Celebrating (Digital) PR Power Ladies

After a year of building our digital PR community, we’ve been fortunate to e-meet some incredible ladies in the (digital) PR industry. Some are household names, and others rising stars, but they’re all equally important to us.

This International Women’s Day, we decided to celebrate some of the great ladies in our community by acknowledging their impact, but also through a personal reflection on how they influenced our team.

Michelle Garrett 

Named a “Top Digital PR Leader”, Michelle is a force to be reckoned with. In her own words, you’ll find her “at the intersection of PR, content marketing and social media.” With her academic background in journalism and political science, Michelle brings the sort of gravitas to the PR profession that only a well-rounded expert can. She predicts that writing will be the make-or-break factor of your PR efforts in 2022, and we couldn’t agree more.

Why we celebrate Michelle:

For the selfless support and attention she gives. Michelle is a rare example of a big name in the industry that makes smaller players feel seen and appreciated. Also, we respect her courage and creativity – she’s among the first ones to give Twitter Spaces a try with #PRLunchHour, which she co-hosts every week. Plus, her GIF game is superb!

Michelle’s impact on the community:

As the founder and host of #FreelanceChat, a weekly Twitter chat and community for freelancers and self-employed consultants, Michelle devotes her time to impart her vast knowledge and expertise for free! With her help, freelance writers and PR folk navigate the challenges of making a living as a freelancer. 

Tamara Sykes

Co-hosting the #PRLunchHour with Michelle, Tamara is a strong voice in the community – and definitely the one heard every Friday at lunch hour, at the very least! An accomplished SEO strategist, Tamara brings out the best of SEO in digital PR. 

Why we celebrate Tamara: 

For adding the human element to the work, and reminding us that we’re not alone in feeling like imposters from time to time. 

Tamara’s impact on the community:

By developing a strong personal brand, Tamara shows that building relationships is more important than the number of pitches you send. Regardless of the changes in technology or link building tactics we used, this is a message that’s sure to ring true for a good while.

Tressa Robbins

BuzzSumo named Tressa one of “The Top 100 PR Influencers To Follow In 2021”, and the accolade is more than well-deserved. She’s an experienced media communications and PR maven, and a compelling voice of authority.

Why we celebrate Tressa: 

For her outspoken (social) media presence. Tressa is not one to let misinformation or inaccuracies slide, even in casual environments, and she often tweets her shrewd commentary on the events of the day from the PR point of view.

Tressa’s impact on the community:

PR pros and other non-tech folk out there are lucky to benefit from Tressa’s versatility and keen mind: she helped us finally understand what the metaverse and NFTs are all about! Not many PR professionals actually understand the subject matter they’re helping to promote, but we’re sure Tressa is one of the few who do.

Amanda Milligan

As Head of Marketing at Stacker, Amanda is serving “as an integrity bridge between brands and publishers.” A well-known name in the digital PR world, she has stacked (see what we did there?) ten years in content marketing.  And most importantly, she’s making sure that the ol’ “Content Is King” continues to ring true!

Why we celebrate Amanda: 

For her Moz Whiteboard Friday bit on how to make newsworthy content, which has been a must-watch for our whole team when we were just starting out. 

Amanda’s impact on the community:

Amanda is one of those digital PR pros who has made it to the “other side”, and shown us what the journalists we’re trying to pitch actually care about. And, luckily for us – she generously shares her insights.

Domenica D’Ottavio

Domenica can easily be the poster girl for digital PR. From her days at Fractl and Rise at Seven (and then back to Fractl as Director of Digital PR), Domenica has made digital PR look effortless – when you know what you’re doing, like she does.

Why we celebrate Domenica: 

Domenica has been instrumental in breaking down digital PR to our team when we were first starting out. She was one of the first names we picked up in the industry, and she helped us make sense of it all.

Domenica’s impact on the community:

Domenica has mirrored Fractl’s transparency and openness to share their process and case studies with the community. These free nuggets of digital PR know-how have no doubt helped many teams jumpstart their campaigns. 

Ellie Morgan

Ellie rose to prominence suddenly, but deservedly! Hailed as the Twitter Thread Queen, Ellie has harnessed the power of threads to provide value to the digital PR community. A thriving digital PR consultant at Evolved Search, Ellie is definitely someone to follow closely.

Why we celebrate Ellie: 

In the sea of digital PR pros who whine about journalists being horrible creatures who just don’t care about their brilliant pitches, Ellie did something different – she sympathised with journalists. Moreover, the Twitter thread that made her famous actually said that “Twitter has been full of journalists kindly reaching out to PRs for stories.” It was there all along, folk, Ellie was just the one to point it out for ya.

Ellie’s impact on the community:

No one does Twitter threads quite like Ellie. Her threads are jam-packed with actionable advice, and the community eagerly awaits each one!

Amie Sparrow

Amie is one of those professionals who reminds us why digital PR is also called SEO link building. Her SEO game is strong, and she frequently shares her insights in webinars and conferences. 

Why we celebrate Amie: 

Her content on kickstarting digital PR campaigns and forming a team has been vital in helping us jumpstart our own efforts. 

Amie’s impact on the community:

Luckily for the community, Amie never gets tired of showing the value and ROI of digital PR. Most digital PR folk say that proving the DPR ROI is the most difficult part of selling it as a service. This is why Amie’s input on the subject is invaluable.

Michelle Glogovac

As a Top 100 podcast host, Michelle is THE Podcast Matchmaker™. Where podcasting know-how meets chart-topping show production expertise, Michelle’s bubbly personality shines through. She also supports book authors with more than just words!

Why we celebrate Michelle: 

For reminding us that you don’t have to promote yourself in order to establish a reputation as an expert. If you, like so many of us, feel uncomfortable promoting yourself, then don’t, Michelle points out – share your knowledge instead, and SHOW (not tell) that you’re an expert. 

Michelle’s impact on the community:

Through her podcast My Simplified Life, Michelle provides space for women’s voices to be heard loud and clear on a variety of topics, concerning our professional but also personal lives. We get to hear from women who have been where we are, learn about their struggles and how they overcame them. 

Sarolta Ács

Sarolta is a fresh and vibrant voice in the digital PR community. She’s strategic about PR and communications in general, which is definitely something we’d like to see more of in the marketing industry. 

Why we celebrate Sarolta: 

For making it possible for a completely unknown digital PR team to get noticed and earn Twitter followers – all through connecting with the right people on the #MediaRelationsChat.

Sarolta’s impact on the community:

Sarlota stands out on social media because she actually knows how to build a community, through truly engaging content that connects like-minded professionals, and allows an exchange of ideas on all things (digital) PR.

Jennifer McGinley

Jennifer’s mission is to help compassionate healthcare and education organisations increase visibility and credibility. Her strong ethic is what sets her apart from many colleagues in the industry, and also what makes her a perfect addition to our list. 

Why we celebrate Jennifer: 

For her commitment to raising awareness of various mental health topics through her work. 

Jennifer’s impact on the community:

Jennifer is a vocal advocate of ethics and complexity of the PR industry. Her social media content reminds us (and everyone else!) that PR is a strategy that needs planning, not a bit of hocus-pocus to help a struggling organisation. Hard work goes into planning and executing strategies, and we’re grateful there’s a strong voice like Jennifer’s to advocate for how PRs are perceived.

Posted on Tuesday 8th March, 2022