PRowl's Seniors

PRowl is so PRoud of our seniors!

Doug Bennett (Account Executive &

Director of Finance)

Doug is currently interviewing for corporate communications positions and is now an intern at the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia. During the summer, Doug will begin studying for the LSATs and then apply to law schools.

Emily Ascani (Assistant Firm Director)

Emily will be continuing to intern full time this summer as a Public & Media Relations intern at Morgan Lewis, a law firm in Center City. She is looking for an entry-level public relations position in the Philadelphia area, concentrating in hospitality, tourism & corporate or agency public relations. She is interested in utilizing her skills in social media, editing, writing and blogging.

Steve Jacobs (Staff Member)



Steven Jacobs will graduate this May with a bachelor of the arts degree in strategic communication, public relations concentration. He is currently in the interviewing stages of his job search, while finishing up his internship at Philadelphia Parks & Recreation. He hopes to stay in Philadelphia and land a job doing public relations for the City.

Kurie Fitzgerald (Staff Member)

After graduation Kurie will have a paid internship/PR coordinator training position with Van Eperen & Company in Rockville, Md. VE&Co's mainly focus is strategic communications consulting. Kurie plans on visiting Chicago the week after graduation and Canada during the summer. 



Frank Kunkle (Staff Member)

Frank will be continuing his internship at University of the Sciences while looking for a career in higher education. Whether corporate or nonprofit, Frank envisions working in a PR/marketing role. He would like to stay in Philadelphia for at least a few more years before thinking about moving to another city. 

Alex Crispino (Account Executive)

Alex Crispino will be graduating Magna Cum Laude and staying in the Philadelphia area. She is hoping to start her career at a Philadelphia agency and plans to eventually return to graduate school. Feel free to reach Alex on Twitter: @alexcharli.

Niki Ianni (Firm Director)

Niki Ianni is proud to be a May 2012 Temple Graduate with a degree in Strategic Communication and a concentration in Public Relations. With her sights set on nonprofit public relations, she is packing up her bags and moving to Washington, D.C., to pursue exciting career opportunities. With a passion for animal welfare and advocacy and a love for her two cats, Niki hopes to work in an organization that makes large strides and impacts in the animal world. She is incredibly excited about the adventures to come living in the nation's capitol.

We wish you all the best!

Nice Blog You’ve Got There! Now What?

Whether for personal interest or because of the many posts urging PR pros to create a company blog, you finally made one and it looks great! Brace yourself if you thought finding motivation to create the blog was difficult because the worst has yet to come: generating content. Yikes! The actual blogging part, believe it or not, requires hard work and a little compassion. To grab readers, your content must be consistent, creative and compelling.

You’ve found the motivation, so here are some tips to help find some inspiration:


Use your network: Imagine those outrageous questions from family members about your job. What is SEO? PR pros use spin and practice propaganda, right? Be patient for a moment and realize these are legitimate questions. People outside the communications field have similar questions and you have a golden opportunity to answer them on your blog.


Comments: Check if anyone has commented on your blog entries. If a reader took the time to give feedback, he or she probably enjoyed the entry. Check for patterns. Are readers commenting on blog entries pertaining to certain themes or subjects? If so, consider it relevant! Perhaps others have an interest in similar posts.

Consider your own queries: Perhaps you have a theory or a hunch and you’d like some evidence to make a case. Engage with your publics on social media by presenting a few questions. Later, you can blog about the results.


Google & Google Analytics: It seems a little basic, but you’d be surprised. Search some themes you’d like to cover or even try typing, “What should I blog about?” You can’t expect your blog topic to be staring you in the face, either. Read between the lines, thinking critically, and let the creative juices flow. Use Google Analytics to see which search questions direct people to your blog. If a blog entry previously demonstrated success, see how you might make a follow-up entry or a type of sequel.

Lastly, PRowl Public Relations staff members work collectively to produce daily blog entries and if you see a chance for collaboration, we say go with it! Think about who might be available for an interview or to feature as a guest blogger. Use the suggestions above for inspiration and sprinkle in some entries from your colleagues and watch those blog hits sky rocket!

 Do you have any other recommendations for generating compelling blog content? Let us know!

  This guest blog was written by PRowl Public Relations staff member Frank Kunkle.

An Unusual Way to Improve Your Grammar

Texting and social media usage surely impacts our grammar, but how? Will the iPhone’s autocorrect feature excuse us for writing poorly? Or perhaps the 140-character restriction for tweeting will actually help by forcing us to write strategically.

Mignon Fogarty, widely known as Grammar Girl, defends texting and social media in a video on Ragan.com, and explains how both often enhance writing ability.

In the video, Grammar Girl points out that social media provides people with more opportunities to write. This opportunity, however, highlights the good writers as well as the bad. Although social media does not change the way people write, it allows for more visibility.

Parents often worry about the abbreviations their children are using on Facebook, Twitter, etc. Typing “l8” to abbreviate “late” and “u” to mean “you” may be fairly new, but the concept of abbreviating a message dates back quite awhile. IOU’s have been around much longer than any computer, social network or iOS device. The abbreviation, much like those of the digital age, uses the letter “u” in place of the word “you.”

Grammar Girl also mentions the ways in which we begin to use our brains differently to post on social media or to text a friend. Concision is key. No matter the industry, writers often include too many words in their messages. Our phones and the social web begin to train us to consider the most direct way to get the point across.

Public relations relies heavily upon clear, concise messaging. However, writers in all fields can benefit from strategic writing skills. Grammar Girl may have just given bosses everywhere a reason to let their employees text on the job!

This guest blog was written by PRowl Public Relations staff member Frank Kunkle.

Rejuvenated Releases: Writing a Punchy Press Release

You’ve been asked to write a press release for a client. You go over the steps in your head: Start with an enticing lead sentence, find a quote for the second paragraph, gather statistics and include a few lines about the organization. Although this may be the correct procedure, is this really all that can be done to draft an exciting, newsworthy release? According to a recent blog entry on Ragan.com, much more is involved in making a press release effective and enjoyable to read.

Consider the following guidelines:

• Give readers a reason to care: If you’re covering a bland topic, brainstorm for unusual leads and less obvious angles. This will help in making the release more interesting. Never hesitate to ask a colleague, “Do you find this enjoyable to read?” Remember not to be offended when they offer suggestions. A colleague can provide needed insight into how successful a press release will be once in the hands of a reporter.

• Go beyond text: Audio, screenshots and videos can help aid in delivering a message. If you see a chance to stray from the traditional press release, go for it!

• Include a call to action: Reporters must enjoy your release if you expect them to cover it. Remember, however, that once this happens, readers outside the media will see your content. Readers can help spread the word and do some PR leg-work. Links to a survey on Facebook or a suggested tweet are excellent additions to the end of a press release.

• Edit well: Your writing must meet the grammatical standards of journalists and reporters but beyond that, a press release is a reflection of your client. Poorly edited press releases bring about negative attitudes and diminish reputation.

The above suggestions can help turn seemingly dry content into a relevant, newsworthy press release. In addition to these guidelines, using as much creativity as possible can only help in PR writing. Get your media list ready, it's time to send out your press release! Let us know if you have any additional suggestions to make!

This guest blog was written by PRowl Public Relations staff member Frank Kunkle.

For your PR Toolbox

How will you become a successful PR person? Know your resources! Familiarizing yourself with websites and software relevant to the industry gives you an edge over the less-informed PR pro.

AddThis:

Social media platforms improve PR campaigns by providing a means to reach and engage an interactive audience. But to be effective, PR people are itching to know how to correctly use social media. AddThis, an online bookmarking and sharing service, has analyzed sharing statistics for the past five years. After diving deep into its data pool, the service provides answers to burning questions about the social web. For example, AddThis tells us that we share the most on Wednesdays; social media users are not suffering from the mid-week blues. Awareness of social media trends makes it possible to update and post at optimal times. Is your audience retweeting your tweets, posting a link to your latest blog entry, or missing your posts altogether? PR people get inside the heads of their audience through AddThis.

MyMediaInfo:

Effective media relations requires up-to-date knowledge of press, broadcast, blogs, and the like. However, media contacts can become quickly dated as journalists move between outlets and cover new beats. MyMediaInfo, an in-depth media contacts database, is another time-saver, by targeting relevant outlets and journalists. Subscribers can search by outlet, contact or social media handle while narrowing the search to a designated marketing area or a publication’s focus. A current, relevant media list is a requirement for successful outreach and MyMediaInfo perfects the art.

Snagit:

When it comes to measuring PR impact, collecting press clippings is the easiest way. Although, simple cutting and pasting—whether on Microsoft Word or with scissors and glue—is tedious (and boring!). Screen capture programs like Snagit offer some relief. In just a few clicks, you can snag, edit, and organize screenshots of online media placements. Snagit will scroll an entire website or grab only a small portion of picture and text. The variety of ways in which to capture and edit digital formation using Snagit saves time and prevents stress-management headaches!

What other public relations resources might you suggest looking into? Let us know!

This guest blog was written by PRowl Public Relations staff member Frank Kunkle.