PRSA Austin Chapter News

What Austin PR Pros Learned About Gen Z — And Why It Matters

Jeff Beckham — Sun, 12 Apr 2026 23:35:40 GMT

There's a version of the Gen Z conversation that communicators have been having for years. Edelman's Gen Z Lab brought a different one to PRSA Austin last month.

Elizabeth Birdsong and Olivia Tompkins walked a room full of Austin PR professionals through their special report on how Gen Z is evolving — and why treating this generation as a single, predictable audience is a mistake communicators can't afford to keep making.

Their central argument: there are effectively two Gen Zs. Gen Z 1.0 (ages 23–29) came of age during progressive movements and still believes brands and institutions can do good — they're trusting until proven wrong. Gen Z 2.0 (ages 13–22) grew up in a pandemic, content overload, and political chaos — and they're skeptical until proven credible. Same generation on paper. Very different audiences in practice.

A few numbers that landed in the room: 79% of Gen Z trust brands to do the right thing — significantly more than they trust media (56%) or government (19%). That's an opportunity, but also a responsibility. The same research found that 70% will fact-check what brands say, and 65% have boycotted a brand over silence on a societal issue.

The session also touched on what Gen Z actually wants from brands — not new platforms or flashy campaigns, but presence in the spaces they already occupy, experiences that feel personal rather than performative, and a sense of community. That last finding — 58% say they want brands to provide it — felt particularly relevant for a room full of people who run communications programs and member organizations for a living.

Thanks to Elizabeth and Olivia for a genuinely useful session. If you'd like to dig into the full report, reach out to info@prsaaustin.org and we'll get it to you.

What Happened When Austin PR Pros Showed Up With Heart

Jeff Beckham — Sun, 01 Mar 2026 23:56:40 GMT

No panels. No presentations. Just people in a room, guided by a format designed to make conversation feel less like work and more like, well, actually connecting. That was PRSA with Heart, a structured networking mixer that sold out before the night arrived, held on Feb. 24 at Love, Tito's.

Every single attendee who responded to our post-event survey said the event met their expectations. Nearly 90% gave top marks to the structure and flow, and several specifically called out the guided networking as the reason conversations felt natural instead of forced. A few asked us to do more of it, including mentorship-focused formats.

PRSA Austin has always been about more than professional development checkboxes. It's about finding your people. They're the ones who understand the craft and who've navigated the same challenges. PRSA With Heart was a reminder that those connections don't happen by accident. They happen when someone creates the right room.

We're grateful to everyone who came out, and to the board members who helped make the night happen.

If you weren't there this time, we hope you'll join us for what's next. And if you're not yet a member of PRSA Austin, there's no better time to get involved.

Learn more about membership

Ready to Pursue Your APR, But Not Sure Where to Start?

Jeff Beckham — Sat, 14 Feb 2026 17:43:12 GMT

Read what some of our accredited PRSA Austin members have to say about the process — in their own words. Our APR blog is a great first stop if you're considering accreditation and want an honest look at what the journey actually involves.

Future accreditation posts will appear here on the main blog, so stay tuned.

Texas State PRSSA Earns National Honors

Kellin Patricia — Mon, 15 Sep 2025 21:47:54 GMT

The Texas State University PRSSA chapter has once again been named a PRSSA Star Chapter — the fourth year in a row it has earned this prestigious honor. Out of more than 300 chapters nationwide, only 44 received this recognition in 2025.

At the heart of this success is our very own board member, Paul Villagran, who serves as Austin PRSA’s Director-at-Large, Membership and as Assistant Professor and PRSSA Faculty Advisor at Texas State University. Paul’s mentorship and guidance have been key in helping the chapter consistently achieve excellence and national distinction.

This year also brought individual honors for Texas State. Emma Vega, immediate past president of the chapter, was one of just 44 students nationwide to receive the PRSSA National Gold Key Award, the highest individual recognition for PRSSA members.

We’re proud to celebrate Paul’s leadership and the continued success of the Texas State PRSSA chapter — a shining example of how Austin PRSA members are shaping the future of the profession.

Ultimate Guide to Food and Nutrition Influencer Marketing

Amelia Folkes — Fri, 15 Aug 2025 21:31:43 GMT

In today's media landscape, the impact of food influencers is undeniable—a topic that generated significant buzz at our recent PRocktails event, Savoring the Story. While our expert panel featuring Allison Beadle of Wild Hive, Sara Hoing of Giant Noise, and Olivia Levada of Edelman dished out invaluable insights, the conversation left a lingering question: How can PR professionals strategically navigate the complex influencer ecosystem?

The discussion was too important to leave at the table. That's why we're grateful to panelist Allison Beadle for providing a comprehensive white paper to continue the conversation.

When it comes to influencer marketing, success starts with strategy — not stunts. This white paper from Wild Hive, The Ultimate Guide to Food and Nutrition Influencer Marketing, unpacks how to build an authentic, results-driven influencer program that aligns with brand goals and connects with target audiences in meaningful ways.

https://www.wildhive.com/food-marketers-influencer-marketing-guide/

PRSA Launches Resources for Displaced Professionals

Fri, 21 Mar 2025 14:27:25 GMT

If you are currently experiencing an unexpected job loss or transition, PRSA wants you to know that we're here for you now and as you move into your next career chapter.

To ensure that you have useful resources and information at your disposal, PRSA has collaborated with our Public Affairs and Government Section to develop a Displaced Professionals Portal. It features a one-stop shop to access a variety of tools to help you manage this transition. From hardship plans to enable you to maintain your PRSA dues, access to the PRSA Jobcenter, and articles and webinars to retool your skill set, this portal focuses on your needs.

Review these resources

PRSA Austin Member Story featured in New Anthology

Wed, 05 Mar 2025 19:00:00 GMT

Learn more about the book, Latinas in Public Relations: Shaping Communications, Communities and Culture, and the stories behind some familiar PR pros’ career paths.

Fifteen public relations and communication professionals share their lived experiences and advice in this collection of narratives curated to help inspire and encourage others to persist and advance toward their vision of success.

The project is led by Melissa Vela-Williamson, APR, Fellow PRSA, a former San Antonio Chapter president, and features essays by an Austin chapter member and former Austin Chapter president, Amelia Taurel Folkes, APR.

They joined authors from across the country to share relatable challenges, courageous moments, and actionable advice on how to beat the odds in this competitive industry.

How to download your free copy :

· Click here for the Amazon link.

· Make sure you are viewing the "Kindle (eBook)" version

· Go to the right-hand side of the screen to the button that says "Buy Now with One-Click"

· Free eBook will download into your Amazon account

Amazon Link: https://a.co/d/5k7F0ID

PRSA Names New CEO

Thu, 27 Feb 2025 16:45:58 GMT

Dear PRSA members and the Communications community overall:

We are pleased that the search for our next CEO successfully concludes today with the announcement that Matthew Marcial, CAE, CMP has been named PRSA’s new Chief Executive Officer. He begins Monday, March 3, 2025.

Matt brings extensive experience in association leadership, professional development and member engagement. He most recently provided strategic consulting to a variety of associations and nonprofits – helping them drive new revenue and growth. Prior to consulting, he served as CEO of the National Association of College Auxiliary Services. Additionally, he served in senior executive roles with The Institute of Internal Auditors, Meeting Professionals International, NAFA Fleet Management Association and the American Association of Clinical Endocrinologists.

A Certified Association Executive (CAE) and Certified Meeting Professional (CMP), Matt has a bachelor’s degree in management and marketing from Saint Leo University and a master’s in business administration from Florida International University. He intends to complete the process to receive his Accreditation in Public Relations (APR).

Matt succeeds Philip Bonaventura, who has served as interim CEO since January 1, 2025. We are grateful for Phil’s dedication and steady leadership during this time, as he resumes his full-time role as PRSA’s Chief Financial Officer,.

Matt’s appointment is the result of a thoughtful and rigorous search process led by our CEO Search Committee and the PRSA Board of Directors. Interest in the search – which began in mid-November – was very strong, and we are grateful for such a diverse field of finalists.

A copy of today’s announcement is available in the PRSA Newsroom, and you can read more about Matt in a feature on PRsay.

We value your continued support of and membership in PRSA – and are excited about all we will achieve together in the months and years ahead.

Ray Day, APR

CEO Search Committee Chair

2025 PRSA Chair

Intersection of PR and Digital Marketing: Strategies for Success

Amelia Folkes — Mon, 05 Aug 2024 04:52:28 GMT

In June, PRSA Austin hosted an informative and engaging conversation with Chis Ferris, Ph.D., senior vice president of digital strategy for Pierpont Communications about the intersection between public relations (PR) and digital marketing.

Digital marketing involves leveraging digital channels such as social media, search engines, email, and websites to connect with current and potential customers to our brands. It includes a spectrum of tactics like content marketing, SEO, social media marketing and paid advertising. Communication professionals have all had to learn this space and ensure alignment with their public relations planning. This intersection demands a unified brand message. A seamless integration ensures that the story told by PR aligns with the content produced by digital marketing. This consistency fosters brand trust and recognition across diverse channels. Ferris discussed strategies for success and shared insights from his years of experience.

A recap of those insights are below as well as his powerful presentation which he graciously provided. This is a definite read!

To stay up to date on new trends, be sure to use reliable resources such as data from Pew Research and YouGov.com’s Trustworthiness Report. These reports reveal data about where Americans are getting their news. In a current trend report, we see it is Instagram and TikTok but we also note that they trust those channels less and less. No surprise here but X is no longer a trusted or used source as before.

Important points from Ferris’ presentation:

Earned media and PR still matter – maybe more than ever because of AI
- As PR pros, we are the ones developing messaging for our leadership
- Media train your spokespeople
Track your website’s traffic sources and impact on digital channels
- Tracking the impact of digital channels - there is a correlation with earned media and the sustained web traffic on a page that you can show value of your media relations efforts
Measure and report the online reach and impact of your PR successes to your leadership
Follow and engage with journalists online
Be sure to plan and manage for a crisis, as they are inevitable.
- Monitor and contain crises online.
- Plan and prepare for PR crises to spill over into social media
Use online tools to listen for emerging trends
Amplify your earned media successes through shared and owned channels
Explore paid options, like contextual ads, sponsored content, OpEds and influencer marketing
Invest time in learning about generative AI

Download Dr. Ferris Presentation

As PR pros we need to be aware of the issue of fake news and stories. PR practitioners can play a vital and important role in managing any fake news crisis. If your C-suite or a major announcement is produced by a deep fake, have a crisis plan in place.

When you do the job right and ethically, as a PR professional you are helping journalists do their job well. Earned media is great for SEO and also used to power openAI.

Tools to Use:

Google Trends for analytics of your website traffic,
PR tech stack such as media monitoring software
Using UTMs to your outbound links

For all our members and frequent attendees, you may begin to see a trend in our sessions. From the great discussion of SEO and Wikipedia strategy from John Green at The Mather Group, to our amazing panel in May who discussed using data for storytelling. They all weave an important thread across the spectrum of our profession. Don’t miss these opportunities to keep your skills up to date and in the know with trends. Become a member and attend our events!

Data Driven Storytelling: How You Can Effectively Grow Your Audience

Amelia Folkes — Wed, 10 Jul 2024 17:55:07 GMT

In May PRSA Austin and AAF Austin hosted a dynamic panel on data and storytelling. Our panelists from the advertising and communication industry, Chris Boyle, Senior Director, Data & Insights at Hero Digital and Talan Tyminski, Senior VP at Mach 1 Group, joined our guest speaker Tony Cheevers from Researchscape to discuss how to tell strong data backed stories using research and data.

The panel discussed the tools used to capture the data, where the data can be sourced and how surveys help to inform campaigns when there is data missing.

Key Competencies for Data-Driven Storytelling/Campaign Building:

Ability to derive strategic insights from data/Data interpretation skills
Explaining complex data simply to reporters and stakeholders
Utilizing public opinion polling research
Ensure your organization is equipped with the tools to derive the data

Content marketers, publicists, and lead-generation specialists are increasingly turning to survey research to generate credible data to support their storytelling and more accurately target customers while providing metrics to their leadership team. Business leaders need feedback from their customers to make key decisions.

We know that measurement and analytics are key for telling the story. What measurement and analytics are you using? The panel mentioned the importance of sales data, social media data, open rates in your outbound marketing, website optimisation and more. We recap some of the highlights from the event below.

Using research from surveys can help to shape or build a story or find the data points to tell that story, but shouldn’t be the sole purpose of a story. The research and data should be what supports your story. Data informs and validates why your campaign will be successful. It gives you the tools to segment an audience or shift when necessary. But to understand how and when to shift you must have the tools built to get the data. Our panel shared some key tools that should be used:

Importance of Tagging/Website Optimization — Tagging elements on your website can tell the story of what people are looking at/for to help form the response to your marketing or PR campaigns; not what you can do in the moment but using it as a learning experience and the data can build a playbook.
Segmentation and personalization — Building out personas using research tools; leverage google analytics to help you determine if a page or button is popular (needs to be tagged properly) and gives you insights on a customers journey on your website and allow you to customize your site.
Customer acquisition journey — can you observe their journey to help get more info on telling the story/predict their behavior? This is where tagging, segmentation, surveys can help you as well as tools like GA4, SEO, and more. Challenging assumptions about customer demographics using surveys which can allow you to build Customer Personas. This is especially useful during a crisis. Auditing your audience's perceptions of a crisis using surveys can help determine your brand's response.
Story validation— When building strong stories, developing and testing headlines, ensuring story coherence and relevance, implementing UTM (Universal Tracking Metric) for better analytics and evaluation of the story will lead to more accurate measurement and evaluation for your KPIs.

Lastly, the panel shared some skill sets important for professionals and students coming into the profession should have or build to be successful. They are numerous. Below is a general list shared by all the panelists.

Data skills/software recommendation for new job candidates

Google Analytics (GA4)
Google Ads
SQL
Python
YouTube
SEO/YOAST
MOZ
PR and MAR TECH STACKs (CRMs and Media Monitoring software)
Wordpress, Website developer software
Social planners ie Sprout, Sprinklr, Hootsuite, Buffer, etc.
Brandwatch for social listening
Know the lingo for the programs
YouTube
Certifications of any software even just online certs are always good
Google ads
SQL
EXCEL
Python
Ability to interpret data - basically, why do we care about the data points?

The New World of Online Reputation

Amelia Folkes — Mon, 10 Jun 2024 21:05:11 GMT

The New World of Online Reputation

Josh Greene, CEO and founder of The Mather Group, shared insights on how to navigate the new world of online reputation at the PRSA Austin Masters’ Breakfast in April. Here are some of his top tips on what you can do to improve your organization’s online reputation, both immediately and for the future.

1. Google is your business card

Contacts will Google you and your organization before they ever meet you, and you can control the results more than you think. Take stock of how you or your organization are showing up on Google. At a minimum, people want to see a LinkedIn profile (personal for people, business for organizations) and a website. Also check to see if the information that pops up in a search is accurate. If not, you have work to do.

2. Keep your website current

We are all familiar with the facts that we see when we search for a favorite restaurant or business. Google grabs much of that data – including location, business hours, and other important details – directly from your website or Wikipedia page. Be sure to make updating your website a top priority because that information will show up in searches.

3. Use the tools the platforms give you

Google Business Profile is often overlooked by organizations. Make sure to claim your free profile and populate it with accurate information. Google uses this information in other places. Also make sure that you keep track of who has access to your accounts and record passwords for all platforms, including social media and Google Analytics. It is surprising how often a business does not know how to access its own accounts when an employee leaves the company.

4. Be consistent across platforms

Make sure that the description of your organization is consistent across all platforms. Even though you can alter your tone and voice, your bios and basic information should be the same across Instagram, LinkedIn, Facebook, X and Threads.

5. Leverage the power of LinkedIn

Be sure to keep your LinkedIn profile up to date because contacts will be looking at it and Google also pulls information from this platform. It is amazing how often the About section for many companies sound like they were written by an intern years ago. LinkedIn is also great for credibility and brand awareness. Try out the LinkedIn Live or LinkedIn Newsletter functions to increase visibility for your organization.

6. Track customer reviews

Keep track of reviews of your organization on Google, Yelp and any other site that is publicly viewable. You can influence whether a review gets traction by flagging negative reviews, and you can also ask customers for positive reviews. Glassdoor wants organizations to ask for reviews. Google reviews are especially powerful, so be sure to assign someone in your organization to watch and respond to them.

Bonus Pro Tip: If you would like to complain about a review and can’t get through to a real person, try sending a message to the investor relations department because that sometimes gets more attention.

7. Don’t edit Wikipedia unless you know what you are doing

You should not be editing your own organization/company Wikipedia page. Editing Wikipedia is a complicated process, and some organizations do more harm than good by diving in to alter entries on their organization. There are many roadblocks and danger zones to avoid, so rely on an expert to guide you through this process for best results. Important to know: Wikipedia is one of the top sources for AI.

If you want to become a Wikipedia editor, start small with a topic or posting of something you know about but isn’t related to your business.

Check out Josh Greene’s recent book, Wikipedia for Business, for all the tips and tricks you need to be a Wikipedia expert.

Bonus Pro Tips on SEO rankings:

1.    Earned media will play a big role in your SEO standing because it is considered the most reputable by Google
2.    Owned content platforms are great for feeding content and for AI to crawl and utilize as source material
3.    Trade and analyst reviews are also key to SEO rankings
4.    Podcast and videos – be sure to publish transcripts as they get indexed

About The Mather Group

The Mather Group is a digital agency that solves marketing challenges for companies of all sizes. With over 20 years of experience creating and implementing digital strategies, Josh Greene empowers top brands and individuals to shape their online presence to support their bottom line. He has worked with some of the largest Fortune 1000 companies, five of the largest nonprofits in the U.S., popular media channels, the third largest network provider in the U.S., two of the largest manufacturing companies in the U.S., and many software companies.

Six Tips for Building Your Brand

Amelia Folkes — Wed, 06 Mar 2024 22:09:24 GMT

In March, we held our PRocktails event at Red Fan Communications, where April Barthold, Director of Brand, Content, and Customer Marketing at ESO, and Emma Chase, Supervisor of Client Services at Red Fan, held an insightful discussion on branding.

Check out April's top six expert tips for building your brand, which can help you establish a strong brand presence that effectively engages your audience and drives meaningful business outcomes. April’s perspective centers around B2B brand building – specifically for fast-growth software companies – and builds upon her experience at an Austin-based branding agency.

A brand is more than just the way you look: This is one of the most common misconceptions in branding. Your brand is not just your logo, your typeface, and your color palette. It’s what you say (your messaging), how you say it (your tone, personality, values), where you deliver it (your omnichannel strategies), and how it looks. Build your strategy to include and connect all of these areas.
It’s all about consistency: The traditional advertising lore says it takes an average of seven interactions with your brand for someone to remember you. But today, if you take into account the full digital customer journey, new buying behaviors, and even more distractions in the market, you might not get seven chances. Whether it’s two or twenty touchpoints with a person, you HAVE to be consistent so they understand who you are and what you stand for. Consider every channel an opportunity for your brand, and make sure you reinforce the value consistently to resonate with your target audience and encourage recall of your offering later.
Connect your brand to your customer (and non-customer!) journey: Every single action and interaction with someone (whether it’s a future customer, current customer, or complete stranger) is a reflection of your brand. Consider the entire journey and how you’re delivering consistent, quality messaging across all touch points to build loyalty and trust. Brand is not just top-of-funnel activities – it exists in your customer service and support, how you treat your evangelists, and even the experience with a customer should they decide to end their relationship with your brand.
Measure to reinforce impact (and consider a brand score): Measuring and proving the ROI of your brand can be challenging, especially when trying to make the case for your top-funnel tactics to your C-Suite and executive stakeholders. Here’s the thing: Every metric is a brand metric – from volume of media hits to your customer Net Promoter Scores. Consider building a brand score that tracks various metrics to paint a brand picture – including web traffic, social growth, and your traditional PR metrics (share of voice, media hits, backlinks, etc.). When you can, include and highlight metrics that directly correlate with bottom-line impact, like revenue growth over time, customer retention, and product adoption. One quick tactic to consider is asking the age-old "How did you hear about us" question when a lead is generated, and make sure you're including traditional brand tactics as an option (“My local news station,” “An article in an industry publication,” “social media,” etc.)
Pick partners intentionally: Agency partners can be absolutely essential to bringing your brand to life – especially if you’re on a small, scrappy in-house team. When selecting an agency partner or contractor, look for those who demonstrate curiosity, adaptability, and eventually a balance of best practices from their myriad experience with a true understanding of your brand's unique needs. Look for partners who can seamlessly integrate with your team and contribute to your brand's growth.
In B2B branding, remember you’re still talking to humans: Above all else, ensure your communication – whether it's with customers or the market at large – is authentic and human in its tone. Speak empathetically and address the needs and aspirations of your audience – after all, even if you’re target audience is making a business purchase, they’re still just a person trying to solve a problem for themselves, their teams, or their organizations. Speak to them as such.

Thank you, April and Red Fan Communications, for your hospitality and sharing your expertise!