The Many Hats of Alyssa Gardina

The Many Hats of Alyssa Gardina

By: Andrea Segura

Photo Courtesy of Alyssa Gardina

Alyssa Gardina describes herself as wearing many hats when she refers to her position in public relations. As a graphic designer, copywriter, media strategist and social media aficionado Gardina is on the new media side of the profession and represents where the field is heading in the future.

Gardina began with a brief background on herself. She is originally from New Jersey and still proudly describes herself as a ‘Jersey Girl’ She graduated from Ithaca College in Ithaca, New York with a B.S. degree in Integrated Marketing Communications and a minor in American History. Gardina says she counts museums and London among her favorite things. “I love good wine, good food and good conversation, especially when I can find all 3 in one place.” Gardina also runs a successful blog on which she discusses current technology trends mixed with a refreshing bit of her quirky humor.

Gardina held two previous positions as Social Media Supervisor at Ansira and Social Media Specialist at Razor before moving to Dallas, Texas. Today Gardina is an Account Supervisor at Weber Shandwick in Dallas where She works on a variety of brands, developing their social media strategies and tactics in order to increase brand awareness and customer engagement. She is also the Vice President of Branding at Social Media Club - Dallas Chapter. She also counts co-founder of fiveoclockdallas.com, a review site and community for Dallas bars and happy hours, among the extensive list of her accomplishments. Her responsibilities with Five O’Clock Dallas included creating content for bar listings, happy hour listings, blog posts and video reviews.

Gardina says her goals are to use her well-rounded computer, creative, research and communication skills to seamlessly combine the fields of research, marketing and media production. She also is ready and willing to share her expertise and says thinking simple is key in the public relations industry.

Businesses See Increasing Value in PR

By Clara Mitcham

According to PR 20/20, a PR/Marketing Blog, consumer-generated content along with other various forms of social media are not longer just a trend in public relations, they are a vital function of the profession. This means that public relations professionals must not only have excellent speaking and writing skills, but they must have a dynamic understanding of how to integrate various forms of marketing into a cohesive campaign. The good news is that businesses are becoming increasingly savvy towards the evolving role of public relations and the increasingly standardized public relations tools for measuring the success of multi-media campaigns.

According to Christine Perkett, founder PerkettPR, an increased ability to measure the effects of a campaign by seeing where consumers are driven on a website allows them to measure success quickly and efficiently. These new forms of electronic evaluation will show if a campaign is unsuccessful immediately, therefore, holding public relations professionals to the highest standard and making them directly accountable for their work.

The Public Relations Society of America said that social metrics technologies are helping PR professionals sort response through social media channels like Twitter and suggests that professions must have a thorough knowledge of blogging culture. According to PRSA, content analysis will continue to be very important role in measuring success. Measurement is becoming increasingly creative as businesses look for new ways to quantify the overall image of their organization, however, managing vast amounts of consumer-generated content continues to present unique challenges to public relations professionals.

In conclusion, the social media have helped legitimize public relations to many members of the business community and being able to continue to quantify the success of those PR tactics will be crucial to relationship between PR and the business field.

Articles Cited:

Perkett, Christine. Public Relations Trends for 2010.
http://bx.businessweek.com/digital-public-relations/public-relations-trends-for-2010/4213942808559917994-ce6ac9a1bf58f0dd9301ed29654242e5/

Roetzer, Paul. 10 Public Relations Trends that will change the Industry forever. PR 20/20 Blog. http://www.pr2020.com/page/10-public-relations-trends-that-will-change-the-industry-forever

Walton, Susan. What You Can expect in the Coming Year. http://www.prsa.org/Intelligence/Tactics/Articles/view/8482/1006/What_you_can_expect_in_the_coming_year

Social Media and the Future of PR

It's no secret that social media is creating quite the buzz in the public relations profession. Websites like Facebook, Twitter and YouTube make it incredibly easy for PR professionals to connect with their target public with more ease than ever before. While having access to these social media outlets is important, it's even more important to understand how to use them effectively.

In the article Social Media New Releases and Social Media Newsrooms-Just Good PR by Sally Falkow she explains the upcoming trend of creating media releases specific to social media. She discusses that the press release has transformed from being targeted at newspapers to radio, to TV (where the VNR was born) so why not for social media? PR professionals have to understand they need to present their information in a format that will get them the best results.

Falkow goes on to explain that in the social media release it's important to include URL links to all social content, all news releases in a social media format, any multimedia assets, syndicate all news content in RSS feeds, and provide embedded codes with images and video so bloggers or journalists can easily use your content.

After researching public relations trends it was easy to see that social media is all that’s being talked about. I feel like it's important for PR professionals to embrace and use social media but I also feel like they shouldn't forget their roots. Networking and getting out into the community is still key for the future PR professional to remember. There are many wonderful things that can be done from behind a desk using social media but you should never forget the power of networking within your own community.

Photo Courtesy of :kellerwilliamskissimmee.com

Blog: Short for Web Log

Blog: Short for Web log

Courtney Knutson

The latest and greatest form of social media and one of the largest outlets used by all kinds of people are blogs. Not only are people using blogs to write about their personal experiences, but public relations professionals are using blogs to communicate with clients, stakeholders, other professionals, colleagues and future clients. As the newest trend, blogs are also most conveniently used to convey and expressing other fast growing, creative trends converging in public relations.
Dr. Mihaela Vorvoreanu, professor at Purdue University and creator of People Research Connections (PR Connections), a blog about research in public relations and other topics, explains, “Blogs move the profession to…higher professional standards and help prove the value of the profession to clients and society,” Vorvoreanu says. “Through blogs, public relations practitioners can [educate] each other. They can create and share knowledge and best practices.”
According to PRSSA.org, there are over four million blogs on the internet today, with a new one being created every seven seconds. Not only do blogs help with networking and trading of ideas, blogs also help public relations professionals research about other topics and information. Also, because blogs are more popular and more widely read, they can sometimes substitute for traditional public relations practices, such as media pitches and news releases.
While blogging is an up and coming trend with professionals, so is the convergence of entertainment and publicity. This idea incorporates entertainment with the publicity or promotion of a organization or product. In an article in PublicRelationsIdeas.com, an example of this is how the Army provides viewers of their Web site with downloads of realistic war games that are created to give the audience an idea of what combat would be like. This trend is found commonly successful with a younger audience.
Some other common trends in public relations include Twitter, Facebook, online media rooms, and RSS feeds. Because public relations is modern and always leading in communication, there will continue to be new trends and ideas brought out in a variety of different forms.

Sources:

http://www.prssa.org/forum/article.aspx?issueId=151&id=525

http://www.feareygroup.com/our_news_trends.html

http://www.publicrelationsideas.com/pr_trends_000653.html

Just Facebook Me.

Just Facebook Me.
By: Lynley Kees

Public Relations professionals use social media though out their every day schedule. It is used so much in our daily lives that most of the time people are not even aware they are utilizing social media. PR professionals use social networking to generate awareness, promoting products, to staying in contact with work and their clients with the click of a button. I have seen an enormous amount in trends in social media over the past years. I hate that the words “Facebook me” is amongst my daily vocabulary along with asking myself, “what should I tweet today.” It is amazing to see how much social media has affected our lives in how we proactively communicate with others with a click of a button. I have only been a member of Facebook for three years and I have seen numerous positive changes in ways to communicate with people around the world. Now with the invention of Twitter, Blogger and Delicious and many other social networking services, the ways to communicate is never ending. For instance, take a look at this class. We are using Blooger to post assignments on the web to be viewed by our professors and fellow students. Also this semester my campaigns group and I have been using all different forms of social media for our client Big Brothers Big Sisters as an outlet to reach our targeted publics.

It is weird to think about how the world used to communicate to each other. Today the accesses we have to these types of social media have only made our job easier. I see the use of social media excessively growing in the future. In the past few years alone I have seen a change in how the world is communicating with one another for the better and look forward to seeing what the future brings.

Image Information: Social Media
Web source: Social Media Sites

Give Your Facebook Status a Rest

Give Your Facebook Status a Rest

It seems like every time I hear the words “Public Relations,” “social media” follows them. While social media has become an essential component of public relations practice (and life), another trend is quickly growing. Only one difference; it isn’t anything new at all. In fact, many would refer to it as “old-school.” I am talking about the importance of establishing and building personal relationships.

Social media is splendid because it has the power to reach thousands of people whenever it is convenient. Your message is no longer lost if someone does not make it home for their regular television show. It remains in the Twitter or Facebook timeline whenever they are ready for it. On the flipside, though, this leads to an overload of information. Due to the fact that social media is often free, virtually limitless and incredibly easy, one person might receive tens of messages a week. This is why many companies are reverting back to special services, traditional mail, and personal contact in lieu of Facebook fan pages.

In 2008 Starbucks Corporation introduced their Gold Card program, which offered their loyal customers a 10% discount on purchases after paying a $25 annual fee. They also mailed coupons to try new products to these customers. The popularity of this program led them to create a new free rewards program with many of the same benefits. Following the introduction of this program their First Quarter FY2010 store sales grew 4%. They are taking the corporate coffee shop business and making it personal.

J. Crew, Inc. has a similar method of building lasting relationships with their customers through their Personal Shopper service. Personal Shoppers work on building clients for J.Crew stores through complimentary personal shopping appointments and personal communication. Their personal shoppers become friends with their clients resulting in higher sales. The J. Crew clients feel special and unique and treat shopping there as an activity rather than a chore. J. Crew is one of very few box retail stores that offers this service and is setting precedence.

In a research study Kristy Reynolds and Sharon Beatty found that “consumers select services on the basis of benefits they desire,” (Reynolds & Beatty, 13). The benefits could be product information or special services, for example. They also found that a positive and constant interaction with salespeople fulfills their human needs and results in “outcomes such as loyalty, positive word of mouth, and satisfaction,” (Reynolds & Beatty, 13).

I have found that while it is still necessary for companies to tweet, perhaps they should go old school and work on being personal for a while, give Facebook a rest.

New Starbucks Gold. Web source: www.pulpconnection.net

Sources:

Reynolds, K. E. & Beatty, S. E. Customer Benefits and Company Consequences of Customer-Salesperson Relationships in Retailing. www.sciencedirect.com

Starbucks Corporation. Starbucks Reports Record Quarterly Earnings. www.news.starbucks.com

Where are YOU?

Where are YOU?

By: Ryan N. DeGiacomo

Public relations practitioners utilize social media daily in their efforts to generate awareness about clients, to proactively communicate with clients, and to respond timely in reference to inquiries or issues. Social networking sites have quickly become important tools of choice in a public relations professional’s expansive toolkit. In the ever-changing world of social media, there is a hot new trend generating the buzz for public relations professionals: geolocation. Gowalla is a social media tool allowing its users to “check in” at locations that they visit and follow their friends’ movements around the globe.

Gowalla disseminates information depicting users’ real-time whereabouts, allowing users to share information about favorite haunts while increasing the odds of running into friends. PR Tactics says that the service links up with Twitter and Facebook, allowing a much broader audience to view location-based updates. In fact Mashable reports that Twitter launched its very own location-based feature last week, and Facebook is expected to soon unveil the same.

Public relations practitioners can utilize these sites to accomplish their objectives by offering users rewards for checking in at their sites while clients benefit from one another by exchanging information about new venues, causes, cities and businesses. The mutually beneficial relationships are infinite. Gowalla enables users to update their geolocation (similar to Facebook status updates), follow their friend's updates (similar to Twitter feeds) and upload videos (YouTube) and photos (Picasa, Flickr) depicting their current location. Gowalla is expedient for clients who travel frequently because, like most social networking media, Gowalla is now available in mobile versions on iPhones, Blackberrys, other smart phones and PDAs.

140 Characters & a back-stage pass to the world-wide industry of Fashion.

By: Jillian Manon Chopin
April 12, 2010
Public Relations and the Future

When I first began with courses such as Intro to PR, Writing for Mass Media, and News Gathering, I was being taught the basics of PR ... and even traditional PR at that. As I have progressed through all required classes however, and as I am now in my final semester of campaigns with Dr. Carstarphen here at OU, I can say that I’ve learned much more about PR. I’ve learned about how I can use PR in countless ways ... simply because it can be molded to fit so many different needs and desires within all industries. For example - upon graduation, I plan to move back to my home city of Dallas, Texas and begin my search for a job in the fashion industry. Similar to what has been explored in several blogs for this assignment, I've found that social media has given notable rise to several industries around the world. The modern advancement of the fashion industry has exponentially expounded on a World Wide Web basis thanks to the possibilities within the social media sphere. Whereas a "back-stage pass" used to be just that, backstage – people from all different corners of the earth are becoming more and more exposed to the fashion industry via fashion blogging, through this sort of "back-stage pass."

Nowadays, if you are interested in going into the public relations field of the fashion industry, you must, and I emphasize must, be willing and able to navigate your way around social media websites such as Twitter and blogger in order to effectively promote your brand, reach your target publics, and basically – keep from being 'fashionably late' to what everyone else may already deem as 'last season.' Fashion, at its core, is a phenomena forever searching for the ‘up and coming’ so to speak. What is trendy right now - versus - what was trendy five minutes ago are things one must know when aspiring to strut upon the runway amidst other public relations fashionistas. Using my own personal Twitter account to follow fashion designers, bloggers, and so forth, I am quickly learning the ins-and-outs of how to be a public relations fashionista via social media. I now follow 74 Twitter pages, roughly 85% of which are related strictly to fashion. I follow designers such as Lanvin, Louis Vuitton, and Yves Saint Laurent and I am also following several fashion magazines and fashion blogger Twitters.

What I am learning from following these pages is that, first off – nearly everybody who is anybody is participating. There is so much to gain from relating to the public through social media that ultimately, you do not want to miss out on the countless opportunities that can be gained. The difficulty comes when deciding what to tweet about and how to format your tweets. Obviously, when you are given only 140 characters to convey your message, you must be concise, clear and catchy. Fashion goers tweet about everything from up-coming events to who is wearing what and where did they purchase it. For example, VogueParisLive constantly tweets about fashion shows, and provides links of pictures to engage their Twitter followers even more. WhoWhatWear posts tweets daily with a certain celebrity’s name and then a link to the most recent paparazzi photo flashed, while then attempting to identify each piece of fashion that person is wearing. This sort of thing is good for a brand because when a celebrity gains enough clout within the industry, they become an influential – especially within the fashion and pop culture society. These are the people who create fads, who introduce news trends, and who deem what is cool for the times. Therefore, a tweet as simple as a picture of Kim Kardashian can turn into drastic increase in sales for designers and brands that she frequently wears such as Bebe and Hermes. People who are interested in influential’s want to know what they are wearing and where they got their items. It is at that time when a public relations fashionista must come in and take advantage of the opportunities available through social media to increase their brand recognition and success.

There are also Twitter pages devoted specifically to fashion PR such as PR_Couture, ShineMediaPR, LolaPR,, and FashionBlogNews. These Twitter pages are dedicated to tweeting about public relations within the fashion industry. Provided below is a direct link to a interview that was held with the Creative Director of Nine West. Now, as this video does not directly address public relations and fashion together, it shows how modern day practitioners have a great opportunity to reach fashion craved obsessors worldwide and deliver truly valuable know-how, insight, and back-stage knowledge about using social media to project fashion onwards. PR_Couture is the Twitter for a fashion blog entitled “PR Couture – Fashion PR’s Haute Spot.” If you go to their actual website, abundant information is provided for the interested and aspiring public relations fashionista.

In conclusion, this new public relations trend within the fashion industry of using social media to strategically and creatively provide an all-access pass to those interested is only going to become more and more advanced and involved. Nowadays, you can live-stream fashion shows, you can follow fashion blogger web sites, discover frankly who anybody is wearing, and you can become a fashion icon within your own right simply through blogging, tweeting, and most definitely – posting pictures of your most proud moments walking down the catwalk of life in what ever ensemble you see fit, pun intended. What is marvelous about this advancement of social media with fashion public relations is that is delivers to the customer, delivers to the supplier, and creates a cycle of never ending expression, innovation, and modernization. Also, everything is so visual, and with fashion being visual at its very nature, all things collaborate so chic-ly when combining fashion, public relations, and social media.

Picture from: http://hautpr.com/fashionpr

Interview with Nine West Creative Director: http://www.prcouture.com/2010/04/12/fashion-pr-interview-nine-west-creative-director-and-sr-marketing-director-in-san-diego/

Public Relations in a Digital World

The future of public relations is turning increasingly to social media. As the world of media keeps evolving, we will see an increasing reliance on social media. However, perhaps the use of social media is not as important as the social capital it can bring. Social capital is the value that comes from being known and trusted within a social network. Much like monetary capital, it can reap real benefits for a business or organization. Social capital is especially important for PR practitioners since our share of monetary capital is often notoriously low. The real beauty in social media then, according to tech expert Tara Hunt, is its capacity to build social capital for an organization. This also means, however, that one cannot just throw some information at a Facebook page or Tweet whatever randomly comes to mind. The old PR principles of researching, knowing your audience and what they want, answering the “What’s in it for me?” question, and common sense still apply. We can’t simply throw these ideas out the window but must be prepared for the future, which apparently, we are not. According to social media blogger Jason Falls, many colleges around the country are not teaching students to deal with social media. I feel very lucky to be here at Gaylord College, where most faculty understand the need for a more digital education and the facility and mindset of the college reflect that. In the end, relationships and networks are still going to be our most valuable asset, and we need to learn how to build that social capital in a digital, modern way.

by Laura Bennett
image courtesy of Amy Abrahams at amyabrahams.com

It is all about the people...

By Christa S.

Every month, it seems, PRSSA Tactics includes a new article about the usefulness of social media and how to most effectively utilize them. There is no doubt…there are countless ways that social media forms are effective in reaching new, underserved and youthful target publics in exceptionally innovative and creative ways. Social media outlets have infiltrated society as a primary means of staying connected and informed. The benefits of using social media include rapidity, the ability to hit a large audience with 140 characters and the dialogue that ensues as a result of wall posts, blog comments, tweets, text messages, e-mail responses and other forms of consumer insight. However, while, as public relations professionals, learning and growing with the times and technologies is requisite, we should also keep in mind the key to our profession—building mutually-advantageous relationships based on personal, one-to-one communication with our publics. We must make sure that our publics feel valued and this value comes from using various media forms and communication outlets to bring our messages to the people. 

We must ensure that the personal touch of our profession is never lost. 

In fact, utilizing a variety of communication tools will further enhance the messages we send to our publics.

Additionally, it is also easy to become sloppy when typing a quick tweet on our iPhone or Blackberry. Yet, we must always remember that everything we send out into cyberspace can be accessed by anyone*. Thus, while we understand that we should always have other eyes view and edit our news releases or brochure text, we must pay as much (if not more attention) to the messages we communicate through social media.

As we enter the new age of public relations where social media is sometimes considered our responsibility, we must also remember that this is a people business. Let’s keep it about the people! 

What Can Public Relations Do For You?

What can public relations do for you?
By: Lacy Barnes

Any public relations major can attest to the difficulty of explaining to an outsider what public relations means. I believe defining public relations is difficult because of the fast pace that public relations is changing at. As technology advances and the world becomes more reliable on social media, so to has public relations.

The most recent trends in public relations have been geared towards social media. In today’s world of instant information, public relations has turned to resources such as Facebook, Twitter, blogs, and constantly updated news feeds.

According to Public Relations Trends for 2010, “Social media helps PR executives to build more new relationships, across a wider landscape and in a sustainable fashion never before possible.”

Blogging has emerged as the social media that has the most mystery surrounding it. While Facebook and Twitter are limited to status updates and event invitations, blogs can be uncensored. According to an article on ebscohost.com about Wal-Mart and social media, blogging allows people on the inside of a business to have a real conversation with the public and vice versa. Blogs allow for feedback and also help give a personal face to a company. A common concern is that a corporation can’t control social media as tightly as traditional media, so organizations need to be extremely careful of what they post. Companies need to remember that social media is not a replacement for traditional public relations tactics, only another tool to interact on a more intimate level (ebscohost.com).

The trend that I find the most interesting however, is that of corporate social responsibility (CSR). While the concept is not new, its popularity has skyrocketed. It relates to public relations in a very simple way; a company partners with a non profit, the non profit benefits from the financial sponsorship and the company increases its image among the public.

With the recent downfalls of several top-notch corporations, gaining people’s trust and having quality public relations couldn't be more critical. According to an article by Lori Tripoli, corporations partner with non profits in order to reach out to the community and receive kudos for their efforts. One key to a successful partnership is to know what each expects out of it. Careful time and research are needed to make sure the non profit fits with the corporation’s mission and vice versa.

CSR is a great idea in my opinion. I’m glad to see the trend is increasing because I think it provides great opportunities for all parties involved. While social media is definitely here to stay for public relations practitioners, I am most excited about the partnering up of non profits and corporations. For corporations, I think there is no better way to start earning back trust. You have to put your money where your mouth is and take action verses only talking about how your company supports the community. Public relations can make so many positive differences within organizations and CSR best exemplifies this.

This business agreement has found a unique place in public relations. The sky is really the limit for the creativity that could emerge on the public relations side of the equation because corporate America has found itself in a deep hole regarding public trust placing non profits in a rare position of power.

Article cited:

Tripoli, Lori. Opposites Attract: Corporate and nonprofit partnerships yield benefits for both
http://www.edf.org/documents/9234_opposites-attract.pdf

Caliendo, Heather. The Wal-Mart model: Using social media to engage customers
http://web.ebscohost.com.ezproxy.lib.ou.edu/ehost/detail?vid=1&hid=13&sid=dee77698-cc33-42c3b02cc041dab325cd@sessionmgr11&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWhvc3QtbGl2ZQ%3d%3d#db=n5h&AN=L54459618FACO

Antoelli, Rebecca. Public Relations Trends for 2010
http://meetthenewmedia.com/2010/01/public-relations-trends-for-2010/

Social media: You can never say enough

Social Media: You can never say enough

By: Natalie Vaughn

As one of the fastest evolving professions, new trends are popping up in the field of public relations everyday. Some of these include viral marketing techniques and mobility among many others.

But one obvious trend that is becoming a big part of every business professional's life is social media. We see social media in the news everyday, whether someone is making news using the toll or if the tool itself is the center of a story. In fact, many trends that are grabbing attentions can be narrowed down to social media.

According to an article in The Business Times of Singapore, social media has almost too many applications to count. One of these is its role in the decline of traditional mass media. With traditional media, public relations professionals are forced to send their messages through gatekeepers that choose whether or not to publish the material, or that may even change the message beyond recognition. Because social media gives everyone the opportunity to be published, public relations professionals have the opportunity to reach their target audiences without having to go through gatekeepers.

However, in the same article, Dr. Vijay Sethi brings up the point that while businesses have the ability to communicate directly to constituents, honesty and disclosure are vital to maintaining a working relationship with your publics. "In social media, there are millions of eyeballs . . ." Sethi furthers.

What does that mean for this trend in public relations? Keep your message simple, focused, and honest. Not much is worse than waking up the next day to find that your company has made social media news, but for negative reasons.

To read the article that is mentioned above, please visit:

http://www.nbs.ntu.edu.sg/announcements/public/images/photos/BT_20100120.pdf

For more information on how social media can work for you, please visit:

Three Marketing Models for Social Media

http://www.socialmediaworx.com/2010/three-marketing-models-for-social-media-via-adage/

For more general information about social media, please visit the three following links:

Social Media Strategy (a slide show)

http://www.slideshare.net/vaninadelobelle/social-media-strategy-392440

Three Things You Need to Know About Social Media Strategy

http://mashable.com/2010/01/14/social-media-strategy-needs/

How Small Businesses Are Using Social Media for Real Results

http://mashable.com/2010/03/22/small-business-social-media-results/

Supporting the Community through Public Relations

When public relations professionals can still thought of as “spin doctors,” “cherry pickers” and “sensationalists,” Lerii Smith, president and co-founder of Project Partners Inc., serves a beacon, championing community causes through marketing, fundraising, event management, program development and volunteer engagement.

Smith, a Texas Tech graduate, co-founded Project Partners, Inc. 16 years ago because she saw the need for a business that would work to advance community causes. As a former employee of the American Heart Association, the Texas Cooperative Extension Program and the Fort Worth Chamber of Commerce, Smith brought ten years of experience with nonprofit organizations, event management and public relations to the new company. Project Partners Inc. now has over 50 clients, seven employees and has been named the Fort Worth Chamber’s Small Business of the Year.



Smith said that the most valuable skills for working with businesses and nonprofit organizations are writing and attention to detail, however she also said that you must have a love for what you do.

“The best part of our job is the people we get to work with–nonprofit executives and community leaders…these folks are focused on promoting good.”

When asked what project she was most proud of, Smith replied, “Well, we are pretty darn proud of everything.”

She said, however, that she was particularly proud of her work with the North Texas Clean Air Coalition, a client for over ten years.

“We helped them move from an initiative to a 501 (c) (3), which is a really big shift,” Smith said.

Throughout her years as a professional, Smith has seen a lot of resumes and admits that it is the attention to detail that “sets the really good professionals apart from the not so good.”

She also said that social media is doing the next generations of college graduates a disservice as many people have forgotten, or never learned, how to communicate professionally. She remarked on the importance of a “personal touch,” in professional communication in the form of a phone call or in-office follow-up visit.

Smith acknowledges that the job marked is tough and encourages students to not expect to get their dream job right out of college.

“You must be willing to accept a job within the industry you are most interested in and then work your way up,” Smith said. “Take whatever job and show your worth, then move into the roles you really want to play.”

Smith has definitely proved her own worth as the president of a successful small business owner, who spends her office hours helping others through a job she loves.


Image: Lerii Smith (center) recieving recognition after bring nominated for the Fort Worth Chamber of Commerce Small Business of the Year Award for 2010. Source: http://www.yourprojectpartners.com/

Jackie Johnson Explians It All

Jackie Johnson Explains It All

by Erin Jackson

I had the pleasure of sitting down to talk with one of my favorite relatives to talk about one of my favorite subjects: public relations, and more importantly, how to get a job after graduating!

Jackie Johnson has been in the Public Relations industry for almost 20 years. She received her Bachelor’s degree in Public Relations from Texas Women’s University in 1995 and has since been a practicing PR professional. While in college, she made sure she completed internships every summer. She knew how it important it was to have experience before graduating from college. She currently works for one of the places where she did one of her internships, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, and has the title of “Public Relations Specialist.”

When asked what are the most pertinent tools needed by a PR Professional, Jackie says “Excellent writing skills are essential. I don’t know anyone in this business that is not excessively critical about correct grammar and punctuation. Time management is also very important. You will have to work under strict deadlines almost all of the time. There is no room for procrastination.”

I also asked Jackie what she believes is important for upcoming PR professionals to be knowledgeable about. “Students should most definitely take advantage of all classes geared toward technology that their program offers. Employers want to know that you are knowledgeable about modern software programs and new kinds of media.” I thought about how true this is in our era. There seems to be a new kind of software or social media outlet appearing everyday. When our Campaigns class was told to register on Twitter I did not understand, but now I realize it is to make us hip to new types of media.

PR 2.0: New Media, New Tools, New Audiences

by Nick Holmes

PR 2.0: New Media, New Tools, New Audiences by Deirdre Breakenridge highlights the “new” Public Relations. Public relations has become a “Two-Way Highway” in the past few years. No longer does one send a press release and hope it gets published, then hope someone actually reads it. In the modern day, publics feel the need to interact with their lives.

Social Media is the face of this changing medium. Web sites such as Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn have forever changed the way Public Relations practitioners interact with the publics. Using these new tools, PR professionals can place messages in places not traditionally known for news.

These new tools are developing around us. PR Practitioners needs to realize that this new medium is the way of the future and to embrace it rather than fight it.

PR Practitioners need to remember in this digital age to monitor what they send out, and the frequency in which information is released. The fastest way to lose followers is to pollute their streams with useless information. Publics are willing to share their social networking time with outside organizations, but this privilege should not be abused. As a twitter user, I have “unfollowed” many celebrities or companies when they pollute my Twitter feed. If I am doing this as a Public Relations student who understand and supports their efforts, what is this causing your average society member to do?

Social Media will continue to evolve and eventually be replaced by the next “big thing.” But until PR 3.0, this is the world we’re living in.