#prstudent

During February’s Media Relations course I continued to learn more about concepts of communication, but specifically how to develop strong communication strategies when engaging with the media. Prior to this class I lacked both the knowledge and the understanding of just how important it is for media professionals to understand how to develop the communications strategies and develop the tangible assets (ie: press kits/press releases) written to communicate effectively.

The most valuable assignment provided to us this month empowered us with the understanding, of how developing initial talking points would position media professionals to know how to properly handle aggressive journalists. Being able to handle ourselves in a media room is very important because, there will be journalists who may try to create situations to break your client or discredit them.

The course Market and Consumer Research Trends positioned me to really understand the importance of how strong research, helps to strengthen ideas and concepts. As my instructor so eloquently put it to me, “Matthew you’re not a subject matter expert”, my experience in this course provided a very humbling experience. Learning how to research properly allowed me to not “rely solely on intuition, experience, my own authoritative voice and blind luck” when developing concepts that are presented to the public. [1]

Prior courses focused on concepts in communications and then assignments were completed that tested my understanding of those theories. It was pretty simple and easy. This course was very different in that I needed to rely heavily on utilizing research, that could support the concept behind my social media campaign. The expectations set in my mastery timeline are in alignment to what I experienced this month.

This class is valuable in that it teaches students to locate relevant information to questions that other people do not know. It teaches proper research techniques, analyzation of findings and learning how to report and share findings. By developing strong research and writing skills, it will enable me to present facts to my client or employer when it comes to developing effective communications strategies.

References:

“One of our greatest sources of authentic power in life comes from our willingness and ability to act, especially in the face of obstacles and fear.”, says Mike Robbins; contributing writer to The Huffington Post.

I did it. I broke my fear of writing blogs in the Public Relations Tools and Resources course at Full Sail.

My original PRD mastery timeline outlined what my personal outcomes would be once completing Innovative Public Relations Tools and Resources. After reviewing the mastery timeline goals, I realized that I was able to successfully achieve my goal of establishing myself as a thought leader.

Writing authentic and quality blog content was an effort that was a labor of love; pushing myself every day and holding myself accountable to ensuring that my blog was setup and content got written on topics I believed in. I’ve since received great feedback from others regarding my personal blog and even got an opportunity to appear in an online digital magazine titled, “Bold and Savvy”; an invitation offered to me through a fellow automotive enthusiast on Instagram.

Writing authentic and passionate content allowed me to not only be vulnerable with my audience but helped me to connect with others. The blog titled, “Why I Love Cars So Much” experienced the most response from readers. I received comments such as, “It goes a long way toward explaining your automotive passion, not that any explanation is required or, sometimes, even possible.  I don't know that I have one myself beyond it being a natural extension of my obsession with all things mechanical.”, says Ken Balch - a local Orlando Ferrari Enthusiast.

Sometimes stepping out of our comfort zone can push us to access new territory and achieve goals we never thought accomplishing.