Each month we have been reaching out to notable communications professionals to ask them a few questions about their experiences and interests, with the goal of providing some insights to others in the industry. This month’s edition of ‘Questions for the PR Industry’ features Leta Soza from AirPR.
Leta Soza
Director of PR Engineering & Ops, AirPR
@LetaSoza
Why did you decide to follow a career path in public relations?
My path to PR has been anything but linear. I started in digital marketing, moved to social strategy and eventually found myself in PRTech. It’s sort of like PR and I circled each other for years on the same dance floor before deciding to partner up. But now, we’re a match made in heaven. 🙂
The PRTech space is one of the most exciting and challenging places to be because you’re literally facilitating the creation and adoption of technologies that are fundamentally changing the way an industry thinks and operates. It doesn’t get more disruptive than that.
As someone working in measurement/analytics, what do you believe is the next step for the PR industry?
The next big step for the PR industry will be to establish standardized reporting metrics that aren’t BS (think AVEs and impressions) while building consensus around both the PR role and how to communicate and showcase value to decision-makers.
What specific challenges come with working in the tech space?
Honestly the biggest challenge working in PRTech is getting PR pros to shift their thinking around what constitutes “good” PR. Now that PR has unprecedented access to data, there’s no longer a question if that press hit delivered for the business. We know in black and white. And what we often see is 10% of all PR efforts end up driving 90% of the value for the business. Many PR pros have been operating under a “more is better” mentality, but with the advent of PRTech, we can finally make the data-backed case for quality over quantity.
The other challenge is ensuring PR thinks beyond just placing a story in a target media outlet. You really have to consider all aspects of the equation which includes asking the following three questions:
1. Content: What format am I choosing based on the audience I’m trying to reach?
2. Channel: What conduit am I using to deliver my content because they can best reach my target audience?
3. Measurement: How am I defining success?
We often see that when PR activation falls flat, it’s because these three questions were not explicitly answered from the get go. It’s a pretty simple exercise that when done diligently, exponentially increases the probability of PR success.
Thanks, Leta!
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