As part of the Morning Lazziness series about empowering women who encourage and do incredible things with their ideas in society, I had the pleasure of interviewing Jodie Booras.
As a seasoned and passionate public relations professional, Jodie Booras founded Kaiona Communications in 2023 to pursue freelance public relations, social media, and content opportunities with clients and agencies in various industries. With a background deeply rooted in strategic communication, Jodie brings a wealth of experience to the table, having honed her skills over the years across various industries.
Before Kaiona Communications, Jodie was a public relations account supervisor at Gabriel Marketing Group, where she managed several key agency accounts and directly managed a team of junior associates. In addition to covering all public relations activities, she ran organic social media programs for several clients. Before joining Gabriel Marketing Group, Jodie was a Content Strategist at Neil Patel Digital, where she led content strategy efforts for several clients, and a Brand Communications Manager at PACIFIC Digital, where she focused on digital public relations, mainly for enterprise-level travel brands like Expedia and Hotels.com.
Before Jodie’s time in agencies, she worked in several in-house marketing and social media roles. Before moving into the agency world, she was the Social Media and Marketing Director at Ocean Enterprises and Ocean Enterprises Travel.
Jodie specializes in creating impactful campaigns that capture attention and foster meaningful connections between brands and their target audience. From developing comprehensive media strategies to executing seamless outreach programs, she prides herself on delivering results that exceed expectations. Jodie’s approach is founded on a blend of creativity, strategic thinking, and meticulous attention to detail, ensuring that every project she undertakes is a testament to excellence.
What inspired you to start your own PR agency, and how did you get your first client?
I had been thinking about starting my PR agency for nearly a year when I finally took the leap. Throughout my career, I have worked for multiple agencies and with clients across various industries. I now aim to focus on working solely with clients who share my passion for specific sectors and have missions that I can genuinely support. But I would say my biggest inspiration to finally take the leap was seeing (and experiencing) first-hand how overworked many agency employees can be due to the business model of most agencies (to no fault of their own).
In an ideal world, all clients would sign a minimum one-year contract with an agency to enable them to deliver properly for their clients, but this is usually not the case. So, what happens is that a new client comes on board for a three- or six-month contract, and the agency cannot justify the time and resources required to hire new full-time employees to help take on the extra work.
The current workforce continues to take on more clients while struggling to keep their heads above water. This is the gap I identified – I, as an experienced PR professional, could step in for these shorter-term clients/projects/campaigns, alleviating the need to add more to the plates of the current full-time team.
What unique challenges have you faced as a woman entrepreneur in the PR world, and how did you overcome them?
Although PR is generally one of the few female-dominated professions, we still face the constant challenge of proving ourselves to mostly male-dominated executive decision-makers when pitching new clients. Oftentimes, women have to work even harder to prove that they are just as qualified as their male counterparts, and this is no different when it comes to pitching to your PR agency. Sometimes it can even make us think – imposter syndrome is real!
To overcome this, I constantly remind myself before going into any call with a prospect that I have achieved my current level of success because I know what I am doing, and I am good at it. I know how PR works, and there is a reason they are speaking to me in the first place.
How do you stay ahead of trends in an industry that’s constantly evolving with media and technology?
Being a sponge for news and social media is not just for our clients. Constantly reading PR publications and following other PR professionals on LinkedIn to see what they are doing and what they are discussing is key to staying ahead of trends.
This doesn’t just apply to PR publications and professionals; it also applies to any industry in which your clients operate. As PR pros, we also need to become experts in our clients’ industries to give us the best opportunities to get them to the forefront.
What’s your go-to strategy for building strong, lasting relationships with clients and the press?
The best thing we, as PR pros, can do to build strong, lasting relationships with clients and the press is to be a strategic partner for them.
For clients, how can PR help them achieve their business goals? You need to think deeper than just vanity metrics, such as impressions and reach. Did that one piece of media coverage get them exposure to a new audience they had been struggling to reach? Did it get them noticed by an organization they have been eyeing for years?
When it comes to the press, I always consider what value I can offer to journalists. Journalists have unique goals, typically tied to reader engagement and the success of their stories. So the most important thing to them when deciding what to write about is what their audience wants to see. It is not always about pitching why your client’s product is great. What story does your client have to share that their audience will engage with?
Can you share a campaign or media moment you’re especially proud of—and why it stands out?
I had a client for nearly four years for whom we ran an annual consumer survey. We pitched this idea in year one, and it was so successful that we continued it multiple years later with consistently excellent results.
I led this campaign with the support of my team, handling everything from ideation to creating the survey questions, analyzing the results, writing the e-book and press release, pitching the results, and managing media inquiries. Each year, this resulted in great coverage for our client, not just in industry publications, but major national publications such as the LA Times, both print and digital, primetime evening news interviews with large syndicates, and even Forbes.
When first pitching this campaign to the client, I emphasized that a larger campaign like this can generate exposure and coverage for months and even years to come, and this proved to be the case. The Forbes placement is a prime example. We published the second annual survey in August 2022 and pitched it widely, resulting in coverage across various publications. Then, in October, nearly two and a half months later, a Forbes article came out citing data from the survey and linking back to the press release.
Which platforms or tactics have been most effective for growing your own brand visibility?
If I had to pick a platform that has been most effective for growing my brand visibility, I would have to say LinkedIn.
LinkedIn has been a great way to not only share my thoughts and expertise, but also engage with others in my industry and my clients’ industries. I tell my clients this all the time: LinkedIn (and all social media platforms) is not just about what you post – you also need to engage with others.
The tactic that has been the most effective for growing my brand visibility seems obvious. Still, it is simply taking the time to pitch my agency. Initially, the leads seemed to flow like wine, primarily coming from my extensive network, which I had built throughout my career. However, like all things, this eventually dries up, so it is crucial that I remain consistently on the lookout for new prospects and opportunities.
What role has mentorship played in your journey, and how do you pay it forward to others in the industry?
I wouldn’t be where I am today without the amazing mentors I have been lucky enough to learn from. I have had mentors that I have worked with in past agencies and companies, as well as through various professional groups.
Outside of my profession, I also have a great business mentor who has played a crucial role in helping me start my agency.
Because I see the tremendous value in mentorships, I am doing my best to pay it forward by being a mentor to others in my field. I currently sit on the board of directors as the Communications Chair for the Public Relations Society of America (PRSA) Greater Fort Lauderdale chapter. In this role, I have had the privilege not only of passing down my experience and learning to new professionals, but I have also had the opportunity to speak on multiple panels at South Florida universities to students looking to pursue a career in PR.
How do you handle high-pressure situations or crises, whether for a client or your own business?
High-pressure situations are part of public relations, whether you work in crisis communications or not.
When you run an agency working with multiple clients, no matter how big or small each client’s retainer is, to them, their PR needs are the highest priority. To ensure all clients receive the same attention and effort, I make it a point to give 100% of my attention to each client and their goals when working with them or during a call. Regardless of what you have going on with another client, if you are working on one client during that time period, that should be your focus and priority. Time management is one of the most valuable skills for mastering this prioritization.
There are also situations when a client (existing or new) comes to you and wants something announced or pitched “yesterday.” It is our job as communications pros to ask the right questions. “Why is it so important that this gets announced/pitched immediately?” “Is it tied to a specific event date?” “Is it important enough that you would rather take the time to strategize and do it right?”
What’s one piece of advice you’d give to women entering the PR or communications industry today?
Be confident and solution-oriented! Have women in the workforce come a long way since the days when they were primarily homemakers? Absolutely, but we still have a long way to go in terms of equality in the workforce. This means we still have to work even harder than our male counterparts to prove our value.
If you are not confident in yourself and your skills, how do you expect someone else to be? You need to enter every interaction with men, other females, clients, bosses, and coworkers with the confidence that you know what you are doing.
Additionally, one of the earliest mentors in my career taught me something that I constantly employ and pass on to this day. Be solution-oriented! Anyone can identify a problem or a potential problem. Those who will stand out are the ones who also bring possible solutions to the table. Instead of saying “This doesn’t work,” think about approaching it instead as “This doesn’t work, and here are three potential solutions we should explore to fix it.”
What are the 5 things you believe are essential to overcome self-doubt and build confidence in this field?
1 – Never stop learning. No matter how many degrees you have or how many years of experience you have, every industry is constantly changing. New technologies are being introduced, new generations are entering and leaving the workforce – all of this changes what works and what doesn’t. There is no shame in taking what seems to be an “entry-level” webinar or course, or taking advice from a younger professional. We all constantly have a lot to learn, and that’s what makes us great.
2 – Network network network! Not just within your industry, but network with others in adjacent or completely different industries. Besides learning from others, you might also find potential collaborations that will benefit you, your business, your clients, or all of the above!
3 – Regularly review your wins. Looking back at highly successful campaigns can help get you out of a funk on a bad day, but you don’t need to wait for a bad day to do this. I have found that reviewing my wins for the week before I log off for the weekend gives me great motivation going into the weekend. This benefit is two-fold. Not only does it set me up to be energized and excited to start the next week, come Monday, it also allows me to take much-needed time off over the weekend without feeling guilty about it.
4 – Share what you do. I can’t tell you how many times I have explained what I do to family and friends who are not at all familiar with public relations. Some people have no idea what it is, and others think it is nothing other than writing a press release. Take some time to show your family or friends exactly what it is you do for clients and blow their minds – talk about a confidence builder!
5 – Ask for client feedback. Sure, sometimes it will not always be positive feedback, but then you have an action item and something to work on. When you receive positive feedback, consider how you can do more of that and how you can also apply it to other clients.
Is there a quote, mantra, or philosophy that guides your decision-making and leadership as an entrepreneur?
What benefit will this have for my client or my business? Often, a client requests something because they’ve heard of a competitor doing something similar, or they think that’s what they need. However, it is our job as PR experts to guide them.
A prime example is the classic request of many clients: “Can we write a press release about this?” Not everything warrants a press release. In fact, most things don’t.
Ok, we are nearly done. You are a person of great influence. If you could inspire a movement that would bring the most amount of good for the greatest number of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger.
I’ve always been deeply passionate about animal welfare, but over the years, I’ve realized it’s not just about our pets—it’s about the entire ecosystem we share. Every species, from marine life to pollinators, plays a role in the health of our planet. Issues like overfishing or habitat destruction don’t just harm animals; they disrupt ecosystems that regulate our climate, clean our air, and sustain life.
If I could inspire a movement, it would be a global shift toward ‘Conscious Coexistence’—where individuals, businesses, and governments consistently pause to consider how their daily actions impact the larger web of life. It doesn’t require perfection, just awareness and small, better choices that, collectively, can have a massive ripple effect. Imagine if ‘How does this affect the planet?’ became as instinctive as ‘How does this affect me?’ That mindset could change everything.
How can our readers further follow your work online?
Readers can follow my work via my website, my LinkedIn page, and our Instagram account.
