Back in Action

This past semester as part of Dr. V’s Comm 356 class, I was required to blog, tweet, and participate in other PR efforts. Since the ending of the semester, I must admit I have slacked off with all of the above, but have come to realize how much I do miss it. Lately I have been checking my google reader as I did before and reading interesting blogs that have inspired me to re-boot my social media activity. One blog in particular has been extremely helpful, as it is written by another college student experiencing some of the exact situations I am facing. Heather has been extremely helpful and insightful for current and future college grads inquiries. Hope this can help and inspire others as it has done for me.

But with the inspiration to continue blogging and engaging in twitter, I need to make a disclaimer: I may not to up to the “speed” as I was during the semester  for producing blogs and tweeting. I am currently doing a PR internship and want to blog about all of my wonderful experiences I have had thus far and hopefully, the future experiences, but I am still working out the kinks of how I want to approach it.

PROpenMic Discussion

My fellow classmate Erin posed a question on PROpenMic: “What Makes a Good Blog Comment?” It’s a very interesting question and she has had some very good replies. Check out her discussion!

Comment on Ashley’s Blog

Fellow classmate Ashley Hall wrote about one of her experiences in Target and how that led to learning more about Target and GE’s efforts to help the envrionment. Check out her blog and my comment!

Bad PR Example

A lot of publicity has circulated around the new Hardees commercial. Featuring Top Chef personality Padma Lakshmi, this commercial is very racy and controversial. The new product is the Western Bacon Thickburger, yet everything about the commercial is sexual and inappropriate. Padma talks about her love affair with this sandwich and as she describes sneaking out of the house to obtain one, her skirt is pulled up and the sauce from the burger drips down her arm and leg. In my opinion, nothing about this commercial is appealing to me.

But this is not the first time Hardees has used sexuality and an inappropriate theme to advertise one of their products. Paris Hilton promoted another of Hardees’ burger  by washing a Bentley and eating the burger. I believe both of these commercials are a pitiful attempt to appetize people to try their products. In the future, Hardees should refrain from using heightened sexuality to promote their menu.

Comment on “A Little PR Never Hurt Anybody”

My classmate Lauren wrote a great blog about the need for more PR during tough economic times. Check out her blog and my comment.

Mommies on Oprah

Yesterday Oprah dedicated her show to mothers. The entire audience was made up of moms, as well as a few others shyping in. It was an open discussion about the trials and tribulations of motherhood as well as the things current mothers don’t tell future mothers. Overall it was pretty comedic and informative, and of course social media made its way into the segment with a mommy blogger. The blogger, Heather, used her blog about motherhood as an outlet for all of her questions, concerns, and experiences. She has connected with mothers across the US, each sharing their own experiences and exchanging advice. Since her blog debut, she has gone from 30 readers to making it her primary income source with over $40,000 a year.   

Following her lead, Oprah has now set up her own interactive space on the Oprah website for moms to share their experiences and gain advice. This is a great PR effort to maintain the support of Oprah’s already large audience. By engaging mothers on her website, she not only increases traffic on the site, but also shows her willingness to support moms and provide a channel for advice and interaction.

Comment on Madison’s Blog

Madison wrote a very interesting blog about how our legal system is being affected by social media. Check out the blog and comments!

Making it Matter

Lately I have been thinking alot about what should and does matter when it comes to social media. Two blogs that have caught my attention when contemplating this question are posted by Tiffany Sellers and Brains on Fire. Tiffany addresses the issue of accumulating too many friends, followers, and blogs without contributing any substance to the conversation. Brains on Fire talks about the initial purpose for Facebook, Twitter, etc. as connecting to people, and how is has evolved into this competition to gain the most….the most of what though? Yeah, someone could have a million friends, followers, etc. but what are you contributing to the conversation? As the numbers begin to multiply, the value and sentiment of relationships diminishes.  One of my favorite statements concerning this dualistic conflict of having the most and remaining true to the original purpose is:

There’s a lot of “playing around online” these days. And a lot of connecting (albeit in a shallow way) with people who you have no commonality with. It’s overconnection for the sake of numbers…

This relates to what Tiffany says about having too many connections that you simply can not keep up with. It can get to the point where the community that you thought you were so immersed in by “being friends” with everyone realizes that you have said nothing of substance and the shallow ”game” of who can have the most is recognized, resulting in community exile.

Tiffany quotes JP Holecka, “ 

In fact, lack of well-developed messaging strategy and openness to two-way symmetrical communication can ultimately make all those followers your worst nightmare. What could be worse than directly and personally pissing off several thousand people who used to be your biggest fans?”

So with all of this, we just need to keep in mind that as nice and exciting as it is to have lots of followers and friends, it’s just as important to remain true to our message (whatever that might be) and contribute to the conversation.

Social Media Conversations

As I am entering the internship mania engrossing most college kids, I find myself going to interviews where social media is the highlight of interest for PR companies or companies expanding their PR practices. Last week I went to what I consider one of the best interviews.  This interview was different in the fact that it wasn’t the same hum-drum “tell me about yourself and qualities” format. No, this was much different. The person interviewing and I had a conversation solely about social media…for over an hour. We exchanged ideas, I presented my knowledge concerning different social media outlets, and eventually we began brainstorming for a specific client’s need for social media.

PR majors today are facing interviews and first time jobs where the predominant generations within the organization are relying on us to inform and educate them about the newest trends within PR, the biggest being social media. It is refreshing and intimidating at the same time to know that you can bring something completely new and different to the work evnvironment, but also that when questions are asked or problems arise, you’ll be the one they look to for answers and solutions.

Entering the work force today is challenging for many different reasons, but how intriguing it is to know that our generation is in the midst of cultural and organizational changes concerning social media outlets that we have experience and, to some degree, extensive knowledge of!

What is PR?

I recenlty read Cara Mitchell’s blog that addresses the question..”what is PR?” As students in communication studies, Cara too shares her experiences when talking to people who do not understand PR and are baffled by it’s use. In response to dealing with the same questions, doubts and uncertainties, here are my own views and examples.

I think this is one of the most interesting aspects of our chosen major…people are still unsure, confused, and skeptical of PR and the many positive things it can accomplish. I know after telling people my major is communication studies, a first response is: “So you want to be on the news” and then the routine reply: “No, that is one track offered for comm. studies majors, but I’m more interested in PR.” That is inevitably followed with: “O…well what do you want to do with that?”

My thoughts and applications of PR thus far:
PR is much more relationship building and maintenance. Marketing professionals are focused on consumer behavior and trends, and although it is important for a PR practitioner to understand these concepts (at least genrally), I see PR as a more immersed and on-going relationship with clients.

A perfect example for relationships among the PR profession can be seen with other writers and journalists. It’s important in the PR industry to develop relationships with other writers, whether it be for blogs, newspapers, online journals, or magazines. Understanding writer preferences (and what they write about in general), as well as focusing attempts for specific stories and ideas is a key tactic for producing quality work that will reach to the most interested readers.

So although the struggle to explain and forecast PR is never ending, it is what makes our passion that much more interesting and real. We are in a position to wear many different hats, expect the unexpected, and keep up to date with emerging trends and conversations.