Last month, AirPR Chief Strategy Officer Rebekah Iliff moderated a webinar panel for CommPRO on empowering data-driven PR professionals. She led a discussion about the traits of the successful PR leader of tomorrow with panelists Jennefer Witter of The Boreland Group, Julia Monti of Mastercard, and KayAnn Schoeneman of Ketchum.
There are tremendous opportunities to set yourself apart as a PR professional in today’s market but only if you are brave enough to embrace data.
As Rebekah has said, practicing PR without data is like skipping sunscreen: “It’s totally feasible, but not recommended and will soon become a thing of the past. Without data or metrics, you are essentially practicing old-guard PR that doesn’t position you for leadership or prove your value.”
Here are the key takeaways from last month’s webinar discussion in tweets, with links to the originals for retweeting and liking.
1. “If you cannot translate PR to business value, it’s very difficult to prove success and be a leader.” – Rebekah Iliff (Tweet)
2. Strategic PR leaders know this: “You always must be able to defend what you’re doing, and explain why it’s a benefit.” – Jennefer Witter (Tweet)
3. ”Even if content is fragmented across platforms, you can still tell your story well.” – Julia Monti (Tweet)
4. “Be flexible both for yourself and your clients while continually innovating to stay ahead.” – KayAnn Schoeneman (Tweet)
5. Optimizing your voice:
- Know your stuff
- Communicate it clearly
- Have data to back it up
- Make it understandable
– Jennefer Witter (Tweet)
6. Consider the various stages of PR measurement:
- Output
- Outcomes
- Impact
– KayAnn Schoeneman (Tweet)
7. Check your work: Julia Monti asks herself “Is what I’m doing actionable?” (Tweet)
8. “Data is not just about measuring success. Also use data to inform strategy.” – Julia Monti (Tweet)
Data enables you to make forward-looking decisions using historical information, and those decisions will keep you on the path to PR leadership! For more insight from Rebekah, Jennefer, Julia, and KayAnn, listen to the webinar recording.