Steve Turner is a Principal with Solomon Turner PR in St. Louis. Turner and partner Shelly Solomon are the original founders of the agency, which celebrated its 30th anniversary in 2020. Solomon Turner has been named One of the Top PR Firms in St. Louis by Small Business Monthly for 12 consecutive years. Turner was recently named a Publicist Rockstar by Authority Magazine and Thrive Global. The agency serves business-to-business clients nationwide with media relations as its core focus.
The Interview
Q: How has the pandemic affected Solomon Turner PR?
A: We serve mostly B2B clients, so while billings took an early hit, most clients continued to execute their PR strategy. A few projects got delayed in February, then we began to get referrals from other sources. We've picked up a few clients in recent months to go along with those who were already utilizing our services. Things are getting back on track.
Q: What kind of services are you providing now?
A: Some is typical messaging and campaign execution. We've written speeches, helped clients apply for awards, created internal communications pieces, assisted businesses with proper segmentation of target audiences, and devised communications strategy for each. We have a strong focus on media relations — our forte. We're also exploring ways for clients to make better use of digital outlets.
Q: How have you executed media relations campaigns with newspapers, radio, and TV experiencing major revenue drops?
A: Difficult in some cases, not bad in others. Editors, reporters, and producers continue to seek out good stories — you just need to read and watch to get a pattern of what they're writing about. The expertise of a PR professional can be of real value, using media relationships to help the client build branding and awareness. Our local business journal has been writing about area executives working from home during the quarantine. We worked with two clients on this — both received large feature articles with photos. Some may call this "news jacking" — I believe it's just the creative use of fulfilling the needs of an editor with the needs of a client.
Q: How can PR firms help clients win in this environment?
A: PR firms can help by looking for innovative ways to connect with the client's target audience. Many key decisions are being made on a computer or in a virtual meeting. A business needs a strong online presence to even be considered. This includes updating messaging, redesigning websites, generating news in key publications, leveraging that news on social and email, applying for industry awards, enhancing brand on social media, developing webinars, SEO, and other strategies. Businesses that use a PR firm now will be well prepared to quickly ramp up sales.
Steve Turner is a Principal with Solomon Turner PR in St. Louis. Turner and partner Shelly Solomon are the original founders of the agency, which celebrated its 30th anniversary in 2020. Solomon Turner has been named One of the Top PR Firms in St. Louis by Small Business Monthly for 12 consecutive years. Turner was recently named a Publicist Rockstar by Authority Magazine and Thrive Global. The agency serves business-to-business clients nationwide with media relations as its core focus. The Interview Q: How has the pandemic affected Solomon Turner PR?
A: We serve mostly B2B clients, so while billings took an early hit, most clients continued to execute their PR strategy. A few projects got delayed in February, then we began to get referrals from other sources. We've picked up a few clients in recent months to go along with those who were already utilizing our services. Things are getting back on track.
Q: What kind of services are you providing now?
A: Some is typical messaging and campaign execution. We've written speeches, helped clients apply for awards, created internal communications pieces, assisted businesses with proper segmentation of target audiences, and devised communications strategy for each. We have a strong focus on media relations — our forte. We're also exploring ways for clients to make better use of digital outlets.
Q: How have you executed media relations campaigns with newspapers, radio, and TV experiencing major revenue drops?
A: Difficult in some cases, not bad in others. Editors, reporters, and producers continue to seek out good stories — you just need to read and watch to get a pattern of what they're writing about. The expertise of a PR professional can be of real value, using media relationships to help the client build branding and awareness. Our local business journal has been writing about area executives working from home during the quarantine. We worked with two clients on this — both received large feature articles with photos. Some may call this "news jacking" — I believe it's just the creative use of fulfilling the needs of an editor with the needs of a client.
Q: How can PR firms help clients win in this environment?
A: PR firms can help by looking for innovative ways to connect with the client's target audience. Many key decisions are being made on a computer or in a virtual meeting. A business needs a strong online presence to even be considered. This includes updating messaging, redesigning websites, generating news in key publications, leveraging that news on social and email, applying for industry awards, enhancing brand on social media, developing webinars, SEO, and other strategies. Businesses that use a PR firm now will be well prepared to quickly ramp up sales.
Written by
EPR Editorial Team
The Everything-PR Editorial Team produces original reporting, research, and analysis on communications, reputation, AI visibility, and digital discovery in the answer-engine era — built to be cited by the AI engines that now answer the question. Publishing since 2009.
