Effectively using social media and upcoming trends in public relations

By: Christy Ferguson







Public relations professionals are always looking for new trends to improve the business. According to many articles online that discuss public relations trends of 2010, social media is becoming one of the best vehicles for public relations practitioners to reach their target audiences and/or clients. This semester my campaigns group and I have been using all different forms of social media (Facebook, Twitter and blogging) for our client the Norman Arts Council. Within a few months, the awareness of the NAC has significantly increased just through the usage of social media alone. Along with Facebook and Twitter, the new social media foursquare is a great way to interactively keep in touch with what is going on around you in the city where you live.

Because we now live in a very fast paced world, social media is a nice tool that allows for public relations professionals to stay in touch with work and clients while on the go. Handheld electronics make it even easier for people to access their social media, and I feel that sometimes it has even become a distraction within the working world. Although social media is a great tool for the PR professionals, we don’t want it to distract people to the point where it is the only thing they rely upon.

In the article Public Relations Trends 2010 by Christine Perkett, she says, “It’s an exciting time to see PR going back to people and relationships. Successful PR executives know how to build and maintain quality relationships – today, social media is a core part of making that happen.” I completely agree with this but at the same time I think PR professionals have forgotten how important it is to create mutually beneficial relationships and to actually meet face to face with a client rather than over the Internet. If you please your client or employers by doing good work for them, then you have benefitted from this relationship because you know that can do your job to the upmost ability. Don’t get me wrong, social media and the Internet are great, but we need to make sure that we are still creating strong relationships and keeping clients in the forefront of our minds at all times.

CR Ransom’s article 2010 Five Smartest PR Moves and Trends to Start Now, gives great advice to those who are already in the PR field or who will be in the near future. These PR moves included everything from value awareness and branded exposure to event effects and social engagement. I think event effect is interesting because it is basically creating events “that leave lasting effects to influence brand loyalty.” We so often promote events whether there is a “wow” factor or not. It’s time that PR professionals go out and promote events that they know will be successful and stand out among other events.

I look back 10 years ago and wonder how people communicated without the social media we have today. Social media has made our job as PR practitioners more efficient and it is easier to stay in contact with those who are important to us. Another great thing about social media is that it is constantly growing and with that, the communication vehicles seem to be getting better and better. For instance, we started out with MySpace followed by Facebook, Twitter and now foursquare. What will the future bring?

Image courtesy of http://www.dirjournal.com/guides/wp-content/uploads/2009/06/social-media.jpg

Let Your Passions Guide You

Let Your Passions Guide You

By Shagah Zakerion

As the current public relations intern for the Norman Arts Council, I did not have to look far to find a PR practitioner to interview. Holly Jones, now working as a public relations specialist for the University Of Oklahoma Weitzenhoffer Family College Of Fine Arts, worked for the Norman Arts Council for several years before taking the job at OU. Even though she has left the arts council behind, Holly still serves as the public relations coordinator on the committee for the Norman Music Festival. There is no doubt that Holly’s passion for art has paved the road for her career.

“I have always loved creating art, writing and talking with people. I went into PR because it was a field where I would be able to promote causes that I support,” Holly said.

Graduating from OU with a BA in Journalism and AAS in Photography, Holly worked a slew of jobs before ever entering the field of PR. She started in retail management, spent two years in journalism, worked as a library assistant and finally found her place in public relations just a few years ago. Her first experience was with the Norman Arts council, where she worked for a year and half as an intern.

“I took an internship with the Norman Arts Council where I was exposed to how a community comes together to help support and build the arts,” Holly said. After her time with the NAC, Holly had found her niche in not only public relations, but in promoting the work of those in the arts. And, Holly says she really enjoys working for the College of Fine Arts because she gets to do just that.

“I love being able to promote what our students and faculty create,” Holly said. “There are always fresh and creative ideas coming from our college, it is a great environment to work in.”

Holly has been lucky enough to work in a field she likes so much, and for her, it was an easy fit. With her history in journalism and as a library assistant, she already had many of the skills she considers the most needed for any PR professional: creative writing skills, AP style and the ability to research well.

I have had the pleasure of working with Holly for several years and she serves as a great leader and role model for me. Above everything, Holly gave me the opportunity to work for the Norman Music Festival, which eventually got me the job I have today—something she says is advice any PR professional should take to heart.

“To be successful, you have to take risks and make connections,” Holly said. “Take internships in your fields of interest and use those opportunities to find ways to get a head.”

For Holly, her passions guided her to the career she has today and she serves as a great example for all aspiring PR professionals to emulate.

Photo by Lindsey Allgood

This Is My Dream Job

This Is My Dream Job
By Holly Jones

Music has always been my passion. I remember purchasing my first album when I was very young. After high school I worked at a music store and know about music, songs, and artists you’ve probably never heard of. I loved it and would eventually love to work in the industry. This semester, as the pr coordinator for the Norman Arts Council, I have gotten a little taste of that industry. The NAC has been planning a music festival that will take place Saturday, April 26, in downtown Norman.

I have been working as media relations director, marketing director and have been working with a team of pr students from OU who have helped me with some of the responsibilities. As well as another individual who has experience working with bands and promoting a festival.

Today my team and I were calling the media to find out their interest in the festival. We wanted to know if they would need passes, let them know what times certain bands would be doing interviews and let them know the guidelines for media the day of the festival. We also were calling the bands promotional contact. Since most of the bands were local, it was usually someone in the band. But, I called The Polyphonic Spree and that made my day!

My internship with the Norman Arts Council has been the perfect job for me in PR. I absolutely love the two ladies I work with, the office always has interesting art on the wall, I get paid to promote the arts and best of all the dress code includes jeans!

Wimgo.com and Fowler Auto Group present the first annual Norman Music Festival to be held from noon to 11:30pm on Saturday, April 26, 2008. The festival is free and open to the public and will take place on the 100, 200 and 300 blocks of historic Downtown East Main Street, east of the railroad tracks in the Arts District. The Polyphonic Spree will headline the event along with The Octopus Project, British Sea Power, and a reunited Chainsaw Kittens.