“It’s become easier for us to show ROI than it was in the past.”
Megan Redzia is the Executive Vice President at 3E Public Relations. 3E Public Relations has a long, rich history as a leading public relations firm, with roots in New Jersey, but branches that extend all over the world. Megan has strategically planned and executed successful campaigns for both national brands and start-up companies that resulted in top-tier media placements across print, broadcast and online platforms.
PR strategy mistakes.
Megan: “I think the biggest mistake is to think of it in a silo. I think the greatest success is there when you look at as part of your overall marketing mix, starting with what are your goals? What are you trying to accomplish, and then does PR do that for you? If not, you’re not going to be happy and we’re not going to be happy.”
Megan: “Where does PR fall within that mix? How can we integrate it and then measure it accordingly? I think that people that think of it as its own separate entity, and don’t integrate PR and our team as an extension to their marketing program, is where the biggest mistakes happen.”
Measuring ROI.
Megan: “ROI has always been known as a weak point of PR. Today, it’s become a lot easier to measure ROI. Previously, we were measuring by impressions, or views on a broadcast segment. That’s how many people those things reach in general, but how many actual eyeballs were on there and how does it impact your audience?”
Megan: “Now we’re able to really integrate with what a client has their KPIs to be and how do we show that, especially as things are more digital-based. How did we drive leads to content that converted into a sale? What does your traffic look like now as we’re securing media coverage? How is PR affecting domain authority, yours and as well as the media outlets that we’re securing coverage on? Does that have an impact?”
First steps to improve your strategy.
Megan: “They should start with their goals.Their overarching business objectives. What target audiences are you looking to reach? What does success look like for you? Start there with us so we can develop a program that gets you there. “
Megan: “Where companies can improve is just to start at the beginning. Don’t just assume you need a press release or a trade show. What are you trying to accomplish?”
Social media and influencers.
Megan: “The two core components to PR have always historically been reaching your target audience and enhancing your credibility. Social media and influencers have just given us a different avenue to accomplish those goals. When it comes to social media, yes, their presence is important, their content development is important, but what we like to measure the most is engagement. How is your community interacting with you? What kind of community are you building?”
Megan: “Same with influencers. It made complete sense when influencers came to the marketing table, that PR people would take on an influencer marketing campaign. We’re reaching out to them. We’re identifying what the alignment is there with a brand. Why does it make sense for a brand to work with them? Influencer relations are more focused on here’s what your audience is looking for. Here’s the type of content you produce. Here’s what my client’s doing and why it would make sense for us to partner.”
Megan: “There’s just a lot of synergy there and that’s why it has fallen under the PR umbrella. Some people might think social media and influencers have become a challenge. Essentially, it’s just given us a lot more opportunity to get a client’s messages out there.”
The future of PR.
Megan: “I think PR is going to stay strong. It’s always going to be impactful. I think it will actually become a bigger portion of a marketing mix, especially as content development and content marketing become a lot bigger. For sure we’re going to see it become a lot more digital, even more than it is now.”
Megan: “I think the concentration will turn a little away from the print, even maybe broadcast, and then it will be focused on blogs, podcasts, online presence, things like that. Again, I think social media is not going away.”
