The Results Are In!

Did you ever think your Twitter stream could help you decide the next president? SwiftKey, the famous makers of the Andriod keyboard app that predicts your typing, utilized its software to analyze 150,000 words from Barack Obama and Mitt Romney to determine how your language from your Twitter handle compares to the candidates.

As a newly registered and undecided voter, I wanted to see how my Twitter handle swayed. My instantaneous results revealed that my Twitter handle language was 81 percent (out of 100) more like President Obama.

 

SwiftKey also analyzed the Tweets of famous personalities such as Donald Trump (@realDonaldTrump) and Glenn Beck (@glennbeck), the results were surprising.

• Donald Trump scored 61 for Romney (to be expected)

• Rupert Murdoch (@rupertmurdoch) tweets more like Obama 51 to 49 Romney

• And the kicker, notorious conservative Glenn Beck scored 81 for Obama

• Lindsay Lohan (@lindsaylohan), a reported Mitt Romney supporter, uses language more like Obama by 82

How did you Twitter handle compare to the results?

Put Your Game Face On: Monitoring Online Competition

A well known saying goes that the best offense is a strong defense. It's one thing to serve up a good game, but it's another thing to be able to stay on top of what the competition is serving up. Thankfully, it's easier to know what your opponents game plan is just by watching their online activity. As a public relations practitioner, you should know your client like the back of your own hand, if not better. You should be able to recite the strengths and news worthy takeaways faster than you can sing your ABCs. Knowing this information will help you launch your brand and represent it well. However, knowing just as much information about competing brands will help insure that your client remains number one on the market.

If hiring a private detective seems too dramatic for your investigative needs, try these simple tips for monitoring online competitors:

Become a consumer - Try out the products of your competitors and see how they compare to your clients brand. What does their product offer that your client's doesn't? Take notes, and bring this up to the client when discussing results. Make sure your client's product has everything that the competitor offers and more.

Know the opposing team - Oftentimes, it is not the product itself that consumers cannot get enough of, it's the way it's being sold to them. If you notice a competitor has a larger following on social media, find out who runs the social media for that company. Read the way that person sends updates and how they interact with their online followers. If you think their approach yields better results than your own, consider modifying your style a bit.

Follow their news - Be sure to read the press releases and blog posts of all of your competitors. See what newsworthy events they are doing and come up with strategic plans for creating something better. If you know what the other team is working on, you can construct a higher game plan.

Analyze - Not everything you find online is going to be of use to you. Synthesize the important details from the unnecessary fluff and go from there. Always present the information you find to the client, and be able to clearly explain to them what your research can do for their product.

How do you keep an eye on what the competition is doing? Let us know!

Out With the New, In With the Old

Okay, so traditionally the saying goes, "Out with the old, in with the new." But for all intensive purposes, old content can sometimes outweigh the new. Think about how excited you get when a 90s song comes onto your Pandora, or when your favorite movie comes on tv and you have to watch it, even if you own it on DVD. We love to think back to our past and reminisce, and the same thing goes with content. Below are a few ways to pull from old content:

You don't always have to create something new: If you're in charge of creating content for a company that specializes in snow boots, then your peak season will probably be in the winter. There are only so many times you can create content around snow. Still talk about snow, but find new ways to approach it. Instead of talking about only snow, mention how the boots are also perfect for rain, thanks to their waterproof exterior.

Share archived content: With most companies taking to Facebook and Twitter to post content, stuff is getting pushed back through feeds at breakneck speeds. It's okay to use content from the past, in fact, using old content will show the reader that even though a certain statistic or fact is from 5 years ago, it's still relevant and useful.

Play on nostalgia: Think about the cell phone. Less than 20 years ago it was bigger than the average person's head. Now, cell phones can fit in the palm of your hand and will even talk to you. Seeing such a significant difference within such a small space in time consistently amazes people. The same strategy can be used with content. If you have coverage from a product that previously failed, bring it back! It's fun to show your audience where you once were, and where you stand now.

Have you ever brought life back to old content? How did it work for you? Let us know!

Fashion PR No-No’s for the Rookie

We think it’s all glamour, lights, free goodies and celebrity events, but in reality, the fashion industry is much more. There are young ladies, and gents, across the nation looking to get their big break into the industry. While it is a very demanding and competitive field, Fashion PR can be very fun and exciting. 

However, there are many things you should not do when entering the field. While it is best to make an impression quickly in the industry, here are some tips on how to avoid common mistakes. 

• Make It Personal: Media want to feel exclusive. The worst mistake is to mass e-mail all media contacts with the same message. Take the time to address each outlet personally. They will be more likely to show interest in your alert. 
• Avoid Lagging:  Most media are on very strict deadlines. Taking a long time to reply is never a smart idea. Both industries are fast pace and require quick action. The sooner you get back to questions and concerns, the happier your clients will be. 
• Don’t Be Dull: Fashion is such a creative and fun industry. Use your creativity and stellar writing skills to draw in your audience. Avoid cliché terms and phrases and take the time to think of different ideas that will benefit the brand. 
• Be Relevant: Avoid sending pitches to outlets that have no interest or relation to the product. There is nothing worse than getting a pitch about women’s hosiery when you work at for a men’s shoe company. Keep it relevant and of interest to the reader. 
• Don’t Be A Grump: No one likes a negative publicist. It is your job to keep the energy and enthusiasm at all times. After all, you reflect your client and you want to be very personable and approachable. 

This guest blog post was written by PRowl Public Relations staff member Andrea Jordan.

Life of a PR & Theatre Student - Take one!

What do public relations and theatre have in common?

Why did you decide to minor in theatre?

The aforementioned questions are ones I encounter each day. Yes, I am completing a major in public relations and minor in theatre and guess what? I love it. Although this combination isn’t the norm, the differences between the two are amazing mainly because they create a balance in my life.

Public speaking plays a major role in PR and unfortunately public speaking isn’t one of my strong points. However, acting and playing the role of a character are strong points of mine.  Here are some things theatre has taught me, and how they help me develop as a PR professional:

Enunciate Your Words - Its important that your audience understands you clearly and theatre teaches you how not to gabble your words. 

Make eye contact with the audience- This factor is essential to a great speech and it keeps your audience engaged.  Theatre improves your ability to connect with an audience. 

Stand firm and grounded in your beliefs- This factor definitely adds to your deliverance. It’s important to believe in what you are saying as it permits your audience to be convinced and also gives them reason to believe you.  In theatre, the main objective is to convince your viewers and make them believe your character. 

Use different voice levels- This factor eliminates any form of monotony and it captures your audience attention. 

Breath control- This is important seeing that your speech should flow nicely. Theatre teaches you beats which is the pause or break you take while speaking. 

All in all theatre has allowed me to have confidence when I’m speaking in public. To all my communications and public relations majors, try taking an acting course as an elective and experience the beauty of the arts and witness yourself evolve into a stronger public speaker. I am certain that theatre can add to your development as communication/PR students. 

This guest blog post was written by PRowl Public Relations staff member Kadesha Holder.

The Knot’s Smart Use of Sandy

Hurricane Sandy wrecked havoc and put life on hold for millions of residents on the East Coast this past week, destroying homes, flooding cities and causing millions to lose power. As I was sitting at work discussing the disaster and its repercussions with a fellow co-worker she mentioned something that really struck a chord; Sandy had completely destroyed her friend’s wedding venue. That made me think – there must have been thousands and thousands of fall weddings cancelled, venues ruined and churches flooded all due to Sandy’s destruction.

As I was on Twitter, I came across an article discussing how the most-trafficked wedding website called The Knot helped to salvage over 2,000 weddings disrupted by Sandy. The online company estimates nearly 2,300 brides-to-be had to put a halt to their wedding plans this week due to the inclement weather. 

The Knot created a Facebook page as an online forum to connect brides with venues and vendors to reschedule this week’s weddings and to keep the more than 4,000 November ceremonies intact.

“Helping Brides in the Wake of Hurricane Sandy” is the name of the Facebook page where East Coast couples can share tips, find available venues and talk to local experts. Helping couples “tie the knot” as scheduled is the main goal for The Knot.

From Nov. 1 to Nov. 25, vendors are asked to list their businesses, addresses, availability and contact information. Many venues in New York, New Jersey and Connecticut lost power and sustained damage from flood waters, forcing brides to make major adjustments.
This is a great example of taking a current event and using it to your company’s advantage. The Knot saw its opportunity and clearly took it. I believe this is a great lesson in marketing as well as public relations.

Can you think of other companies like The Knot that could benefit from a natural disaster like Hurricane Sandy? Let us know!

New Ways to Network

Networking is nothing new. As an aspiring professional, you attend conferences, workshops and lectures. At these events, you shake hands, pass out your business cards and 'link' in with your new found networks. The problem is your network can remain small if you attend the same events, meetings, and workshops again and again. Below, I discuss three ways to help you improve your networking skills and ultimately your network.

1. Meet others by doing good

I personally enjoy volunteering and giving back to my community. Fortunately for you and myself, so do successful professionals. Volunteer opportunities generally draw a diverse set of individuals from varying backgrounds. You never known whom you will meet or have the opportunity to network with. For example, you may volunteer at a local YMCA. The network you build with the organization may help you in the future if you need to contact them and ask to use their space for an event or to connect you with one of their contacts or vendors.  Help others and help yourself at the same time - it's possible!

2. Join an organization unrelated to your major

We're all guilty of it. Public relations' departments are traditionally small. The students in those departments generally all take class together, participate in the same organizations and then hangout together too. How will we expand our network if we maintain the status quo? I recently joined the Association for Information System, a technology based organization, here at my university. As a result, I'm not only learning a lot about a new industry but I'm also networking with a lot new individuals and expanding my network. Potential employers love candidates that differentiate themselves from the rest of the candidates - start now!

3. Fun Follow-up

Traditionally, follow-up is boring, but it doesn't have to be. We all write the standard, "Dear Sir, I greatly appreciate you taking the time to speak with me today", but why? At a conference I recently attended a woman spoke about how a candidate she interviewed sent her a thank you not on a box of Mac N' Cheese because she had mentioned how she lived off of it during her undergraduate years. How awesome is that? The move was memorable and probably made the recruiters day - something that is always a bonus. Find common ground when interviewing or networking and try following-up in a new and creative way.

While networking will essentially remain the same, there are always ways to improve and spice up your current networking skills. How do you network? Have you ever tried to changing the way you go about networking, if so what did you do and was it successful?