Your Social Media Efforts

Social Media is becoming increasingly important in how Public Relations practicioners connect with their publics. For a client, it is sometimes hard to convince them that social media is worth the time, but Ragan.com is looking to convenience them otherwise.

First, Ragan suggests, you have to understand how social media is going to benefit the client and their organizations. To do this you have to be aware of the company’s missions and goals and also be understanding of the clients wishes.

Secondly you have to know what you can deliver. Knowing what to measure in social media is key, not only to a relationship between you and your client, but a binding contract. You have to know if your social media efforts are working and if they’re not working, you need to figure out what to change, which all comes back to what you can measure.

In addition to knowing how to measure your social media presence, you also need to know how it is contributing to the bottom line by calculating the ROI (return on investment).  This is sometimes difficult to measure with social media, but finding a correlation between the content you’re producing and sales in the company, will become increasingly important.

Thirdly, share social media data in common language. Sometimes social media can sound like Morse code to clients. So, a suggestion would be to explain the data with charts. A visual that your client can understand without any terms can sometime be best to see how your work is contributing to their bottom line.

Lastly, sometimes your efforts can not be measured in numbers, however you can show your clients your efforts and provide an anecdote. Say a fan left a comment on your client's company page expressing how the company is doing a great job can be worth showing a client even if you can’t prove how it contributes to sales.

Being the Best Intern your Company has Seen

Get your game face on, winter break is soon to be over for most schools and it's time to get back in the swing of things for your first day at your spring internship. Whether it is public relations, communications, social media or journalism, it all remains the same for what you need to do to get the most of your internship and make the best impression for a good recommendation (and maybe even a job!).

Improve your skills. If you are given an assignment that doesn't highlight one of your strengths, don't be afraid to ask questions or do a little research. Your employer would rather you ask how to do it or take a little longer to complete the task, rather than turn in a low-quality piece of work that you might have to redo anyway.

Be proactive. If you get done with something early, don't sit around at your desk and check emails. Follow up with any media calls you could have, draft a post for the company's blog, or even do research on the company's clients. Ask your supervisor if there is anything else that you could do and share with them what you found. They could be impressed with your extra work and it will not go unnoticed.

Challenge yourself. The only way your internship will really make an impact on your experience, is if you are continuing to learn. If your supervisor has time, talk with them about things you can improve on or ask them to give you a heavier workload. To really be an asset to a company, you need to show that you are willing to go above and beyond for them and do valuable work.

Do you have any internship advice? Where are you interning this semester?

Fake Wendi Deng Compromises Twitter Verification Process

About a week ago, media conglomerate Rupert Murdoch joined the Twitterverse. Not long after first tweeting, Murdoch tweeted a moderately offensive message: "Maybe Brits have too many holidays for broke country!" Ironically, while on vacation in the Carribean. Soon after, @Wendi_Deng, presumably Murdoch's wife, tweeted at him to take the offending tweet down.

On Tuesday, it was revealed that @Wendi_Deng was not the real Wendi Deng, wife of Rupert Murdoch, but an imposter. However, it seems that the fake Deng wanted to teach Twitter a lesson on their verification process. "I was as surprised--and even a little alarmed--when I saw the Verified tick appear on the profile," the fake Deng wrote. "And you have to wonder even more why Twitter verified this account for a full day. I never received any communication from them about this. What verification process? That's what I'm saying. There was none. I was never contacted." Even more baffling, News Corp., a media company founded by Murdoch, accidentally confirmed the authenticity of the Twitter account to the U.K. Guardian.

Clearly, Twitter has been had. While they have not commented on the loophole in the verification process for new accounts, the social media platform did say, "We can confirm that the @wendi_deng account was mistakenly verified for a short period of time and apologize for the confusion this caused."

What do you think? Has Twitter's verification process failed its users or simply made an easy mistake? Should the social media platform reevaluate its standards? Let us know!

Crossing the Pond

As I run down my checklist of things to pack for my semester in London I begin to make another checklist. Instead of toiletries and shoes, this list immediately seems more important. This list includes the things I hope to bring to, and take away, from my internship abroad. While I will not know my internship placement until I officially cross the pond, there are some general guidelines I plan to follow:

1. Have an open mind. Easier said than done. But the last thing I want to do is waste time being stuck in an American bubble. Opening up to new experiences is what studying abroad is all about and I plan on bringing that openness to my internship.
2. Be patient. Adapting to a new culture and work environment is going to prove challenging. I must remind myself to be patient with change and new norms that will come with working abroad.
3. Offer opinions. When appropriate, it is important to bring my thoughts and ideas to the table. Giving input will prove my interest in the field and help make me more involved in the workplace.
4. Act eager. Even as I adjust to a new culture and way of life, showing my readiness to learn and work will make a positive impression to my employer.
5. Build relationships. As a PR student, I am constantly told how networking and relationships will take me far throughout my career. While I may not plan on staying in London permanently, building relationships with professionals abroad may still help me make a connection back in the States.

I can’t predict what the next 3 months will bring me but I do know that open communication, an eagerness to learn, and networking abroad will help shape me into a more well-rounded PR student when I return home.

Until April, America! Cheers!

This guest blog was written by PRowl Public Relations staff member Tara Innamorato.

Before & After: My Experiences with the “Start Your Career Seminar”

This is part one of a two-part blog entry about my feelings and experiences regarding the conventional “get your career started” type-seminar. You know the type. College kids awkwardly filter into a huge conference room filled with chairs and round tables; uncomfortably mingling with each other until the keynote speaker approaches the podium to begin the program. They break you up into groups and teach you how to build your resume, do well in interviews, and network with professionals. All things that are important, don’t get me wrong, but not overwhelmingly helpful when it comes to starting your ideal career.

However, later this month I will have the opportunity to attend another one of these seminars in Blue Bell, PA. This seminar, titled “Launching Your Career 101”, is invitation-only and for graduating or post-graduate college seniors. Taking into effect the exclusiveness of the invitees, I was immediately interested in attending.

I feel as though this seminar will be more beneficial than others because it is reserved for students who are eager to enter the working world. Here is what I anticipate going in:

1. Everyone should have a well-put together resume: There shouldn’t be any need for getting a resume set up, rather the workshop should be reserved for making adjustments in order to make your resume compelling and stand out from others.
2. Personal branding should be a focal point: Differentiating yourself from the masses and landing the opportunity that will launch your career should be heavily discussed.
3. In-Depth Interview Prep: Because most of the participants should have significant interview experience, I would expect more in-depth interview prep with regards to “pitching yourself” to a prospective employer. Many young professionals know how to answer questions, but cannot give a quality pitch for themselves.
4. Creating a List of potential employers: Most of us obviously want to pursue a career in our field and may even know of businesses that are hiring, however finding the ideal employer is the difficult part. A workshop detailing how to narrow down this search would be extremely helpful for future young professionals.

From looking at the agenda, it appears as though there will be a lot of useful information and guidance from successful recruiters who have extensive experience in this field. Stay tuned for part two of this blog where I will be recapping the seminar and providing several key takeaways I learned from attending.

This guest blog was written by PRowl Public Relations staff member Steve Jacobs.

Lessons to be Learned from the Ocean Marketing Scandal

A large PR scandal erupted a little over a week ago in the video gaming industry, enraging gamers across the country and pretty much sinking a company. As with most PR crises, there are lessons to be learned here.

Ocean Marketing had been hired by video game control maker N-Control to help promote and market its new product, the Avenger controller. The product had done well in its pre-order period but had experienced delays in manufacturing and shipping that led it to miss its expected release date. A pre-order customer contacted Ocean Marketing’s Paul Christoforo to ask what the status of controller was and things went downhill quickly.

Christoforo’s subsequent responses were not only unprofessional; they were everything that a public relations professional shouldn’t do. The customer leaked the emails to Penny Arcade and the story grew legs fast, going viral within days. Ocean Marketing was dropped by N-Control and the entire video gaming community turned against Christoforo.

A few lessons can be taken from the entire Ocean Marketing incident:

Don’t get cocky. Christoforo didn’t just get cocky; he got really, really cocky. He was not only incredibly rude to an innocent customer, but he was also brash to a guy who runs a huge videogame festival. This is completely unprofessional and a horrendous way for a public relations practitioner to act.

Learn to spell. Spelling mistakes were abundant in the emails sent by Christoforo. Simple things, like using the wrong “your.” A public relations professional should always proofread his or her work before sending it out. Typos reflect on you and your product.

The customer comes first. Always. If a disgruntled customer contacts you, always respond cordially and offer to help him in anyway possible. Christoforo’s vague, unhelpful first responses were bad enough. What came after was completely unacceptable.

Know your audience. The video game community is pretty tight nit and very internet savvy. All the disgruntled customer had to do was send one email to ruin Christoforo’s company and career. Furthermore, Christoforo’s client sustained damage as angry video game fans spammed the Avenger controller’s Amazon page with 1 star reviews.

Have you been keeping up with this scandal? What do you think?

PR Resolutions

According to Time.com the three most common New Year’s resolutions are to lose weight or get fit, quit smoking and save money, but for a college student, my New Year’s resolutions revolve around school and my future career in PR. 

Slow down

Life in the PR world comes at you fast and often warrants a 24 hour (or less!) turnaround time. I typically rush assignments missing great details that could one day get me fired. For 2012, I am going to take my time with editing content and really digest the information.

Read more

My job with PRowl requires me to do a lot of reading, so my daily news intake has dwindled. However for 2012, I am not making my position my excuse not to read. Now more than ever, it’s inherently important to stay current with local and world affairs. Although it might not impact you, it may impact your client.  

Using my Google calendar

I recently started exploring Google calendar learning its many bells and whistles and found tools for organizing, managing appointments and tasks; I am even able to see my friends calendars. For 2012, I am going to try to be more diligent about using my calendar to its fullest capacity to keep me organized and more importantly sane.  

Take time out for me

In 2012 I am allowing myself at least one hour of me time. This includes but certainly not limited to updating my social media, working out, or even catching up on the latest GLEE. You lose yourself sometimes in the day between the hustle and bustle so take time out for you.

What are your PR resolutions?