The Colab

A few weeks ago, we shared why it's important for your startup to show up in LLM results. That now brings us to this question: what do these LLMs *actually* look for when deciding which sources to trust? It's simple: they look for the DNA of PR. ・ Credible third-party mentions ・ Consistent expert voices ・ Clear, well-structured content ・ Validation beyond your own website Earned media, thought leadership, and expert commentary are the exact signals AI models lean on to decide whose perspective to surface. When your PR strategy is strong, your GEO strength follows. In an AI-first discovery world, that’s not a nice-to-have, but rather, the new baseline.

Word on the street is we're hiring at The Colab 👀 We're looking for a PR Manager who matches the media-obsessed, anti-agency energy we bring to the table. If you’ve cut your teeth at a mid-sized agency, know how to run with a pitch and land it, can manage account background materials in your sleep, and thrive in a fast-moving environment that actually respects your time, we'd love to hear from you 👋 Check out the role and apply today. https://lnkd.in/esEPnt8r

It's officially the start of Q4, which means The Colab team will be putting their heads down for the next week to put together our clients' Q3 reports 🤓 As a data and metrics-obsessed team, we prioritize showing our clients the results that actually matter and move the needle for them — not vanity numbers. Each quarter, our clients get a transparent look into: → Total Opportunities Secured → Total Opportunities Published → Total Opportunities Missed/Passed → Total Opportunities Pending Not only does this data tell us which narratives work, it also gives us a heads up on which narratives *don't* work — and that's arguably more important to know. If your PR team doesn't live and breathe performance, it may be time to reevaluate your relationship.

We're #hiring again! 🚀 If you're obsessed with technology, have prior PR agency experience, and want to join one of the best teams in the industry, check out our latest opening!

If you haven't subscribed to The Colab Brief yet, WYD? 👀 Our weekly newsletter is where we share our hottest takes, dream jobs, industry tips, media moves, and so much more. Sign up now. https://lnkd.in/eNSF9kyt

Although the construction industry has had a labor shortage for nearly two decades now, the problem isn't that these skilled workers don't exist. It's that most of these workers don't have a professional digital profile, making it harder for construction companies to find them. Our client Skillit is solving this problem through its AI-powered platform that finds qualified workers for the construction industry. In this The Builder's Daily article, writer Richard Lawson sits down with Skillit CEO Fraser Patterson to cover the broader challenges of hiring in this industry, how skilled craft workers are changing, why construction companies are choosing to employ them full-time, and why robots won’t be the replacement. https://lnkd.in/e5ZgBWz4

Meet Hailey Quinn, Senior Director at The Colab! 👋 Having been in the industry for nearly two decades, Hailey has the confidence and experience to take a campaign and run with it in a way that’s impactful and strategic for our clients. As one of The Colab's account leads, that's exactly what she loves most about her work here: leading strategy and executing programs that achieve key client metrics and surpass their expectations. Outside of work, Hailey enjoys going to parks, running and hiking, traveling, and visiting family in North Carolina with her daughter James, husband Brooks, and dog Avett. Now that it's football season, you can find her cheering on the sidelines for her two home teams, the Carolina Panthers and Carolina Tar Heels 🏈 There are many things we admire about Hailey, but her Southern charm and phrases take the cake. She recently described a client as "growing into their britches," and even though we had zero clue what she meant, we absolutely loved it. Thank you, Hailey, for your constant positivity, creativity, and dedication. We're so lucky to have you!

Student visa holders contribute $43.8B to the US economy, yet the current administration's policies are putting that economic value at risk. Our client Boundless Immigration, a US immigration services provider, was featured in a Newsweek article to discuss how the international student population and its economic contributions are likely to decrease due to the revocation of thousands of student visas, restrictions on work opportunities, and stricter admissions rules. Founder and CEO Xiao Wang said it best: "If prospective students aren't clear about if they can enter the country, graduate, or work, they will look elsewhere." Read the article below. https://lnkd.in/eHQWdmRM

One of the biggest mistakes startups make after securing press coverage is doing nothing with it. Smart startups squeeze every drop out of earned media by: → Adding a “featured in” logo strip or a dedicated press page on their website → Breaking the piece into multiple posts for social media → Sharing the link with the sales team to use for decks and cold outreach → Sending it to their investors and partners Securing press is only step one. What you do with it determines whether it’s a one-day highlight or a long-term credibility engine.

If your startup isn't thinking about how it can be cited as a source in an LLM, you're leaving a lot of opportunities on the table. That's why we prioritize understanding how and where our clients are showing up in LLM results, if the right narratives are being picked up, and how to improve their presence in these results. Swipe through to learn why showing up in ChatGPT, Perplexity, and Gemini matters, and if you're looking for a PR agency who positions this approach at the forefront of their strategy, let's chat. https://lnkd.in/dshrecXC