Bridging Creativity and Communication: Jessica’s Path to PR
As a young girl, Jessica Salazar always gravitated towards creativity and the arts.
Growing up in San Antonio, she spent her time playing guitar and performing in local talent shows. While she initially enrolled to study education in college, Jessica soon discovered a promising path in public relations.
“I wanted to pursue PR so I could write and maintain that element of creativity,” Jessica says, now an Account Coordinator at TaleSplash.
Whether it’s drafting press releases, identifying speaking opportunities for clients, or building media lists, Jessica applies the PR fundamentals she learned in school to real-world situations at TaleSplash. Each day presents a new opportunity to learn from colleagues who bring decades of PR experience to the team.
With the right PR strategy, Jessica works to help clients build authentic, long-lasting relationships with their audience, rooted in trust. No client is too big or too small to be heard; everyone has a story to tell.
“When you can see the client’s passion when they talk about their brand, it’s kind of contagious,” Jessica says. “When you have somebody that specializes in one topic, that’s a lot to offer because not everybody has the knowledge that they have.”
Transcending Language and Culture to Make an Impact
As a native Spanish speaker, Jessica looks forward to bringing her bilingual background to the table should any clients seek a presence internationally. This gives her the unique ability to connect with audiences in a way that resonates with their cultural and linguistic nuances.
“We’re able to get through and give a message the way that community would receive it better, so I think that’s a big advantage,” Jessica says.
Jessica’s ability to connect with audiences goes beyond language and culture. One of the first clients she worked with after joining TaleSplash was a nonprofit, a partnership that struck a deeply personal chord.
“Personally I had a connection to them, and their mission really resonated with me because as a kid I enjoyed programs with a similar mission," Jessica says. “Working with a nonprofit was kind of a full circle moment.”
Persistence in Pitching Journalists
Driven by a desire to see clients succeed, Jessica helps them land the right media opportunities through a combination of proactive and reactive pitching.
Proactive pitching is a key PR tactic that requires thoughtful strategy and consistent effort. As Jessica points out, journalists often don’t realize they’re looking for a story until it’s presented in the right way.
To make that happen, she spends time researching journalists’ backgrounds and beats, building curated lists of writers covering relevant topics. From there, she crafts creative pitches that show why a client is a good fit.
“This is where research meets creativity, resulting in tailored communication. The idea is to blend what you want to say with the journalist’s beat,” Jessica says. “Essentially, it’s a ‘hey, this is what’s happening and here’s why you should care’.”
Just as timing is essential in proactive pitching, it’s equally as important in reactive pitching. In these cases, journalists often put out a call for a specific type of expert or product relevant to a story they’re writing. If a client is a strong fit, the journalist may send over a few targeted questions for them to answer, which offers a potential opportunity to be featured.
“Reactive pitching is when we really lean into our matchmaking,” Jessica says. “It compliments our efforts of proactive pitching for our clients to enter the conversation.”
Connecting with Clients
For Jessica, the trust, collaboration, and relationships built with clients along the way are what make the work truly meaningful.
“You get to put a face to the name and things become more personal in a sense,” Jessica says. “And the collaboration during your time together creates a closeness even as an agency, that feels like we’re in-house.”
If you’d like to learn more about Jessica, connect with her on LinkedIn.
