Wednesday, August 11th, 2010
So, you’re studying PR in college? I did too. Well, I changed majors five times, but PR was somewhere in there, and that’s what I do on a daily basis now. Studying PR in college was great — I learned a lot about policies, practices and the press, and I use that knowledge on a regular basis for about 50 hours a week. However, the PR world is changing, and I’m afraid a lot of university programs aren’t changing with it. The danger of many PR faculty members is that they haven’t actually been in this evolving field for several years, because they left it so you could learn it.
As someone who has only been practicing public relations for threeish years in the real world, I thought I would share some tools and practices that I believe can help train a young PR mind for his career.
Resumes are becoming a formality. PR pros want experience, and they want evidence of it. What better way to showcase yourself and your talents than recording what you’ve learned and what you’ve done, all while showing off your talented writing and commitment? The commitment part comes in updating your blog. If you don’t update regularly, it’s not worth much. I actually clicked on a blog earlier this evening that I thought sounded interesting, but when I saw that it hadn’t been updated in four months, I didn’t read a single word. I don’t want to invest my time in someone who isn’t invested in sharing, and potential employers won’t either. So take your pick: tumblr, WordPress, posterous, typepad, blogspot, etc. The list is endless, and so are the possibilities. Find an interface that works for you and dedicate yourself to writing about what you’re doing in PR.
When I mentioned earlier that the world of public relations is shifting, social media is a huge reason behind that. While by no means does it replace traditional PR, it does change and enhance it. Twitter is especially powerful in this realm, and while it may have been initially invented to answer the question “What are you doing?”, it’s become “What do you know?”, “What can you share?” and, ultimately, “Who are you?” As a friend of mine says, however cheesy it may be, You are what you tweet. With that, your Twitter feed becomes a promotion and extension of yourself, and the lines are further blurred between a professional life and a private life. Don’t post anything on Twitter that you wouldn’t want as a newspaper headline where your mom, your preacher, a future employer or an eight-year-old could read it. And if you don’t have Twitter yet, you might as well give in now. You’ll need it. There are valuable people to listen to and learn from out there, too.
You’re preparing yourself for a big-boy or big-girl job now, so act somewhat like a grown up. I’m not saying lose a sense or humor or your personality, but don’t use your blog or Twitter as a place to constantly complain or just to tell us what you had for breakfast. Be sure you connect with people, contribute valuable information and promote others, then including an occasional tweet about the awesome concert you’re at or the cool trick your dog just did is fine. It’s all about balance. We want to know you, but we want you to be a valuable and positive experience for us, too.
Most companies recognize that marketing isn’t what it was 20 years ago. Many C-suite executives are relying on people your age to lead the way in internet marketing, and I’ve been surprised with how many people I’ve dealt with that are open to trying something new. Whether it’s because they understand it or because they realize they don’t understand it, managers are interested in new and better ideas. Come up with a few, lead the way in executing them and be confident in your abilities.
If you’ve tried something that works, don’t be afraid to brag about it a little bit. Let potential employers and managers know that you tried something that worked. I have a hard time with this one. I’ve never felt like I should brag about or receive praise for doing my job, but if you don’t push for a little recognition when your work is online where they may not see it, you risk being forgotten, and not being visible with measurable results is a scary place to be.
It’s much easier to hire someone you have a history with than sift through hundreds of resumes and try to choose the right person from a piece of paper. The more people you know, the more connections you have, and the more chances you have of knowing someone who knows someone who is hiring for you dream entry-level job. Of course, social media is a great way to do that, but so is being active in your community. You may also want to considering joining your local PRSSA.
Don’t let me do all the talking: Is there anything you would add to this list for striving PR pros? If you are still in school, what are you learning that you think will be valuable in today’s PR world?
Tags: career advice, how to find a pr job, public relations, public relations advice, public relations major, student advice
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Monday, August 9th, 2010
This quote by Rosalyn Carter is one to write on a blog, on Twitter, on my hand, my refrigerator, on a billboard in my front yard, and, well, you get the idea. And if you don’t, that idea being that success, in whatever realm, takes confidence, but not only confidence, it takes work. Lots of it.
So, despite the power going out this morning, which led to my oversleeping, despite the distraction of the much-anticipated Arcade Fire show tonight, despite the fact that I can’t get this needy cat off my keyboard, there’s no substitute for hard work. Here’s to a Diet Mtn. Dew and some effort to get me through a busy week.
Do you have a routine or a beneficial way to start off your work week?
Tags: cat, monday, motivation, office, public relations, quote, work ethic
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Wednesday, 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. [Cue 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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Tuesday, 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 »