When compiling our list of “shout-out worthy” women-owned PR firms, we had a few specific criteria in mind: These firms had to be doing great work in the social media arena for clients; they had to be doing the same on behalf of their own agencies; and, they had to possess “je ne sais quoi”, that special something that made them stand out. Numbers are only part of the equation; being top in sales doesn’t necessarily mean that you’re being a great social citizen. Some of the highest-grossing revenue firms we researched didn’t even feature their social media presence on their website, and that didn’t fit the goal here. We wanted to showcase agencies that are not only owned, led and staffed by women, but agencies that took their “social selves” seriously. The companies listed here are terrific examples of how public relations can excel in an environment of engagement, community and sharing.

2. Women on Top:
10 Socially Stellar PR Agencies Owned by
Women
When we looked around for the hottest women-owned firms, we had a few specific ideas in mind:
These firms had to be doing great work in the social media arena for clients.
They had to be doing a good job with their own companies’ social media.
They had to possess je ne sais quoi, that special something that made them stand out.
Numbers truly are only part of the equation. Being top in sales doesn’t necessarily mean that
you’re being a great social citizen. Some of the highest-grossing revenue firms we researched
didn’t even list their social media on their site at all and that didn’t fit the goal here.
We wanted to feature women who not only lead top PR firms, but who also lead them using
the guiding social values of engagement, community, and sharing. We hope these shining
examples will serve to inspire you to up your game!

3. 1. Kim Julin Guyader and Jamie Lynn Sigler
J Public Relations
www.jpublicrelations.com
With a tagline of “Don’t Let the Pink
Fool You,” J Public Relations is owning
the girl power. Their team page features
an all-women staff, including founding
partners Kim Julin Guyader and Jamie
Lynn Sigler. They have offices in NYC
and San Diego and are an award-
winning firm specializing in luxury
lifestyle and travel PR. Clients include
W Hotels, Hard Rock Hotels, Hilton
Hotels, and the hot spot magnates, the
Gerber Group, among many others.
Their site is all about social interaction.
Their 11K Twitter followers plus a
multi-platform social media outreach
demonstrate their engagement. With
photos on Flickr and a social media
conversation swirling around them, we
definitely aren’t letting the pink fool
us. These ladies have it figured out and
are walking the walk.
Women on Top: 10 Socially Stellar PR Agencies Owned by Women

4. 2. Grace Leong
Hunter Public Relations
www.hunterpr.com
A quintessential Madison Avenue firm
specializing in consumer products PR,
Hunter is owned by a group of
partners, many of whom are female.
Listed by O’Dwyer’s as one of the top
25 highest grossing revenue firms, they
have also been recognized as “Best
Digital PR firm” in 2010 by PR News
and as being a “Best Place to Work.”
One glance at their site and you see
social everywhere. The pictures they
share are of smiling faces doing crazy
and interesting things. They have a
presence in multiple platforms and
those social streams are engaged, fun,
and conversational. Their blog is
written by practically everyone in their
firm. Full of character and colorful
pictures, it tells the story of a company
that is all about being social.
Women on Top: 10 Socially Stellar PR Agencies Owned by Women

5. 3. Margaret Dunning
Widmeyer Communications
www.widmeyer.com
With Margaret Dunning as a principle,
Widmeyer stands as a traditional firm
adapting to social media. Focusing on
educational, health and wellness,
association, and public affairs PR,
Widmeyer looks a bit new to the
social media game, but deserves a
thumbs up for how they are doing it.
Of note is the management team’s
dedication to social media processes.
In staff profiles, they lead with
autobiographical blurbs and photos.
Every member of the team is on social
and links to connect with them are
easy to find on each of their profile
feature pages. Everyone is in the game
and they are all showing up,
demonstrating admirable leadership
and management buy-in to the social
media attitude. Kudos!
Women on Top: 10 Socially Stellar PR Agencies Owned by Women

6. 4. Jennifer Prosek
CJP Communications
www.cjpcom.com
Jennifer Prosek is the founder and CEO of
CJP, where she leads many of the firm’s
key accounts. Under her leadership, the
firm has become a leading international
public relations and financial
communications consultancy with offices
in New York, Connecticut and London.
CJP doesn’t yet have huge social
numbers. But numbers don’t tell the
only story. The noteworthy theme
when it comes to social here is that of
being real and human. Under
Jennifer’s profile picture (a shot of her
drinking coffee in a casual blouse) is a
Q&A icon. Click on it for a revealing
interview about her likes and dislikes
(her favorite food is octopus). We’d
like to have coffee with Jennifer and
that online-to-real-world leap is a big
part what social is all about.
Women on Top: 10 Socially Stellar PR Agencies Owned by Women

7. 5. Liz Kaplow
Kaplow Communications
www.kaplowpr.com
Liz Kaplow founded the firm in 1991 after
a career in beauty, fashion, consumer
health and lifestyle PR. As one of the more
successful mid-level firms, Kaplow enjoys
clients such as Avon, eBay, LeapFrog,
Shiseido, Target, Timex, and others.
With a decent showing on Twitter
(~3,000) and across other platforms,
Kaplow has done a great job on
YouTube, showing 40,000+ views. The
videos are behind-the-scenes shots of
clients. They even serve up a video of
their company in a Twitter training
class. Combine the multi-platform
approach with their personalized
approach on the website, and we
believe their overall social numbers
are bound to rise. We’ll be keeping an
eye on their progress, as should you.
Women on Top: 10 Socially Stellar PR Agencies Owned by Women

8. 6. Melissa Waggener Zorkin and Pam Edstrom
Waggener Edstrom Worldwide
www.waggeneredstrom.com
The firm has grown from a two-person
agency in 1983, with Melissa Waggener
Zorkin and co-founder Pam Edstrom, into
the world’s 2nd-largest independent
communications company with over 800
employees. With a strong contingent of
female management members, Waggener
Edstrom is working it for the ladies.
You can’t help but laugh when you
read the social media streams here.
What do an intern scavenger hunt,
gimlets, and a giraffe in the office have
in common? They all live on the
agency’s Facebook and Twitter
streams. With strong numbers on their
social media profiles, and a fun
approach to engaging, this agency is
living the social media values of being
real, relevant, and sharable.
Women on Top: 10 Socially Stellar PR Agencies Owned by Women

9. 7. Donna Sokolsky Burke
Sparkpr
www.sparkpr.com
Sparkpr was cofounded by Donna
Sokolsky Burke in 1999 and has grown
from a small startup into a leading
global technology communications
agency. Women are well represented in
their management team, as well.
One of the more interesting elements of
the Sparkpr site is its commitment to
actually engaging you via social media.
On one page you see their Facebook
badge, giving you the opportunity to
like their fanpage. On another, you see
their Twitter stream. On others, there
are obvious share buttons, and on yet
other web pages, videos are streamed.
This multi-faceted presentation and
commitment to a multi-platform
presence on social demonstrates the
firm’s willingness to be adaptive and
responsive. Those traits rank high in the
social media ecosystem.
Women on Top: 10 Socially Stellar PR Agencies Owned by Women

10. 8. Tina Elmowitz, Christine M. Barney, and Lisa K. Ross
rbb Public Relations
www.rbbpr.com
Led by three powerful female partners
– Tina Elmowitz, Christine M. Barney,
and Lisa K. Ross – rbb is a three-time
“PR Agency of the Year” award winner.
Focusing on consumer, B2B, and
Travel & Leisure, it’s a great example
of a firm that’s fully engaged in social
media. Via a multi-author blog, a rich
social media presence, and a dynamic
site, it’s clear that rbb is living social.
For example, rbb’s site spotlights its
Casa RBB office makeover, in which
staff renovated the space to suit the
group’s personality. These same
internal advocates have voted the firm
a “great place to work.” Your
employees are among the best brand
advocates you can have, and rbb
recognizes that social starts at home.
Women on Top: 10 Socially Stellar PR Agencies Owned by Women

11. 9. Lisa Simon
Simon PR
www.simonpr.com
Founded by Lisa Simon in 1990 and
partnered with WorldCom, the firm
has won numerous awards over their
20 year history. Most recently, Simon
was inducted into the Philadelphia
Public Relations Association Hall of
Fame. They are also present in social
across multiple platforms.
The firm’s values are imbued
throughout their social and digital
presence. Led by the principle of “Do
it right,” much of what they feature on
their site and social media presence is
community service. When they list
their capabilities, they also provide an
extensive list of specific tactics they
use. This openness is a very social
behavior and, combined with their
value focus, makes them a great
addition to this collection of top
women-owned PR firms.
Women on Top: 10 Socially Stellar PR Agencies Owned by Women

12. 10. Margaret Booth
M Booth
www.mbooth.com
Founded in 1984 and acquired as a
wholly owned subsidiary in 2009 by
Next Fifteen Communications Group,
the firm was named the 2009 Creative
Agency of the Year, and has been
counted among the 10 best places to
work in PR. Founder, president and
CEO Margaret Booth knows how to be
social. Under her leadership, the
agency’s client roster has grown to
include American Express, Unilever,
Hershey’s, Michelin and others.
M Booth is another example of how to
present your brand socially. When you
visit its “About Us” page, the first tab
is labeled, “Our Soul.” With casual
photos of staff and management, the
company’s authenticity shines
through. Authenticity is key in being
successful in social media and M
Booth makes you believe.
Women on Top: 10 Socially Stellar PR Agencies Owned by Women

13. Women on Top:
10 Socially Stellar PR Agencies Owned by
Women
In PR, communications and marketing, it’s easy to fall into the trap of
believing your own announcements or messages. The women-owned PR
firms featured here demonstrate the values of social media in very notable
ways through fun engagement, casual conversation, transparent
authenticity, and an intentional focus on their communities, both internal
and external.
There are more women-owned and led firms out there that deserve
attention. There is no way we could feature them all, so please share your
favorites with us. And when it comes to women rocking the PR social
media world with style, grace, and competence, don’t let the pink fool
you!

14. Women on Top:
10 Socially Stellar PR Agencies Owned by
Women
Next on “The Pulse”:
"Top 10 Picks for a Social Media Comeback Award”
We’ll feature top brands and companies that took a bad situation and made
it better by making great choices in how they interacted with their
audiences on social media.
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