AI has given brands the ability to publish more content than ever. Volume is not the same as value.
Rachel Neppes, Alliance Marketing and PR Lead at Targus, has a clear view on this. AI is a game changer for efficiency and for keeping a brand's voice flowing through channels. "But the risk there is that it becomes noise," she said. "There's a lot of content. But the brands that really differentiate themselves are those that earn credibility."
The brands cranking out AI content at scale are betting on reach. Rachel's argument is that the bet worth making is on trust.
Credibility Is a Behavior, Not a Feeling
"Credibility is defined by trust, by how your audience trusts you," Rachel said. "And that's identified through how they're listening, how they're responding, how they're engaging with your content, not just scrolling past your content."
The signals are real and measurable: bounce rate, time on page, downloads, social conversation, sentiment. When an audience engages instead of scrolls, that is credibility at work.
AI Raised the Stakes for Everyone
AI has not just changed how brands produce content. It has changed how audiences receive it.
"People are skeptical of what they're reading and what they're listening to and what they're watching because of AI," Rachel said. "And many people don't know how to tell the difference."
That skepticism is the new baseline. Every brand operates against it now, whether they use AI or not. Marketers assume that cranking out AI-generated content quickly will build audiences that convert. Rachel's counter is that the opposite is happening: audiences are more skeptical than ever, and unscrutinized AI content erodes the trust a brand has built.
She is not anti-AI. Her position is more precise. Scrutinize what the AI generates on your behalf, because "using it really is more of a foundation to strengthen your message rather than a replacement for your efforts."
Write an AI Policy Before You Need One
One concrete step Rachel recommends is something most companies have not done yet.
"Every business should have an AI policy," she said. "A policy of how companies or how teams are using AI to create content and publish their content."
On disclosure, her view is direct: AI-generated content should ethically carry a disclosure that AI was used to support the project or the content development effort. "Companies need to be very transparent about that," she said. That transparency is key to keeping audiences' trust in the brand and its messages.
Credibility Is an Ecosystem, Not a Channel
Credibility does not live in one tactic. "It's built through the entire ecosystem of your marketing approach," Rachel said. "So that spans your own content, your earned content, paid content. Everything that you're disseminating into the marketplace needs to be built on credible messaging."
Three sources carry the weight:
- What you say about yourself through owned content
- What customers say about you through testimonials, case studies, and real reviews
- What partners say about you through joint stories and shared brand equity
The last two hit harder than the first, and Rachel's explanation is the line that anchors her whole argument: "People believe what other people say about a brand, not what you say about yourself."
A Real Partnership Is Not a Logo Swap
Most brands treat partnerships as co-branded emails or mutual follows. Rachel draws a sharper line. A partnership that builds credibility is rooted in authentic storytelling: how your brand solved a problem, how your product applied to a real use case. It means "finding ways to tie your brand story into real world problems or solutions and the topics that keep your customers or your audiences up at night."
At Targus, that shows up in partner webinars and joint content that put both brands alongside each other solving a shared problem. Not "we have this great new product." The value comes from showing how the product solved something real for the partner or their customers.
Cutting PR Is the Cheapest-Looking Expensive Mistake
When budgets tighten, PR goes first. Rachel sees that as a costly error.
Companies reason that they "can't directly prove how it's impacting our sales funnel," she said, so the PR budget gets cut. But PR is a huge influencer in building the credible brand message that creates real conversations with customers and keeps them moving through the sales journey.
The measurement exists, just not in a straight line. Engagement rates, bounce rate, time on content, downloads, social sentiment: all of it is defendable. And a strong placement compounds. If your product lands in a top review in a key publication, "that review becomes equity to then leverage in your sales pitches and to convince your customers that you're a trusted and worthwhile brand or company to do business with."
The win is not the placement. The win is what you do with it. If a big write-up goes unamplified, "it's losing its value." Internal teams should be participants in spreading the story, not spectators.
Start With Research, Not Output
For a marketing leader who wants to build credibility systematically, Rachel's first move is research.
"Find out what people are saying and what they're responding to as it relates to your topic or your product or your industry and figure out how you can tie in with that," she said. "How can you make your message relevant to them?"
From there, build content pillars around topics that will actually move the needle, then find a distinct voice within them rather than repeating what competitors already say.
Most brands stall at that last step, and Rachel's diagnosis is that they skip the foundational work. They rush to sales without defining what they offer. "If you haven't fully defined your value proposition, then how can you talk about it in a way that other people will believe?" she said. "There's no shortcut for doing the hard work upfront."
Resources:
Learn more about Targus: targus.com
Connect with Rachel on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rachelneppes/
Connect with Paxton on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/paxtongray/
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About Rachel Neppes:
Rachel Neppes is a marketing leader focused on building brand credibility and relevance that drive demand and growth.
At Targus, Rachel leads Alliance marketing and global communications, advancing partnerships, go-to-market strategy, and positioning to strengthen market presence and drive measurable business impact.
