Life Lessons from a PR Education

The following blog post was written by Shari DaCosta, recent Temple graduate and staff member of PRowl Public Relations.

This holiday season I have a million things to be grateful for, topping the list is completing college this semester. The last four years has been a whirlwind and a tremendous learning experience, from serving as a PRowl staff member to holding several PR internships. I have gained invaluable experiences that have equipped me with the skills to not only be a successful PR professional, but also a well-rounded individual.

Here are some of the invaluable life lessons I've learned from studying PR:

• Be Persistent: The most important lesson I've learned as a communications student, PR intern and PRowl staff member is to be persistent. Public relations professionals constantly have to sell their client to the media, their internal and external publics, and even convince the client that the communications plan is the correct move for the organization, so being persistent is key to overcoming any doubts from these publics. Similarly, being persistent and hardworking is key to accomplishing anything in life.

• Expect the Unexpected: One of my favorite things about PR is that you never do the same work twice. With no workday being the same for a PR pro (or PR intern), I've learn to expect the unexpected in both my work and personal life. Having an open mind to unexpected changes will be essential to effectively handling crisis situations for clients, as well as setbacks in my personal life.

• Stay Organized: As a communications student balancing classes with internships and work has taught me the time management skills essential to balancing the various demands of clients. From these experiences I've learned to stay a top of my schedule by prioritizing tasks, and keeping track of everything with a planner and electronic calendar and other useful organizational tools. These time management skills will be important in not only managing my work as a PR professional, but maintaining a proper work-life balance.

• Know when to hold 'em, know when to walk away: Like the old Kenny Rogers’ country song says, one must know when to walk away and change the game plan. As a public relations professional, you must be prepared to switch things up on the fly, whether it's finding a new vendor for an event after the old one flakes out at the last minute or entirely changing the communications strategy for a client. PR pros must be prepared to quickly adjust to changes with clients, the media and their work environment.

What life lessons has PR taught you?

15 Minute Writing Makeover

Between classes and extracurricular activities our to-do list as PR students may seem never ending, so finding time to work on our writing skills each day can be challenging.

However, Samantha Hosenkamp of Ragan.com says you can improve your writing by taking 15 minutes each day to do this challenge:

1. Take a minute to brainstorm three talking points on a topic. As you do this exercise more frequently choose topics that you are unfamiliar with. This will force you to learn how to write engaging content on even the most unappealing topic.

2. When your minute is up, use the next 10 minutes to flesh out your ideas in a concise and creatively written essay. Challenging yourself to write on a crunch will help you when you have to quickly turn out a media advisory, press release or any other PR document.

3. Then take your final four minutes to edit your work. Learning to critically review your work for both grammar and content can be the difference between an OK press release, or an 'A' release that gets picked up by various outlets.

4. Use the remaining minute to read a blog post or short article. Reading examples of good writing will help you unconsciously pick up some of the key skills used to produce these works.

Try this trick and let us know how it improves your writing skills!

This guest blog was written by PRowl Public Relations staff member Shari DaCosta.

Networking Tips for Senior Year

If you're going into this school year as a senior, like myself, then your top priority- aside from finishing your academic career strong- is to land a job. For aspiring PR professionals, the best way to do so is through networking.

Here are a few tips from prdaily.com to help you get the most out of formal and informal networking opportunities this academic year:

Dos

• Give them a compliment: At a formal networking event you can sometimes feel awkward starting a conversation with a total stranger, so an honest compliment is a good way to break the ice.

• Go with the flow: Whether it's a formal or informal networking situation, keeping with the context of the conversation will make things run much smoother. For example, if you're at a conference you might want to ask them about what they thought of the keynote speaker or if they've attended this event in the past. Doing so will show that you are genuinely interested in getting to know them, instead of just looking for a job.

• Find common ground: Establishing commonalities with people you meet in informal and formal networking situations is a great way to build a connection with them. If you realize that you're both interested in rock climbing, talk about that. The more you can build a connection with them, the more likely they will remember and keep in touch after initially meeting you.

Don'ts

• Get Egotistical: Although you want to share your past successes and experience with the people you meet at networking events, don't do it in a boastful manner. No one will think of you as someone they'd recommend to an employer if you seem self-centered.

• Forget to get their business card: After you've given someone your card at a networking event, don't forget to get theirs in return. Follow up with them two weeks to a month later and make reference of something interesting you two spoke about. Don't use it as a time to beg for a job, at most try to get an informational interview with them.

• Beg for a job: Perhaps the cardinal sin of networking, aside from staying on your cell phone the entire time at a networking event, is to ask for a job. Remember the best networking is done when you make the conversation mostly about the other person. If you show a genuine interest in getting to know the person they will do the same for you. And, they will be more likely to think of you the next time they hear about a job opening.

This guest blog was written by PRowl Public Relations staff member Shari DaCosta

Lessons from the News Corp. Scandal: Avoiding Bad Brand Associations

As PR people, one of our major duties is to build beneficial relationships for our clients. In the wake of the News of the World phone hacking scandal, we've seen how some of these associations can turn into PR suicide.

However, a few charities saw it beneficial to place free ads in News of the World's final issue. According to PR Week's article, "Charities Insist News of the World Ads Were Great Opportunity Despite 'Toxic Brand'," nonprofits like St. John Ambulance, Pennies for Life and The Well Foundation placed ads.

Still, with the recent parliament hearings and the arrest of former exec. Rebekah Brooks, it's hard to imagine why any organization would jeopardize their image like this.

Here are some things to consider when evaluating whether this type of PR risk is really worth taking:

1. Your Audience: Would your target audience understand that the organization's misdeeds in no way reflect your client's beliefs or actions? If your audience would misinterpret your association as an endorsement for the organization's actions avoid the risk.

Children's Heart Federation Communications Manager Cecilia Yardley showed how she weighed her concerns as she states, "...we thought about...[it] carefully and we decided for our beneficiary group it was advantageous for them to reach a wider audience."


2. Your Image: If your client's image is already in danger this will be one more thing to disengage the audience. The charities placing ads knew their do-good image would help their audience pay attention to their message, instead of the endangered brand.

3.Your future: Does it seem like the organization in crisis has other wrongdoings that will hit the fan soon? If you think there's going to be one misdeed after another uncovered, your client's image may not survive such a lengthy crisis.

The take away: In scandals like this the safest bet is to stay far away from the organization in crisis.

This guest blog was written by PRowl Public Relations staff member Shari DaCosta.

What a Non-PR Internship Taught Me About PR

As aspiring PR professionals, internships are invaluable to gaining real world experience in the industry. An internship at a PR agency or in a PR department can help you gain experience in the various PR processes. Still, don't discount the value of a non-PR internship.

I've been interning for a month at Progressive Business Publications, which produces content online and in print to help business professionals do their job better. Not only have I gained a better understanding of business, but I've also gained some useful insights for the PR industry:

1. Know Your Audience: At Progressive Business Publications there are newsletters for business pros such as Human Resource Specialists and CFOs. Each newsletter contains information specifically targeted to a particular business profession. Even with the disappearance of many print publications, subscriptions for the newsletters have remained strong because PBP caters to its various audiences. Likewise in PR, if you know your target audiences' preferences and dislikes, you can formulate an effective message.

2. Keep It Simple: Everyday at my internship it's stressed how important it is to write clearly and concisely. With just four or eight pages to fill with content in the newsletters, the writer must get straight to the point. Similarly in PR, your message is more likely to resonate with your target audience if it is delivered in a clear and concise manner.

3. Sell It: PR pros must constantly "sell" their client's product, event, cause or even the client them self. At my internship, I regularly contact subscribers to gain information for stories. The experience has taught me quickly how to "sell" myself, so these business professionals will let me interview them as they go about their workday. These phone interviews have made me feel much more comfortable about pitching the media.

Have you gained any PR skills from non-PR jobs or internships?

This guest blog was written by PRowl Public Relations staff member Shari Dacosta.

Making Your Degree Count

Graduation season is upon us again, and many future PR professionals are celebrating earning a degree in public relations or a communications-related subject. After spending four or more years working toward their degree they hope they’ve gotten their monies worth.

Recently The Daily Beast released a list of the 20 most useless college degrees.

The ranking was based on the average starting and mid-career annual salaries typically associated with the degree, and the expected growth in jobs for the industry between 2008-2018.

Although the ranking listed journalism, English and literature on its list, coursework in these areas provides a strong foundation for public relations work.

Journalism, ranked as the most useless college degree, is likely the most useful for anyone looking to work in PR. Coursework in journalism provides a great foundation to work in media relations. You learn firsthand what makes a good story. Plus, many of today’s journalism schools include technical training in video editing and web design, valuable skills for any future PR pro.

Like journalism, a degree in English (ranked 19th) or literature (ranked 15th) provides you with the writing skills vital for anyone wanting to work in PR. Studying English and literature also provides students with strong analytical skills, useful in crisis communications and developing PR plans.

Although these degrees may seem useless to some, they’re perhaps some of the most useful degrees (aside from public relations) for anyone looking to enter the rapidly changing PR industry.

To see if your major made the list, click here.

This guest blog was written by PRowl Public Relations staff member Shari DaCosta

Manners 101 for PR People

Public relations professionals are often mistrusted by the public and stereotyped as spin doctors. As aspiring public relations professionals, we must not only know how to write press releases, develop PR campaigns and pitch to the media, but there are certain character traits we must possess in order to do our jobs effectively and avoid these stereotypes. In the recent PRDaily.com article “8 lessons from annoying PR pros,” Mickie Kennedy points out some stereotypically annoying and ineffective PR people.

Here are some character traits of these types of PR people, which aspiring PR professionals should avoid:

1. Disrespectful: Kennedy says PR people should remember to always respect journalists, remembering that journalists are always on deadline and cannot chat with you on the phone for hours or read a bunch of press releases without any news value. Furthermore, PR people should make themselves available to journalists, since nothing is more annoying to a journalist than not being able to reach a PR person for a story.

2. Controlling: Although PR people must ensure that their client is presented in the best light possible, we should not be that “pain-in-the-ass, overly controlling PR guy” who tries to control everything said about the client, Kennedy says. Journalists will avoid dealing with you in the future if you are overly controlling.

3. Impersonal: Kennedy says PR people should always personalize pitches to the media. Referring to the journalist’s previous work is a great way to personalize your pitch. Personalizing pitches gives the PR person a better chance of getting their story covered by the media.

What are some other traits and behaviors you think PR people should avoid?

This guest blog was written by PRowl Public Relations staff member Shari DaCosta.

Expanding Your Network Beyond PR

As aspiring public relations professionals, we are constantly told about the importance of networking with current PR professionals. However, I have come to realize the benefits of expanding my network beyond PR.

After attending the 2011 Media Access Workshop organized by the Philadelphia Association of Black Journalists and the Philadelphia Black Public Relations Society, I know now how important it is for future PR professionals to network with journalists and people within the business industry.

As future PR professionals, we must remember that PR is not practiced in a vacuum. PR people constantly interact with the media, advertisers, marketers and a host of other business people. Therefore, networking with professionals in these industries is a great way to learn firsthand the best ways to approach them in the PR process.

Attending the workshop provided a comfortable atmosphere for me to communicate directly with media people, and learn real world approaches for pitching stories. Networking with these media professionals also allowed me to gain media contacts. In fact, I was able to secure a media placement for the organization I intern with through a contact. The event also provided me the opportunity to network with other organizations that could partner with the nonprofit I intern for.

Essentially, networking outside of the PR industry will help aspiring PR professionals learn how to build beneficial relationships with professionals in positions vital to the PR process.

This guest blog was written by PRowl Public Relations staff member Shari DaCosta.

Creating a Job-Worthy PR Portfolio

As we say goodbye to 2010 and welcome 2011, the reality of graduation sets in for May 2011 graduates. So often we are told how important a résumé is in securing an interview, but a good portfolio can really sell a candidate to an employer. Here are a few tips from Public Relations Tactics’s “PR portfolios: Putting your best work forward in the New Year” article on how to produce an ‘A’ portfolio, that’s sure to secure you that PR job:

1. Make it pretty.
A great way to present your samples is in a three ring binder, with samples placed in a clear protective cover. Avoid fancy print and other frills; remember you want the employer to be focused on your work.

2. Stay organized.
Your portfolio should be organized so that the interviewer can easily flip through it. You may want to organize it by campaign. Including tabs or a table of contents will also make the portfolio easier to scan.

3. Variety is the spice of life.
Although you only want to include your best work in your portfolio, you should make sure you have a variety of samples. This will show your potential employer the versatility of your skills. Portfolio pieces include things such as newsletters, PSAs, product placements, case studies and press releases and the coverage they gained.

4. Show off your skills.
Not all interviewers will ask to see your portfolio, but bring it to all interviews. If the interviewer does not ask to see your portfolio, show it to them anyway. This will show initiative and further highlight why you’re the right applicant for the job. Be sure to briefly explain how each sample in your portfolio contributed to the PR campaign. Also, bring extra copies of your portfolio to leave with the interviewer, and have an electronic portfolio on hand.

For more tips on how to put together a great PR portfolio check out this YouTube video from a PR and communications recruiter.

This guest blog was written by PRowl Public Relations staff member Shari DaCosta.

Public Relations for Potentially Dangerous Products

For public relations practitioners, positioning their client’s product or service to the public as a must-have is often challenging. This is particularly true if the client is offering a service or product that is potentially harmful. The New York Times recently published an article, A Safety Kink in Hair Relaxing, which examined whether the popular Brazilian Blowout treatment was dangerous because it contains low levels of formaldehyde, a cancer-causing agent if present in high levels. The article made me wonder how PR practitioners develop a communications plans to promote a client’s potentially hazardous product. From the article, it seems that convincing the public to purchase a potentially hazardous product, like the Brazilian Blowout, requires a public relations plan centered on image rather than down-playing the dangers of the product.

As PR practitioners in training, we are constantly reminded that our job is not to spin, but to present an honest image of our client’s product or service, in hopes that honesty translates to customer loyalty. While journalist Terry Pristin cited in his article that one stylist stopped offering the treatment because of its potential dangers, other stylists claimed that the demand and profits from the service was too great to lose. What is surprising is not that the stylists offered the service after reports surfaced that it contained the carcinogen formaldehyde, but that their clients still requested the treatment. Why would people knowingly put themselves at risk? In one word: image.

Perhaps looking at the way PR practitioners present other harmful products will better illustrate this point. Take cigarette companies, for example. Although any media promoting the product must legally let the public know the product is harmful, cigarette companies still earn millions each year. How are they able to do so, even after numerous studies on the dangers of tobacco? They present smoking as a cool thing that independent people do. By presenting the product as representative of a type of lifestyle or image (i.e. an independent person or in the Brazilian Blowout case an attractive person) some people will overlook the dangers of the product, just to attain an image society deems attractive.

While it is up to the individual to decide whether they will use a potentially harmful product, is it ethical for public relations practitioners to advocate the use of such products? Would you represent a client with a potentially dangerous product?

This guest blog was written by PRowl Public Relations staff member Shari DaCosta.

The Social Network: Zuckerberg Should Fight Fire with Fire

With the tagline “You don’t get to 500 million friends without making a few enemies,” The Social Network is sure satisfy Facebook fanatics’ desire to learn more about social media king Mark Zuckerberg, who founded the revolutionary website back in 2003. An almost faceless figure for some time, Zuckerberg has not shared much about how he created the website that forever changed the way we communicate and made him the youngest billionaire. From the trailer, it seems that the October 1 release will reveal how Zuckerberg’s desire for female attention and power led him to create the phenomena during his Harvard undergrad.

However, Zuckerberg claims the movie is simply a piece of fiction, with a quote in the August 20 edition of The New York Times reading, “Honestly, I wish that when people try to…write stuff about Facebook that they at least try to get it right,” said Zuckerberg, “The movie is fiction.”

From his summer controversy over privacy on the website to the upcoming film, Zuckerberg seems to be in need of a few lessons in using public relations to help him present an accurate image of himself and the site. Here’s an idea, Zuckerberg: Harness the power of social media and become more open with the public via your Facebook page. This may seem obvious, but Zuckerberg should open up his page to the public so they can get a better understanding of who he is as a person. Zuckerberg should let users know what is on his mind or what he is up to with clever status updates and share more information about himself in the “interests” and “about me” sections. Essentially, he should create a public image of himself that is honest, yet professional. After all, he created the website to allow users to reach out to others and ultimately get a better understanding of who people are. So doesn’t it seem logical that Zuckerberg would want to make his page more open, to humanize himself as more than a billionaire social media revolutionary?

Ultimately, good public relations is about openly presenting information to the public, so that people are not left to believe what they hear through the grapevine. It is always better for the subject to send their message directly to the public, rather than having the public speculate over what the message really is.

For those of you who just can’t wait for the October 1st release, indulge your Facebook cravings with a look at the trailer: http://www.sonypictures.com/movies/thesocialnetwork/itrailer/.

This guest blog was written by PRowl Public Relations staff member Shari DaCosta.