#practicing pr

I know I’ve talked about the importance of having a reputable web presence from an individual professional perspective, but I’ve yet to talk about how important it is for a business/company/organization to have a good web presence!

I recently got engaged (YAY! See how I’ve learned to slip that into every conversation I have? Tehe, I’m excited), and my fiance’ and I have been searching for wedding venues, catering, photographers, etc. Of course, we start with the magical Google, as do most people. I cannot tell you how many vendors we’ve rule out just based on their web presence alone.

Your business must reflect its own image absolutely everywhere, including (and especially) the website. Here is my advice on having a quality site overall:

A few weeks ago, you might remember me posting about an upcoming job interview. I promised to share the outcome and some advice, so here you go:

1) From the moment I walked in, I didn’t necessarily feel comfortable. I didn’t feel like I felt in or like the work environment was best suited for me. That was awkward.

2) My interviewer asked me very generic interview questions, and thankfully I was pretty prepared for them (I recommend practicing answers to these kinds of questions as well as practicing making your answers sound natural and not contrived). That was a plus. 

3) The job described in the interview did not match the job description on my application. That was a problem.

4) The interviewer seemed displeased with the fact that I couldn’t begin work until after graduation. That was unfortunate.

If there’s one thing I’ve learned through my internship this year, it’s that the media can make or break ANY situation. We all know the media spins stories or picks and chooses what they want to feature (gun control and immigration, local crime, global warming, pop culture). The media obviously has a huge influence on how the public perceives information.

As a PR professional, you must be able to work with journalists, reporters, photographers, videographers and news anchors to produce quality, accurate stories. It is your job to know your story inside and out, the good, the bad and everything in between. It is your job to think of questions before they arise and be able to address the media quickly and effectively.

My Advice:

1) Always have a great press release. Sometimes, especially in bigger cities, you won’t have the chance to talk personally with the media. Your press release may be the main source for a journalist covering your story, so you need to make sure you’ve got the most important information in writing (and the best contact information). You don’t want to fill a press release with so much fluff and extra information (a journalist will likely just skim it and move on; they are busy too and have other stories to cover); you simply want to make sure the points you include are the most important to the story. In other words...#2:

I logged in this morning to see that I now have 700 followers on this blog! I am so thrilled to be able to share my experiences and advice with so many readers. What an honor!

Here is my advice for today:

Be thankful! Be grateful for every opportunity within your reach. If you’re reading this now, you have more luxury than some. You’re on a computer or a mobile device, which means you have the world at your fingertips. A world of opportunity. Take advantage of that in your PR career (and in life in general). Go google internships or other PR blogs or campaign ideas. 

Write a hand-written “thank you” card to someone today. Call a client and tell them how appreciative you are. Tell your boss how thankful you are for this internship, this job, this promotion. The attitude is contagious, and it will help you get far in the world of client relations.

Yesterday I had the opportunity to roam campus with our cameraman and ask students what they thought the world would be like in 2045 (it was “Back to the Future” day, for those of you who didn’t know). 

The video concept sounded fun, but I’ll admit the interviewing was hard work! Finding people who actually wanted to participate (be on camera, answer questions and potentially do re-takes) was difficult. 

Once we finally found people who were willing to participate, we had to determine whether or not they worked for the video concept. Could they project well? Was their answer appropriate for the vision? Could they easily be understood by the general public?

What sounded like a quick break from the office turned into two hours of interviews. The video came together, and it was a great piece in the end! Check it out here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RxbeJ826BfE&feature=youtu.be

Additionally, I had to complete an interview assignment for my multimedia journalism class yesterday. I had to write a news story and interview people around campus for their opinions on the piece. Again, I found myself struggling to find willing participants, but I finally landed on some with great opinions. I started to write my piece before interviewing them which was a mistake. The interviews will guide the story. Brainstorm your questions and topic, conduct interviews, then compose a piece based on the interview <<--- Solid advice, I promise. 

My Advice:

(when conducting camera interviews):

1) Keep shooting. If the subject answers the question, give them five more seconds. This gives you time to edit out a fade, but it also gives them a moment to keep thinking. I found that people gave their best answers after they blurted out their first thought. 

2) Know your topic. Be familiar with what you’re covering. You should be able to answer questions or ask follow up questions based on the topic you’re covering. 

3) Be approachable. Many people will mimic your attitude/tone during an interview. If you’re excited and inquisitive, they’ll be more likely to give you a solid interview.

If your mindset is anything like mine (and trust me, most PR people are planners), you know the importance of a good plan. You set goals and aim to fulfill them- to check them off your list. You might have a hard time accepting a detour in that plan.

As I approach graduation in roughly six months, I’ve begun to really consider my options. Do I want to be at the University? How can I go corporate if I don’t care much for cities? 

My plan in recent months has been to work for my University full-time while working towards my Master’s in the evening. The plan seems solid. 

But I don’t want to rule out any options. I’ve been talking with co-workers, bosses, other employees around town- seeking advice from everyone I can speak to. What I’ve learned is that my plan may just be a starting point.

A construction firm spoke with my class during my sophomore media class. I didn’t understand why a business built around building and architecture would speak to a bunch of communication students, but I kept her business card anyway. 

Gulfstream Engineering is visiting my campus this week to conduct interviews. I know nothing of airplanes, and frankly am probably clueless about most of what they entail, but I signed up for an interview time anyway.

My advice:

SIGN UP FOR IT ALL!

You never know what an opportunity might hold. Public Relations is so flexible, and every single business needs someone holding up that end of the marketing deal to be successful. 

My mentor/friend visited this weekend and shared that she too is venturing out. She is currently working for a media group (which she enjoys), but she wants to venture out from internal affairs. She has applied for everything from State Farm to real estate positions, and I trust that she will find her niche so long as she doesn’t shut any doors. 

Or at least know someone who knows graphic design.

I’m a very creative person, but when it comes to designing graphics of any sort, I’m inept. I know when something looks wrong, but I’m not sure how to fix it myself. I’m looking to take some classes soon, but for now I’ll give my best tips.

My Advice:

HAVE THIS SKILL! You either need it, or you need to be willing to pay for good graphics. It’s essential to any campaign.

My friend and co-worker Gianna is a graphic design student, and she has been gracious enough to help me with my personal graphics for my website and business cards. I’ve discussed so many times how important having a brand is, and usually brands come with logos. Check out this amazing design! She incorporated the heart from my signature and the “@” symbol I use in PR and social media every day! 

I could never have thought of this myself, and that’s why it’s so important to have Gianna. Of course, it’s much simpler to know how to do it yourself, but we aren’t all gifted in every field, ha!

I’ve got lots of exciting PR projects going on in my jobs this week, and I want to share some of them with you!

I met my new boss in my marketing position this week, and she seems pretty fantastic. She has lots of energy and is really driven, and it’s making me so excited about my work! The PR team and I, under her direction, are going to start work on a University housing campaign as well as a campaign for our U-store’s fashion line, U’Tique. I’ve worked in University Housing before, so that campaign might be familiar. I’ve never worked in apparel before though, so I’m excited to see what we come up with in that campaign!

In the job I’m also collaborating on a bi-weekly newsletter that is sent to the entire student body (25,000+), scheduling posts for social media and working events. We just had a really cool Dining event called “Homegrown.” I came up with the idea to increase our feedback response frequency and social media interaction by having students take the survey or tweet us feedback with a specific hashtag to earn a free event shirt. That was a huge success, and I was really proud of that idea and how smoothly it went! The team I was working with was amazing too. That was one of the busiest but smoothest events I’ve ever worked on. Event planning, implementation and evaluation are all such important parts of PR!

I’m also working on a feature story about one of the leaders in our department for bringing Iris biometric technology to campus. I’ve written the news piece (which actually got published in a regional publication recently!), but this feature story on it is so different. I’m really learning the difference in writing styles, and I really hope the feature gets published in the national publication I’m working towards. I’ve been researching, interviewing and gathering quotes to add to the feature for weeks. I’ve also had several people copy-edit and proof it as I write. The more eyes that read over a piece, the better! 

At my other job, I am still doing plenty of writing and research, but I’m also running a different kind of event today. Another PR intern here came up with a brilliant campaign called #MyTrueBlue in which students answer trivia questions in order to win free university merchandise (like an exclusive shirt and poster). After they participate, they can take fun pictures with our campus photographer. I’m running the booth today (which gets chaotic). I ran it last week, and I had SUCH a blast! I love getting to pump people up in the morning, talk to everyone and get students excited about our events. I also wrote most of the trivia questions, so witnessing students learn interesting facts about our school makes the job even more rewarding.

In my Mary Kay business, I am practicing even more sides of PR. After holding my biggest party ever (and dealing with sales, marketing and customer relations), I signed up ladies who were interested in learning more about the MK opportunity for interviews. I had my first interview yesterday. Interviewing someone is so different than being interviewed-- somehow it was more pressure for me. I conducted it just like any other business interview. I tried to be personable and professional, but I was nervous! Nevertheless it was exciting, the interviewee was fantastic, and I felt confident leaving after our meeting. Today I am conducting a group interview with three ladies, and I have another one scheduled later this week. This aspect of the business is not only teaching me how to conduct interviews but also how to plan meetings, adapt agendas, talk 1:1 and in small groups, follow up, etc. I’m learning so much! I hope to continue growing in this aspect.

In addition to everything, I am hoping to compete in a scholarship pageant for my university in February. Pageants apply to PR in so many ways. The pageant is all about the image and reputation (that can be fully backed) of the competitor. I’ll have to be able to think on the spot to answer questions, speak in front of an audience, have a valid, well-stated resume, etc. The interest meeting is coming up, and I’m starting to prepare now.