July 28th, 2010
I’ve been in a funk all day. My day started late because I wasn’t feeling well, then I checked my e-mail and realized a mistake I had made, and it completely impacted the rest of my day.
Rather, I let it impact the rest of my day.
This wasn’t one of those things that we as marketers deal with where the client just doesn’t understand what we’re trying to do. This was me. All me. I just messed up. And I sent it to a person whose opinion I value and whose respect I want to have, and she was the one who saw me at what is to date — professionally, at least — my worst. It wasn’t that bad of a mistake. I didn’t send it to dozens of media. I was just embarrassed at myself and froze.
I hated it. I fixed the problems quickly, but I was upset about it, knowing she was right, and became almost too frustrated with myself to move forward with my day. It’s 2 p.m., and I’m just now convincing myself to get. over. it. That’s it. Mistakes happen. Do what it takes to move past them. Now I have made a list of all the things I need to accomplish for the rest of my day and convinced myself I couldn’t move forward in the list until I moved forward with this. I finally proofed the releases for what had to be the eleventy billionth time and hit send. Finally, hoping this one isn’t screwed up. [Que sigh of relief]
Now, I’m resolved to keep going. Progress. Tiny steps. Me? Personally, I do that by blasting Thao Nguyen for a couple of minutes while multitasking between dancing in front of the window and making a sandwich. Now I’m zoning in on finishing my shiny, hand-written to-do list as I begin Season 4 of Scrubs and pretending like I’m here:
What about you? How do you overcome messing up at work and keep it from derailing your day or getting into a funk? I’m sure Jonathan would appreciate suggestions that don’t include me singing or dancing in his presence.
Tags: embarrassed, mistakes, motivation, public relations, work
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July 6th, 2010
As the world of public relations continuously evolves and adapts to changes in technology and trends, an up-t0-date PR pro has to adapt to the world of social media.
I’m a pretty firm believer that there is no such thing as an “expert” in social media at this point, though. Every time we think we have a process figured out, social media changes. You master Facebook, then comes Twitter. You learn Twitter, then comes YouTube and Flickr and Foursquare and all of Google’s so-far-failed attempts to join the social media world. Marketing, instant media and location-based services will continue to evolve, and to stay relevant, we must evolve with them.
So, while I am by no means an expert in these tools yet, I have figured out a few things that irk me while using Twitter — which is, to me, the most powerful social media source, especially in the PR and marketing fields.
If you have a blog, by all means, promote it. I love when people provide original content rather than re-tweeting everyone else’s links. If you have a message, let us hear it. But contribute to us, too. If your profile is full of how you can help me save money with your program and has no advice, articles or tools to help me do so without your program, I’m not interested. I’m much more likely to tune into your message when you don’t make it all about you. There should be a balance of your content, links, retweets and conversation.
If I get a direct message from you immediately after I follow you, we’re done. I don’t care about your “Thanks for following. Check out my website!” tweet. It tells me that you use an automated program rather than your own time and voice. Twitter is about conversation, not broadcast.
There is a certain Twitter stream that I follow called Social Media Today. The people behind it offer great information to teach you about social media and marketing and how to integrate the two. They really do have some fantastic content. But I rarely see it. Once a day, they go on a tweet spree, posting six articles at one time, then they don’t post again all day. I’m much more likely to actually pay attention to their content if the six tweets are posted sporadically throughout the day. C’mon, guys, Hootsuite is free and can take care of that problem.
You have a Facebook account, a Twitter account and other social media accounts like LinkedIn, Foursquare, Gowalla, etc., for a reason: They all have different primary functions. I don’t post my Facebook photos on Twitter. I don’t want to succumb my Facebook friends to my tweets on PR and social media. My audiences are different, and so is my content. Yours is too. Don’t connect your Twitter feed with your Facebook feed, your RSS feed or an automated news wire. Be human.
This is probably the biggest one for me. Having followers is important. Your voice isn’t worth much if no one is listening to it. But, when someone follows me that seems to have little to do with any of my interests and follows twice as many people than are following them, I usually ignore them. More times than not, they unfollow me just a few days later, meaning they were just seeking followers. Focus on your voice, and people will listen.
Sure, if you go on a mass following spree of people that promise to follow you back (There’s actually a twitter account whose “name” is I WILL FOLLOW BACK), you’ll get followers. But to me, that’s the equivalent of advertising a life insurance policy on the Disney Channel. You’re not reaching your audience, and your followers are essentially worthless. Building quality followers is like building a brand: It takes time. Investing in a social media plan isn’t something that happens in a couple of weeks. It takes time and constantly evolves.
My tweeting ideals are demanding, I know. It’s just my opinion, and you’ll find plenty who disagree with just as valid of an argument. If you haven’t already, go ahead and get started. Don’t worry about the “rules;” just give it a shot, experiment and learn it. Don’t wait around for a social medial formula for success because it’s not out there yet. If you wait around for someone to figure it out, it won’t be you at the front of the game. And when you get there, give me a shout @caley!
What about you? Do you give a hearty “Amen!” to these points, or do you disagree?
Tags: public relations, social media, twitter
Posted in Public Relations, social media | 4 Comments »
July 3rd, 2010
Last week, I did a fun shoot of John Riley, Audrey Kate and Sanders. Remember those days we had in the South recently with humidity that was so intense that when you walked outside, your lenses would fog up? OK, so maybe not everyone had that problem, but I sure did. We did a few outdoor shots, but the oh-so-hot June weather here was just a bit intense. These were some indoor shots that we did of these three happy kids. Thanks for letting me be a part of the fun, Sullivan family!
Tags: children, children photography, gadsden al, henderson tn, kids, kids photography, photographer, photography, photos
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June 26th, 2010
After last week’s lost shoot of sweet Lucy, I transferred the Sullivan’s family photos to my computer as soon as the shoot was over. We had a family reunion today after the shoot, so I haven’t had the time to really start editing, but this is one of my favorites from just scanning through. This shows how sweet and happy these children are — even in 95-degree heat and 100 percent humidity!
Tags: baby, children, family
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June 21st, 2010
On Thursday, I had a blast shooting Lucy’s six-month photos. She’s the happiest baby and laughed the whole time. Due to a faulty memory card, though, I lost every photo except this ONE. That’s right, out of 800+ pictures, this is all I have. Lexar claims they’ll be able to get the photos off of it (something four different cameras and three different computers couldn’t do. It even crashed one computer). I should have them in six to eight weeks. For your sake and the sake of my keyboard, I won’t say anything else other than I’m extremely frustrated with Lexar right now.
So, for the next six to eight weeks, imagine a beautiful, happy face on this sweet baby. Maybe she’ll have her six-month pictures before she’s eight months old. 
Tags: baby, six-month
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June 12th, 2010
Since April 20, and especially over the last few weeks as the drama from the oil spill has escalated, I have heard several people talking about boycotting BP. I haven’t bought BP gasoline since the oil spill, either. With that, I’ve also heard several people pointing out that boycotting BP hurts small business owners more than BP itself. This, too, is true.
The unfortunate truth is that most BP gas stations are owned by a local businessman, and over half of individuals that own gas stations only own one, making it their primary — if not only — source of income. Because they use BP gasoline, though, they only take a few cents for every gallon sold. Those local businessmen rely on the sales from inside the store — the candy, cokes, coffee, bottled waters and those late-night runs for a gallon of milk — much more than they do the gasoline.
I’m more than happy to support those local businessmen. But I refuse to support BP. Their handling of this situation has been unacceptable in every way, in my opinion, whether I’m speaking professionally from a PR standpoint or ethically as a person who just generally cares about the environment and all the damage being done to it. I’ll still buy anything from inside the stores. I may even intentionally go to BP stations for that just to support the innocent individuals affected by the oil spill merely through association. But I will not buy their gasoline.
I think what ultimately frustrates me are Tony Hayward’s quotes: “No one wants this thing over more than I do; I’d like my life back” and “There’s other places besides Louisiana to get shrimp.” Believe it or not, Mr. BP CEO, there are people hurting here worse than you.
I don’t claim to be an economical expert in any way, so I openly admit there’s a good chance I could be way off in this assessment. From the limited knowledge and little research I’ve done, this is the opinion I’ve developed. I’d love to hear your thoughts, especially if I’m wrong.
By the way, if you’re not following @BPGlobalPR on Twitter, you should. A comical way to relieve frustration at the situation while supporting a healthy Gulf Coast and making fun of BP’s C-suites.
Tags: bp, bp pr, gulf coast, oil spill, pr
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June 2nd, 2010
Had to take the new site live a little early. It’s not finished yet (obviously). In the meantime, check out my tumblr blog instead or get in touch if you’re looking for pricing or photography information at ckn@caleykingnewberry.com. Thanks!
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June 1st, 2010
I loved Asheville.
Tags: asheville, landscape, mountains
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May 12th, 2010
In my first shot at real estate photography, I was asked to shoot a 20,000± square-foot home in Eclectic, Ala. Completed in 2003, this home has five bedrooms spread over four floors with intricate attention to detail with attention to everything from lighting rods to fire hazards to a geo-thermal heating a cooling system. Also appealing to the eye, the home displayed plenty of natural lighting, 14-foot ceilings and top-of-the-line amenities. Combining that with the 850± acres of ponds, hills and forestry it sits on, it truly is a beautiful plantation home. Here’s a few shots.
For more photos, visit J. P. King’s website. The direct link is here.
Tags: j. p. king auction, real estate photography, stanley plantation
Posted in photography | 1 Comment »
April 7th, 2010
I was fortunate enough to be asked to shoot Emily Kathryn’s senior photos. As you can see, she’s a beautiful model to work with, and she’s a lot of fun, too. Emily graduated last month and plans to attend Jackson State here in town before going to the University of Tennessee. Good luck, Emily!
Tags: photography, portraits, senior portraits, seniors
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