The Internet is Unforgiving

Take a second and think about the title of this blog. Can you remember something you may have posted when you first created a Facebook account (hello "OMG sooooooo excited to go to the movies xoxoxo <333" from 2009)? What about that crazy embarrassing photo of you your mom posted of you friends seem to find five years later?

Let's get more serious...think about all the stories of celebrity nudes or sex tapes getting released because they were somehow hacked or sent over Snapchat. There have been companies where employees accidentally tweeted inappropriate things on their accounts, quotes from politicians being brought up during this debate from months ago, and company reputations with PR campaigns going down the drain from public criticism. Truly, the Internet is unforgiving.

We recently had guest speaker Debra Bethard-Caplick speak to our social media strategies class at my university, and this is one of the main points that stuck with me. We are all too lenient these days with what we post on social media, especially my generation (Gen Z), and we continually see others face the consequences (yet think we're still untouchable ourselves).

Another key point she made related to this idea was: ”Somebody has to be the adult in the room and unfortunately too many people on social media are not."

Wow. Let that one sink in and just TRY to tell me it's not 100 percent accurate.

Even if you are not attempting to be "professional" on social media, it is ESSENTIAL to remember it is not made to be a platform of vulgarity, arguments, or post every area of your life for the entire world to have access to. Just because you may think marijuana should be legalized doesn't mean it's appropriate to post a picture of yourself smoking online.

Let me leave you with three things (LOOK HERE BEFORE YOU LEAVE) if you have zoned out for most of this blog:

1. The benefit and PROBLEM with social media is that it's instantaneous
2. Somebody has to be the adult in the room and unfortunately too many people on social media are not
3. THE INTERNET IS UNFORGIVING

Trump vs. Clinton Debate 2016-Round 1

*Good evening ladies and gentlemen and welcome to round one of the 2016 presidential debates! In this corner we have Republican candidate Donald Trump...and in this corner we have Democrat candidate Hillary Clinton! Let the battle begin!*

If you needed a metaphor comparing how the first presidential debate went last Tuesday, look no further. But this post isn't about politics or picking a side, this post is about the public relations aspect to this debate. Specifically let's discuss Twitter and how Trump and Clinton's teams handled their social media account.

Again, taking the politics out of this blog post, Clinton's team was more impressive on Twitter during the campaign while Trump was mentioned more on social media throughout the debate.

One significant thing I learned about political PR teams during this debate was that they have multiple tweets set up and prepared throughout the night with cues to send them when key topics are brought up/phrases said. I'm sure I "knew" the candidates in debates have specific content prepped out to discuss, but actually seeing that happen live on screen then a tweet going out a second later relating perfectly made my lightbulb go off.

One of the best tweets of the night was when Clinton's team pulled up something Trump said regarding China and then his team preceded to delete the tweet. There were multiple jokes about how Clinton's team had fact checkers while Trump's had tweet deleters.

I was left with truly one question after the debate: why wasn't Hillary Clinton wearing a flag pin but Trump was?

From a PR standpoint, will there or have there been repercussions from this small incident?

Expert Essentials: Brian Basilico

Last Wednesday in one of my college courses, Social Media Strategies, we had social media expert and published author Brian Basilico speak to our class over Skype about his new book,  Bacon Business, Sizzling Hot Recipes to Grow Your Business. His book is a 12-step process and is divided also into three parts: marketing trifecta, content creation tools and content distribution/delivery. Here are some of the best tips and takeaways I got from his presentation:

1. Businesses Can Have More Than One Audience

It is critical to identify who the target audience is and if there is more than one. The example Basilico gave was looking at a nonprofit. There are two main audiences who they really have to market too besides just those the organization may be trying to reach. The first is donors, and the second is volunteers. Each audience will be wanting different ways of communication and what is being communicated to them.

2. There Are Three Questions Being Asked When Looking at a Website

• Why am I here?
• What should I do?
• Why should I do it?

If you keep these three questions in mind, the entire layout of your website will be easier to determine because your goal will be to answer all three of these. Your content should answer these fairly quickly, and it is also important to remember to have a "call to action" on your site to make visitors interact. This can be anything from downloading a free sample to calling for a free (emphasis usually on free) consultation. 

3. Don't Underestimate How Important Analytics Are

According to Basilico, analytics are the "lifeblood" of understanding this whole system and how it works. You can't run a business without understanding numbers, and there are so many unique and new ways you can analyze your website or online platforms. One of the main ways is that they can help you measure what pages people are visiting on your website and how long they are even staying on the page.

To learn more about Brain Basilico, check out his website here: http://www.b2b-im.com 

Three Reasons Why You Should Participate in Twitter Chats as a Young Professional

It's easy to get involved with others on Twitter whether it's replying to someone's tweet or tagging them in a picture, but have you ever participated in a Twitter Chat as a young professional?

For those who don't know what a Twitter Chat is, it's a conversation revolving around a hashtag typically between a company and its followers. With the hashtag, you can follow the conversation and participate with both the company and others during the time the "chat" is happening.

Here's three reasons why you need to start participating in Twitter Chats as a young professional:

1. It Gets Your Name Out There

Your Twitter should represent your personality through your tweets, favorites, pictures, bio, picture, and FOLLOWERS!!! Follow those big companies you love that hold Twitter Chats then participate! You will slowly but surely get your name out there in the professional world and potential gain some followers along the way (hello fellow colleagues or employers)! Someone could also retweet something you say and allow for MORE people to see your name and professional insight.

2. You Can Learn A LOT

Most companies hold chats that answers some great questions or allow their followers to voice their feedback on certain things. For example, I follow the Public Relations Student Society of America (PRSSA) on Twitter and have followed many of their chats. I have already learned so much regarding the PR world or PRSSA just through reading these tweets from others and PRSSA.

3. Your Profile Will Look More Professional

I love to showcase my personality on Twitter through things like pictures from my life, Bible verses, funny jokes, you get the picture. But I also include retweets, favorites, and mentions all to people or companies within my profession to showcase my professional side on my personal account. It becomes difficult to take care of multiple accounts at a time, so don't be afraid to merge both your personal and professional world together a bit online. If you're worried about someone being irritated about you posting a link to a great PR article you found, you're probably following or being followed by the wrong type of people anyways.

Personal Social Media Strategy

The idea of digging into my social media accounts or maybe even social media past (hello embarrassing posts from 2009) is a bit of a scary thought, but a refreshing social media analysis is just what every person could probably use.

This blog is going to look at three different social media platforms I use consistently in my life (and all three are somewhat connected to one another): Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook.

1) Twitter
Tweets as of today: 18.8k
Following: 509
Followers: 897

Twitter is probably the platform I use the most often. Most of my followers are friends from all my areas of life (high school, college, church, ect.) but more recently includes some professionals and PR colleagues. I debated using this account more "professionally," but I showcase my humor and personality on here with some witty comments or retweeting things that may showcase who I am.

I make sure I NEVER retweet or favorite something with any foul language and/or images, and I tend to block accounts like that or unfollow friends who retweet vulgar things. One thing I stay keenly aware of is that even the tweet I favorite can be seen, and I'm even pretty specific on what tweets I continue to make public I like.

I do like the way I currently utilize Twitter to show bit and pieces of my personality, passions, and pictures I specifically choose to post. I try to post at least once or twice a day on here because of the fact Twitter won't always show tweets on newsfeed that were just tweeted but by popularity of the tweet or if that person tends to view your tweets I've noticed. I think it is professional enough to where I would not be embarrassed if a company was viewing my profile either.

2) Instagram

Posts: 308
Followers: 1,081
Following: 1, 013

I love that my Instagram connects to both my Twitter and Facebook accounts. I specifically chose certain pictures and filters to go on here and want to represent myself as genuinely as I can. One tone I choose to set is having a white border around all my pictures to make my background look sleeker on my profile page. I try to showcase my faith when I can and post many pictures with my friends and family usually with something positive or thankful to say. I also believe this account showcases my personality and warmth, and I would not mind a company viewing it.

I typically do not post on Instagram too often, but when the semester goes back in session I will probably post around twice a week. If I were a more well-known individual with more followers I'd probably stay more up to date, but for now I don't want to over-post.

3) Facebook

Friends: 1,442

Facebook is the platform I have used the longest. I created an account back in middle school, and I think it's best I don't dig back that far for some of the posts or pictures I may have put up. Looking at how I use it today, it's pretty much the same as Twitter to me. My cover photo is my family who's very important to me, and I try to stay on top of posting pictures while I'm away at school often (mostly for my mom).

Like Twitter, I make sure to re-share things that represent who I am, but with Facebook I will tend to add my two cents even if it's just a small comment. I do have a lot of old "friends" I could probably weed out who's content I don't like or agree with, but I typically don't post on Facebook "status" wise very often. I do go on at least to browse and like my friends' content on the daily and post some kind of picture once a week (even if that's just my Instagram one going through to Facebook or being tagged).

Introducing My Top Five Strengths

As junior year of college finally closes in on me, that means it's also time to reignite my blogging flame!

In my first post EVER, I introduced myself as a human and described a bit of what public relations means to me. Since the beginning of sophomore year, my life has RADICALLY changed (for the better thank goodness)!

I thought instead of re-introducing myself again on here I would describe myself through my top five Gallups StrengthsFinder results. For those of you who don't know what this is, it's a paid test you can take where it will describe what your top strengths are in detail to help you better understand who you are and what you should do.

1. Woo
"Winning Others Over" is what WOO stands for. I'd like to think of this as the gift of persuasion. I love to talk to others especially new people CONSTANTLY...it actually gives me a bit of a rush. This also means I love to charm and get people to believe in what I believe in or be persuasive about pretty much anything really. The secret behind this strength though is that do those who have it use it for good, or for evil?

2. Futuristic
I love thinking about the future! I know, that sounds a bit weird to a lot of people, but thinking of what the future holds is almost like my "happy place." Encouraging others to have a better future and reach for their goals is really my main motivation behind this strength, and it also helps keep me motivated in the present working towards my goals in the future.

3. Achiever
Lists, goals, charts, bullet points, notepads, checkmarks. I am a woman who likes to get things DONE. Not only do I want complete multiple task a day and reach goals on a consistent basis, but it can actually drive me NUTS if I don't stay busy. Oh, and if I do something, it is ALWAYS done well. Which leads to my next strength...

4. Competition
So, this strength doesn't necessary mean I just like to compete in things and win (although yes, I do like that). To me, competition is more with myself in the fact that if I'm doing something, it will be done to its FULLEST potential and be the BEST quality. If you don't want to hire me already then my last strength will win you over for sure.

5. Communication
Not only am I a COMM major, but communication both from me to others and from others to me is something I thrive on! Clearly looking back at WOO I love to talk to people, but with this strength I really value the QUALITY of how I communicate. Whether this means having intentional conversations, making others feel good or just speaking properly, it's a big deal to me. This also means I really value others who value this strength and communicate well back with me.

What's Happening This Week?

For this post, I will be identifying three stories in the news this week and how PR is impacting them.

One big story this week is how the first U.S. cruise ship since the ‘70s sailed to Cuba on Monday with around 700 passengers. This is a monumental event for both governments since there have been so many issues in the past, and there was even a protest from exiles of Cuba that almost delayed the cruise. There had been a Cuban rule that people born in Cuba are forbidden from leaving the country as well as others entering, but Cuba finally has agreed to lift the ban.

I think with this event it’s pretty clear PR is flowing in and out of it. This is such a historical moment for both countries, and it needs to be covered and handled quite carefully since it is a sensitive topic to some. Even in the article I read, it focused more on the positives of those entering Cuba then revealing details of the protest that happened and almost delayed the cruise from leaving.

The second story I read was about how Johnson & Johnson have just ordered to pay a woman $55 million who said that using the company’s talc-powdered products for her feminine hygiene caused her to develop ovarian cancer. The company is actually facing 1,200 lawsuits regarding this issue, and they continue to plan to fight these trials.

In my eyes, this is definitely heading in the direction of crisis communication. The fact that the woman won the trial and that there are 1,200 other claims against this specific issue is going to hurt the company’s image severely if not managed well. The article even said after this trial J&J’s stock decreased 18 cents…just from publicity of this one trial.

The final story I saw was extremely interesting to me, it covered how on the fifth anniversary of bin Ladin’s death, the CIA actually live-tweeted the events in “real-time.” Yes, I’m not kidding. To celebrate this anniversary, the official CIA Twitter had someone tweet little known details of the raid on bin Ladin in the “real-time” that it happened five years ago. Crazy, innovative, and interesting.

This definitely has PR all over it. Utilizing social media alone ties into the facet of PR, but this was almost like a mini-campaign idea used to regenerate talk about this historic event and interact with Twitter users online. It was very innovative and a unique idea that generated a ton of buzz…I wonder who that PR person was.