PR Research

Today was the first day of classes!

My first class of the day was a PR class called "Media Information Gathering and Evaluation." I think that this class will be extremely beneficial for a more in-depth understanding of the PR industry. I am also excited to be taking this class because, as you may remember from my post this past Saturday, one of my goals for this year is to learn more about the research and background work that goes into PR campaigns.

My professor also pointed out how we are lucky as future PR practitioners to have a class like this, especially in today's economy. He said, "if you would have asked me a year and a half ago if you would need to know these things, I would have said 'you will most likely hire other people to do this work for you, but you should have a good understanding so that you can make sure they are doing a good job.'" Not the case anymore; these skills can make all of the difference in today's PR landscape. My professor pointed out that, given our current economic state, having these skills and the ability to do them independently can give an important edge in the PR arena. Being able to do the background research oneself eliminates the need to contract others to do the work and can save a lot of money. Of those companies who still have a budget for PR right now, this is highly attractive.

I look forward to taking this class and feel that it may be invaluable to my future in the PR industry.

TU 2009 “Temple Fest" A Success!

Temple University’s “Welcome Week” is held this year from August 27-August 30 to welcome the incoming freshmen to our campus. Part of this celebratory week for the new students is “Temple Fest,” a two-day event where each student organization can host a table on campus for students to walk around and learn about the different opportunities and activities available for them.

Temple’s Public Relations Student Society of America (PRSSA)* table was a great success this year! We had our table right in front of PNC Bank on Liacouras Walk (for those of you who aren’t Owls, it’s the main walk on campus) and attracted at least 60 interested students each day. Although we may have reeled them in with free candy, cookies and brownies, once the new students were engaged they seemed very interested and excited to get involved! Even parents joined in on the action!

For all you Temple PRSSA members, and those who would like to join, come to our first meeting on Tuesday, September 8 from 3:30-4:15 p.m., room 217 B in the Student Center.

Hopefully I’ll see you there!

*PRowl Public Relations is a direct affiliate and sister organization of the Public Relations Student Society of America.

Another New Beginning

I am moving into my new house on campus today! Technically I moved all of my belongings there last week, but tonight will be my first night spent in the new place. Although a part of me wishes that summer was eternal, a big part of me is also looking forward to going back to school. After all, it will be fun to go back to living independently and in close proximity to all of my Temple friends. I also find the idea of starting a fresh semester with new classes, new opportunities for growth and new faces to meet exciting.

I feel that future planning and goal setting are skills that are essential to continued success. For this reason, at the beginning of each new semester, I make a point of revisiting and revising my list of goals. I like to look back over the past year and try to identify areas in which I have grown and areas on which I need to focus more energy.

Here are some of my goals for this year:

• Work on writing catchy headlines and subject lines. As I mentioned in a previous post, this was an area in which I consistently struggled during my summer internship.
• Staying on top of the news and current events. I understand how crucial it is in this business to have a good understanding of local, world and industry news, but in the past I have sometimes felt that I was "too busy" to read the daily news or found that it would slip my mind. Although I have a packed schedule again this semester, I recognize the need for news-reading to be a major priority in my daily routine.
• Bringing some more of my voice and personality to my writing. My boss at my internship this summer had a way of breathing life into her writing while still managing to keep it professional. I really admired that quality of her writing and hope to develop a similar voice in my own writing.
• Engaging in community service. This is a great way to network while using your skills and talents to make a difference in the surrounding community.
• Becoming increasingly creative in my PR tactics. Now that I have completed two solid years of coursework and an invaluable summer internship, I feel that I have established a good understanding of the basics of PR. Although I know that I still have a lot to learn, I also feel ready to start learning about some of the more creative and innovative tactics associated with good PR.
• Learn more about the research and planning side of PR.
• Find new opportunities to write, new outlets for my writing and new sets of eyes to offer feedback.
• Gain more practice with pitching.
• Choose a potential area in which to specialize. Right now I am strongly considering doing PR in the health care or travel industries.
• Update my resume, cover letter and LinkedIn profile.
• Begin to look into internship opportunities for the spring semester.
• Continue to learn about utilizing social media to connect with others.

The list goes on. Have you thought about your goals for the coming year? Whether you are a student or a well-established PR pro, I believe that having goals and vision can make all the difference in your ability to succeed in your future.

Creativity is Key

PRowl Public Relations will be beginning a new year with a new set of clients in only a few weeks. This is the first year we will be taking on clients for an extended nine-month contract instead of the four-month contract we've used in the past. It is very exciting for us to have an entire school year to work with our clients and become fully immersed in their public relations needs. The longer contract period will allow us more time to develop a more detailed campaign with multiple communication strategies.

The longer contract period is exciting, but it will test the creativity of our firm members. Having more time with one client, we will have to develop multiple story angles and guerrilla marketing tactics to continually receive renewed media interest in our client over the nine month period.

The firm will have a chance to show our true potential this year, and we will be successful if we always remember that creativity is the key to great public relations.

Tips From a Twitter Star

Check this out! Here's a list of ten habits from a blogger who has over 45,000 followers on Twitter.

1. Be yourself.
2. Stand for something.
3. Be a class act.
4. Focus on content and others.
5. Mix up the tweets.
6. @Reply to everyone but not all publicly.
7. Look sharp.
8. Connect your Twitter world with the offline world.
9. Be consistent.
10. Set boundaries.

Check out the post for more elaboration on Stephanie Quilao's tips. I found her ideas to be really insightful.

Blockbuster: Smart or Desperate?

Last week I rented a movie from Blockbuster for the first time in a long time -- probably over a year! More recently I have been renting movies from Red Box because there are two within close proximity to my house and because their rentals for only $1 per night. In fact, I only rented this particular title from Blockbuster because it was one that was out of stock in the Red Box nearest my home.

The day after I returned the Blockbuster movie I had rented, I received an e-mail from the company with the subject line "Eight Reasons to Come Back."

I began thinking about this e-mail from a marketing/PR standpoint and could not decide whether or not it was a smart move on behalf of Blockbuster. On one hand, the e-mail made me feel acknowledged as a customer and recent patron, and that made me feel good. As did the fact that they were saying they wanted me to continue to do business with them; it made me feel valued. At the same time, it was sort of a turn off for me because it made the company look desperate -- especially because it is relatively well-known that the company has faced financial troubles lately. After all, if I need to be told why to come back, it would seem that the company is aware of the fact that I may see few reasons to come back on my own.

Seeing that renting from Blockbuster costs five times the amount of money I pay to rent a movie at Red Box, a coupon for a free or discounted rental from Blockbuster would have been a much more persuasive marketing approach. An offer of this type would have made me feel valued and motivated to renew business with the company without making them look desperate.

Struggle with Writing Headlines?

I really struggled with writing catchy and effective headlines and e-mail subject lines during my internship this summer. I've been told many times how important these seemingly small elements can be in media relations, and I really want to work on these skill sets.

Copyblogger's Jonathan Morrow offered this list of 12 things not to do when writing headlines, and I thought it was helpful!

1. Don't be original- "the only time to experiment with new headlines is you know you've truly mastered the fundamentals, and almost every headline you write is a hit," the site explains.
2. Don't blend in. "You need to zig when others zag."
3. Don't be clever, especially if you are targeting a large audience. "Too many people are not going to get it."
4. Don't get desperate
5. Don't ignore your readers. "The first step in writing any headline is considering what topics your audience is interested in, and then crafting the headline around that interest."
6. Don't ignore your peers. Write something that will impress other writers.
7. Don't ignore social media. Keep social media sites in mind when writing headlines.
8. Don't ignore your personal style. Find a way to inject your personal voice.
9. Don't ask for opinions. "Friends usually pick whatever headline is most clever or funny, not the one that's best suited for your audience."
10. Don't settle.
11. Don't sweat the failures. Just keep moving.
12. Don't ask too much. Albeit important, headlines are only one piece of the puzzle.

Are you guilty of breaking any of these rules? What advice do you have for those of us who struggle with writing headlines?