The New PR Playbook: How Consumer PR Agencies Are Using LinkedIn and Newsletters to Connect with New Audiences

By: Lilly O’Leary

LinkedIn and newsletters aren’t just for résumés and company updates anymore. They’ve evolved into two of the most powerful storytelling tools for brands and agencies, where real conversations, trusted insights, and industry storytelling are happening in real time between industry leads and the communities they want to engage with. 

Today’s audiences crave real, unpolished insights — and they trust people over brands and traditional media to drive loyalty and connection. That’s why smart PR teams and brands are teaming up with not just journalists but industry experts and creators who already own their niches and have built their own platforms on LinkedIn and newsletter channels like Substack to drive cultural discourse. Together, they’re building stories that feel less robotic and more connected to what consumers want.

So what’s the strategy for making these channels work for your communication goals? Partnering with the right voices who already have the trust of the audiences you want to reach.

We recently sat down with creator economy expert Lindsey Gamble to unpack how LinkedIn and newsletters are changing how brands can connect with people and drive news forward — and why working with creators early in the process is key to shaping stories that work.

Consumers Want Media Grounded in Community and Culture

LinkedIn has evolved far beyond corporate updates into its own news engine. Today, it’s where the platform’s news team, journalists, and thought leaders share original thinking — often before stories hit traditional media, including through Lindsey Gamble. Experts like Lindsey saw the value of these platforms early on, building a strong and loyal audience eager to hear their takes on the latest news cycles while driving their own industry trends before they took off in the mainstream, sparking an opportunity for LinkedIn’s community to engage directly with the author and offer their own input — something where traditional media often falls short.

Meanwhile, newsletter platforms like Substack offer another value — direct connection to highly engaged audiences across diverse categories who actually want to hear from you. From journalists finding their own voices outside the confines of their newsrooms to creators looking to connect directly with their communities in a new way, these inbox communities are often small but mighty, made up of readers who choose to show up, creating a powerful opportunity for connection and awareness for brands. Often, these newsletters are driving more engagement than traditional media placements, which are now at the mercy of AI Overview, limiting potential reach and story engagement.

To stay relevant in today’s tumultuous and ever-changing media landscape, PR agencies and brands will need to incorporate platforms like LinkedIn and Substack into their go-to media tactics rather than seeing them as an afterthought.

Working With Creators Can Drive Instant Credibility When Done Right

Creators have what most traditional media platforms don’t — trust. Their audiences are loyal, curious, and hyper-engaged. When you collaborate early, treating creators as journalists in their own right to help storytell, you tap into that credibility and get built-in distribution and brand loyalty. As we’ve seen across platforms like TikTok, YouTube, and Twitch, it’s these platforms’ creators who are driving brand loyalty and sales instantaneously — hello, Labubu.

The next wave of storytelling is social media-driven and collaborative, not transactional. Let them co-shape the story — and in return, they’ll bring their communities along for the ride. According to Lindsey Gamble, the best creator partnerships happen when brands treat creators as co-authors, not amplifiers. Let them shape the narrative, not just share it. Because in today’s feed, authenticity wins every time.

Final Thought

If you’re in-house or with a consumer PR or influencer marketing agency, helping brands grow in a world of noisy feeds and short attention spans, platforms like LinkedIn and Substack are your best allies. They’re where real conversation happens and original thoughts are formed and engaged with in real time, driving culture forward. And when you pair them with creators who already have the trust you’re trying to earn, your message hits differently.