What is PR?...Round 2

Many weeks ago I wrote a post titled, "What Does Public Relations Mean to Me?" and I explained how I came to know and breathe the world of PR.

Now, after a full year of devotion to this major and some course specifically teaching me the ins and outs of this industry, I could probably recite what public relations is whether it's regarding its benefits to businesses or the difference between PR and marketing in my sleep.

I still strongly stand by my original, basic definition of PR I wrote in my first post, "Public relations is a career field that can include so many different personalities and skills while expanding into so many other interests from medical to sports to non-profit to government. If asked to define PR, I would simply state that pubic relations is promoting your passion."

This semester specifically, I have learned a lot more about the technical sides of PR in my course PR Writing than anything else. I feel like I could whip out a press release, social media content calendar, ghost quotes, speech, boilerplate, media pitch or all of the above pretty well. It's been exciting to learn just how essential PR is in client relations not just to the public but internally or to different media sources as well.

One of the best things I love about public relations is that it is EVERYWHERE!!! There are many instances the public does not realize how PR weaves in and out of almost every area of business. Even when there is a crisis like an inappropriate tweet from a worker or a sexist poster at a university that causes a student outrage...it all involves PR and maintaining the company's image...the brand.

I will close with this: let's just say once you put on the PR goggles...there's no taking them off.

Senior Speeches

This evening I attended my university's communication department's senior speeches. This is where all senior Comm majors are required to give an eight to ten minute speech on around a certain theme with no notecards or visual aids. This is my second time I attended senior speeches; I once went the fall semester of my freshman year...it was terrifying. 

The idea of giving a memorized speech with scholarly citations on not-so-easy topics at 17...welcome to college Rach. 

However, after almost completing now two years of college and taking a higher level communication course called Professional Communication (you have to give 5000 speeches, some memorized) I feel like I can do anything. The memorized speeches don't seem so scary any more, I actually feel a bit excited. You see, this school year I have given tons of speeches, presentations, introductions, conclusions, awards, ran meetings...you name it. I would also say that 90 percent of these occasions were pretty much memorized...so ten minutes my senior year with a whole semester to practice? As Michelle Tanner would say, you got it dude. 

One of my favorite moments of this event actually surprised myself though. It was the moments when I student giving their speech got hung up on a word or may have forgotten their next word, but then they took a second, got back on track, and finished strong! That moment of struggle, fight, then overcoming and being successful made me want to stand up and cheer after each speech. And you know what? Just by the looks on the faces around the room during these moments, I believe my peers and those attending felt the same way. I couldn't be prouder to be in this department.

I Cannot Tweet a Lie...But You Did

In a previous post I discussed the PRSA Member Code of Ethics and how they apply to our industry, especially as a Christian. One key area of ethics that has been booming in our field is the discussion of honesty and transparency as a public relations professional representing a company.

One verse that really sticks out to me regarding this topic is Proverbs 19:1, “Better is a poor person who walks in his integrity than one who is crooked in speech and is a fool.”(ESV)

One great example of this is the recent issue that happened with Donald Trump’s campaign manager, Corey Lewandowski. Basically, Lewandowski has been charged with simple battery this past Tuesday.

The charge came in Florida after Trump was finished speaking at an event when a woman reporter tried to get a statement from him. Lewandowski pulled her back after she supposedly put grabbed his arm.

Here’s the kicker…Lewandowski tweeted that he never touched this reporter, he didn’t know who she was and that she was delusional. BUT THEN a video came out from a security camera showing the interaction between the two.

There are many factors I could talk about here, but I want to focus in on Lewandowski lying on Twitter. His ethics, transparency and ability to be a successful campaign manager for someone who could potentially be in the White House are being brought into question.

No matter how successful Lewandowski has been with Trump’s campaign, the minute you’re “crooked in speech” instead of having integrity is the potential start of a deadly downfall.

This recent incident has really brought into perspective how important honestly and transparency all across the board is, especially when it happened on a social media platform such as Twitter.

Three Networking Event Tips That Are Overlooked All Too Often

1. Dress to Impress

How you present yourself at a networking event is CRUCIAL, even just as a first impression. Yes, those terrifying “first impressions” can have the potential to make or break you. Don’t be afraid to look great, chances are it will help boost your confidence if you’re feeling nervous about talking to basically strangers.

2. Keep Your Business Cards in a Convenient Location

All to often you will see some people shuffle around their bags or check multiple pockets to find their business cards to exchange with someone. This can actually come off a bit unprofessional and unorganized to the person your talking with, and it also doesn’t help with good impression you want to make as mentioned above. Keep your cards is an easy to access place like the front pocket of your purse or chest pocket on your shirt fellas. Trust me, you’ll thank me later.

3. Don’t be Afraid to Not Talk All Business

One of the key ideas that can be forgotten at networking events is the fact it is all about relationship building. This is such a key area, especially in the field of communications, to build your network through the relationship you BUILD. Everyone there is there to talk business and expand their horizons and contacts, so it’s okay to touch on interests or subjects to stand out a bit too. You may be surprised at the way you connect with someone, or the topic you might discuss that has your future employer remembering who you are.

What's More Common: Dust or Ads?

This week in one of my public relations courses, we were asked to do a “communications audit” of our lives. This includes looking over how many brands we see in 24 hours, how many ads on social media, how much time spent on our phone and things like this. What I can say is that my results were somewhat expected…but still surprising.

One of the main things I didn’t realize until this audit is just how many advertisements are on major social media sites nowadays. Facebook and Twitter have TONS of sponsored ads consistently throughout scrolling on the home pages…I’m talking you can’t go ten statuses or tweets without seeing one. Also it seems like all the video and music site or apps, like YouTube and Pandora/Spotify, are full of commercials consistently as well. If I wanted to see commercials, I’d watch TV y’all.

When it came to checking out brands, I thought it would be funny to peek in the closet my roommate and I share. What an idea that was! There are so many unique brands within my own clothing I wasn’t even aware of! Well over 50 in our closet total. Yes, there were the basics like American Eagle, Urban Outfitters, Victoria Secret, Nike…. you get the picture. Yet I also own all these brands I haven’t even heard of! This may be because I am addicted to thrifting at stores like Plato’s Closet or even Salvation Army, but it was still pretty eye opening just how much we are surrounded by advertisements through all different avenues.

So now the real question is, what is more common around us: dust or ads?

The Face-Swap Phenomenon

How many of you have seen or used Snapchat's crazy face-swap filter? You know, the one where you and someone (or in some cases things) can put your face next to each other and the filter will switch your face with the other? 

That's all I saw ALL over social media during spring break. Whether it was Snapchat Stories, Twitter, Facebook or Instagram, it was almost like I couldn't get away.

But what about the phenomenon of Snapchat itself?

A few years ago many were hesitant to even download this app saying it was for "inappropriate pictures to disappear quickly." But now...from teens to adults to moms to dads...Snapchat has become one of the main avenues of communication and social media. 

Even watching my two best friends from home over break, I'm pretty sure they brought up Snapchat at least every 10 minutes. Some conversations they were having were only on this app while also you can continually view who sees your posts on the "My Story" feature.

So how does an application that's legitimacy was once questioned because one of the highest grossing social media tools?

Stay tuned to future posts to see a breakdown and analysis of Snapchat and learn how we progressed to "The Face-Swap Phenomenon. 

Brian Basilico, Bacon and Some Sizzling Tips

This past Tuesday international author, speaker and founder of his own marketing consulting and production company, Brian Basilico, spoke to our PR Writing class and PRSSA chapter. Not only did he teach me how awesome bacon is and the insane amount of bacon products out there (will explain in one moment), but there were some KEY essential tips I really picked up from him: the importance of analytics aka bacon, podcasting and blab.

So regarding the bacon, Basilico is the author of four books his most popular being, “It’s Not About You, It’s About Bacon! Relationship Marketing in a Social Media World.” He uses the word “bacon” with all of his content because it is the second most shared thing on social media besides kittens. Something so simple like this really showed me the power of using analytics online to adapt to your audiences and find those key words and things your users are looking for.

He explained to our group just how important podcasting is, a tool I had never really looked into before. Reason being, when I hear the word “podcast,” I think of my mother downloading tons of sermons on iTunes. I did not truly realize the impact podcasts could have until he showed us his analytics or the amount of podcast downloads some professionals have.

He also introduced us to a new platform, Blab. Blab is like a periscope-style talk show, it is broadcast live while you are interviewing someone else, and there are two “hot seats” that others can pop onto and ask questions. I am always looking for new social media tools for my arsenal, and I cannot wait to check this one out for myself.

Some other key tips I picked up:

• Never stop being a professional student, never stop learning
• If you have a hard time writing, use a dictation app to talk through something (which is helpful for writing books)
• Social media without measurement is like a train without an engine
• Social media is a tool, not your end game. Putting something on social media with no link back to your site or key message is like a little island out there by itself