I have recently been referring to my upcoming semester in Rome as a dilemma- not because I am not looking forward to it (ask anyone, I AM!) but because it is really starting to affect my development and opportunities as a PR major. We all know that experience is key when it comes to working in the public relations field- and being out of the country taking four art history classes isn't getting me too far ahead.
However, from seeing other PR students spend time abroad, I’ve come to realize a few benefits of this time spent in another country. I’ve come up with a few ways that I (and any other communications student) can keep involved and connected while studying abroad:
1. WRITING -- I plan on keeping an in-depth blog while I learn, live, and travel in Italy. After researching different travel blogs and speaking with other students who have done the same, I've realized that this is one of the greatest benefits of studying abroad. Telling a story and captivating an audience is a key task that PR pro's must be able to master. I also hope to be able to contribute to other travel blogs and websites as well.
2. KEEPING AN ONLINE PRESENCE -- With the amount of knowledge I've learned from social media over the past year or so, it would be very hard for me to abandon it simply because I'll be out of the country. I do however, want to live 'la dolce vita' and not be consumed with my laptop and other things the entire time, but I will try my best to stay actively involved with the people I have made connections with through using social media. And with maintaining my presence online, I also strive to keep up with industry news, trends, and current events back home in America.
3. BECOMING GLOBALLY AWARE -- I haven't thought of it much before, but living on the other side of the world for four months has some hidden perks. It could give me a definite edge over those who I may be soon competing with for internships and even jobs after graduation. Understanding and living within another culture could greatly benefit me when it comes to targeting specific audiences in future jobs. I think living as an outsider in another culture will teach me not only patience, but respect and appreciation of other types of people. And that in itself has the power to help with any type of job.
This guest blog was written by PRowl Public Relations staff member Mackenzie Krott.
Sunday, August 7, 2011
Saturday, August 6, 2011
The EPI Blog Team
Every summer, the Philadelphia Youth Network, Inc. coordinates and runs a program aimed at providing high school students with the opportunity to gain real life work experience in a variety of industries. The Employer Paid Internship Program connects a select number of young adults with employers, giving the youth a chance to see what today’s working environment is like. The goal of the EPI program is to not only open the door to the business world, but also demonstrate to the youth the worth and importance of an education.
This summer, PYN was faced with the unique challenge of promoting the program to very distinct publics: youth currently enrolled in the program, potential applicants, funders, and current and potential employers. To meet this goal, PYN developed an EPI blog team, a group of young, driven, talented young men and women enrolled in the EPI program. Over the past 4 weeks they have been posting blogs on a PYN WorkReady website, workreadyclassroom.org. These blogs serve as testimonials to the maturity and professionalism that young adults develop thanks to the EPI program. The authors speak of the knowledge and insight that the EPI program cultivates and express the benefits of having an opportunity to enter college with real life work experience under their belts.
Not only does the blog team speak to the beneficial nature of the program, but those actually blogging are given the opportunity to work with PYN staff members to improve their writing skills. “This has given me the skills necessary to grow as a writer,” said Brenton Oakley, a blog team member. The blog team effectively demonstrates PYN’s mission to teach and enhance young adults work skills while at the same time communicate the value of the EPI program to its publics.
By posting on an official PYN website and promoting the blogs on PYN’s Twitter and main homepage, PYN is able to disseminate, to its wide range of publics, the positive growth that young people gain because of their experiences in the EPI program. Advertising to these audiences can, and hopefully will, allow the program to expand its services and employer relationships in the Philadelphia area.
To read what these gifted young writers have done, visit the blog page here.
This guest blog was written by PRowl Public Relations staff member Evan Galusha.
This summer, PYN was faced with the unique challenge of promoting the program to very distinct publics: youth currently enrolled in the program, potential applicants, funders, and current and potential employers. To meet this goal, PYN developed an EPI blog team, a group of young, driven, talented young men and women enrolled in the EPI program. Over the past 4 weeks they have been posting blogs on a PYN WorkReady website, workreadyclassroom.org. These blogs serve as testimonials to the maturity and professionalism that young adults develop thanks to the EPI program. The authors speak of the knowledge and insight that the EPI program cultivates and express the benefits of having an opportunity to enter college with real life work experience under their belts.
Not only does the blog team speak to the beneficial nature of the program, but those actually blogging are given the opportunity to work with PYN staff members to improve their writing skills. “This has given me the skills necessary to grow as a writer,” said Brenton Oakley, a blog team member. The blog team effectively demonstrates PYN’s mission to teach and enhance young adults work skills while at the same time communicate the value of the EPI program to its publics.
By posting on an official PYN website and promoting the blogs on PYN’s Twitter and main homepage, PYN is able to disseminate, to its wide range of publics, the positive growth that young people gain because of their experiences in the EPI program. Advertising to these audiences can, and hopefully will, allow the program to expand its services and employer relationships in the Philadelphia area.
To read what these gifted young writers have done, visit the blog page here.
This guest blog was written by PRowl Public Relations staff member Evan Galusha.
Friday, August 5, 2011
Ending your Summer Internship with a Sizzle
It seemed the start of summer was only yesterday and in the blink of an eye, its already August and summer is winding down quickly. With the end of summer comes the end of summer internships and Amanda Elliot of Come Recommended has you covered with great ways to leave a lasting mark:
1. Ask for a letter of recommendation. You should always have 2-3 letters of recommendation on hand for a job. While all jobs are different, your attributions to a company are best referenced when they are fresh in your recommender’s mind.
3. Write a thank you. Uncap your pen and thank your boss for the experience he gave you during the summer. If you had a mentor, thank him as well.
4. Keep in touch. Make sure you have a business card from everyone and hand out a few of your own so that the contacts you made all summer will not run dry. If you haven’t done so yet, connect with them on LinkedIn.
5. Put together a portfolio. Throughout your internship, you have been working on projects. If you didn’t save a copy of the things you were working on along the way, save documents to a flash drive to add to your portfolio. Once you leave the office, your business email vanishes as well. Hard copies are also nice especially since you already have the correct paper weight and color printer.
6. Look for opportunities for future employment. Some people spend their summer in a different state to complete an internship. Ask your boss if you could transfer to a position in the state where you go to college. Also, let them know your future plans after you graduate or next summer, or even during Christmas break. You always want to leave the door open to further the relationship you have established with the company.
7. Make things easier for your replacement. If you are the first intern your company has had, you can be a vital resource for the next intern. Put together any tips, instructions, and passwords you have in a booklet. Your boss will thank you because it will be easier for the next intern to reference what they need to do without your boss having to repeat it.
All of these are great ways to leave a lasting impression with your supervisor, and in the PR industry its important to build your network by maintaining these relationships. You never know when an internship could lead to a job opportunity and its always best to put the extra effort in to making your last impression count just as much as your first.
What other pieces of advice would you recommend for ways to end your summer internship with a sizzle? Let us know!
1. Ask for a letter of recommendation. You should always have 2-3 letters of recommendation on hand for a job. While all jobs are different, your attributions to a company are best referenced when they are fresh in your recommender’s mind.
- Informally: Two to three weeks prior to your last day, you should approach your boss and ask him to write a letter on your behalf.
- Formally: After discussing it with him, write him a formal letter detailing your tasks and assignments and include your resume. Write down the date the letter is due and for what purpose the letter will have in the future (i.e. grad school, future job)
3. Write a thank you. Uncap your pen and thank your boss for the experience he gave you during the summer. If you had a mentor, thank him as well.
4. Keep in touch. Make sure you have a business card from everyone and hand out a few of your own so that the contacts you made all summer will not run dry. If you haven’t done so yet, connect with them on LinkedIn.
5. Put together a portfolio. Throughout your internship, you have been working on projects. If you didn’t save a copy of the things you were working on along the way, save documents to a flash drive to add to your portfolio. Once you leave the office, your business email vanishes as well. Hard copies are also nice especially since you already have the correct paper weight and color printer.
6. Look for opportunities for future employment. Some people spend their summer in a different state to complete an internship. Ask your boss if you could transfer to a position in the state where you go to college. Also, let them know your future plans after you graduate or next summer, or even during Christmas break. You always want to leave the door open to further the relationship you have established with the company.
7. Make things easier for your replacement. If you are the first intern your company has had, you can be a vital resource for the next intern. Put together any tips, instructions, and passwords you have in a booklet. Your boss will thank you because it will be easier for the next intern to reference what they need to do without your boss having to repeat it.
All of these are great ways to leave a lasting impression with your supervisor, and in the PR industry its important to build your network by maintaining these relationships. You never know when an internship could lead to a job opportunity and its always best to put the extra effort in to making your last impression count just as much as your first.
What other pieces of advice would you recommend for ways to end your summer internship with a sizzle? Let us know!
Thursday, August 4, 2011
Twitter policy mobilization? Not so fast.
Politicians and political campaigns regularly use Twitter to connect with their constituents. Recently some politicians have started to use Twitter to connect with other politicians’ constituents over policy issues with mixed results.
A couple of weeks ago President Barack Obama held a nationally televised press conference to ask the American people to support compromise legislation to raise the nation’s debt ceiling. He asked the electorate to call their representatives to make it clear how important it was to avoid a national default. Obama failed to mention in this press conference that there was another contact method he supported: tweeting.
The Los Angeles Times reports that the White House instituted a communication initiative last week to educate the public on fiscal policy and urge bipartisan legislation through Twitter. Barack Obama’s Twitter account began posting the twitter handles of Republican legislators from across the country and urged their constituents to tweet towards a #compromise.
Obama’s account may have actually gone a little overboard with its policy mobilization strategy. The account tweeted nearly 100 times on July 29, mostly to post the Twitter handles of Republican legislators from Illinois to Florida. News outlets have reported that the initiative may have spurred a massive unfollowing of Obama’s Twitter accounts, with reports putting the exodus at between 33,000 and 40,000 followers in a single day.
Politicians should definitely use Twitter to help mobilize grassroots support but they must be careful about the spamming followers. Spread the communications initiative out over a week and focus on smaller geographical areas each day to avoid subjecting followers to a deluge of tweets. Obama’s #compromise Twitter initiative is an example of a great idea with a botched execution.
Wednesday, August 3, 2011
Re-branding From the Inside-out
As PR professionals we are often guided and instructed on how to re-brand an organization or a company. More often than not, we resort to changing the current logo and developing a new ad campaign. However, the University of Southern Mississippi has done much more than create a new outward appearance. University president, Dr. Martha Saunders, has been more than admit about changing the university from the inside out, “You can change the way a product looks, repackage it, put a new wrapper on it, but to brand an organization requires people. It’s more than just an image. It’s something people want to be a part of.”
In 2007 Saunders took on her role as university president and quickly began plotting the re-branding of the university. Her first act was gauging the opinions of the faculty, students, outside community and fellow administrators on unique attributes of the university. Common characteristics included a sense of tradition, self-sufficiency, diversity, and a unified mentality.
Next step in Saunders' plan included comprising a committee dedicated to identifying goals in efforts to create an academic environment for the university. Having common goals has created “a nice, positive difference on campus,” states Saunders, “we can’t do all things at the same time, so let’s pick two or three, and we’re all going to get in behind that."
Finally Saunders wanted to extend efforts outward and utilize the local press. Saunders' tactic for external coverage included tailoring each story to a particular niche media.
The results show national press coverage jumping 838 percent from the 2008-2009 school year, website traffic more than doubled, and freshman enrollment increased by 14 percent.
The Public Relations Society of America has recognized the university with its Silver Anvil Award.
In 2007 Saunders took on her role as university president and quickly began plotting the re-branding of the university. Her first act was gauging the opinions of the faculty, students, outside community and fellow administrators on unique attributes of the university. Common characteristics included a sense of tradition, self-sufficiency, diversity, and a unified mentality.
Next step in Saunders' plan included comprising a committee dedicated to identifying goals in efforts to create an academic environment for the university. Having common goals has created “a nice, positive difference on campus,” states Saunders, “we can’t do all things at the same time, so let’s pick two or three, and we’re all going to get in behind that."
Finally Saunders wanted to extend efforts outward and utilize the local press. Saunders' tactic for external coverage included tailoring each story to a particular niche media.
The results show national press coverage jumping 838 percent from the 2008-2009 school year, website traffic more than doubled, and freshman enrollment increased by 14 percent.
The Public Relations Society of America has recognized the university with its Silver Anvil Award.
Tuesday, August 2, 2011
Shark Week Takes a Bite Out of Social Media
With the Discovery Channel's Shark Week starting this past Sunday, I feel that it is necessary to highlight their impressive social media efforts to increase viewers for their 24th year of Shark Week.
Along with their very active Twitter account @SharkWeek, they have also created the Shark Week Live app for iPhone and iPad users to view all the social media conversations dealing with the program, as well as behind-the-scenes content. Viewers will also be enticed by their new "chief shark officer" who also happens to be Saturday Night Live star, Andy Samberg, who appears in the week's promos and will host the Shark City segment.
They also held a contest earlier in the summer for fans to make short video commercials, the top two winning ads running on the Discovery Channel during Shark Week. Improving upon last year's YouTube video contest, the channel decided to utilize Twitter seeing as last year, "Shark Week" was a trending topic with almost 91,000 tweets relating to the event, reports Mashable.
Will you be tuning in this week? For more information visit the Shark Week website here.
Happy Shark Week!
Along with their very active Twitter account @SharkWeek, they have also created the Shark Week Live app for iPhone and iPad users to view all the social media conversations dealing with the program, as well as behind-the-scenes content. Viewers will also be enticed by their new "chief shark officer" who also happens to be Saturday Night Live star, Andy Samberg, who appears in the week's promos and will host the Shark City segment.
They also held a contest earlier in the summer for fans to make short video commercials, the top two winning ads running on the Discovery Channel during Shark Week. Improving upon last year's YouTube video contest, the channel decided to utilize Twitter seeing as last year, "Shark Week" was a trending topic with almost 91,000 tweets relating to the event, reports Mashable.
Will you be tuning in this week? For more information visit the Shark Week website here.
Happy Shark Week!
Monday, August 1, 2011
7 Habits to Keep
Part of being a go-getter is not taking no for an answer and, most importantly, creating your own opportunities. Use your particular skills and tailor them to the areas in which you will prove to be an important tool. In "7 Habits That Make Great Opportunities Happen", Liz Strauss highlights 7 habits that will put you ahead of the game:
1. Pay Attention
Pay attention to your environment. Part of being a generally good employee is doing your best to make the company you're working for run as smoothly and effectively as you can. Take notice of how to do this, whether it be updating the company website, to typing up some quick notes to hand out to ensure a more fluid and efficient meeting. Not only will you grow as a person, but people will notice your role in the workplace and come to you when something comes up.
2. Think of your work as important
No one likes a Negative Nancy. Be positive in what you do and realize that you have the chance to make a difference, and take that chance. Even if your job for the day is to copy fliers, know that there is a purpose driving it and you were assigned it for a reason. By getting the job done well and without complaint, your coworkers will be more willing to provide you with new opportunities, knowing that you will get it done, no ifs, ands, or buts about it.
3. Be aware of the potential of your impact
Take into account that your actions don't just affect you, but everyone around you. Consider ways to make decisions that will make everyone's lives easier instead of cutting corners, and people will have confidence in you to make the best decision for the company as a whole.
4. Imagine opportunities everywhere you look
Try to look for ways you can incorporate your particular skill set. If you are good at writing, start small and offer to proofread the weekly newsletter. If you like graphic design, offer your skills and design a new letterhead. Who knows? Someone may see your skill as vital to a new project and before you know it, you've created yourself an opportunity!
5. Make yourself a magnet for jobs you do well
Having friends in all the right places is an asset. When people give you a hand, lend your hand back. Offering your expertise will give you the chance to set yourself apart from the crowd and will also showcase you as someone who is a team player, which will definitely be a factor when you are up for a higher position.
6. Count and record opportunities that suit you
Keep in mind what trends are rising and what role you may be able to play in them. Taking notice of these trends will put you ahead and will encourage others to come to you with new ideas, knowing that you have a knack for sensing future prospects.
7. Decide
So when an opportunity arises, take it and run with it. There is always a lesson to be learned and experience to be gained that will put you at an advantage in the future. Continue to grow through new opportunities and people will be more willing to be a part of whatever you are a part of, knowing that they will be in the right place at the right time.
Has an opportunity ever arisen for you that you declined because you felt that, for any reason, it didn't suit you? Looking back, do you wish you had taken it? Why? Let us know!
1. Pay Attention
Pay attention to your environment. Part of being a generally good employee is doing your best to make the company you're working for run as smoothly and effectively as you can. Take notice of how to do this, whether it be updating the company website, to typing up some quick notes to hand out to ensure a more fluid and efficient meeting. Not only will you grow as a person, but people will notice your role in the workplace and come to you when something comes up.
2. Think of your work as important
No one likes a Negative Nancy. Be positive in what you do and realize that you have the chance to make a difference, and take that chance. Even if your job for the day is to copy fliers, know that there is a purpose driving it and you were assigned it for a reason. By getting the job done well and without complaint, your coworkers will be more willing to provide you with new opportunities, knowing that you will get it done, no ifs, ands, or buts about it.
3. Be aware of the potential of your impact
Take into account that your actions don't just affect you, but everyone around you. Consider ways to make decisions that will make everyone's lives easier instead of cutting corners, and people will have confidence in you to make the best decision for the company as a whole.
4. Imagine opportunities everywhere you look
Try to look for ways you can incorporate your particular skill set. If you are good at writing, start small and offer to proofread the weekly newsletter. If you like graphic design, offer your skills and design a new letterhead. Who knows? Someone may see your skill as vital to a new project and before you know it, you've created yourself an opportunity!
5. Make yourself a magnet for jobs you do well
Having friends in all the right places is an asset. When people give you a hand, lend your hand back. Offering your expertise will give you the chance to set yourself apart from the crowd and will also showcase you as someone who is a team player, which will definitely be a factor when you are up for a higher position.
6. Count and record opportunities that suit you
Keep in mind what trends are rising and what role you may be able to play in them. Taking notice of these trends will put you ahead and will encourage others to come to you with new ideas, knowing that you have a knack for sensing future prospects.
7. Decide
So when an opportunity arises, take it and run with it. There is always a lesson to be learned and experience to be gained that will put you at an advantage in the future. Continue to grow through new opportunities and people will be more willing to be a part of whatever you are a part of, knowing that they will be in the right place at the right time.
Has an opportunity ever arisen for you that you declined because you felt that, for any reason, it didn't suit you? Looking back, do you wish you had taken it? Why? Let us know!
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