Breaking Up with Facebook Just in Time for Valentine's Day

If you know even a little bit about social media, you have probably heard about the popular social media site, Facebook and their ever-changing design. It seems like just when you get used to the older version, the site is changing your settings once again.

With the recent conversion to the Timeline format, my mini feed has been filled with peeved statuses about the new change along with a lot of resistance to the new layout. Being a Facebook user since I was about 16, I've listed below the newest changes that are making me want to say "it's not me, it's you" to the social media giant.

• Timeline: As if Facebook isn't a hazard enough for digital dirt, the Timeline feature allows anyone to snoop around in anything that has been posted on your wall in the lifetime of your account. It is an option to go through and delete these posts and pictures, but that process would be a time-consuming journey I'd rather avoid. Can't say that I appreciate seeing all my corny high school statuses and embarrassing pictures, Mr. Zuckerberg.
  
• The cover picture: While this can be a cool addition to your Facebook page, I already waste enough time scrolling through mostly useless information, but now I have to find TWO interesting profile pictures?!
• Lists: On almost the entire left side of your mini-feed has your friends categorized into places you've worked, groups, close friends, etc. I have never really looked through my mini feed by selecting certain lists, but it stresses me out to see 20+ notifications next to each one.
  
• Subscriptions: To make sure you can update yourself on your friends' personal lives even more than usual, subscribe to them. Especially for someone that accesses Facebook through a phone application, getting constant notifications about activity on someone else's wall is particularly annoying.
  

Are you happy with your relationship with Facebook?

Writing an Effective Strategic Communications Plan: The Grammy Awards

It's no secret that every campaign requires a good, effective, and all-encompassing strategic plan. For instructional purposes, we'll look to last night's Grammy Awards as an example. In "7 Strategic Communication Lessons by Way of the Super Bowl", Larry Parnell outlines what elements should be included in every communications plan:

• Situation Analysis: What are you pulling off? You are in charge of a live, nationally syndicated awards show that has been on the air for 54 years. You are also competing against another awards show, the BAFTA Awards, on the same day. Evaluate your competition and research the background of previous Grammy Awards to see where you stand and what you can improve upon.
  
• Goals and Objectives: What do you want to accomplish? What objectives do you need to hit in order to execute a successful show? Yes, you want to increase viewership, but how will you do that? Better commercials, more celebrities, a better host, etc.
  
• Key Message(s): What message are you trying to get across to your audience? You want to show the public that the Grammy Awards is a respectable, entertaining, and diverse awards show that showcases the talent of musicians in various genres.
  
• Tactics: How will you pull all of this off? Increased social media engagement, more funding from investors, what performers will you choose to most engage your audience, etc.
  
• Measurement: During the event, how will you know that all is going according to plan? Or now that the event is over, how will you know if you did better, worse? Track statistics like viewers, live tweets, Facebook tags, online polls, anything that proves as solid evidence that you can use to directly compare to past shows.
  
• Contingency Plans: Prepare yourself for the worst. What if one of the performer's decides to ditch the Grammy's? Have a Plan B and make sure that your staff is aware of it and ready to mobilize.

How do you think the Grammy's accomplish their goals? Do you have any points to add? Let us know!

Election Media Coverage Goes Digital

Any student in public relations knows, or should know, how important it is to keep up with news. So in the face of a current election year, it is that much more important to be in the know. Some students, maybe even professionals, may have found it hard to keep up with every single aspect of past political campaigns; however, in this “age of technology,” it is easier than ever.

Using the power of new media during a political campaign is not a new tactic; you may recall when CNN and YouTube held a joint debate in which the public sent in videotaped questions. Politicians have since caught up on the trend, using outlets like Twitter and Facebook to be engaged with the public 24/7. This election season, not only have politicians been deploying digital tools in new and innovative ways, the media outlets and journalists covering them have been doing the same.

Besides individual journalists and news outlets tweeting and uploading photos, the 2012 battle for the White House is the first time that web apps dedicated to political coverage have been introduced. These new and innovative apps are allowing readers to have unprecedented access to all things related to the election. Online features such as these are changing the name of the game in political journalism.

Here are a few other ways in which media coverage of the election is going digital:

1. Election Centers: Major news sites like CNN, MSNBC and Fox are featuring online election portals in which visitors can learn about the candidates and their stances on the issues that matter, access links to candidates’ social media profiles or find out more about their financial backers.

2. Interactive Maps: NBC has actually teamed up with Foursquare to map the campaign trail. Other news sites like CNN are offering calendar like maps to show visitors where and when upcoming primaries and caucuses are being held. Politico actually takes this map concept a step further by telling visitors not only where, but why candidates are doing particular events.

3. Social Debates: This idea isn’t new for 2012, but it has become more mainstream. Fox News used to Twitter to get instant opinions from the public on each candidate’s performance in a debate. Facebook and NBC teamed up to co-host a Republican debate in which viewers asked questions via the social networking site.

Have you seen other unique digital tools used in this year’s political campaign? Or, do you find one of these tools extremely beneficial? If so, let us know!

This guest blog was written by PRowl Public Relations staff member Kaitlyn Sutton.

Pitching Basics

As a public relations professional, one of the most basic things you write is a pitch to the media. A media pitch is helpful to accompany a press release, to convince a journalist why your story should be covered or in a time crunch, a pitch can even replace a press release. But how do you ensure a successful pitch?

It’s all about relationships: No matter how many times you’re told this, you always need to hear it one more time. Reporters have jobs too. They aren’t going to listen to every PR person that calls or emails them. Finding key people to help your clients and maintaining good relationships with them, such as getting them information on time, remembering personal information and only pitching stories to them that you know they would have interest in covering, can really help show that you aren’t just trying to use them for their coverage, but do in fact value their time.

Timing is everything: Reporters are just as busy as you are: They don’t want to hear about stories that aren’t newsworthy. Try to keep in mind the relevance of your topic to each reporter and keep your pitches to around 15-30 seconds. Also, try to avoid calling the office at the busiest times of the day. For TV, the busiest times are around the morning, noon, and evening newscast. Newspapers have deadlines in the evening, so call them well before, when they aren’t working against the clock. Lastly, keep magazine calls between 11 a.m.- 3 p.m., which gives them time to settle in for the day before becoming bombarded with pitches.

Follow-ups and persistence are musts: Many times, stories are never covered because they get lost or forgotten about. There is a fine line between persistence and annoyance, but if you truly know your story is beneficial to that report, there is no shame in making sure they received enough information on it. Even if they don’t end up using your story, follow-ups, including a thank you, can help maintain that relationship that is so important in this industry.

Learning key concepts in pitching the media is an invaluable resource in the PR field. Pitches are one of the simplest forms of reaching out to the media, and once you begin to become more comfortable with media pitches, all these concepts will become second nature to you.

This guest blog was written by PRowl Public Relations staff member Jessica Ross.

Jean Madeline Hosts Heart 2 Heart TODAY!

Stressing about this year’s Valentine’s Day look for tonight's date? Looking to freshen up your look to score a last-minute Valentine? No need to worry! Jean Madeline Aveda Institute has you covered.

Today only, now until 4 p.m., all Jean Madeline Institute campuses will be hosting the first Heart 2 Heart fundraiser. Jean Madeline Institute students will be offering a Valentine’s Makeover special, which includes red and pink makeup and a hairstyle of the customer’s choice for the entire day.

Guests can also enjoy complimentary heart-shaped donuts, donated by a local Philadelphia Dunkin' Donuts franchisee.

All proceeds will be donated to the American Heart Association. Students will be dressed in festive attire and show off trendy looks clients can use as inspiration for their own. Don’t wait until the last minute! Stop into your closest Jean Madeline location to look great and feel even greater after supporting such a worthy cause.

Santorum Attracts Media Spotlight, For Now

Rick Santorum received a huge PR boost this week after winning three state primaries out west. While Santorum is still unlikely to win the Republican Presidential Nomination, the hype generated from his recent victories will be enough to bring in some large donations and attract much-needed media coverage for his campaign.

Santorum, a former Pennsylvania Senator and avid sweater vest enthusiast, won the primaries of Missouri, Colorado and Minnesota on Tuesday. He’s already raised almost $1 million in donations since the three-way victory and has even begun to edge out Newt Gingrich as the Mitt Romney alternative.

Santorum’s recent victories have caught the media’s spotlight for the moment but his recent victories and the fast cash won’t be enough to win his party’s nomination. Romney and Restore Our Future, his extremely well-off Super PAC, have loads of cash and the majority of the delegates so far. Gingrich and Ron Paul would have to drop out immediately and endorse Santorum for him to even have chance.

The P.A.T.I.E.N.C.E in interning

Being an intern can be stressful and confusing. This semester I have my first internship with Comcast-Spectacor Charities and it’s nothing what I expected. I imagined I would be doing remedial tasks, answering the phone and taking messages, but I am discovering a lot more responsibilities. Currently at my internship, we are in the midst of planning the 35^th Annual Wives for Lives Carnival and it is certainly hectic. With all the confusion and disorganization I have learned the P.A.T.I.E.N.C.E in being an intern.  

Persistence/Politeness- There are many times at my internship where I have to call a person multiple times to get information such as payment. Finding the balance between annoying and persistent can sometimes be tricky but being polite is key when leaving messages and following up with people.

Attitude- Your attitude is something that can make you or brake you at your internship. Being upbeat and not rolling your eyes when you’re asked to count inventory, reflects positively to your superior and others in the office.

Timeliness- Getting work done during your day is crucial when you’re an intern. Your supervisors evaluate your performance on how much work you get done throughout the day and how well you manage your time in the office. Did you take an hour lunch or show up late? These are things supervisors look for when they consider recommending you for a full time job.

Integrated- Being a chameleon in the workforce can be beneficial. To blend in and know how to do your day-to-day tasks reflects positively on your supervisor. So, get to know your way around the office building and the people who sit next to you, even if they are not in your department.

Eagerness- Being eager is one of the biggest reasons supervisors love interns; they’re fresh and eager to do anything. Try and keep that spark during the course of your internship. Sometimes the days seem long and stuffing envelopes seems like a waste of your time, but staying eager wills set you apart from other interns.

Networking- Your job isn’t to network when you’re an intern but building and maintaining relationships in the office is important. It shows that you are physically engaged in your environment and you’re receptive to others.

Common Sense- This seems like an easy one, but I have overlooked some great resources, such as Google, when I cannot figure out how to do a mail merge and don’t want to bother my supervisor.

Engaged- I struggle with being completely focused on one thing at a time. I frequently am doing two projects simultaneously and losing my place in one or the other. However, I have learned if I focus on one, I do a better and more complete job.