How Digital PR Meets Automation: A Conversation with Manychat’s Mady Lanni

How Digital PR Meets Automation: A Conversation with Manychat’s Mady Lanni

Mady Lanni of Manychat with host Brandi Sims on The Brandinc PR Podcast
Manychat’s PR Lead, Mady Lanni, on digital PR, SEO, and reactive PR that actually converts.

🎙️ The Future of PR Is Digital—And a Little Automated

In this episode of The Brandinc PR Podcast, I sit down with Mady Lanni, PR Lead at Manychat—the tool behind those viral “comment ‘cookie’ and I’ll DM you the recipe” posts lighting up your IG feed. With roots in digital PR and SEO, Mady shows how modern PR can deliver brand love and measurable growth.

“PR isn’t just about awareness anymore—it’s about growth, conversions, and connecting the dots between storytelling and search.” — Mady Lanni

🔍 Why PR + SEO = Your Growth Power Couple

Traditional PR builds reputation; digital PR turns that reputation into search visibility. Backlinks, authoritative mentions, and data-driven storytelling fuel rankings and organic traffic—especially when PR and SEO teams move in lockstep.

Pro tip for Austin, Dallas, and Houston brands: Align your media calendar with your content clusters and link targets. Every hit should have a search job.

  • Map pitches to target keywords and pillar pages
  • Use proprietary data or expert commentary to earn high-authority links
  • Measure lifts in impressions, CTR, and assisted conversions

⚡ Reactive PR: Jump When It’s Right, Pass When It’s Noise

Not every trend deserves a press push. Mady breaks down a fast filter for newsjacking that lands:

  1. Relevance: Does your POV, data, or product naturally fit?
  2. Timing: Can you deliver value (not fluff) within the news cycle?
  3. Originality: Are you saying something new—or just louder?

When those boxes tick, you can strike gold. When they don’t, sit it out and save your ammo.

💬 Automation That Still Feels Human

With Manychat, brands scale conversations without losing voice. For PR teams juggling launches and thought leadership, automation handles follow-ups, content delivery, and community nurture—so you can stay focused on relationships and narrative.

  • Auto-DMs for lead magnets, press kits, and episode links
  • Segmented follow-ups for journalists, creators, and customers
  • Event reminders and media briefing flows

💼 Team Building: How Mady Leads Modern Comms

Mady’s leadership mantra: hire for curiosity, measure what matters, and create space to experiment. The next viral win could come from your intern’s brainstorm—if you’ve built a system to test and learn.

🎧 Listen, Watch, Share

Catch the full episode wherever you listen. If this helped you rethink PR + SEO, share it with your team and tag us—we love seeing your takeaways.

Keywords: digital PR, reactive PR, PR automation tools, Manychat, SEO and PR strategy, Brandinc PR Podcast, Austin PR agency, Texas PR expertsConnect: BrandincPR.comLinkedInInstagram

<!– OPTIONAL JSON-LD SCHEMA (keep if your theme allows

Cracking the Code: How Germany’s Startup Radio Built Global Buzz With AI, PR Savvy & Smart Storytelling

Cracking the Code: How Germany’s Startup Radio Built Global Buzz With AI, PR Savvy & Smart Storytelling

By Brandi Sims, PhD, MBA · Brandinc PR · Austin, TX & Lawton, OK

Keywords: podcast marketing, startup PR, AI storytelling, Germany startups, Texas entrepreneurs, digital marketing for podcasts, PR strategies for podcasters, Jörn Menninger interview, Startup Radio podcast, Brandinc PR Podcast

Geo: Austin, TX · Lawton, OK · Frankfurt, Germany · North Texas

In this episode of The Brandinc PR Podcast, host Brandi Sims sits down with
Jörn “Joe” Menninger, the creator of StartupRadio.de—Germany’s leading
English-language startup podcast platform. From North Texas to Frankfurt, Joe bridges German innovation with
American-style storytelling, featuring Nobel laureates, unicorn founders, Emmy winners, and
New York Times bestselling authors across 700+ episodes.

Podcasting Meets AI: Turning Listeners Into Leads

After a consulting career at Deloitte, Joe went all-in on podcasting—backed by smart systems. Startup Radio’s
AI chatbot helps visitors find episodes, surface founders, and capture leads. He also built an
AI pitch-scoring system (0–100)—only pitches scoring 80+ make the cut. Fun fact:
spikes in PR pitches often predict funding waves months before the market catches up.

“Our inbox is like a startup barometer—when PR pitches spike, funding usually follows.”

Top Takeaways for Entrepreneurs & PR Pros

  • Platform strategy wins: LinkedIn ≠ X/Twitter ≠ Instagram. Hashtags, keywords, and video/static all play differently.
  • AI can’t fake emotion: Translation is easy; tone is not. Nuance still needs humans.
  • Consistency = credibility: 25K+ followers came from sustained value and clear positioning.

The Future of AI in Podcasting

AI already helps produce, distribute, and translate content—but emotional range and cultural nuance remain the final
frontier. Until tech can capture rhythm, emphasis, and subtext, human editors and hosts are irreplaceable.

🎧 Listen & Subscribe

Prefer video? Watch and subscribe on YouTube:
youtube.com/@brandincpr

Show Notes

  • Guest: Jörn “Joe” Menninger — Founder & Host, StartupRadio.de
  • Topics: AI for pitches, platform algorithms, global translation, startup-PR signals
  • Audience: Entrepreneurs, small business owners, comms pros, students, and team leads

Get the PR Playbook

Level up your media strategy with templates, checklists, and a media-ready toolkit.


Download the PR Playbook →

Jörn Menninger on the Brandinc PR Podcast discussing AI, PR, and Startup Radio
From Germany to Texas — Jörn Menninger on how AI, PR, and storytelling fuel Startup Radio’s global reach.


Dominic K. Hawkins on Purpose-Driven PR: From the NAACP to PRSA’s PR Pro of the Year

Brandinc PR Podcast • Austin, TX & Washington, D.C.

Dominic K. Hawkins on Purpose-Driven PR: From the NAACP to PRSA’s PR Pro of the Year

Hosted by Brandi Sims, PhD, MBA • Vice President of Communications at NAACP, Dominic K. Hawkins—recently named PRSA’s PR Professional of the Year—joins us to discuss strategy, leadership, and social impact in modern communications.


Dominic K. Hawkins interviewed on the Brandinc PR Podcast
Photo: Courtesy of Dominic K. Hawkins / NAACP (add photo credit if applicable)

Episode Overview

When strategy meets purpose, you get a communicator like Dominic K. Hawkins. In this episode, we explore his 15-year journey across
top agencies (SKDK, APCO), in-house roles (Deloitte, TIAA), and his current leadership as VP of Communications at the NAACP.
From high-impact public affairs to culture-shaping storytelling, Dominic breaks down how to lead with conviction—and why he believes this is a golden era
for purpose-driven PR.

What You’ll Learn

  • Corporate vs. mission-driven comms: How strategy shifts between Fortune 500 brands and civil rights advocacy.
  • Award-winning fundamentals: The habits and frameworks behind PRSA’s PR Professional of the Year.
  • Leadership in action: Building teams, mentoring talent, and speaking across GWU, Johns Hopkins, LMU, and Georgetown Law.
  • Human + AI: Using data and emerging tech without losing the heart of the message.

“Lead with clarity, move with purpose, and communicate with conviction.”

Episode Highlights

  • Origin story: From speech pathology aspirations and a stint in finance to a calling in communications.
  • NAACP impact: Strategic messaging for voting rights, education, and racial justice in a real-time media landscape.
  • Teaching & mentorship: Preparing the next generation of PR pros to balance data with empathy.
  • Future-proof skills: The blend of cultural fluency, analytics, and storytelling today’s leaders need.

About Dominic K. Hawkins

Dominic K. Hawkins is an award-winning communications strategist and current Vice President of Communications at the NAACP.
His career includes agency leadership at SKDK and APCO, in-house roles at Deloitte and TIAA, and public affairs service in the federal government.
He has represented brands including Audible, AT&T, Mercedes-Benz, Planned Parenthood, and Bristol Myers Squibb. Dominic has guest lectured at
George Washington University, Johns Hopkins University, Loyola Marymount University, and Georgetown University Law Center.

Timestamps

  • 00:00 — Intro & why purpose-driven PR matters
  • 05:15 — Corporate vs. advocacy: strategy shifts
  • 12:40 — NAACP comms: clarity & conviction
  • 19:25 — Teaching & mentorship
  • 25:10 — Future-proofing PR with AI + empathy

Recorded for the Brandinc PR community with audiences in Austin, TX and Washington, D.C.—and PR pros tuning in nationwide.

Keywords

Dominic K. Hawkins, PRSA PR Professional of the Year, NAACP Communications, Public Relations Leadership, Black PR Professionals,
Purpose-Driven PR, Communications Strategy, Austin PR Podcast, Washington DC PR Community