Artificial Intelligence (AI) seems to be everywhere, and the media landscape is no exception. A recent AP-NORC poll found that more than half of all Americans and 74% of those under 30 are turning to AI like ChatGPT or Google Gemini over traditional search tools. That shift changes how stories spread and what information rises to the top.

So what does this shift mean for your PR strategy? Knowing where AI pulls from, managing the risks of user-driven content and playing the long game with GEO are now just as critical as securing a headline in a top outlet.

1. Understand where AI looks
Tools like ChatGPT don’t just read the big papers. They draw from smaller news sites along with non-traditional platforms like Wikipedia, Reddit, YouTube and forums. Mapping out a media strategy that targets outlets indexed by AI and leverages user-driven content makes it more likely your message gets picked up.

2. Reputation management is key
User-driven content is a double-edged sword. It can amplify your message, but it can just as easily spread inaccurate or misleading takes. A Reddit thread or forum post can shape AI results just as much as a headline in a major outlet. That makes reputation management part of your AI strategy. If you’re not tracking what’s out there, someone else could be shaping the story for you.

3. Play the long game
AI visibility does not happen overnight. Just like Search Engine Optimization (SEO), it takes steady effort and consistency. Generative Engine Optimization (GEO) is about shaping how AI tools surface answers. That means investing in credible content that AI models can recognize and trust over time. The more authoritative material you put into the ecosystem, the more likely it is that AI will carry your narrative forward.

AI is reshaping the way stories spread. The only question is whether it will find yours.

The post A Communicator’s Guide to AI appeared first on The Mach 1 Group.

In policy communications, research isn’t just the first step – it’s the foundation on which everything else is built. It’s easy to rush into crafting messages, designing graphics or scheduling media interviews, but your efforts can fall flat without a strong understanding of the policy issue at hand. While you don’t need to be a subject matter expert, having a solid grasp of the policy’s background, key stakeholders and legislative nuances will help ensure your messaging is accurate, credible and aligned with your organization’s goals.

But knowing the policy isn’t enough. You need to know how it’s being covered. What are reporters saying? How are they framing the story? Is it being reported through a partisan lens, or is it gaining traction as a bipartisan concern? Answering these questions helps you tailor your approach, pitch more effectively and anticipate tough questions or counter-narratives.

Then there’s social. X (formerly Twitter), Facebook, TikTok, BlueSky and Instagram are where public opinion forms in real time. In Texas, X is a key hub for legislative updates, where influential voices drive dialogue each Session. It’s important to consider: What are community leaders, influencers and advocacy groups saying on these social platforms? Are myths or misinformation gaining traction? Monitoring trends, hashtags and key accounts helps you stay ahead of the narrative and engage more authentically with your audience. For deeper insights into media research, we recommend reviewing our 2025 Texas Media and Influence Report.

Bottom line: doing the work upfront saves you from scrambling later. A well-researched plan isn’t just smarter. It’s how you stay in the conversation – and ahead of it.

The post Relying on Research: The Benefits of an Evidence-Based Communications Plan appeared first on The Mach 1 Group.

• Local journalism is thriving: While national trust in media is cratering, 87% of Texans still trust local newspapers—more than twice the trust of social media.
  
• Legislators and their staffers are watching social media closely: X (formerly Twitter) remains the go-to for insiders. LinkedIn is emerging as a key player for policy conversations, and more members are joining Bluesky.
  
• The real influencers aren’t always the loudest: If you’re trying to move the needle at the Capitol, watch who lawmakers follow. The Texas Tribune, Quorum Report and Texas Monthly still dominate coverage, but journalists like Patrick Svitek, Scott Braddock and Lauren McGaughy also help set the agenda.

So, How Do You Cut Through?

Cultivate relationships with the right journalists – not just the biggest names, but the ones lawmakers actually read.
Don’t underestimate the power of the local press – it’s what voters (and, by extension, lawmakers) still trust the most.
Be strategic on X, but don’t ignore other emerging platforms – where serious policy conversations are happening.

The takeaway? Legislative influence isn’t just about the floor vote – it’s about shaping the conversation before it even gets there.

Want a full breakdown of influencers in the Texas House and Senate?
Download our 2025 Texas Media and Influence Report.

The post Who’s Really Shaping the Texas Narrative? appeared first on The Mach 1 Group.

The past few weeks have been a whirlwind for the social platform Twitter – from its acquisition by Tesla CEO Elon Musk on October 27 to testing out and suspending its new Blue Check program just this week. For organizations utilizing the platform to reach journalists, policymakers and stakeholders, the company’s uncertain future could call existing communication strategies into question.

As comms teams plan 2023 content and strategy, consider incorporating these tips to weather the uncertainty.

Remain Consistent
When Twitter launched its new pay-to-post Blue Check verification this month, fake accounts began popping up for every major brand and celebrity – some drastically impacting the offline world. While the platform works out its verification process and details, the best thing your brand can do is to remain consistent. Continue sending out the content that your audience relies on. This will help journalists, policymakers, and the general public suss out fake accounts.  

Rethink Analytics
As businesses tighten their belts, comms teams may feel increased pressure to show ROI on digital efforts. However, Twitter’s transition may be putting your analytics in flux. Between October 27 and November 1, 2022, there was a 208% increase in the number of accounts removed from Twitter. Users deactivated roughly 877,000 accounts, and the company suspended another 497,000. This trend is likely to continue as Twitter deactivates more accounts, changing follower numbers and overall engagement. Rather than focusing on the number of engagements, instead set goals related to the quality of the counts engaging with you – that could be key for reporters or target decision-makers. 

Build Backups
While Twitter is an effective platform for getting your message across, it’s not your only option. Consider building backups for your 2023 content strategy. Instead of pushing out owned media in 280-character updates, consider community-based approaches such as Reddit, Discord or NextDoor to build support for your message. If you already have a large following, try out Substack or another email hosting platform to share updates with your stakeholders.

By implementing these strategies, your organization can continue reaching its target audience while the kinks get worked out.

The post The Future of Twitter: Adjusting You Social Strategy appeared first on The Mach 1 Group.

If you’ve scrolled through a news outlet’s content recently, you may have seen concerning headlines related to the U.S. economy, as speculations of a recession are making headlines. For organizations balancing their books ahead of Q4 and planning for the next fiscal year, trying to hedge against an economic downturn can be daunting. However, strategic investments in communications can help you remain resilient amidst uncertainty.

Below are our recommendations to maximize your ROI and stabilize your organization during the year to come.

Crisis Preparedness

During a financial downturn, it’s not just organizations that suffer. Individuals are under increased mental and financial burdens, heightening emotions and making human errors more likely. In short, it’s the perfect climate for a crisis. With budgets tight, the pressure is on you to maintain your reputation. Investing in crisis preparedness and having a team on standby can make a difference.

Earned Media

When tensions are high, onlookers search for any hint of a falter. You can reassure stakeholders by investing in a proactive earned media strategy to showcase success stories and detail steps taken to weather the downturn.

Digital Communications

Nearly seventy percent of Americans say they have turned to the internet to cope with economic uncertainty. With your target audience spending more time scrolling and competitors decreasing their digital spending, you have an opportunity to build a relationship with your audience at a lower spend.

Research shows that nine percent of companies come out of recession stronger than they went in. Utilizing these tips for strategic communications investments ensures that your organization is part of that nine percent.

The post A Communication Strategy for Economic Uncertainty appeared first on The Mach 1 Group.

What is a crisis (types) and crisis management

A crisis is a critical moment or turn of events. It can be damaging, such as a natural disaster, or positive, such as landing a major new client. Crises can also be planned for, such as a company going through a merger, or unplanned, such as a sudden drop in sales. Either way, it is important to have a plan in place to manage the situation. Crisis management is the process of coming up with a plan to address a crisis. This usually includes identifying who is in charge of each step of the response and what resources are available. It may also involve setting up a command center to coordinate the response effort. Crisis management is essential to running any business, and it can mean the difference between weathering the storm and being overwhelmed by it.

Early warning signs of a crisis

A communications crisis can quickly spiral out of control, damaging an organization’s reputation and causing irreparable harm to relationships with key stakeholders. While it is impossible to predict every crisis, some early warning signs indicate a problem is brewing. For example, if customer-facing employees start to see an increase in complaints, there may be an issue that needs to be addressed. Similarly, if there is a sudden increase in negative social media commentary, it could be an indication that the public is losing faith in the organization. The most unmistakable sign that a crisis is coming is when you start receiving questions from the media. By being attuned to these early warning signs, organizations can take steps to head off a crisis before it erupts.

When to take action (before the crisis escalates)

In any given situation, there is always a point at which things could go either way. This point is often referred to as the “tipping point.” For example, imagine that you are driving on a dirt road. Up ahead, you see a pothole. You have two choices: you can either move around the pothole or drive directly over it. If you choose to drive around the pothole, you may go off the road. However, if you drive over the pothole, you risk damaging your tires. The tipping point is the point at which you must decide which course of action to take. In general, it is best to have a plan before you reach that tipping point so that when you see the pothole, you know exactly what you will do and can execute the plan flawlessly.

How to find the right crisis management professional

That’s where crisis management professionals come in. They can help you navigate the often-chaotic waters of a significant problem and develop a strategy for addressing the issue and minimizing damage. How do you find the right crisis management professional?

There are a few key factors to consider. First, you’ll want to ensure that the individual or firm you’re working with has experience dealing with crises similar to yours. They should also be able to provide references from past clients who can attest to their effectiveness. Additionally, you’ll want to ensure that they have a good understanding of both traditional and digital media and the ability to manage an effective crisis communications campaign. By keeping these factors in mind, you can ensure that you find the right crisis management professional for your needs. Above all, remember that you are hiring crisis communication pros to guide you – find a firm you trust during your most vulnerable moments.

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During moments of uncertainty, it’s only natural that we seek out strong voices for support and reassurance. For organizations, identifying someone capable of delivering this comfort is a vital part of the preparation process.

But finding that type of voice for your organization can be a challenge, as the best person for the job may not be your chief executive. Your communications committee should take time to reflect before selecting your organization’s spokesperson(s) by considering these questions:

What is your goal?
Understanding what you are trying to communicate and what you want to achieve are essential first steps to choosing the right messenger.

Who is your audience?
Think through who you believe to be your target audience. Next, identify their motivations to determine how best to appeal to the group. Your messenger should be able to communicate with your audience effectively and sincerely.

What skills are required to effectively convey your message?
Consider your messenger’s expertise, skills and qualities. Your spokesperson must be comfortable with the subject matter and talking points. A forced delivery is not authentic – and your audience will know it. Remember that the more comfortable a spokesperson is on a topic, the more natural it will be for them to deliver.

Choosing your spokesperson is an important decision. Taking a few minutes in advance of an event to consider these questions and identify a message could save valuable time when the pressure is on.

The post Three Questions to Help Select Your Next Spokes Person appeared first on The Mach 1 Group.

When a crisis strikes, the clock starts ticking. Unfortunately, it takes most companies an average of 21 hours to respond. During that time, news has already spread as more than a quarter of crises are picked up by international media outlets within an hour, and two-thirds of crises reach media outlets worldwide within the first 24 hours.

Every second counts when you’re dealing with a crisis. Here are a few tips to help speed up your response when the clock is ticking.

Have a Plan

Organizations that implement a crisis communications process that allows for swift communication – even as facts are still being gathered and response plans finalized – reap the benefits of appearing more transparent, more responsive and able to handle any emergency.

Know Your Message

While you cannot prepare for every situation, you likely know your organization’s risks. Before a crisis strikes, review your organization’s messaging and compile potential talking points for a situation. These talking points should include your organization’s mission, values and recent achievements. Having this messaging ready to go allows your response team to mitigate the situation quickly.

Keep a Lookout

There are often indications before a crisis strikes. Thanks to the rise of technology, murmurs of a crisis often occur on social media before hitting the news. By monitoring keywords related to your organization and industry on social media, especially Twitter, your organization can get early warning signs of a crisis and gain a valuable advantage in your response time.

Companies are graded on how they handle a crisis and how they communicate about it. If you’re unsure how long it would take your organization to activate your crisis plans, now is the time to test them — before an actual incident occurs.

The post The Clock is Ticking; How to Make your Crisis Response Timely appeared first on The Mach 1 Group.

Like many, the news of Ukraine’s invasion and the subsequent violence has weighed heavy on our hearts. This conflict is reshaping our world from a new humanitarian crisis to economic woes and fears for the future.

Whether it’s outreach to reporters or communication with stakeholders, during times like these, continuing with your planned communications strategy may feel trite and out of touch. Below are a few lessons we’ve learned as a public affairs and crisis communications firm on adapting to challenging times.

Lead with Empathy

Behind every organization and message is a group of people. Showing humanity during times of uncertainty can go a long way. Sincerely acknowledging the situation and its impact humanize your communications strategy and help your message break through the noise.

Realign Expectations

During times of crisis, breaking news is constant. As a result, mainstream national news outlets are focused on getting information out as quickly and accurately as possible. The fast-paced focus on the conflict may prevent traditional news outlets from picking up non-related stories. Rather than planning to land a piece in these outlets, consider using this time to build relationships with industry reporters, record podcasts or explore thought leadership opportunities.

Focus on the Positive

When news cycles are consistently heavy, it’s human nature for us to seek out positive, feel-good narratives. Try pitching success stories of individuals or your organization to provide a bright spot in news coverage and increase your likelihood that it gets picked up.

It was Archbishop Desmond Tutu who said, “Hope is being able to see that there is light despite all of the darkness.” Be it powerful demonstrations of human resilience or lessons in leadership; there are glimmers of light even when things feel dark.

The post Communicating in Challenging Times appeared first on The Mach 1 Group.

Gone are the days when successful news is based solely on newspaper circulation and Nielsen ratings. Today, 8 in 10 Americans get their information from a digital source – meaning clicks, impressions and views largely quantify reporter success. These metrics most accurately measure whether the public is interested or not. As a result, journalists are under constant pressure to produce content and churn out stories that people want to click and share. 

Understanding the modern journalism landscape can help you better prepare your messaging for 21st-century reporters. During interviews, it’s essential to get to the bottom line as quickly and as quotably as you can. After you’re confident you’ve delivered your bottom-line message, back it up with supporting data and facts.

At the Mach 1 Group, we are experts at message for the media not just because we’ve been doing it for a long time — but because many of us are former television producers and print journalists. It takes one to know one!

The post Get Your Message in the News appeared first on The Mach 1 Group.

Every day, we process roughly 74GB of information, about 16 movies or an iPhone’s worth of data. To help sort and process all the information we receive, our brain looks for patterns. Three is the smallest number required to create a pattern.

By limiting yourself to three key messages, you tell your story in a format designed to maximize audiences’ retention. Any more than three, and you risk losing your audience. As you move through an interview or presentation, your three points should be woven together to create one compelling composition: the pattern of your message.

The post How to Communicate Effectively: The Power of Three appeared first on The Mach 1 Group.

The good news is, you can control most aspects of your non-verbal communication by being strategic about your wardrobe choices and controlling your body language during the interview.

When it comes to your wardrobe, avoid flashy clothes for TV interviews. Loud patterns and bright colors can be exaggerated on camera. Instead, consider keeping a dark, neutral-colored jacket around for unexpected interviews that pop up.

Once on camera, pay full attention to the interviewer. Only make eye contact with the camera when asked.  Allow your body language to match the tone of the interview, smiling between questions for a non-crisis interview while remaining engaged and focused for a crisis interview.

No matter how many times you’ve rehearsed your answers, the success of an interview will come down to how well you non-verbally communicated.

The post Interview Preparation: Camera Ready appeared first on The Mach 1 Group.