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A whirlwind of thoughtsMy First Published Editorial
I am extremely excited to share with all of you one of my biggest accomplishments thus far, my published editorial for Tampa Bay Parenting Magazine’s May 2011 issue. The link for the issue is: HEREand click through until page 10.
My blog post from Intern Queen: How to Improve Your Resume Outside of Internships
Find yourself ripping your hair out as you scramble to find accreditations for your resume? Find yourself having zero time to dedicate to an internship? Well, don’t fret because you are not the only one! There are other ways to beef up that resume before you go and send it to your dream employers! Read my Blog Post from Intern Queen to find out how.
On the Record: Importance of audio and video in Public Relations
“Thank you for joining us today, what do you feel about the use of audio tactics such as podcasts in the field of PR?”
The means of communication is quickly evolving. Between the growth of social media and the transformation of technology, public relations have infused the old practices of PR with the new tools resulting in new methods.
One method practitioners are using today is known as a “podcasts.” Some people may listen to podcasts in order to keep up with current events or listen to their favorite comedian, but it is just as beneficial for people interested in public relations. A blog called Inside PR, started by three podcasters has the written transcripts of their episodes, and a post that shares why they find PR podcasts beneficial,
“But what’ s even better about podcasts is that I can find content that focuses on my interests. And my interests are much narrower than the general public’ s interests. This isn’t broadcasting. It’s content for me and my community.”
I totally agree with their opinion on podcasts. I think the best part about podcasts is that a person can subscribe to hear information that they are interested in and caters to them, and can listen to these not only in the car, but also while working out or on a subway. Unlike most methods of delivering information to the publics, podcasts allow people to receive the information when they want, where they want and the way they want.
In a Podcast by Eric Schwartzman he explains that podcasts get clients noticed via search engines.
Another method PR practitioner’s use that is a little more old school is video footage. The advantage of shooting film, as Schwartzman state is one can always use the audio, but will also have the video is they so choose. Action strategy’s website said it best, “If a picture is worth 1000 words, good video and audio clippings to media has to be worth at least 100,000!”
Do Yourself a Favor, Network.
Last week, I participated in the #u30Pro Twitter chat. This is a chat filled with professionals under the age of thirty. A lot of these individuals are savvy social media gurus mixed with a side of public relations and various communications personalities. The hot topic of the night was, drumroll please.. Networking! The big topics that were discussed were the “Do’s and Don’ts,” of networking events and the “How-to’s.” I received a lot of insight and opinions on the subject.
It seems the most important aspect of networking is the drive behind it. If an individual is not comfortable with putting him or herself out there, then more than likely a networking event is not going to be beneficial for them. Luckily for the shy guys, there are ways to ease the anxiety ahead of time:
- Network online. See who will be attending this event; break the ice online before you have to meet in person.
- Bring a friend with you. I do not suggest this, because the point of networking is to meet new people, but this may help you relax.
- Practice. As corny as this sounds, practice what you want to say. Go over conversation staters, so when it comes times for the real deal, you are ready!
Easier said than done, right? Some of you may be willing to break out of your shell and network, but don’t truly understand the benefits of this act. A blog called the Made Manual highlighted the Top 10 benefits of networking. A few of my favorite perks that were mentioned are: Being active,skills, reputation and support. These are just a couple of benefits that could send one up the career ladder thanks to the power of networking.
To all the social Sallies out there, remember to keep in mind, networking is a two way street. You need to give to get and vice versa. Do not swamp the conversation with your ego, check it at the door. Engage with your new contact and find out about them! Maybe you have a mutual contact, or the same interests. You want a genuine relationship so you can each use each other in the future. London HR Connection wrote a good post about the networking relationships one can make internally and externally not only for an individual, but for an organization.
So aside from all of the benefits that come from networking, why is this important to a person in PR? One word: Relationship. Most people will say contacts, but to me this just means this person is someone you met once and have not kept in touch with since. Networking needs to be more than that in order to be useful for a PR professional. These relationships can be lifesavers in the future. For example: Say you meet the head of a local publication. Years down the road if you stayed in contact and transformed that business card into a professional relationship, you could call on this person to help you publish your client’s news, while everyone else’s pitches go into the garbage.
If Baz Luhrmann wrote his hit, “Everybody’s Free” (To Wear Sunscreen) today, I think he offer his one tip that everyone should network! The ways of the world are changing, and with that you must too. So, Network, use Twitter and look up events in your city online. It is never too soon to get yourself out there! If you don’t, someone else will.
PR Practioners: Get Your Heads Out of the Pitch.. Personalize.
As a student studying PR, I am constantly studying the newest sources and mediums that are being used by PR practitioners to reach their publics. Low and behold, social media is continually shooting to the top of the list of contenders.
When researching how people in PR should “Pitch” to influential bloggers, the tip that seemed most prominent amongst bloggers themselves is: Don’t pitch, Personalize. As stated in an article I found while researching, it was one of the key tips I found for pitching to bloggers.
For people who are not sure exactly what is meant by “Personalize,” Wikipedia has the most socially current definition.
“Personalization involves using technology to accommodate the difference between individuals.”
What this means people of PR: Do not send bloggers template pitch messages. As a person looking to start a career in PR and currently a blogger, it is understandable that a blogger would not want to receive hundreds of pitches from PR professionals that do not care enough about the blogger to at least include their name let alone show that they are interested in the blog itself.
This sets me up for the next topic tip, when you are ready to sit down and personalize a message instead of spamming up an innocent bloggers inbox with pitches, do some research! I found when reading about pitching to bloggers that research, although grueling and time-consuming, will be beneficial for a number of reasons.
- Quality over Quantity: Research will help you target bloggers that are related to your rhyme of reason. You want to send fewer messages to bloggers that will actually be able to use your pitch, than to a lot of bloggers who find your message meaningless.
- Eye Catching vs. Garbage Fetching: Research and find your niche that will fit the bloggers niche. Get creative with your message. Find things in common and show that you are a dedicated subscriber to his or her blog. In a sea of pitches, make sure yours is the “whale” of them all!
- Relate Don’t Delegate: When you research, you will notice the style of the blogger. You may stumble upon an idea on how to converge your pitch with their blog. Do not tell the blogger what their readers would be interested in reading. Let them decide themselves after your message if they are able to make the connection between the both of you and their readers.
Ideally, create a relationship with the blogger. As said in The Bad Pitch Blog, a bad pitch has a real bad impact. Their mission is to shed light on the mistakes of the PR pitches around the world. The reason they made this their mission and the reason I am sitting here now flooding your mind with my two-cents is primarily to save PR.
“Because coverage, reputation and ultimately business is at stake.“
Hottienumbr1: Sent you an e-mail
Lets get straight down to the number one rule for writing a professional e-mail: Make a professional e-mail name! Do NOT send e-mails using your first e-mail address from highschool that is more than likely inappropriate for the business world. Your boss does not want you to receive an important e-mail from a persona of “Hottiegrl2000.” We all are guilty of having these e-mail addresses and an article that further went into this subject was written by Lauren Berger, the Intern Queen. She suggests to switch your email to your name or initials.
My next few tips for you came from emailreplies.com and 43folders.com. These websites had etiquette rules for writing e-mails. One tip that I think is really important is making a subject headline. I personally try to keep these around 5 words long summing up the reason for my e-mail. If I have a lot of e-mails I usually quickly scan the subject list to rank the importance. If an e-mail does not have a subject or has a story book for one, I usually put those last!
The reason for that leads me to my next tip: Short and Sweet! If you are writing me an e-mail that really only needs to be a few sentences, but for some reason you want to add in sugar-coating words and meaningless stories, you are wasting my time and yours. If you do this in a professional world, I can almost guarantee the person receiving this e-mail will not be pleased. Everyone likes concise messages. You don’t want your point of the e-mail to get lost in a story.
And now last, but certainly NOT least: READ OVER YOUR E-MAILS BEFORE YOU SEND THEM! I can not capitalize,bold or italicize this enough. Ever since we have all been in school our teachers taught us to read over our work before turning it in. At what age do we through that rule out of the book? If you are in such a hurry to send the e-mail without reading it over, there is a good chance your rush resulted in spelling and punctuation errors. Even worse than composition mistakes, you maybe typing your e-mail so fast that it may not even make sense! So unless you want to look like a fool to your employers, clients and staff do yourself a favor and take the few minutes to read over your work!
via offthemarkcartoons.com
To blog or not to blog? That is the million dollar question for PR practitioners.
Photo via Kaushik.net
A public relations practitioner may stop and ask themselves, “Why should I blog and what is the point?
Well, aside from the ENORMOUS craze currently going on over social media, there are lucrative benefits for businesses to also participate.In a blog post I read written by the good the bad the and spin, it stated three reasons why it is smart for people with a career in PR start up a blog. The reasons are:
1. Blogs publish information in real time-Blogs offer a mechanism to respond quickly and affirmatively.
2. Blogs place information on public record- Blogs are one place to put information with a personal touch, rather than sending out a blast news release. Blogs, similar to direct email, are a tactic to target certain publics.
3. Blogs are cost effective- If used correctly, blogs can equate with the search engine ranking power of mass media outlets.
I think these are convincingly concrete answers for why people in the field of PR should blog. It cuts out the people in-between that filters and alters the information a PR practitioner wants to make available to the public. An article online written by James L. Horton best summed up the advantages of blogs in PR by saying, “Think of a blog as a low-cost and fast publishing tool that can provide an important dimension to an individual and/or organization in terms of getting news out quickly.”
Other than playing the role of a vehicle for fast and free publishing, it allows PR professionals to bring into play their most important factor, and that is the human factor. Mashable.com posted a blog entry about the emphasis of relationships between PR professionals and bloggers. The article focused that despite the changing medium for press releases, by directly reaching out to key media and influencers with whom we maintain relationships, we’re able to ensure their timely awareness of the news.
I feel that in the business it is extremely important to keep up with technology and communication trends because if you are not, someone else is. If a PR practitioner is not taking the time to promote their clients and tie them with their publics, then they are not doing their jobs. Blogs allow for this exact interaction to happen!
Now remember, if a person in PR is blogging it does need to be professional and beneficial to their career. Frequently people use blogs as personal journals, and I think PR professionals need to keep in mind that they represent other people and not themselves.
♥ ♥ Cat Pylant ♥ ♥ 