SparkToro

Agency work is expensive — in budget and in opportunity cost. So before you bring in an outside partner, there’s one question you need to answer internally first: 👉 “Who on our team is going to own this project — and how will we define success?” In this new post, Amanda Natividad shares a hard-earned lesson from an agency engagement that fell flat, and what to do differently next time. (Come for the blog post, stay for that ridiculous photo, we guess?) https://lnkd.in/gCW_t92F

Looking for a great marketing agency? You’re not alone. We’re asked for referrals all the time — for SEO experts, PR pros, performance marketers, you name it. And while we’re happy to share our go-tos, even we have gaps in coverage. That’s why we’ve partnered with Clutch to launch a curated directory of recommended agencies, consultants, and freelancers. It’s a work-in-progress, but it already includes a handful of trusted partners we (and folks we trust) have worked with. 📍 Explore the directory 📨 Submit your own recommendation — we’ll review and if we know, like, and trust them, add them to the list. Our goal is to make it easier for marketers to find partners who actually know what they’re doing. Have feedback? We’d love to hear from you. https://lnkd.in/g6w5w4pr

It’s always, “How do we get mentioned by ChatGPT?!” and not, “How can we *be worth mentioning* by ChatGPT?” 😏 - Journalism is now the most cited source in AI-generated responses to current event queries - ChatGPT and Gemini in particular tend to cite Reuters, the Financial Times, Time, Forbes, and Axios most - Google AI Overviews' most cited domains are Quora, Reddit, LinkedIn, YouTube, and NYT So how do you get mentioned in the press? By contributing quotes to news articles. In our latest blog post, we walk you through it. https://lnkd.in/gbUNWwcZ

Want to influence how AI platforms describe your brand? Start pitching stories — not just products. LLMs like ChatGPT and Gemini don’t cite your homepage. They cite: - Articles by journalists - Third-party blogs - Podcasts with transcripts - Wikipedia (yep, really) So if you want to shape your brand’s reputation in AI-generated answers, you ought to: - Land coverage in outlets your audience trusts - Contribute quotes to reported stories - Pitch POV-driven narratives, not just launches - Prioritize appearances on podcasts with YouTube uploads (hello, transcripts) The most impactful PR isn’t self-promotional. It’s contextual, credible, and earned. In the world of generative search, your next big growth lever might be a byline.

PR is becoming the most important marketing function. Eleanor Hawkins at Axios reports: A Muck Rack report analyzed over 1 million AI-generated responses and found 96% of cited links came from content created by PR/corp comms teams. That means: - Journalism and third-party blogs are cited more than owned content - Paid media and press releases? Almost invisible - Social media? Just 2% of citations AI tools are skipping the ads and going straight to the sources they trust: journalists, thought leaders, niche publications, and credible third parties. And since AI is increasingly used for search and research, how you show up in AI-generated answers will shape brand perception, investor attention, and even recruiting. It’s not about keyword stuffing anymore. It’s about earning citations in the places LLMs already trust. Full story on Axios Communicators. (h/t to Chris Hare for sharing with us!)

If your campaign failed, don’t just ask “What didn’t work?” ✅ Ask: “Who were we actually talking to?” It’s easy to retroactively blame the channel, the creative, or the offer. But sometimes… the audience was off from the start. Here’s a quick gut check before your next campaign: - Did we validate this idea outside of our team? - Does our messaging match our internal copy doc — or *their language*? - Did we build this based on what we think is cool... or what our audience *actually engages with*? Creative doesn’t exist in a vacuum. It lives in the context of who you’re trying to reach. Nail the who, and everything else gets easier.

Last year's SparkTogether conference was fantastic — 93% of attendees said they plan to come back in 2025. But you can't please everybody. 1 person hated the event, and attendees kindly shared their feedback. And we listened. #SparkTogether 2025 will be at a spacious venue, we'll support more networking opportunities, and we're hosting an optional SparkToro training. Buy your ticket today!

Validate a content idea in 5 minutes. 👇 1) Go to Google. Type your content idea. 2) Scan the top 5 search results. What angle are they taking? 3) Check Reddit, LinkedIn, or Slack groups. Is *your audience* talking about it there? 4) Look at who’s sharing content on the topic — and what kind of engagement it gets. If you see traction across 2+ places, you’re onto something. A solid little trick for when you're trying to make audience-centric content (instead of keyword-driven content). Bonus: SparkToro lets you shortcut all of this. 😎

Here's a common mistake we see — and hey, it's one we've been guilty of too.: Building personas based only on *existing customers.* It's a mistake because your current customers are just one slice of the full audience pie. The better move? Study your competitors’ audience. Look at people who follow the influencers *your audience* follows. Find the folks who should be *your customers* but haven’t found you. Yet. That’s where real growth is hiding.

Product update! New graphs — and lots of 'em. When you need to make the case for an investment in a particular social channel you *know* is worth the investment, the Social Networks graph is there to help. Screenshot and add to your next presentation. Graphs are customizable too. https://lnkd.in/gjEXrmUA