Lucy Hurst on How to Leverage Tech to Get Noticed
Lucy Hurst if Founder of Screaming Squid. An agency that is quickly gaining a name for itself as a fully inclusive digital marketing partner for businesses who want to get results in this constantly evolving space. In this interview, Lucy is here to share her expertise on how to leverage the latest & emerging technologies to eensure your business gets noticed.
Could you introduce yourself and tell us about your experience in public relations?
Yeah of course, I've been doing PR for several years now. I've helped various businesses get published and I've helped in shining a light on businesses so that they they get industry recognitions and acccolades to name just a few things.
What role does technology play in public relations in 2024?
In my humble opinion, technology is integral for PR. Pretty much the whole world is digital nowadays so its integral that you get published online. This will help raise brand awareness more than being published in a paper and ink publication. However, to reach these publication you oftten need access to technology. Now, that's just a very basic example. As I'm sure your readers are aware, technology is evolving on a daily basis.
Can you give a quick example of how a business can leverage tech to make a PR campaign stand out?
Emerging technologies can be useful for helping to write press releases as long as these technologies are used in the correct way and the human element of a story isn't lost. One thing that Screaming Squid does a bit differently to everyone else is that we show our clients what technologies would be useful to them and show them how to use it.
How has AI changed the way businesses do PR?
For those who know how to use it properly, I'd say AI has definitely made writing press releases easier. It's then just getting them out and published which can be more time consuming.
What are some simple tech tools or strategies small businesses can use to improve their PR?
This varies from business to business. We normally do a fact finding session, get to know the business, their target audience, and what the business is looking to achieve. We then put together a list of tools we think would be useful, make these suggestions to the business along with training on how to use the AI or tech that we're suggesting.
What's a common tech-related mistake you see in PR, and how can it be avoided?
Users expect AI to know everything without giving it all the correct information. AI isn't infallable and you can't expect it to know everything you know so if you don't give it the information then you can't be surprised if the output isn't what you expected. Another mistake we see is that AI generated content isn't proofed. You may not be checking for spelling and grammar mistakes, however, you need to ensure it is factually correct and still has that human touch that will make it stand out.
How do you stay updated with the latest tech trends in PR?
We're part of several different communities who all keep their finger on the pulse when it comes to emerging technolgies and then we'll work collaboratively and share anything of interest.
What's your top piece of advice for companies looking to enhance their PR with technology?
Just ensure your using it properly and if in any doubt then drop us a message.