We recently connected with Devynne Honsa Kellogg and have shared our conversation below.

Alright, Devynne thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. So, let’s start with trends – what are some of the largest or more impactful trends you are seeing in the industry?

The public relations industry is constantly evolving, so it’s important to keep a finger on the pulse and track changing trends. What remains constant in PR is the overarching goal: to create a strong reputation that improves your brand awareness and credibility in a marketplace. To do that, you need to completely understand how your audience consumes content, and where they’re looking for information.

While media relations is still a crucial part of every communications strategy – it improves your searchability, boosts your awareness, and offers valuable third-party credibility – we also know the increasing importance of social media and influencer marketing in the digital age.

We’re seeing that younger generations are using Instagram and TikTok more than Google as a search engine, which shows us that brands need to expand their digital reach beyond solely digital outlets and online magazines. 360° communications strategies are more important now than ever, and creating content that aligns with what people are looking for on social media platforms is going to be imperative to enhancing your visibility amongst future generations. Whether that looks like building a robust influencer program or investing in social media management, it’s important for brands to consider all facets of their external communications and understand what content their audience needs and expects from them.

At BLND, we’ve always stressed this to our clients. We encourage synergy between media relations, social media and influencer marketing, as all these areas feed off each other and work best when they’re working together. Journalists look at social media for trends, influencers look at the news for inspiration. Social media content mirrors what’s in magazines, and the media are interviewing content creators for stories on what’s going on online. These worlds are so closely intertwined and all encompass external public relations. Therefore, your brand’s owned, earned and paid strategies should all be reflective of each other, and merging these tactics will ensure messaging is aligned and opportunities are being leveraged.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

I’m the President at BLND PR, a boutique public relations firm based in Hermosa Beach, California. We offer media relations, social media management and influencer marketing services to create 360° communication strategies that build strong brand awareness for our clients. Specializing in lifestyle, beauty and wellness brands, we have worked with organizations of all sizes, from small local businesses to international companies.

Since I took on this role back in 2020 in the middle of the COVID-19 pandemic, we have come so far as an agency and continue to push the boundaries of what we thought was possible. Alongside BLND’s founder and Managing Partner, Bryanne DeGoede, I oversee day-to-day operations and ensure that the agency is functioning smoothly and goals are consistently being met. We have represented some incredible companies and individuals, and I’m thankful every day that I get to work with a team of such talented communications professionals.

Where do you think you get most of your clients from?

Our reputation and word-of-mouth have always been our number one source of new clients. We’ve never had to rely much on advertising, and sales calls are definitely not our thing. I think many of our clients are drawn to us because of our unique boutique approach, with the ability to pivot quickly and adjust to new situations. In business, you can never be too rigid, or make a cookie cutter strategy and think it’s going to be one-size-fits-all. You need to constantly evaluate the situation, and adapt as changes happen to keep goals on track.

Our team is close-knit and very collaborative, which allows us to take a very personalized approach to every client relationship and prioritize establishing trust from the get-go. From the first intro call, we tell our clients to think of us as an extension of their team rather than an outsourced agency, and I think that approach has worked well to retain and attract new business.

Do you have any insights you can share related to maintaining high team morale?

Management is such a rewarding job, but it’s also tough. You need to be able to navigate a variety of personalities, goals and work styles, and build strong individual relationships with each person on your team. It’s crucial to learn what motivates them, how they like to receive feedback, and what helps them do their best work in order to guide and help them grow in their professional careers. By building these relationships, you establish mutual trust and show that you genuinely care about your team’s personal and professional wellbeing.

As a leader, it’s also your responsibility to create a work environment where your team feels safe to share their thoughts, even when they’re different from yours. It’s so important to me that my team feels comfortable talking to me about anything – whether that’s bringing up concerns about their workload, disagreeing with me about a strategy, or telling me about a personal issue that might be affecting their work. This openness facilitates better discussions, helps me address their concerns and keeps work running successfully. All of this contributes to maintaining a workplace where your team feels respected, valued and heard, and that makes for a healthy workplace and a motivated team.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://blndpr.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/blndpr
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/blnd-public-relations