infrastructure. Our clients are solving some of the industry’s biggest challenges. From making large-scale AI inference faster and more efficient to reducing the cost and power demands of data centers.

Our job is to translate these complex technologies into engaging stories that resonate with business audiences, investors, customers, and the wider market. When done effectively, these stories can be just as impactful and exciting as any consumer brand campaign.

What’s one underused PR tactic you think deserves more attention?

I’m noticing that collaborative content is becoming an underused strategy. At Tanis Communications, our President, Michele Landry, has been leading by example, co-hosting webinars, and partnering with industry experts to give companies a chance to demonstrate their expertise and grow their audience through shared platforms.

How has your approach to media relations evolved since you started your career?

Over the years, my approach has become increasingly about relationships.

When I started my career, the media landscape was much more traditional and centralized, with more print tech trades and newspapers with larger staffs. I’m dating myself here, I know. Today, the media is everywhere. From traditional publications and newsletters to Substack creators, podcasts, YouTube channels, and industry influencers. Everyone has become a publisher.

While the landscape has become more fragmented, the fundamentals remain the same. My focus is on building long-term relationships with journalists. Those relationships provide valuable insight into the stories they’re interested in and allow us to deliver more relevant, impactful pitches that ultimately result in stronger coverage.

How do you keep clients visible even when there’s no launch or announcement?

Maintaining visibility requires a consistent thought leadership strategy.

I regularly identify opportunities for contributed articles, executive interviews, speaking engagements, podcast appearances, and commentary on industry trends. We also closely monitor journalist inquiries, social media conversations, and emerging news cycles (trend jacking) to uncover opportunities where our clients can provide valuable expertise.

By consistently sharing insights and participating in industry conversations, we position our clients as trusted authorities and keep them top of mind even during quieter periods.

How do you balance storytelling for both trade and mainstream outlets?

Balancing storytelling across trade and mainstream media requires tailoring the narrative to the audience.

Trade publications often want technical depth, industry context, and detailed explanations of how a technology works. Business and mainstream media, on the other hand, are typically more interested in the broader business implications and market impact.

For example, when working with deep-tech clients, I focus on helping mainstream audiences understand the business problem being solved rather than the technical specifications. A semiconductor company may be developing a breakthrough chip architecture, but the larger story is how that innovation enables more efficient AI systems, smarter wearables, or autonomous vehicles.

Whenever possible, I develop core narratives that can be adapted for both audiences, ensuring a consistent message while highlighting the aspects most relevant to each outlet’s readership.

What moment or campaign are you most proud of in your PR career?

One of the proudest moments in my career was leading communications around Ambiq’s Initial Public Offering (IPO) at Tanis Communications.

What made it especially rewarding was that Ambiq isn’t a household name, but its technology is incredibly important. The company develops ultra-low-power semiconductor technology that helps make everything from wearables to AI-enabled devices more energy efficient.

My team and I worked closely with financial and technology media to help tell that story, securing coverage with outlets such as CNBC, Bloomberg, and Reuters. A big part of our job was translating highly technical concepts into messaging that investors, business leaders, and the broader market could easily understand.

Seeing our client successfully reach such a significant milestone and watching the story resonate with both the media and investment community was a proud moment.