Rox Star Report

Month 12 was one of those classes that scared me from the very beginning, I never thought I would see myself making it as far as I did. I said the same thing in my bachelor’s degree and yet I was at the top of my class. I remember talking to my best friend, Dwayne and he was telling me how he was going back for his master’s and that I should too. At that moment, I told myself I would do it, but I would have to remain focused on the end result, the degree.

At the beginning I had set 3 goals:

1. To get a better GPA than last time (I had a 3.76 last time),

2. to network with everyone (or at least try to),

3. and to get the Valedictorian achievement (for the second time).

Well, needless to say I achieved 2 of the 3 goals, the last one I will find out Friday, April 2, 2021. The 2 things that got me through the thesis this month were time management and staying focused. Time management during the master’s degree is vital to any student’s success. I have said it once to friends and I will say it here, the master’s degree at Full Sail is not a joke, it takes time and dedication. If you thought the bachelor’s degree was tough, well buckle up buttercup, the master’s is twice as hard. It really isn’t hard per say, it just takes time and effort.

These are just some of the ways I got through the master’s degree:

· Every week I would create a to-do list and prioritize the list of things according to what needed to be done first. (This helped ensure that no assignment would go overdue – yep, this girl had no overdue assignments!)

· Stay focused and avoid distractions – this was the most difficult thing for me since I am all over the place. Working, volunteering, taking care of others, and helping those who reach out are what my days consisted of, and that didn’t include what I needed to do for myself.

· Take time for yourself – your mental health is important and if you need a break, just know that it is ok to take some time for yourself and if you need someone to talk to that there is always someone. Active Minds is an excellent resource for anyone who is struggling or just needs someone to talk to. That number is 1-800-273-8255

All of that being said, I am glad I signed up for my master’s degree, I feel accomplished and couldn’t have done it without family, friends, and networking. Thank you all for being a part of my journey, I can’t wait to see where I end up next.

Image Reference:

Reference:

Well, here I am, I made it through month 11 of The Online Media Room.  My original goals consisted of:

·      Learning how to manage online media assets within an organization’s webpage,

·      Supporting both internal and external PR messages, and

·      Learning methods on how to strengthen a corporate web presence.

This month we learned several viewpoints from different online media rooms, some of these viewpoints make sense (while I would consider the others to best practices), that is if you want reporters to keep coming back to your OMR (online media room).  Some takeaways or smart additions that I want to add to my OMR would be:

·      A section of high-resolution photographs with my staff, logos, events held or attended, and relevant pictures or images.

·      A section of audio and video files, such as advertisements, B-roll, past conferences, news stories, speeches, and public service announcements.  These files would provide a download time, organized by file format, and size (that way the person downloading the file or files knows what to expect).

·      A calendar of events that you are attending, this may encourage the media to attend and get your possible exposure.  After the event, post a summary of what all happened, and include photographs.  It is said that a picture is worth a thousand words.

·      Lastly, I want to include awards, honors, or milestone achievements for myself or my business.  This type of positivity would boost morale for myself or my team, but it would also show others how we roll at The Rox Star Report.

This course has taught me the importance of keeping my website up to date with relevant topics and how to speak with one organizational voice, this will create a consistent site personality.  Another important factor to remember is to create a browser friendly online media room.  Things to consider are the specific target market, needs of the demographic, and what is your organization trying to accomplish or achieve.  These important things will keep the consumer coming back.  Do not use acronyms, jargon, or high-tech programs because your consumer may not understand or have connection issues.  Always think about how you can improve and update, there is always something new up and coming.

Reference: 

Patel, N.  (2020).  A Picture Says a Thousand Words: 10 Ways to Make Your Blog Visually Appealing.  [Online Image].  Retrieved on February 28, 2021, from: https://neilpatel.com/blog/a-picture-says-a-thousand-words-10-ways-to-make-your-blog-visually-appealing/

FOR EDUCATIONAL PURPOSES ONLY!

NOTE: IMAGE IS FOR EDUCATIONAL PURPOSES ONLY

My original objective for the Events Marketing and Production course had 3 goals prior to starting the course:

1. Learning how to create interest for a professional community,

2. How to create awareness (in general),

3. And the difference between real world and digital events.

This course required me to create a live event and an online webinar event to benefit my client.  My client, Farm Share, Inc. has been nonstop during this global Coronavirus pandemic, so the event I proposed and the webinar event I created were almost similar.  I created an event that could be carried on for years to come, I called it #HomeForTheHoliDade.  This course taught me so many things, from understanding effective marketing and production to what types of promotional strategies and tactics would work best at live events.  It also allowed me to introduce myself to important individuals in my community.  I was thrilled to meet and talk with the Mayors of both Homestead and Miami.  When I told them about my project for class, they actually thought that this could be a real event and how it was very well thought out.  By the time week 2 rolled around, I was working on the budget and promotional plan.  I ventured out of my comfort zone and met some more important people that play an important role to my client, the store managers at local grocery stores Publix, Winn-Dixie, and Walmart Neighborhood Market.  I told them how I was working on a school project and if there were a possibility of this event happening, what would they charge my client, they all had the same answer, they said nothing.  The only thing that the store managers asked for was to see the end result of my assignment.

Week 3 and week 4 were like a breeze since I knew where I wanted my event and webinar to go.  I scripted my webinar, recorded it, and I was on my way to week 4.  I knew exactly what was needed for my week 4 assignment, which was an inspiration board.  I went over my proposal and made sure things made sense and submitted.  I also emailed all of my contacts the webinar that I had created to see what they had thought, I am still waiting for responses.

The Media Relations course was nothing like I thought it was going to be.  I knew at some point we would be taking pictures and video using the products from our launch box, little did I know what the final outcome would be.  When I did my timeline on my webpage (www.RoxanneKHafer.com) my goals were to define a digital journalist vs a traditional journalist, understand how a PR professional needs the community, and how to engage and respond in professional ways.  Throughout the month I slowly learned all of these things, if I didn’t find an answer to something, I knew that if I kept looking, I would find the answer.

I think the most important part of this class was building a media list.  This was a wonderful starting point, networking with a bunch of people in the same industry that know your story will prove to be very beneficial.  Networking is very important in any industry; you honestly don’t know when you might need a helping hand in covering a story that is happening in 2 places at once.

Our final assignment, the video news release, was awesome.  I learned a lot about how to use the digital camera and how to edit b-roll in Adobe Premiere Pro.  I love using new video editing software and learning the ins and outs.  I typically use Adobe Spark, since it is very easy to edit and use, but after using Premiere Pro I am sold and will be using it more often.

The first thing I was told when I signed up at Full Sail University was to network with as many people as possible and to never burn any bridges.  I can honestly say that networking has helped me since day one and I am ever so thankful for every person who has crossed my path.  I was once a quiet person, but ever since I took on the role of Vice President of Social Media for the National Society of Collegiate Scholars I was taken out of my character.  I met so many awesome people from every degree program, and it helped me introduce myself to others.  Never did I see myself working for the Super Bowl in Miami, but now I will be working the Super Bowl this year in Tampa!  I am excited to see where this takes me, now that I will have a Master’s Degree in Public Relations.

Reference:

Zwilling, M.  (2020).  9 Tips to Get More Value from Business Networking.  [Online Image].