PRthoughts

Another Blog About Super Bowl Commercials: Mobile Versus Social

2012-02-06T10:46:00.000-08:00

Are you sick of hearing reviews and trends about Super Bowl commercials yet? Apparently not, because you're here, reading this blog even after you checked out the title. I felt it was time to add my two cents. Prior to the the big event, I had my own thoughts about mobile's play in the Super Bowl. I agreed with experts who said it would be a huge factor, and that brands would use TV commercials to drive awareness of both their mobile and social campaigns. I thought we'd see some "Download the App," or "Visit our website" to view more. I didn't see that. I saw a few short messages to send texts and even fewer QR codes. I thought these would have a bigger play, even though I wasn't sure how effective they would be. Don't get me wrong - as I stated in my last post, I think QR codes can be very effective. But maybe not so much during commercials. Consumers have approximately 30 seconds to reach for their smartphone, find the scanning app - likely one out of many apps - open the app and then scan the code. The timing just might not be ideal.

What we did see this year, however, was a lot of brands driving awareness of their social channels, often with the use of hashtags. Audi cleverly played on the hot topic of vampires to engage consumers. The commercial was alright to start, but not my favorite - and that's coming from a reluctantly self-proclaimed Twilight fan. But what drove it home for me and made me laugh was the ending, driving the message home with the hashtag, #SoLongVampires. It's quick, witty, relevant and most importantly, easy to remember. That's the key for using hashtags.

If mobile and social were in a fight over who would get more attention from brands this Super Bowl, I'd say social beat mobile out. In my opinion, the reason is that brands had to outwardly choose to promote one or the other. It's clear that brands see social as a bigger priority to mobile right now, though I don't see that being the case next year. Though these brands outwardly promoted social channels, the majority of these consumers likely accessed these social brands via their mobile devices - since they likely didn't race to a desktop to Tweet about cars and vampires.

Brands need to stop thinking about mobile or social, and combine the two. Of course, we're seeing this in different industries, but often times there's a larger focus on social. Here's what needs to happen - brands need to think about how consumers access their brands (mobile, desktop) just as much as they think about where consumers access the brands (Website, Twitter, Facebook, etc.). Integrating them will be key, of course, but don't leave mobile in the dark. Mobile creates an opportunity for brands that we've never had before - the ability to deliver timely, relevant messages. Next Super Bowl, I'd like to see two things, and I think we will see at least one of them:

1. Better integration of mobile and social campaigns.

2. The Patriots defense learning how to block and tackle, leading to a Patriots championship. Did I mention I'm based in Boston and a die-hard Pats fan?

Next Super Bowl and throughout the year, there needs to be better integration with mobile and social channels. There shouldn't be two separate campaigns for brands - one for mobile and one for social. Today's average consumer isn't choosing one of the other, so why should brands? That's my PR thought for the day.

Getting Publicly Embarrassed? There’s an App for That – Fun with QR Code Marketing

2012-01-24T17:24:00.000-08:00

If you’ve ever taken public transportation, especially the Green Line in Boston, then you know there are a lot of “interesting” people you have the opportunity to interact with. What you don’t know, however, is that I’ve been one of those people. You know, the ones people stare at wondering what the they’re doing? Oh yeah, that was me. And a QR Code is to blame. After my experience on the T (more to come on that later), I needed to do some extra research on the guilty party.

Unless you’ve been living under a rock, you’re probably aware that smart devices, particularly smartphones, are poised to take over the world – sorry Pinky, maybe you should have bought an iPhone to get the job done. These powerful devices are changing everything about B2C marketing and communication. Marketers are having a field day, with mobile marketing budgets expected to soar in 2012. There’s still a lot of valid skepticism, however, for QR codes. There are kinks to work out and innovations to be made. But the benefits can certainly be worth it, especially for those really innovative companies who come up with creative campaigns to drive this interaction and increase purchase potential. For those ready and creative enough for this, I recommend keeping the following tips in mind:

1) Offer an incentive. But make it clear what the value is. It’s not likely that I’ll pull out my QR Code app to scan something if you don’t tell me what I’m getting out of it. “Scan this to win a prize!” I’m curious, but not curious enough to be motivated to action. Try something like, “Scan here for 15% off your next purchase.” Now that interests me.

2) Keep it simple, interesting. Motivating users to scan the code is only half the battle. Have the scan take them to a mobile-friendly website that does two important things:

a) Brings them immediate value, like a discount code or entry into a contest.

b) Prompts them to do something else, like downloading an app or signing up for a rewards card, email or newsletter distribution list. They’re already there, keep the relationship going.

3) Measure, measure, measure. Like any good campaign, set goals and determine how you want to measure the success. Determine the number of scans, the number of purchases from the scan (if applicable), how many people signed up or downloaded something else, etc.

4) Be where your audience is. Here, we come back to my traumatizing T example on the Green Line. A lot can be said about location-based marketing. So when I was at the T and saw the QR code for having your groceries delivered to your home, I was impressed. Who needs groceries delivered? People in the city, who may not drive as much or have cars. Who takes the T? Those same people. While this scenario didn’t actually apply to me, I love a good marketing campaign, so I pulled out my iPhone and tried to scan the code…that was on the other side of the tracks. It wasn’t possible to get over there; it was just a wall with ads. I got as close to the yellow line as I could…then I got closer to the edge. Before I realized it, I was leaning so far over the edge that I was nearly falling, and then as I slipped a little, I jumped back in fear, combining it with a frightened yelp! I looked around to 30 or so commuters staring at me with odd looks of judgment. I was that girl. So when thinking about location, don’t just concentrate on where your consumers are, remember that if they have to scan something, they need to be able to get close enough to do so.

Before any of this can happen, however, the mobile marketing community needs to come together and help promote this so that people are downloading the scanning apps. Maybe the iPhone 8 or something will have it built in, but right now there’s an issue of consumer adoption. ScanLife, one of the scanning apps, did a cool campaign in December, where every scan – no matter what brand – entered you into a contest for an iPad. This could have encouraged users to scan more for this purpose, but as they were doing so they would realize the value and keep on scanning even after the campaign. Unfortunately, it wasn’t heavily promoted, but the idea was there and maybe set the stage for additional campaigns. By the way, if you’re looking for a QR Code app, ScanLife is the one I recommend. Easy to use, free, fast and it keeps a database of scan history in case you want to scan now and peruse later.

For the consumers out there, I’d say mass adoption is still a few years out, but I don’t think it’s a passing fad. For the marketers out there, especially for start-ups or those with a low-budget, I say get on board. A QR code campaign is inexpensive, simple and easy to measure through analytics. Get moving marketers…literally, I’m saying you need to go mobile.

Drop a line in the comments if you’ve seen or done any really cool QR code campaigns, we’re all ears.

This post originally appeared on prSPEAK, a blog by PAN Communications.

Above Average Marketing at Not Your Average Joe's

2012-01-16T12:59:00.000-08:00

As someone who's passionate about social branding, PR and marketing, I pay a lot of attention to tactics and campaigns of the brands I interact with in my daily life. Sometimes, I just like a brand for the good old fashioned reasons - good quality, good service and brings value to my life. So when a brand goes above and beyond all that, I'm very impressed. Here, I'd like to talk about a company I interact with that I feel deserves some attention - outside of the usual people I talk about, like Starbucks and Apple. Don't be alarmed by the brief and sudden change, but I'm stepping outside the world of technology here. - gasp!

Not Your Average Joe's.

Anyone who's spent a brief amount of time with me knows that I'm a foodie. I'm not picky about it, I love all kinds - seafood, bar food, Mexican, Indian, Thai, Japanese - I'll try any dish once, and I usually go back for more. Though I like to cook, I'm a sucker for a killer appetizer and glass of wine with a clean, friendly atmosphere out at a restaurant or bar. NYAJ's does this insanely well. Most of the time, I try to support my friendly locals over chain restaurants, but NYAJ's stole my heart - and my paycheck a lot of the time. See, the Beverly NYAJ's and I are neighbors, directly across the street from one another. There are plenty of restaurants to choose from in the area, but I keep going back here for more. Why? Outstanding service. Incredible appetizers. Reasonably-priced drinks. Perfect atmosphere - not too loud, and not too quiet - essential for date night, catching up with a few friends or bringing a crowd for a celebration. Since this isn't a food blog, however, I'll focus in on the service aspects and treating customers right. Though I do encourage you to give the Ahi Tuna appetizer a whirl.

I've never once had poor service here. That's not to say mistakes haven't been made. Sure, one time I ordered a goat-cheese stuffed chicken which didn't have goat cheese. The waitress handled a disappointed customer exactly how she should, with an apology, a smile and offered to remedy the situation however I, the customer, thought was best. Within minutes after she brought me the goat cheese I asked for, a manager came by to apologize and make sure the situation was handled. That's the thing though, a manager coming by isn't out of the ordinary at NYAJ's. One always comes by to check in when I dine there. And when they ask how everything is, I my reply is always, "Excellent."

NYAJ's isn't just asking to ask, they actually cares about customer satisfaction. While ordering mimosas for brunch this past weekend, the waitress looked a bit surprised. Turns out that they don't get a lot of mimosa requests there. After we had a chance to enjoy a few sips, she came back to check in.

"Are they alright? We don't get a log of requests, so if she (the bartender) can make them differently for you, let me know," the waitress told us. We let her know they were great, but it was good to know she cared that they actually made the drink to the customer's liking.

But NYAJ's doesn't stop there - "Joe" wants to know all about your visit. So at the end of the meal, your waitress brings an iPod Touch to your table, loaded with a customer feedback survey. Quick and easy, I'm always happy to fill it out and let "Joe" know that my food and service were excellent. Oh, did I also mention that they always ask if you've been there before, and newcomers receive a nice little discount? So if you haven't been there, that's your reason to go.

Let's not forget to mention Joe's email marketing. Not spam, but a nice weekly reminder about menu changes, specials, tastings and events. And Joe is supportive of the local community as well, offering a 15 percent discount for anyone who brings a ticket stub from the local performance theatre. So after date night at A Christmas Carol at North Shore Music Theatre, it only made sense to enjoy a meal and drinks at NYAJ's. But that's not all, each NYAJ's locations serves a different local nonprofit. Every Tuesday evening, those nonprofit organizations get 15 percent of all purchases made by its supporters at that location. Nice cause-related marketing, Joe.

What They Could Do Better.

Taking it all in, I'm hands down a fan of this place and I'll keep going back. Here's a few things I do think they could do a bit better, from a marketing perspective, because I won't attempt to criticize their delicious menu.

Rewards Program: I live across the street, and I'm already signed up for marketing emails. I'm sure I'm not the only local who's signed up for emails. Why not show us how much you value our continued patronage, and offer us a discount. Maybe a Joe's BFFs card for those of us who keep coming back, and want to know we're valued.
Foursquare: I may not be the mayor of NYAJ's right now, but you can bet I would be if they offered a free appetizer to the mayor. Or how about a 10 percent discount for checking in? Maybe swapping those two ideas? There are a lot of ways to do this, and I think that Joe's has the social know-how and clientele to pull it off. Sel de la Terre in Boston, Mass. offers free Pomme Frites for checking in. As a result, when I'm in between a few different places for lunch, I always choose there. It's an incentive, a nice reward for the social-savvy customer who shares their dining habits with friends.

Wrapping up, I've got to recommend the place. For the picky eaters, for kids, or for those who enjoy good old-fashioned burgers, go ahead and give it a shot. Maybe it's not for everyone, but I think they're doing things right, and they value their clientele. Other restaurants, especially chains, could learn a lot from NYAJ's, in my humble opinion. That's my food-based PR thought for the day.

I Survived: My Day Without a Smartphone

2011-11-02T20:13:00.000-07:00

My friends and family often poke fun at me that I couldn’t survive without my iPhone. Well, a few weeks ago I spent 24 hours that proved them wrong. No, I don’t have enough will power to attempt this on my own, but when upgrading to the iOS 5 platform crashed the software on my iPhone 4, I was in for a rude awakening. I would have written this post sooner, but I was still coming to terms with this traumatic experience - okay that's an exaggeration, though I did once cry when I left it in a cab.

My iPhone crashed with impeccable timing too, one minute into a conference call with a client, while I was working from home – without a landline. Panicked, I knew I had to think like a 2011 PR pro and use the resources around me. Within minutes, I had purchased Skype credit and was dialed back in through my laptop. Okay so that was disaster number one, and it was only within the first hour of not having my iPhone. When 5:30 hit, I was ready to be out the door on my way to the Apple store, but I wanted to check the weather first. Instinctively, I reached for my iPhone to open the Weather app. Oops, can’t do that. Immediately, I thought, wait – how do people check the weather without the weather app. Yes, I sat there pondering this for about 10 seconds, sitting in front of not one, but two laptops – my Macbook and my work laptop. Eventually, I figured out it out, grabbed a jacket and was out the door to the Apple store.

The Genius Bar had bad news for me – the server crashed and there was nothing they could do. Not only was I being deprived of my early-adopter status of downloading iOS 5 immediately after it was available, but they couldn’t even restore my old software. On top of all that, I couldn’t check in to the Apple store in Peabody through FourSquare – and any social media fiend knows that checking in at Apple is critical.

Like any good mobile-obsessed tech geek, of course I have a back-up phone ready to go for emergencies. Off I went to AT&T, where I met the most helpful sales representative – thanks Brian. So I was ready to go with my PanTech dumb phone. This is when disaster continued to occur. When you’re used to doing things a certain way, it’s hard to adapt. I called my aunt who lives nearby – yes I do recall how to use phones to call people. We decided to meet for dinner and I was headed to pick her up. Instinctively, I picked up my phone to Google Map the best way to get to her place from the mall. Oh wait, dumb phone, I don't have Google maps. I took the wrong exit, and went minutes out of my way. At the restaurant, I wanted to show my aunt photos on Facebook multiple times, but had to settle for actually describing things myself. I managed to make it through the meal and some wine with my aunt. When I got home that night, I had a small panic attack, setting four different alarms, not counting on any of them to wake me up on time. Nervous, I even Tweeted for someone to call me at 6:30 a.m. to make sure I woke up on time – no one called by the way, thanks guys.

The next day was nearly disastrous. As I sat on the train to work, I came up with the idea to write this post and reached for my iPhone to make some notes...another failed attempt. I decided to text my brother, trying multiple times to touch the non-touch screen to navigate my way. I tried again to check in on FourSquare, and to check my email. I wanted to Tweet about the "hardship" of not having an iPhone, but I had to wait till I made it into the office.

We get used to things a certain way, and we take things for granted. It threw me off to be so disconnected, and I'd like to say I had some profound realization that I don't need this technology in my life and I rid myself of the smartphone, but I didn't. The truth is, and this will shock a lot of people, I never thought I needed an iPhone. I saw the value in it and I wanted it. After having one for so long, it's hard to adjust, but not impossible and I'll say it - not necessary. But I like always knowing where I'm going nd being able to do the things I like on-the-go. I've said this many times, I love technology because it's constantly working to make our lives better, more efficient. That's what the iPhone does for me. So yes, my life was less efficient for that 24 hours, but it wasn't unmanageable. I'm here to say, I'm a survivor. I'm not better for it, I'm not worse for it - I was simply annoyed. That's my PR thought for thought for the day.

Steve Jobs: Thank you.

2011-10-05T17:33:00.001-07:00

I've blogged about Apple countless times, just this morning, in fact. I've based several school projects on the company that I admire so much. Heck, I even made my personal logo an onion with the rationale that Steve Jobs proved produce can be a powerful branding strategy - no seriously, check out this post from 2010. I've blogged about Steve Jobs himself a handful of times. But what I've never done is explained why this company and its inspirational CEO have meant so much to me on a personal level. That may sound silly, but it's also very true. Now, on the evening that one of my heroes has passed away, seems like the perfect time to explain why I'm so obsessed with Apple. And I am obsessed, you can ask any one of the dozen or so people in my life who texted me to make sure I was okay when they heard the horrific news that Steve Jobs had passed away.

Simply put, Apple is one of the greatest reasons I'm passionate about what I do. I was passionate about Apple before I even had my first Apple product. So when I got my first iPod, I thought I could do anything. When I got my Macbook Pro, I knew I could do anything. That came with my iPod Touch, and I downloaded way too many apps, far more than I could use. But what came next it what launched me into passion, into feeling like an unstoppable force. That's right, what came next was my iPhone.

Before I knew it, I was obsessed with mobile. I was reading anything I could get my hands on to find out more about the industry, about the capabilities of smartphones and what they would come up with next! Anyone who tried to tell me the iPhone wasn't the greatest phone on the market was quickly squashed like a bug as I babbled about how it's the most user-friendly interface and I stammered off stat after stat about how it's the number one mobile operating system and thought Droid is impressive, it's simply not an iPhone.

The way Steve Jobs and Apple have continuously broken the mold and pushed innovative new products onto the market is inspirational. Previous technologies have been forgotten in the wake of Apple products. Steve Jobs' vision has revolutionized consumer technology, and that vision, the drive to continuously improve, innovate and create products that make our lives better and more efficient - that's why I love my job. I work with technology visionaries who, much like Steve Jobs, are working to push technology forward to create a more efficient supply chain, a better customer experience or a faster online experience - all with technology.

Where would technology be today if it weren't for Jobs? We don't know. Because it isn't as simple as there wouldn't be iPhones, Macbooks and iPads on the market. Other MP3 players and tablets wouldn't have had the competition to beat. Jobs raised the bar and inspired others to be better. And he did it in style. Each one of Apple's products isn't just a handy piece of equipment; it's a work of art. Sleek design was almost as important as the features and how well it functioned - almost.

People who meet me know that I'm tech-obsessed. The reason is inspired by Apple, led by Steve Jobs. I am passionate about tech, and it all started with my first iPod. Jobs has inspired me, and when I get on the phone to pitch a client and technology I'm really excited about, I think of how excited Jobs must have been when he was sharing his ideas. You could see it in his eyes at press conferences. He believed in advancing technology. He was a visionary and an inspiration. We're all sad to see him go. Thank you, Steve Jobs, for inspiring all of us and gracing the tech world with your vision. You will be missed, and my thoughts are with your friends and family.

MobileMonday Part II: Mobile Games

2011-09-16T11:32:00.000-07:00

Following up on my last MobileMonday post, let’s get to the heart of what this night was all about – mobile games. This won’t come as a surprise to anyone who’s even slightly interested in the mobile industry, but leveraging geo-location into mobile games was a huge topic at the event. Not one of the game developers who presented dared not to mention that their game had the capability. In my humble opinion, the best mobile gaming takeaways of the night are below.

Sell to the fantasy – Design to the behavior.

The best point that I thought was made the whole night about location-based gaming was from Greg Trefry from Gigantic Mechanic. The reality of location-based gaming is that it’s not active. Developers create these apps with the mindset that people will go all over the city and do different things to play games with their friends. But people don’t deviate from where they go very often. Will they explore new places? Maybe, but most people want to go to their local bagel shop and order their usual coffee, from their regular barista. Touché, Greg.

Cater to the single player experience.

Eric Asmussen from 82 Apps just wants to play good old fashioned games – on his iPad. Let’s be honest, that’s the best platform for many games, especially the kind Eric likes to play – board games. Only Eric wasn’t content playing Catania and Risk on his iPad, he wanted to have more fun. So he came up with New World Colony. Eric learned quickly though, that game development takes time and while he may like playing best on his iPad, he needed to expand to the iPhone market to reach more potential users. Eric’s best advice, in my opinion, was to cater to the single player experience – especially in the early stages. Sure, it’s great if you can hop online when you want to play and battle against someone across the country or the world. But if there are only a handful of people using the app in the early stages, there’s a smaller likelihood that you’ll have someone to battle. Online matches are practically useless for smaller games, and there needs to be an option to take turns, like with the popular Scrabble-like app, Words with Friends.

You need ads, but keep them relevant.

Video gaming is an addiction. Matt Snyder from MediaMob shared an interesting stat that almost makes me want to put down my iPhone. Almost. The typical smartphone user spends 15 hours per month playing games. Most of us (92 percent) play once a week, but many play every day (45 percent). Angry Birds has replaced Starbucks as the most overused mobile analogy, Matt says, qualifying the influence that mobile games have on the industry.

Matt talked about mobile advertising challenges and what makes a better experience for gamers. There’s growing pressure to release free games, but often times these are hampered down with ads that ruin the experience. This is easily avoided by keeping the ads relevant, something I’ve been talking about for a while with clients, and Matt reaffirmed. Catering to relevancy will result in huge rewards. Matt says that mobile ads should offer real world returns – discounts for products and services a mobile gamer would care about. Better yet, he states, offer value to the user for the game they’re playing; allow gamers to unlock levels/points in the game for watching a sponsor’s video.

My pick of the night.

There were some great games and apps at MobileMonday, and I learned a lot about the mobile gaming space – from development and HTML 5 to additional insights in mobile advertising. My favorite of the night, though, was from the TapLab. Dave Bisceglia shared a new game I’m way too tempted to download – TapCity. I’m a self-proclaimed FourSquare addict. I’ve been fighting with a colleague for months now to earn the mayorship of our office here at PAN – I’m so close that I’ve debated coming to work on a Saturday. But that’s not TapCity. To me, TapCity is a hybrid of war and Monopoly for FourSquare. It’s not just for social media addicts like me, it’s for gamers. Sure, you check-in. You check-in the most and you’re the mayor. And if you’re the mayor, you can collect revenue from anyone else who checks in, so you’re earning real value, well as real as fake money can be. But here’s the catch, the location-based differentiator, if you will. Don’t feel like coming in on a Saturday – you can forcibly become the mayor. Launch attacks on properties, and if you’re already the mayor, be sure to set up precautions and protect your property from the city dwellers trying to get a slice of your property’s pie. Watch out, Boston, because I’m coming after your venues, one tap at a time.

The Mobile Games event was a great way to kick off Future M week, and you can bet you’ll find me at future MobileMonday events. Matt Snyder at MediaMob said it best, gaming is an addiction. Mobile technology is changing the way we game, and where we do it. What mobile gaming apps are you addicted to?

Media Maven Meets Mobile Monday

2011-09-14T16:42:00.000-07:00

Geek. Nerd. Dork. Tech-obsessed – that’s what my brother’s MIT friends called me when I showed up late to watch Monday night’s Patriots game. Yes, you can re-read that sentence. A group of MITstudents was standing there calling me a geek. They couldn’t believe I missed most of opening game to go to a MobileMonday event. I didn’t want to miss the game (though I did make it back to see Wes Welker run a 99.5-yard touchdown so I could win my PAN Fantasy match-up.) I tried to tell them how cool it was to hear about HTML 5, some innovative new apps, and best practices and challenges for mobile game development. They looked at me blankly. So I’m hoping I’ll have a different reaction here on prSPEAK, and maybe some fellow “geeks” will think the Mobile Games event, presented by Mobile Monday Boston, was as cool as I did. If so, drop a line in the comments and let me know I’m not alone. There’s a little too much for one blog post, so check back later this week for the second half of my MobileMonday recap.

The new BostonGlobe.com

Whether you’re upset that the Boston Globe is asking readers to pay for online content or not, you have to be impressed with the new mobile design on the BostonGlobe.com. My only complaint is that I really do love native apps. I have the Boston.com app and I love it, and it sits in a group of apps with all my other favorite news sites and blogs. However, I think I’ll find myself giving BostonGlobe.com a shot on my iPhone. Here are the highlights, as I learned from Jeff Moriarty from the Boston Globe at Mobile Monday:

Responsive design – Content is sized to any device
Touch feature – touch, pinch and scroll your news
Bookmark stories you want to read later
Device driven formats – Whether you’re reading on a Kindle, BlackBerry, iPad and so on, the content will be optimized to your screen.
Same storage space as native apps
Gaming component for crossword puzzles – I like to call this old school meets new school. Crossword puzzles – really?

HTML 5

One of the reasons I went to MobileMonday was because I wanted to learn more about this technology, and, more importantly, about the impact it will have on software development, particularly for mobile developers. I’ve been seeing a lot about it, but I wanted the quick-and-dirty from people who know what they’re talking about. The guys who spoke at Mobile Monday had a lot to say, because they’re in the thick of it. The biggest challenge, as Jamie Caralis from MocoSpace shared, is device fragmentation. There is a wide variety of screen resolutions and bandwidth power across devices, and HTML 5 is still an emerging standard. Still, I was impressed by the HTML 5 capabilities Jamie talked about. Here are a few his highlights:

Ubiquitous across operating systems
Open standards – web and game developers share a common language
Open distribution system – not locked in by restrictive policies.

A few other presenters, Trevor Sayre and his brother “Z” from Gradient Studios, closed out their presentation with some final thoughts on HTML 5. HTML 5 is not just HTML; it’s open web technology and integrated media content. Get on board, because you’ll reach a wider audience – everyone has a browser, not everyone has the right app store.

As I said, I still prefer native apps, but I suspect HTML 5 is a huge game-changer for mobile developers and we’ll likely see a lot of companies leveraging this tech to reach a wider audience, as Z and Trevor pointed out.

More to come on MobileMonday later this week, as I share the insights I learned about the mobile gaming industry.

This post originally appeared on prSPEAK, a blog by PAN Communications.

Briefings 3.0 – A Video Is Worth a Billion Words

2011-08-30T07:46:00.000-07:00

This post originally appeared on prSPEAK, a blog by PAN Communications.

It’s true, I’ve only been a full-time PR pro for little more than a year, though I’ve diligently followed the field for years. Still, I can see the progress that is happening so rapidly in this growing field. In many ways, public relations is circular, and we’ll continue to apply best traditional PR practices. But PR is also very linear, as we constantly use the tools at our hands for progress in the field. Most recently, we’ve been leveraging video to create opportunities for our clients. It’s a hot topic that everyone’s talking about. Dan Schwabel’s Digital Media 3.0 event I attended a few weeks ago with my colleagues reaffirmed that.

Whether it’s bringing video content to mobile devices or the hundreds of tools, apps and services for streaming video to desktops – everyone’s trying to see how they can leverage video for their campaigns, their advertising strategies and PR plans. Why? Because it’s personal and compelling. It reminds us that there are people behind these companies. And no longer do you have to buy ad time during the Super Bowl to tell your story and reach your audience. One of PAN’s clients recently mentioned that if a picture is worth a thousand words, then a video is worth a billion. He’s right, nothing tells a story as vividly to an audience as a video.

This is a great opportunity for PR pros, especially as reporters, too, are trying to ride the video bandwagon to create more compelling content. Sure, there will always be great articles, great written interviews. But to make things more personal, I’ve been seeing a lot more of what I’m deciding to call Briefings 3.0. Rather than connect my clients and reporters through conference lines, I’ve set up three Skype interviews in the past two months.

These briefings 3.0 are a win/win for both the reporters and the clients. Each can gain a better feel for the other’s personality and whose on the other side of the call. Readers are rewarded with more engaging content. Sure, the PR gal in me had a minor heart attack at first, since it’s still not possible to have 3-way recorded Skype call and I wanted to be on the line. But with some good prep on both sides, knowing the opportunity I secured for my clients and trusting my clients - I knew that video would be a hit for both the reporter and our client.

Video isn’t necessarily new, but how often, where and on what device people are watching it has made it a game-changer. We’ve even created video content for our blog as we tell the story of PAN’s growth and move to Boston. And stay tuned, because there’s more exciting video posts to come from prSPEAK. At PAN, we value video and what it can bring to digital and traditional strategies; we’re applying our knowledge of this to our client’s strategies. Those who aren’t realizing the full potential of this medium will be left lagging behind as more realize how powerful a video story can be.

We're Doers, Not Watchers: Defending the Social Media Generation

2011-07-19T08:00:00.001-07:00

The other day I came across an article by Dean Obeidalla on CNN.com that posed the question of whether or not social media is creating the laziest generation. An interesting question - one that I strongly answer with a heck no! I can see why the question was posed, and there is validity to both sides of the argument. There's even a Toyota commercial about a girl who judges how "social" she is by how many Facebook friends she has. Still, I argue that social media is certainly not creating the laziest generation.

First of all, while I respect Dean's viewpoint and enjoyed his article, I have to offer a bit of criticism for providing reality TV as a valid argument that social media is making us lazy. The two simply aren't related. Sure, people share opinions and engage with each other around these shows on social media platforms - but that's just because people are talking about nearly everything on social media, TV included. To partake in social media does not mean that you watch reality TV. I love social media, in fact, my friends and family call me mildly obsessed. But I don't watch reality TV, ever. There are plenty of people who do both, but to engage in one does not mean that you engage in both.

Some will argue that we've become lazy in our writing. Everything needs to be shorter - 140 characters on Twitter even. Well I say we've just mastered the elevator pitch. What used to be communicated in lengthy presentations and long conversations, we accomplish in 140 characters. Yes, we watch. We watch to see what comes next and how we can take that idea to the next level. Or implement it into our start-up, or our campaigns.

Dean was right, one Tweet will not change the world. But one Tweet can spark another, and then a trending topic and then start a revolution. Social media has incredible influence, and we're all in the midst of a game-changer for politics and business.

People are using social media to make their lives better. We're using it to do things, not just watch things. We're obtaining new information and using it to make a mark on the world, look for job opportunities or connect with like-minded people who share interests. That way, we can connect on and off line. We're exercising our minds endlessly online, sinking in all the information we can from the many channels we're tuned into. We Tweet, we update, we connect. We find roommates on Craig's List or Roommates.com. We meet boyfriends and girlfriends through online dating. We support our favorite political candidate with Tweets and statuses of support, which is actively shared with all of our friends and family. We blog about places we've been, or activities we've participated in. We are doers, not watchers.

So, social media isn't creating the laziest generation, it may even be doing the opposite. We engage with more people and wider circles than ever before and are able to meet people that we never would have without the emergence of new media. That's my PR thought for the day.

Yup, this is another post about Google+

2011-07-08T11:14:00.000-07:00

You might be getting sick of Google+ posts by now, but here's my two cents on the latest social network - just a few basics.

Pros:

1. You can edit posts. Can't tell you how many times I had wanted this feature when I had one silly typo in a Facebook post or Tweet. Solid move.

2. Google grabbed all my info from LinkedIn, Blogger, etc. That saved me a lot of time, and I had the choice to publish it or not.

3. I'm sharing with colleagues, journalists, bloggers and clients on a happy-medium level. Not as much as we should be sharing if we were Facebook friends, but more personal than on Twitter. I'm getting to see new sides of people's personalities, many of which I've never met but have connected with online or over the phone.

4. Circles - awesome. I don't care about the fact that you can share with certain groups and not others, which is the main pitch point of circles. And maybe I will start to care more about this as time goes on. What I like about it is that I can filter the stream. If I want to get some info, news or pitch ideas about mobile tech, I'll only look at those in my mobile circle. I'm seriously loving this feature. And I love that people can't see what circles I put them in, though I'm morbidly curious what circles people are putting me in. Annoying PR folks? :)

Cons:

1. No contact connection to other social networks. I realize other sites are the competition, but you're not going to win me over by limiting my access to them through Google+. I don't connect my social networks usually because I think they each serve a different purpose for me, but I'm new to Google+, we all are. And I want to find friends from Twitter and Facebook who are using it so we can connect, not just my connections from Gmail. That would be huge for me as I get started.

2. No link shortener in the mobile app - super annoying.

3. There's no button yet to share articles from other sites, only to +1 them. Facebook has a "Like" and a "Share" button. Hopefully this is only a matter of time...Or I'm just proving my last post wrong because I'm too lazy to actually copy and paste a link into Google+.

4. No "smart screen" for the mobile app. That's probably not the technical term. But when I turn my iPhone horizontal for easier typing, the screen in the mobile app doesn't turn with it. This is beyond irritating when you're typing.

Google+ certainly has some kinks to work out, but it's brand new and that's the whole purpose of beta. On the whole, I think it's a pretty solid social media platform and it will continue to improve. I'm excited to keep learning and sharing. That's my PR thought for the day.

Oh, and be sure to add me to your circles folks.

Relevancy, Engagement, Value - Why You Should or Shouldn't Follow Me

2011-07-06T19:18:00.000-07:00

I love Twitter. Well I love all social media, but I have a special place in my heart for Twitter. It continues to prove itself to me, both for personal and professional networking. Too often though, I hear negativity about following too many people - as if it's a bad thing. I'm not attempting to defend spam bots here or anything. But I've heard and read many comments about the ratio of people you are following to people who are following you. It even affects some influencer measurement scores such as Klout. I understand that perspective, because there are certainly people and organizations who will follow anyone and everyone in an attempt to increase their own follower count. However, I do think other other factors need to be considered. Here's just a few of those factors:

1. Relevancy: Are the people who you follow relevant to you, on a personal or professional level? Sure, I follow a few hundred people - Kim Kardashian is not one of them. That's not to say anything against her or those who follow her, but her Tweets simply aren't relevant to me. I follow my friends and colleagues to stay connected, as well as folks in industries that interest me - PR, journalism, mobile, marketing, IT, etc. Oh, and of course I follow both of my alma maters, Merrimack College and the Newhouse School at Syracuse University.

2. Engagement: Are you engaging with the people you follow? Okay, I haven't retweeted, mentioned or sent a message to every single Twitter handle that I follow. But you can bet I've engaged with people across all of the industries and interest areas I follow. I may not retweet everyone, but they're on my list of followers because I think they have potential to share compelling content with me - content that teaches me something, makes me think or just brings interesting news to my attention.

3. Value: Are the people you follow actually sharing anything important with you? If not, why the heck are you following them? Value doesn't have to mean that you should only be following the likes of the New York Times or Wall Street Journal. Value's different to everyone, and there's all different kinds of value too. You could find value in a humorous Tweet when you needed that comedic break in your day. Or it could be that news or research report that brings you the perfect angle to pitch a trend story for your client. Value doesn't mean any one thing in particular, but all of those you follow should bring it to you in some form or another.

Maybe I'm naive or drinking too much Twitter Kool-Aid, but the way I see it, you should follow as many people as necessary to obtain value. I don't follow people just because they follow me, and I certainly won't unfollow anyone who chose not to follow me back. If they decide they will not gain anything from following me, then why should they? Sure, there are definitely some industry folks out there I wish would follow me back (ahem @BrianSolis). But I won't stop following them because I'm too proud. If I'm getting value out of their Tweets, then I'll continue to follow them and retweet or respond to anything I find compelling enough to share.

Again, I understand both perspectives here, but I think there's more to consider than a simple comparison of followers/people you follow can provide. So when friends and family ask my opinion, I never preach "don't follow too many more people than who follow you." I preach to follow those who will make Twitter as valuable and fun as it has been for me, whether that's 10 people or 1,000 people. That's my PR thought for the day.

Keep it Real: Welcoming Friends and Family to Twitter with Open Arms and Retweets

2011-02-04T22:09:00.000-08:00

As somewhat of a social media geek, Twitter has been a big part of my daily life for a while now. Recently, my social media social life has been overlapping with my good old fashioned social life more so than usual. My friends and family, who have perviously made fun of me for my love of Tweeting, are starting to sign up for accounts. I was thinking about why that is, and then I started noticing how much it's showing up in mainstream media, not just in my work and online circles.

When I say mainstream media, I don't mean celebrities Tweeting. I mean that Twitter is being talked about in venues that my friends will actually pay attention to - their TV shows. Two weeks ago Grey's Anatomy included Twitter as a main theme of the episode, as Dr. Miranda Bailey Tweeted her surgeries live. On the Big Bang Theory, it was a main theme when Sheldon Cooper's lecture became a trending topic. They even discussed supposedly well-known Twitter acronyms like KMN - for kill me now - to convey boredom. These were both main themes, but I've seen Twitter mentioned in many other shows as well, even if it's just a passing comment here or there.

Now, as a lover of Twitter, I get excited seeing these themes in a few of my favorite shows, and I even point it out to my roommate with a quick, "See, I told you Twitter isn't lame." But I had to step back for a minute and ask myself, are they setting the expectations too high?

In PR, of course we'd love to have all of our clients become a trending topic each day, but that's just not always plausible. These shows make it look simple, when it isn't always. Is it realistic that while live-Tweeting a surgery, a fellow surgeon would Tweet a recommendation that leads to saving a life? And would a boring lecture from a nerdy physicist really become such a trend on Twitter when there are so many exciting things going on? Isn't it more likely that a compelling human interest story or massively-engaging current event will trend?

It's certainly interesting to think about, and maybe it could be some day, but I think we're still a long way from these things becoming reality. Maybe I'm wrong though, maybe a Tweet can save a life. There is that case of the girls who updated their Facebook statuses and were thereby rescued from a storm drain in Australia. Of course, my thought was that if they had her phones, it probably would have been more efficient to dial 911, but maybe I'm just being old-fashioned that way.

Twitter's great - I love it for real-time updates on news, staying connected with friends and people in my industry and so much more. I welcome my friends and family to the social network with open arms and retweets. But when my friend has to ask why she doesn't have as many followers as me after only a week of Tweeting, I think it's important to keep our Twitter expectations realistic. That's my PR thought for the day.

Brand Loyalty: Starbucks' Die-Hard Customers

2011-02-01T17:02:00.000-08:00

Some more on branding here, with the coffee that made many of us feel a bit out of our league the first time we stepped foot inside a store and the aficionado in front of us ordered his "tall, nonfat, iced caramel machiatto, upside down - oh and no whip." When I entered my first Starbucks, my palms were sweating as I looked the sizes up and down. That guy just ordered a tall, but it looks kiddie-sized.

"Can I take your order, miss?" I'm interrupted by the service rep, oops, I mean the tan, preppy yet punk, barista with the green apron, stylish glasses and nose ring behind the counter.

"Umm," I stutter. I fumble. I fear exile if I order wrong. "A medium coffee?" She doesn't blink, she just gets her cup and writes my order on it. Did I order correctly? What about cream and sugar?

Okay, I eventually figured it out. And now I can order my fancy drinks with the best of 'em. But what kept me coming back for more after that initial culture shock? I think it's got a little something to do with the focus on the experience more than the actual product. The brand experience creates loyal, committed customers.

As committed customers, these die-hards don't just view Starbucks favorably, but they tend to actually undervalue competitors. If you ask a Starbucks customer if they’d like a coffee from Dunkin’ Donuts, you're likely to receive a dirty look, and possibly a small amount of judgment as they quickly answer “No.” Starbucks doesn’t just make coffee, they’ve created a brand with steadfast enthusiasts. Customers like this are valuable in times of crisis. It's probably why Toyota came up with the ads about "Asking someone you know who drives one." This was conveniently right after the recall crisis last spring. They relied on their committed customers to defend their experience with Toyota.

When you walking into a Starbucks, there's a certain mood and ambience. There's a sense of reciprocity that if you're loyal to your cup of Joe in the morning, it won't let you down. It's also about the human connections that Starbucks has created in the store. Unlike some coffee shops that are more about getting in and getting out, Starbucks has a more inviting atmosphere with their friendly baristas. And after you leave, the interaciton continues through its many social media channels. They have committed Tweeters who answer questions, plenty of engaged Facebook fansand they were one of the first retailers to offer rewards through Foursquare. Starbucks does this because they tend to know their audience, the ones who are likely to interact and crave that extra attention through a shout-out in a Tweet. They're the trend-savvy early adopters who like change and innovation. Sitting in a Starbucks today, I even looked around to notice that out of the five of us on our laptops, four of us had Macbooks. (Maybe there's a potential partnership opportunity in the future for Starbucks and Apple?)

Brand loyalty isn't brand popularity. It's long-term dedication from a large number of customers. It's what separates Starbucks from Dunks, and all of their other competitors. That's my PR thought for the day.

*Image found through Google image search.

*Disclaimer: I'm impartial to Starbucks or Dunks - I drink both.

Verizon's iPhone - Premature or Strategic?

2011-01-11T19:09:00.000-08:00

As my account manager pointed out to me today, unless you've been living under a mobile rock, you've been hearing about the Verizon iPhone, and the jeers back and forth between the wireless giants -Verizon and AT&T. I've read quite a few of these stories and still don't know exactly how I feel about the whole deal. Disclaimer - I've been a loyal AT&T customer since I got my first cell phone six years ago, and am a current iPhone user.

That being said, a few of the articles I read questioned why Verizon would launch the iPhone 4 now, potentially just a few months before Apple unveils the next version of iPhone. I'm here to offer my perspective on that. I'm sure there are a lot of reasons, but the top two that come to my mind are press and sales.

Press

Every company wants good press. This Verizon announcement has led to an almost absurd amount of coverage. Almost every tech, mobile and wireless blog and publication has covered it - not to mention the business press pick-up in the New York Times, Boston Globe, Wall Street Journal and so on. Sure, Steve Jobs can pretty much sneeze and get some impressive media attention, but this Verizon announcement has got everyone talking - tech folks, mobile guys and gals, social media gurus, business ladies and gents, and of course, consumers. When Apple does launch the next generation iPhone, Verizon will have to fight AT&T for the press. By announcing this now with the iPhone 4, Verizon snags some stand-alone pieces. Boom - Verizon and Apple increase their SEO and press momentum - not that either has struggled too much in those areas.

Sales

There will always be those consumers and early-adopters who want the latest and greatest gizmos and whatyamacallits. There's the Apple enthusiasts, of course. We all know those people who buy the latest version of everything Apple. They waited in line overnight for each iPhone and almost peed their pants when they got their hands on their first iPad the day it launched. Don't get me wrong, if my wallet allowed it I'd be camped out next to them. Many of these enthusiasts may be settling for supposedly lower quality AT&T service because they want the hottest Apple device. But now they have the chance to switch to the service they really want - Verizon. In a few months, they'll wait in line again when Apple announces the latest iPhone. That means they have potential repeat buyers, which leads to greater sales than if they waited to make the announcement with the next iPhone.

I think Verizon's decision to announce that they will be carrying the iPhone 4 was a strategic move at this point in time, that has already secured significant media traction, and will likely lead to increased sales. That's my PR thought for the day.

Image taken from Google images.

I Am an Onion.

2010-08-11T17:43:00.000-07:00

You may have noticed that my personal logo, which is also the background to my Twitter, is an onion. A lot of people ask why I chose this, and I love telling them. So I decided to share it here. When I was designing my personal logo, I had a lot of ideas, but none of them seemed like the right fit. I was frustrated, disappointed, and tired. Then a lightbulb hit. This was it. This was me. I am an onion. I designed it as a means to portray my versatility. I'm a social media maven, a tech-enthusiast, an Irish gal, a dalmatian lover, a twin, a daughter, a romantic, a lover of books, a soft-hearted egomaniac, a terrible dresser, a Patriots fan, a lyricist, a sister, a writer, and depending on who you ask, a comedian. I'm proud to be exactly who I am, proud to be an onion. As you peel back my layers and get to know me, I hope you'll come to appreciate the diversity of my passions.

My inspiration for this logo was social penetration theory, as developed and described by Irwin Altman and Dalmas Taylor. I'd like to thank Apple Inc., for reassuring me that produce can be an effective way to brand yourself. And hey, if I'm going to brand myself with produce, you bet it's going to be the veggie that's so powerful it'll bring you to tears. On that note, I'll also thank Wendy Nichols at Merrimack College for actually bringing me to tears as we peeled onions to learn about social penetration theory. Lastly, I want to thank Greg Hedges, my graphic design professor at the Newhouse School, for letting me run with such an untraditional idea, even when Cynthia bet me a bottle of tequilla that you wouldn't. Maybe people will remember me as the green onion girl, but at least they're remembering me.

I read a fortune cookie once that I kept in my wallet until the day it was stolen at a pizza place. It reads, "Do not wish to be anything but exactly who you are, and try to be that perfectly." If you want to brand yourself, just think of what portrays you, and be that. Be an onion. That's my PR thought for the day.

P.S. Cynthia you still owe me that bottle of tequilla.

Why I Love Tech PR

2010-08-11T17:13:00.000-07:00

Upon entering the real world, the first thing I learned is that my learning has far from ceased. I'm learning more than I ever thought I would, but the difference is in the tests. In my job, I don't memorize facts and numbers or write long research essays, but that's not to say my knowledge isn't tested. It's tested every day as I pick up the phone with a reporter to explain what my client does and why they should care. It's tested in my meetings with clients, in my brainstorm sessions with my teams - account managers want to see why I'm still right for this job with out-of-the-box ideas and creative ways to secure opportunities for our clients. I'm tested each time I open a blank Word document and I have to fill that screen with words that will make speaking and awards committees go - Wow, we have to have this person at our conference. In all this learning, I've reaffirmed exactly why I chose my field and why I love technology.

Okay, there's a million and one reasons why I love tech. Technology is consistently evolving and improving to make our lives more efficient, like I discussed in a prSPEAK post for PAN Communications a few months ago. I always knew I loved tech, but it wasn't until I started working with high-technology clients that I truly realized just how much I love it. I always loved consumer gizmos, gadgets and applications. I loved reading about them, playing with them and most of all, learning about them. Now, however, I'm in a whole new world of technology, the kind of tech that everyday consumers may not hear about, but is improving their lives without them even realizing it. I've been at this real world thing for a few months now, and every day I'm learning new things. Supply chain, application performance management, private and public clouds, virtualization, end-user security, and the list goes on and on...and on - there's an acronym for just about everything.

This whole new world of high-tech with endless acronyms is very different from what I expected - which might be part of the reason I love it so much. Every day holds the possibility of a curveball in the world of high-tech PR. I'm learning about things that most people in my social circle don't even know exist. They may not know about them, but I know the reasons that much of their world goes 'round - why they can bank safely from their mobile devices, or shop during Cyber Monday without having the websites crash, or why their favorite Christmas gift just isn't in stock this season because the someone didn't effectively manage inventory.

Adjusting to a full-time job from grad school was a whirlwind for sure, but it's much easier when you love what you do. If you're passionate about the work you do, like I am with tech PR, then it's a whole lot easier to avoid the snooze button on Monday mornings. That's my PR thought for the day.

Cupidtino and Exclusivity

2010-07-27T19:56:00.000-07:00

With Apple’s newest iPhone and iPad being such hot topics, there’s been a lot less chatter about its new social website, Cupidtino. The site, still in its beta version, is an online dating site playing off the baby angel of love and Apple’s headquarters in Cupertino, Ca. Here’s the catch; you have to be a Mac user to access it. Social media, dating sites included, are about connecting and we’re supposed to be able to choose who we connect with. Not allowing PC users to gain access limits that choice. The idea is that there’s a common interest here, catering to the Mac culture. Is Steve Jobs trying to breed Mac babies? I'm kidding of course, and I'm a Mac user myself. Still, this exclusivity is like a whole new form of prejudice. It’ll be interesting to see if PC users are upset by this exclusion. Are you a PC or Mac? If you’re a PC, do you feel excluded by this site? If you’re a Mac, would you join this site?

With Foursquare, Life's a Game

2010-07-27T19:46:00.000-07:00

This year, Foursquare’s considered one of the most up and coming social media players. And I do mean player, because in the world of Foursquare, life is a game and everything is worth points or badges. Foursquare’s founder, Dennis Crowley, made it that way because he enjoyed earning points in video games so much. He wanted to see his video game world become a reality. Check-in to different places on campus, or anywhere else, and earn points each time, watching the points value increase with each check-in that day. Check-in to some place the most, and you become the mayor. Each Sunday night the points system restarts, so you’ll find that when your best bud is beating you by five points on a Saturday night, you’ve got some extra motivation to leave your usual hang out and check-in to a new venue.

Foursquare makes being social in your daily life just like a game, creating incentives to try to new places for more points. And even the least competitive personalities will find that when they’re ousted as the mayor of their favorite hot spots, they’ll feel that impulsive, stubborn need to go for a check-in to gain their title back.

Not only is Foursquare creating a little friendly competition, it’s connecting us too. Checking our smart phones, we get to see where our friends are hanging out, or where there’s a trending hot spot in real time. Maybe you’re headed to Dunkin’ Donuts for your usual fix, but you see your friend just checked-in at a local mom-and-pop bakery down the street so you head there instead. So much of social media is about connecting. With Foursquare, we get to take the virtual interaction of new media and make it social in a face-to-face setting.

Some late adopters have argued that social media actually makes people less social. Foursquare helps to prove quite the opposite. That's my PR thought for the day.

Image was taken from Google images.

Brand Loyalty: Apple's Awesome Experience

2010-07-21T19:05:00.001-07:00

Some more branding here, with one of my favorite companies that is no stranger to anyone - Apple. Apple is one of the most innovative and influential technology companies in the world. How did they do it? I'd love to give you my opinion from a branding perspective, though there's a lot more to it. With its products, and with customer service, Apple enhanced the level of loyalty its customers feel toward the company.

A few months ago, I was lucky enough to attend a guest lecture at the Syracuse University's Whitman School of Management. The lecture with Jerry McDougal, Vice President of Retail for Apple, provided me with some great insight into Apple's brand and strategies.

Experience with a brand strongly affects brand loyalty. Apple embraces the idea of customer experience by creating a tech-savvy and hands-on environment in its stores. Customers are encouraged to come into the stores to work, and to play. As McDougal says, “99% of stores that sell phones have dummy phones that don’t work. At Apple, you can really test the product." Apple does this with all of their products and they don’t limit the amount of time you can use these products for free either. Here's a fun fact for - there have even been authors who don’t own computers who have written entire books in an Apple store on a test-drive computer. Many stores wouldn’t have allowed this to happen, but Apple strives to foster good customer experience. These authors didn’t have to pay Apple anything, and they weren’t asked to leave after a few hours. Instead, Apple employees helped them out when they needed a coffee or had a technical issue.

What else has helped Apple's branding? Oh right, Steve Jobs the wonder-CEO. Literature on brand loyalty has stressed the importance of CEOs in brand management. Steve Jobs has always been the face of Apple, even during his hiatus when he wasn’t the CEO. People in the tech world love him and here's what I love about him; he unveils each new Apple product personally, so customers are hearing about the new technology directly from the source. Okay, maybe the iPhone 4 unveiling wasn't perfect, but at least if was straight from Jobs himself. Jobs even has such dedicated fans who admire him as a hero, like the fan who created a site, allaboutstevejobs.com.

Even more proof of Apple's incredible branding is a research study conducted by Cornell University, which revealed that the Apple store in Manhattan was the fifth most photographed place in New York City, and the 28th most photographed in the world. Loyal customers are the best marketing tool a brand can have, and Apple’s dedication to customer experience has created just that.

Satisfied customer will act as marketers without even realizing it. Apple enthusiasts rant and rave about their technology, and they make people who don’t have Apple products jealous. They think they are the best because they have Apple; and they tell people they are best because they have Apple. The evidence is all over the virtual world, with blogs dedicated solely to discussing Apple, and Facebook pages such as "We Love Apple." Apple Inc. didn’t ask its customers to rant and rave; they just provided the products that compelled its loyal customers to do so. Simply by providing a good product experience, Apple enhanced its brand loyalty.

Apple is awesome, and their loyal brand enthusiasts prove it. That's my PR thought for the day.

Transparency, You Really Still Don't Get it?

2010-07-06T18:45:00.001-07:00

Transparency has been written and talked about a lot. I won't pretend it hasn't, and I'll try not to beat a dead horse. That's why I don't understand how people still don't get it. Every day I see Tweets, Facebook updates and blog posts that are promoting a product or service, but the person isn't disclosing their connection to it. Unfortunately, it even happens within my own social circle. I see it and I'm excited because a friend or connection, who I trust because of past experience, is recommending something. Naturally, I want to check it out. Later I find out they were doing it selfishly because they're connected to it, or because they "had" to because they work for the company. I start to wonder if the product/service is reliable. I second guess my judgment and theirs.

I'm not saying that you shouldn't promote a product you're connected to in your social networks and circles - I know I've done it. In fact you should do it because you should support, like and believe in the organizations you're connected to. The difference is disclosing the connection. I know I've genuinely liked everything I've ever discussed in my social networks. The value of social networks is the ability to gain honest, third party perspectives and feedback. There will always be people out there who aren't honest and who are only looking out for number one. But if even people in my social networks are doing it, the ones who I consider the "good guys and gals," what's going to happen to that third party value I've enjoyed so much? Am I just dreaming of an idealistic social world that simply can never truly exist?

So all there is to it, is be transparent. Promote your product, promote your friends and promote your clients - just disclose your connection to us loyal followers, fans and friends in your social networks. That's my PR thought for the day.

Image was found using Google images.

@CocaCola Ties Brand to World Cup via Promoted Tweet

2010-06-23T16:39:00.000-07:00

I didn't say much when promoted Tweets came out; I wasn't sure how I felt about them. I guess I'm still not, but they're worth commenting on. Specifically, today @CocaCola sponsored the Twitter hashtag, #WC2010. All I have to say to that is - nice moves Coke, nice moves. I don't drink soda so I have no reason to give them props, other than I think they deserve it. Twitter's fail whale has been seen far too often since the World Cup began because it's being overloaded with fans who want to dicuss, share and debate their favorite/least favorite teams and of course the ever-pressing topic of quality officiating. With Coke sponsoring the hashtag, anyone that follows that feed will see @CocaCola's Tweet at the top of the discussion. Earlier today it read, "CocaCola Congrats to ENG & USA on moving forward. Lots of celebrations across the globe. How's your celebration? http://CokeURL.com/63fx #WC2010." They're showing support for a current, wildly popular world event, and linking back to their website in the process.

I don't have the statistics for who's viewing this, but I know it's a lot, and I'm impressed by the idea. Sometimes we see global companies ignore Twitter, but Coke used Twitter to tie its brand to a global event. Honestly though, I would have loved to see a start-up or small business do that today and see the results. It could have been dramatic for driving a new audience to their site. I know I would have clicked, especially if it was something I wasn't familiar with already because I would have been curious. Anyways, props to you Coke.

Image by Poolie on Flickr.

Brand Loyalty: Avon's Cause-Related Marketing

2010-05-09T11:29:00.000-07:00

For those who don’t know, Avon is a cosmetics company dedicated to the betterment of women’s lives through beauty, health, fitness, and self-empowerment. The company has a very well known, worldwide Avon breast cancer campaign, which has raised over $660 million in over 50 countries. Avon has developed and implemented a very important cause-related marketing campaign for breast cancer awareness, which has helped increase brand loyalty. Choosing this cause was important for Avon because it is something that resonates very personally with its target audience - women.

According to its website, Avon has a history of CRM dating back to 1942 when the company began donating 40% of its output to military manufacturing. This move was strategic because the war was a current event that was affecting every American citizen in some way.

In 1989, the company launched its first breast cancer awareness campaign in the U.K, with a U.S. launch the following year, enlisting over 500,000 sales representatives to raise awareness and funds through the “pink ribbon” product line. For every purchase of a “pink ribbon,” product, a percentage of the sales went to breast cancer awareness and fundraising. Over the years, that percentage has varied, and is currently at 68% of the sale price.

The most important part of Avon’s cause-related marketing is the company’s choice of cause. Avon describes itself as an organization dedicated to the empowerment of women. With such a clearly defined vision for the betterment of women, and product lines that are created for women, it was imperative that Avon chose a cause that resonated with women. Considering that there is a new breast cancer diagnosis every three minutes and a life lost to breast cancer every 14 minutes, breast cancer was a logical choice for Avon (www.avoncompnay.com).

Avon achieved its loyal customer clientele, in part, because of its connection with a cause that is important to many women. Avon aligned its whole company with the cause. Breast cancer’s color is pink; so is Avon’s, which helps to remind consumers of Avon’s dedication to the cause. Avon created a three-day walk for the fight against breast cancer, which takes places annually in different locations across the United States. This is directly linked to the company because the highly publicized event is titled “Avon Walk for Breast Cancer.” This name is plastered across banners, signs, blogs, websites, T-shirts, bags, pens, water bottles, etc. The brand is everywhere and it’s associated with an admirable and necessary cause, which resonates strongly with Avon’s customer base.

In the CEO’s message on the corporate Avon site, she mentions the Avon Foundation’s dedication to breast cancer awareness within the first paragraph. The bottom line is that Avon works hard to make sure no one ever forgets its dedication to bettering the lives of women and the fight against breast cancer. Whether you are on its corporate site seeing links to the breast cancer campaign, or on the Avon Foundation website with links to the corporate site; the two are branded together. Avon’s name is plastered all over the Foundation’s page. And if you type in breast cancer awareness on Google.com, you’d find that three of the top ten hits are related to Avon. That’s successful CRM.

A good marketing campaign is especially important for Avon because it is a direct seller company, so it needs to be creative in how it reaches consumers. Reaching women through breast cancer awareness drives them to the Avon site and creates a sense of familiarity and trustworthiness with the brand.

Avon cements its brand loyalty through the telling of personal stories. On the Avon Foundation site, people have the opportunity to share about their experience with breast cancer, whether that is fighting it personally, or participating in a walk in support of someone else. With the Avon name at the top of the page, or in the corner of a video, the Avon brand is even further engrained into the viewer as they connect with the brand through an emotional appeal. An emotional connection is a strong way to build brand loyalty.

Cause-related marketing can be a highly-effective tool for increasing brand loyalty. Avon did it best by choosing a cause that was important to its audience. That’s my PR thought for the day.

All information regarding Avon was found on Avon's corporate website, www.avoncompany.com. I am in no way affiliated with Avon

The Value of True Brand Loyalty

2010-05-06T12:40:00.000-07:00

A good brand is almost as important as the product or service itself. It helps make consumer decisions easier. It's a marker for trust, for reliability. It separates one company from the next. The relation of a good brand to sales is evident, and companies must make managing their brand a top management function.

True brand loyalty is what every company strives for, or at least it should be. An increase in brand loyalty not only boosts reputation, but it directly affects sales. Brand loyalty is different than having a popular brand. A popular brand can lead to increased sales, but it may not last forever. Brand loyalty means developing a strong customer base dedicated to your brand. Committed customers are a huge asset to a company, defending the company if there's a crisis and generally having a more negative view of its competitors, incidentally engaging in word of mouth marketing.

Brand management has often been viewed as a marketing function more than a public relations function. The three brands I have recently studied, however, took a personal approach, building relationships with their customers. Building relationships? That sure sounds like PR to me. The truth is that every department and every employee helps build the brand. Perhaps the most important employee to help build the brand is the CEO, but we'll discuss that in a later post as we look at a company with a brand not unfamiliar to anyone living in this century; Apple. The next three posts will take a closer look at three organizations, Avon, Starbucks and Apple, to see how they were successful in achieving brand loyalty.

True brand loyalty is an asset to every company, and a vital PR function, so it's important to looks at companies who have done it well. That's my PR thought for the day.

Applying Freakonomics to PR

2010-05-05T10:56:00.000-07:00

I just finished reading Freakonomics, by Steven D. Levitt and Stephen J. Dubner and my head’s now jam packed with some fun facts. Apparently, Americans spend $1 billion per year on chewing gum, which is the same as is spent in a typical election period, including campaigns for the Presidency, the House and the Senate. Also, you have a greater chance of being killed while dealing crack in Chicago, than if you’re sitting on death row in Texas. Like I said, fun facts – not that I need to know them, but still interested regardless. Beyond the fun facts, the book was great in other ways. I learned that the world is a bit more corrupt than I had imagined, and the idea that incentives make the world go ‘round is forever engrained in me. How can this be applied to PR? I’ll tell you.

Using incentives isn’t rocket science. People like to get things and if it’s free – that’s even better. How can your company be using incentives more effectively? Let’s talk Foursquare, one of the newer social media platforms that’s still getting its feet wet in terms of getting value out of it for business. Some businesses are doing it right though. These are the coffee shops that will give you a free cup of Joe after so many check-ins, or the bar who gives a free drink to the mayor of the venue. These places are taking advantage of incentives and of social media.

Incentives can work internally as well. Sales departments creating contests for employees with a bonus for the winner. Or just general sales goals that aren’t contests. Offer a gas card to someone who’s been working really hard on a particular account. These are all simple things that can go a long way.

Another applicable point for PR in Freakonomics is the use of expertise and information hoarding. Considering all the power that experts are given, the best thing to do is to be really good at something. Be an expert. Become the go-to person about a specific topic in the office, and people will begin trusting you more and more as you build a reputation and credibility. For public relations, it’s important that you try to establish your company or client as experts in their field. This way, people trust them. Journalists need experts just as experts need journalists. If you’re an expert and a journalist needs a quote about your field of expertise, you can earn more media exposure.

Lastly, the book offers advice on questioning the conventional wisdom, which can go far in a professional setting. Just because a company has always done things a certain way, does not mean that this is the best way to be doing it. In questioning the conventional wisdom, a manager may find a much more efficient way to inspire employees or way of getting work done faster. Change is good. Wisdom is great. But conventional wisdom can lead to mediocrity. Don’t be afraid to take risks. Change things up and it might improve business.

Freakonomics is a great book, applicable to all businesses and just generally interesting to read. If you’re looking to gain new perspective on the way the world works, read this book. That’s my PR thought for the day.

Marketing to Individual Consumers through Birthday Tactics

2010-03-16T08:58:00.001-07:00

What do you look forward to the most when your birthday comes around? Cake? Birthday wishes? Time with your friends and family? I look forward to all of these things. As my birthday was nearing, however, I realized one more thing I was looking forward to this year - birthday discounts from some of my favorite stores. What a great marketing strategy!

One of my favorite stores sent me a $10 gift card this year, as they have for the past few years. Of course, this draws me into the store even though there wasn't a single thing I really needed there. But did I only spend $10? Of course not! And I'll bet that whoever decided to use this tactic knew that this was going to be the case for the majority of people who receive the birthday coupons. The key was to draw me in; once I'm there, I'll be shopping for a while. My advice to other stores would be to learn from this tactic and attempt to do something similar. People love to save money, especially in this economy. We look for any excuse to save a buck. The truth is, we're actually spending more than we would if you had never sent us the coupon, but we still think of it as saving $10.

Kudos to the companies who use this tactic. I appreciate the birthday gift, and I applaud your marketing tactic. Maybe it doesn't work on everyone, but it convinces me to take a trip to the mall! It's an effective way to market to the individual, not just the masses. That's my PR thought for the day.

Does anyone think that companies may start to use similar tactics to this but find a way to do it through social media? Are there any companies that already do this? Share your thoughts in the comments.

Making Online Conversation More Valuable

2010-02-08T19:25:00.000-08:00

Today, I came across a post through my Google Alerts, in which the business-oriented video dismissed the public relations profession as a “crap shoot.” Being a student in public relations and of the complete opposite mindset, I decided I would leave a comment on the post, respectfully arguing the value of public relations. My comment would have said something such as:

“Though I respect your insight for small business owners, I think you are misunderstanding what it is exactly that public relations professionals do. You claimed that PR works well for events related and big news promotions, but other than that, small businesses should not spend their money on PR. In the PR profession, we are about a lot more than events related promotions. We are about strategically building positive and sustainable relationships through a variety of strategies and tactics.

I’m glad I was able to share this comment here, because unfortunately, I was not able to leave a comment on the actual site where I watched the video. This brings me to an important point. I’ve jumped on the social media bandwagon. I see the value. Specifically, I think that when done right, blogs create meaningful relationships and build credibility. They establish these relationships by not only sharing a company or person’s insight and expertise, but by allowing the readers to respond. It creates a conversation. This means that it should be easy for anyone viewing the site to comment and respond.

Some Web sites though require that I create a user name and password to log in and comment. The site I visited today, along with many others I have come across, seem to make it a little more difficult to create online conversation. Yes, it would be great to raise online membership; but they are losing part of their audience by requiring this. If I had to become a member with a user name and password for every online community I follow and comment on, my walls would be covered with notes, reminding myself of the unique name and passwords for each site. I have enough memberships and e-mail addresses; the thought of creating more gives me a headache, and it turned me away from this site. Many sites allow for readers to agree, disagree, or add more insight to posts without creating an account. It’s even a great way for readers to get their own names out there, possibly by leaving their own Web site information. If someone stumbling across this post likes a reader’s comments, they can easily be directed to that person’s site.

It should be noted that I do understand why some sites do this, as a filter to prevent spam. To avoid this however, there is always the option of encryption keys for comments.

An important goal of social media is connecting with your audience on a more personal level by creating dialogue. By making this dialogue easier, both the business and the audience will greatly benefit. That’s my PR thought for the day.

Image was taken from Google images.

Should We Really Be Updating Multiple Networks Simultaneously?

2010-01-04T19:20:00.000-08:00

So I just read that Seesmic acquired Ping.fm and now we can update 50 of our networks simultaneously with the touch of a button. But hey, wait a minute, don't people in the PR business tell us that we should choose the right networks that can be geared towards the right audience? Then isn't it safe to say that each network may have a different audience? I think so.

The people who follow you on Twitter may very well not care what you're doing on vacation, but may be very much looking forward to hearing about your take on the newest industry trend. Maybe that's just how I see it. My three main social networks are Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn. I use Facebook mainly for staying connected with friends and family, while Twitter is a much more professional network for me, used to follow industry leaders and trends so I can stay informed about PR, social media, and technology. Finally, LinkedIn is my most professional network, catered completely to making connections for future employment and other professional opportunities. Clearly, these three networks all have different audiences for me. In fact, I can't think of 10 connections I have in common on any of those networks.

Today, I updated my status on Facebook to say I was playing Bingo with my grandmother during my vacation in Florida. I tweeted about interesting articles I found, such as a NYTimes article discussing the rumors of the Apple tablet. I don't update LinkedIn quite as often, but when I do, it's relevant to work or research projects that I am doing, or opportunities I am looking for. None of my followers on my Twitter account really care that I played bingo, and none of my friends or family care about social media and PR (in fact they say I talk about it too much already). The same principle can easily apply to organizations with different audiences for different networks.

All I'm saying is that if you're a business person, you should respect your clients enough to cater your messages to them individually on each network. Ant professional person should to the same. Different audiences deserve different messages. That's the best way to get the greatest value out of social media. That's my PR thought for the day.

Image taken from Google images.

The Value of Video: Connect with Your Audience

2010-01-03T14:18:00.000-08:00

Recently, I've read a lot about the value of using videos online, whether it's on a blog, a social networking site, or posted to Youtube. Here are my thoughts:

Videos add a greater sense of being connected to your audience, and even more specifically, your audience being connected to you. In a video, you express more about how you really feel about a topic, and you present more emotion. There's more "you" in a video than in written word. For example, during finals week this past December, I was really into leaving video posts on people's Facebook walls. Now, these weren't professional posts, but more comical and a better way to connect with other students going through similar difficulties as me, and also with people from home who I hadn't seen me in a long time. After I left a few, people started writing to me, "hey, where's my video post? I want to see what you're up to!" I never got responses like that with regular written posts. The feedback on my video posts was almost tripled than with written posts. I thought about why this was, and so I asked a few people. The responses I got were that they got to see my facial expressions and hear my tone of voice. It made it more funny in some cases, and people from home said they felt much more connected with me.

Of course, this was not for professional use, and this video format would not work in every situation. One area where videos can be immensely useful is in promoting nonprofit organizations, and asking for donations. You may be able to write on your Website why this cause is great and should be supported, but isn't it better to show them? These videos are different than commercials; they allow for greater flexibility, and therefore creativity. You can add a song; have a child speak; use still frames with sounds; and many other things that stir up emotions. Furthermore, with online video, you are usually seeing real people, and that also creates connectivity. Check out this video for a great example of a nonprofit cause using video for promotion of the cause. It's called the Pink Glove Dance, and it's fun to watch, as well as powerful. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OEdVfyt-mLw

Like I said, videos may not work for every platform, but many organizations in many different industries have experienced great success using videos. The key is that it really connects you with your audience. If your audience doesn't feel connected, you're doing something wrong. That's my PR thought for the day.

Goals for 2010

2009-12-30T06:47:00.000-08:00

This year, I'm not going to come up with my usual New Year's resolution, which is something meaningless that I thought of around 11:45 p.m. on December 31st. After some inspiration from a great blogger, Matt Cheuvront of Life Without Pants, I'll be making a real list and goals I will actively pursue in 2010. Be sure to check out his post at lifewithoutpants.com.

I'm changing things up with this post; it's not necessarily about public relations or social media, other than my own goals for those. My list will include professional goals, but also some personal ones because all work and no play leads to a lot of stress. I also think it's important that I be specific with my goals. I can easily say I'll try to blog more in 2010. But if I say, I will blog at least once per week, then I have something to stick to. So, without further ado, here's my list:

1. Blog at least once per week
2. Read the NYTimes every day (even if it's just top stories)
3. Attend more guest speakers (There are a lot at the Newhouse School, and I go to many, but I also make excuses for not going to many.)
4. Go skydiving (graduates from my program plan to after graduation)
5. Read more books for fun (One per month)
6. Comment more on other people's blogs (At least once every other day)
7. Find a nonprofit I'm passionate about, and volunteer my time (Since graduating from undergrad, I feel I've been less involved in charitable work).
8. Buy a car, preferably a better one than my last P.O.S.
9. Find an internship at a technology PR agency in New York City or Boston where I can learn a lot.
10. Find a job at a technology PR agency in Boston, where I can be passionate about my work, and continue to learn and grow.

Those are my New Year's resolutions. I feel they are all attainable, and I truly think that sticking to these goals will help me feel more fulfilled professionally, and allow me to have some fun. I'm excited about 2010, but I won't lie, I'm also scared out of my mind. This year, I graduate, again, but this time for good. I'll receive my master's degree in public relations, and I won't return back to school. This means, I'm facing the real world. No more government funded living (through student loans), no more sleeping in because class doesn't start until noon, and no more professors with incredible feeback on all my work. Instead, I'll have many more bills to pay on top of my rent, I'll wake up early 5 days a week and probably work more than 8 hours a day, and I'll probably be scrambling to impress my boss and prove to him or her that they chose the right person for the job. I'm excited though, because I thrive on pressure. And I know that wherever I end up, I will be the right person for the job, because I'll be passionate about it. I chose to get a graduate degree in public relations because I truly love it. I love the many different forms it comes in, I love that it's always evolving, I love the pressure of deadlines, and I love doing something I love.

In the end, all of my goals allow me to do something I love, and that's what New Year's resolutions should be all about. Not sure if this is necessarily a PR thought, but that's definitely my thought for the day.

Image is taken from Google Images.

Time Management for the Long Run

2009-12-23T10:56:00.000-08:00

This post is related to time management, not necessarily in your daily routine, though of course that's important. More so, however, I stress the importance of time management for the long run. Daily, I try to fill my down time with something productive, such as reading relevant blogs or researching books I'd like to buy. For the long run, I also try to mazimize my down time.

By this, I mean that I try not to look at off-time as just a relaxing vacation. Right now, I have a month off from graduate school, and a month off from work, since I also work at the university's business school. I could do a few things with this time; catch up with college and high school friends from home; take advantage of my parents' subscriptions to movie channels, catch up on some TV shows I've missed while at school; or I could stay relevant and get more experience in PR.

Well, I've made my decision. I am staying connected to my old friends, but I am also making new connections, while I get more experience with PR. Thanks to a good friend of mine, I was contacted with a great opportunity to do some PR work for a nonprofit organization, CYCLE Kids, while I'm home. The organization itself is great, implementing bicycling programs at inner city schools to teach healthy living styles. The executive director is giving me an amazing opportunity, allowing me to work on some great PR stuff. The best part is, she's really listening to my ideas. Sure, she needs help with all the traditional stuff like media pitches and press releases, but when she asked for my opinion, she was really listening. That's empowering. She's even letting me run with an idea about a digital sound slides video to post online. This experience will truly allow me to grow into a more empowered PR professional.

Beyond this work though, I'm looking into some other great opportunities while I'm home in Boston. I'm taking advantage of the high presence of tech PR firms here and I plan on attending as many guest speakers and events as possible. Unfortunately, I missed a great one today with John Cass, but I know there will be more great opportunities.

The first week of January, I'm headed down to Florida to visit my grandparents, and I plan to experience that trip with my PR goggles on as I visit different sights (including my favorite place, the Magic Kingdom). I haven't visited Florida since I was much younger, and I think that it will be a different experience with my new PR outlook.

Of course, most PR students know to get involved while in school, joining different organization like PRSSA, and getting internships and such experiences. It's the off-time that many of us don't take advantage of. Basically, time management for the long run comes down to taking advantage of every opportunity, even when you're on vacation. That's my PR thought for the day.

Image taken from Google images

Misleading Blogs: When Descriptions Don't Match the Content

2009-11-18T07:50:00.001-08:00

Have you ever read the description for a blog and been really excited to read it, only to find out that the content is not at all what it claimed to be? Well, I just did. I won't mention the blog, but I think this is advice most people should listen to.

The blog claimed to be about architecture; trends, news, and specifically designs. However, the majority of the posts on the blog site were about how this particuluar individual has been connecting with people in the architecture world, and the importance of online marketing and blogging in architecture. The information this blogger provided was in fact useful to many architects, I'm sure. However, the content had nothing to do with what the blog claimed to be about.

This really made me angry, particularly because I was hoping to send some relevant architectural information to my brother, an aspiring architect studying at MIT. I thought he might find content about interesting new design ideas useful in his studies. If the blogger had claimed to be writing about networking and online marketing in the architecture industry, then I would not have been nearly as frustrated when I was searching for content about architecture designs.

Sometimes, it is okay to change things up with a new post about something different or interesting; but the majority of your content should match your blog descrption. For example, this post is a critique of an online marketing/social media tool - which is precisely what my blog claims to be about. My content matches my description.

The lesson to be learned here is not to mislead potential readers of your blog by claiming your blog is about a certain topic, and then actually writing about something else. That's my PR thought for the day.

Image is take from Google images.

Great PR Insight I Received While in NYC

2009-11-01T13:34:00.000-08:00

Last week, I was fortunate enough to attend a benchmark trip for Syracuse University graduate students in the public relations program. We traveled to New York City on Wednesday, and on Thursday and Friday we visited various public relations agencies and the PR departments of companies. On Thursday night, we also attended a panel discussion of Newhouse Alums working in the public relations industry.

The trip was an incredible and invaluable experience, where I learned so much about the different sectors of public relations. Before attending this trip, I was positive that tech PR was the only thing I wanted to do. Being from Boston, I was sure I would move home after graduating from Newhouse, and get an entry-level position at one of the many tech PR firms in the Boston area.

After the trip, I find myself re-evaluating my life plans as I'm not entirely married to the idea of tech PR, or Boston anymore. While tech PR is still my number one choice for a career path as I am truly fascinated by the fast-paced and exciting industry, I am not limiting myself to only that industry. We visited Bliss PR, where I learned all about B2B PR and that's it's not nearly as boring as I thought it might be. At Financial Dynamics, I learned about the various tasks that go into financial PR and also that you don't need an accounting degree to understand the business. At A&E Television network and the PMK agency, I learned about the excitement of entertainment and celebrity PR.

At the panel discussion Thursday night, we were fortunate to hear the experiences of Newhouse alums from the Edelman PR firm, and the lessons they learned about getting a foot in the door and living in NYC. The Q & A session that followed was invaluable to all of us who are still nervous about where we'll be in a year from now. After the panel discussion, I truly have more confidence in my abilities to find a job in the field, and excel at it.

Bite Communications was the tech PR firm that we visited, and the Vice President, Sean Mills, also sat on the panel Thursday night. Tech PR is a field I have always been interested in and the presentation by the Bite team truly added to that interest. It's an exciting field that is in constant motion, always changing. The fast-paced environment seems like the right fit for me. Additionally, the organizational culture that I observed at Bite was incredible. Every employee appeared to feel like a valued team member and they were all quite friendly and comfortable with one another.

Here's a list of a five of the most important things I learned while on this trip:

1. Writing Competency is Indispensable - No matter what sector of PR you end up going into, you will need to have absolute confidence in your writing skills. One mistake, one typo, can make or break a pitch or a press release.

2. Be Confident in Making Pitches - You need to be comfortable enough with your communications skills to just pick up the phone and make a great pitch to a reporter or anyone else. This part of PR will never fade, never go away, so it needs to be mastered by anyone in PR.

3. Networking is Invaluable - Whether it is to find a job, or to make a pitch to a media outlet or reporter, the connections you have are vital. Always stay in touch with people you meet in the field, no matter what. Send friendly e-mails, or thank you notes to people who have taken the time to assist you in any way, or that you have assisted. This will set you apart from the rest of the crowd.

4. Get Involved in the Industry You Want to Work In - If you want to do tech PR, B2B, financial, or entertainment PR, you need to follow those industry trends. Every industry needs PR; you need to be involved in those industries that interest you most. This means following the news, as well as the online conversation. Pay attention to blogs and follow companies from the industry on Twitter.

5. Be Really Good at One Thing - While it is very important to be versatile, it's also important to have a niche that you are really great at. This will allow you to be the go-to person for that thing at your company. If you're great at social media, let people know that so when they have a problem or question about it, they will come to you. Your expertise could really impress the people you work with and help you move up faster in the organization.

In any field, the ones who are truly great are the ones who are always learning. One can never know everything there is to know about public relations, but the greatest practitioners never pass up an opportunity to learn something new or become better. That's my PR thought for the day.

Traditional Media is Still the Front Runner for News in America

2009-10-24T18:04:00.001-07:00

Where do most Americans get their news? Not the Web like you might have though. I found this bit of information on the Schwartz Communicaions blog, Schwartz Crossroads. The post is "Will IT Spending Impact Tech PR Budgets in 2010" (http://www.schwartz-pr.com/crossroads/2009/10/will_it_spending_impact_tech_p.php). Towards the end, they mention that 72% of Americans still get their news primarily through traditional media, according to the First Amendment Center.

At first, I thought this was outrageous, but the more I thought about it, the more I think I understand why it's true. Let's think about who is actually reading the news. Generally, it's not the generations that use the Internet the most. So if they're not reading the news, then they are out of the picture in the first place on this matter. Though they may never pick up a newspaper, they are also not spending their time reading it online. Among those who do pay attention to newsworthy stories, many still prefer to get it from newspapers and television. Still, the news is all over the Web; and it's important to remember that it's not just the original story that's on there.

More than the just the actual story, there are reactions, criticisms, gossip, and all kinds of other talk ABOUT the news. If you want your story to reach as many audiences as possible, it's okay to still use traditional media, in fact, you absolutely should to ensure you are reaching those audiences that will never go to news sites. Just make sure you also use the Web to promote your story and monitor the conversations and feedback about it. That way, you know how your supporters, critics, and everyone else is reacting to the news. That's my PR thought for the day.

Image is taken from Google images

My Whole Family is on Facebook

2009-10-17T10:17:00.000-07:00

Remember when us college students joined Facebook a few years back as a way to get to know our other classmates? Was anyone else a little upset when they first started letting other users on there? I know I was one of those people. I joined Facebook the summer before I started college. People from orientation sent me friend requests and I thought it was a great networking site for college students. Then the first time I got a request from someone who was in high school, I was pretty upset. I liked that Facebook set itself apart from Myspace with their requirement of having a .edu e-mail address. I'll admit though, the idea has since grown on me - a lot.

Now, just about anyone can join Facebook, and so many people are jumping on the bandwagon. I really started to like this idea when I started to get updates about old classmates, cousins, or old teammates about things going on in their lives. Honestly, I would have been months behind in finding out my cousin was going to be a father if Facebook Newsfeed hadn't told me! Now, I get to follow along on his fiance's Facebook page and find out just about every step of the pregnancy, as she updates it frequently. I get to see ultra sounds, I know they are having a boy who will be named Tyler, and I know he is due on Halloween. My cousin has a lot going on, especially being a young soon-to-be father, so I know he doesn't have time to call all of his almost 30 cousins and tell each of us the updates of his fiance's pregnancy. This way, he doesn't have to.

About two months ago, my mother finally caved and joined Facebook also. Now this came as a complete shock to me, since she claimed she never would. After chatting with her friends, she finally decided that the benefits were too great to ignore it anymore. All of her friends and sisters-in-law were more well connected and she felt left out of the loop sometimes. She is still having trouble keeping up sometimes, since she is new (and late) to this game. She is definitely trying though. And I've been trying to help her out by sending friend suggestions of family members I know she would like to connect with through Facebook. She may finally be getting the hang of it. She called me the other day to say she was sorry I lost my soccer game, after I updated my status that we had lost.

And yes, even my grandparents have joined the game. My grandfather is quite the avid user of Facebook. In fact, he felt the need to rub in the nice Florida weather he is experiencing, after my status complained of how bitterly cold I was at the bus stop here in Syracuse, NY.

Personally, I'm excited that my family is opening up to the idea of staying connected through Facebook. It makes my life a lot easier to not have to call everyone when something happens, and I get to stay connected with important people in my life. That's my PR thought for the day.

Image is taken from Facebook.com

Connecting with the Individual American

2009-10-13T18:12:00.001-07:00

Are you ready to let go of the "average American" concept? According to an article by Bradley Johnson on AdAge.com, the 2010 Census will reveal a major shift in American consumerism, in which we'll do just that. The article can be found here: http://adage.com/article?article_id=139592

The article talked about the end of "Joe Consumer" aka the average American. What does this mean for PR people? It means that now, more than ever, it's time to really take advantage of your social media and corporate sites. Campaigns to mass audiences will always have their degree of effectiveness, but now, especially with the farewell to Joe Consumer, companies need to be engaged with their target audiences on a more personal level, connecting with the individual.

Companies need to get onto their sites and start interacting with consumers, potential consumers, or critics of the company or product. If consumers have a chance to ask questions, custom make a product on the site, or talk with an employee through blogging or some other medium, they'll probably be more likely to come back to your company again or tell their friends about you.

Additionally, social media sites can act as a way to correct a problem or handle a complaint a company might not have even known existed. For example, it's easy to hate large corporation X if you had a problem with their product. It's harder to hate that employee John Doe from corporation X who responded to your blog post within minutes to offer his apologies, some advice on how to fix your problem, or maybe some sort of compensation for your troubles.

You can't reach everyone; but interacting with consumers on social media and corporate sites gives you a personal advantage. That's my PR thought for the day.

Image is from individual-i.com.

Mark McClennan Offers Advice to PR Students

2009-10-09T17:58:00.000-07:00

Last night, I attended the PRSSA Induction ceremony at Syracuse University. The guest lecturer, was Mark McClennan, a Syracuse alum, past president of the PRSA Boston, and VP at Schwartz Communications in Boston. His lecture consisted of his experiences starting out after graduating, and advice for students who will also be starting out soon. He offered a lot of great information and tips that I will definitely be remembering when I graduate in 2010; I'll highlight some of the tips I found most useful.

Mark frequently speaks about social media, including a discussion at the PRSA Northeast District Conference this past Thursday. His advice to students was, not surprisingly, that they need to have a great understanding of social media. He warned that although Twitter and similar social media outlets might not necessarily be around in a few years, that idea of instant information boards and microblogging will be for a long time. Therefore, get familiar with the technology and how it is most effectively used, and be ready to leave it behind for something better.

Mark also spoke about how every company nowadays is jumping on the social media bandwagon, thinking they need to use every social media outlet there is available. Therefore, they have several accounts, and aren't doing much with any of them. His advice - pick the three services that will be best used to reach YOUR audience and be actively involved on those accounts.

Since Schwartz is a tech PR agency, he offered his best advice to students trying to get into that field; read all the industry magazines available and be knowledgeable. You can read every Google alert you get, all your Google reader accounts, 10 newspapers, and every blog you subscribe to and still miss something. No matter how much you're reading now. It's not enough. That goes for any type of PR.

You don't have to be a tech person to be in tech PR, most people at tech PR agencies aren't tech people. You simply have to be a PR person that can speak tech, because tech people usually don't know much about PR.

Additionally, Mark says that if you don't have an internship on your resume, your application is likely to be thrown out, at Schwartz and at many other companies. If you're going into tech PR, you're better off having an internship with a tech PR firm.

Mark also encourages people entering into PR to be aggressive. Silence is deadly - speak up and be assertive. Those are the people that rise to the top faster and the people he says he wants on all of his biggest accounts.

If you're new in PR, and your superior tells you to contact reporters, be assertive and use the phone over e-mailing news reporters. It's still 33% more effective than e-mailing. Pitch your idea fast though, because once you get them, you have 7 seconds to convince them.

Lastly, writing skills are vital to success for any PR person. It is possibly the most valuable skill to master. Practice writing a pitch letter, over and over again. You can never get enough practice and it's an imperative skill. Everyone who works at Schwartz has to write one before they get hired.

Overall, Mark's lecture was beneficial to anyone who is hoping to be successful in public relations. Syracuse offers a lot of great lectures about social media and PR, and my advice is to go to as many of them as possible. Take advantage of these free opportunities because they won't always be there. It's a great way to network and to learn information that you might not get other places. That's my PR thought for the day.

Image is from Google images.

Bringing the Doctor Into the Home via the Internet

2009-10-03T10:31:00.000-07:00

Have you ever asked your grandparents what they use the Internet for most? Would you be surprised if it was for their health?

I recently read a journal article from Health Communication, written by Wendy Macias and Sally McMillan from the advertising and public relations schools at the University of Georgia and the University of Tennessee. The article was titled, "The Return of the House Call: The Role of Internet-based Interactivity in Bringing Health Information Home to Older Adults." It provided insight on how older Americans use the Internet for health communication, and how reliable they found it.

The study found that 72% of older online women seek health information, while 51% of men do; and of those people 1/3 of them take the information they find to their physician. In a sense, they are beginning their health care at home. They can enter symptoms and find certain treatments for smaller problems, and go to their doctors if they think it might be more serious.

Though the article focused on older adults, online health communication is a service that can provide value to a wide range of demographics; the college freshman who is away from home for the first time and thinks he might have mono or the single mom who just lost her and health insurance but wants to ensure her children are healthy - this service can be useful to just about anyone.

Online health communication makes life easier for the those who seek health information online, and for their physicians. People don't have to wait to make an appointment every time they think something is wrong with their health, so it is more timely for them. Meanwhile, doctors do not have patients calling them and making appointments for every little problem that sometimes turns out to be nothing.

Interestingly enough though, the study found that older Americans consider easily accessible health information not to be reliable or of high quality. So if it is easy to access, they trust it less. This may be an opportunity for health information forums to becoming more credible; maybe they can even charge for a subscription based health Web site, that people will trust more because it's not free.

If not, they can offer free memberships, but require people to sign up and be members to access the health information. This provides them more credibility, and they can offer advertisements to pharmacies and other health services as a way to cash in.

Online health communication provides people with a more hands-on approach to their own health. In a way, it brings the doctor into the home. It is more cost-effective and less time-consuming for the average user. It can be quite a useful tool, even if it's just confirming that someone should make an appointment with their physician. That's my PR thought for the day.

Photo provided by Google images.

Cultural Diplomacy Through Blogging

2009-09-26T12:01:00.000-07:00

Earlier this week I blogged about a cultural diplomacy panel discussion I attended at Syracuse University. One of the topics of discussion was social media and how Marjane Satrapi did not think it was an effective tool for improving diplomatic relations, and how panelist David Pogue disagreed. As I stated in that blog, I also believe that social media is a great tool for cultural diplomacy. The more I thought about, I began to believe it even more and I got to thinking about a book I read last year.

The book is called "Baghdad Burning," and it is a compilation of blog posts written by an anonymous female only known as Riverbend, who lives in Baghdad. She blogs about her experiences and feelings in regards to the Iraqi War. Her story is incredible and moving and I learned a lot from reading this book.

Riverbend began blogging in 2003 and was last heard from in October of 2007, after arriving safely in Syria with her family. Her posts were well-written and insightful; providing her honest political insight as well as cultural information about her family and her country.

I do not mean to review this book, though I do highly recommend it. This blog though, is a prime example of cultural diplomacy achieved through social media. Through her emotional and insightful story-telling, people from across the globe are able to share her experiences. Many disagreed with her viewpoints, I'm sure, many learned things about the war, and many wept for her and her family and friends. Everyone who read it though, had a better understanding of what it is like to live through that, on the other side of this war. Whether or not you support the war, which I will not get into because this is not a political blog, a sense of understanding and sympathy went out to this girl and her family.

That is cultural diplomacy. Many people felt a connection to this girl, and therefore to the people of Iraq. Many had greater understandings after reading her blog. In this case, and in other similar to it, social media has proven its use for the good of cultural diplomacy.

Social media isn't just an online marketing tool, it's a tool to help us understand one another and provide connections and sense of understanding across cultures and countries. That's my PR thought for the day.

http://www.amazon.com/Baghdad-Burning-Girl-Blog-Iraq/dp/1558614893

http://riverbendblog.blogspot.com/

Starbucks Uses Social Media for Business. No, Really

2009-09-23T19:28:00.000-07:00

Maybe you saw my title and thought, so what? A lot of businesses are using social media to promote their brands. Well, that's great, but that's not what Starbucks is doing, well not all of it at least. They are actually using social media to CONDUCT business, not just promote it. I got this tidbit of useful information from one of my favorite blogs, Mashable. (http://mashable.com/2009/09/23/starbucks-iphone/)

So yes, they've had Wi-Fi for a while now, that's not what I'm talking about. They are actually providing a way to find the Starbucks closest to you and even pay for your coffee using your mobile device. Hey, if I can pay and be done with it on the bus on my way to work - I'm doing it! That's not all though, with this FREE mobile app, you can customize your own drink and save it, manage your Starbucks card account balance, search for stores with drive-thrus, and invite people in your address book to meet you there.

I thought this was an important feature to write about because it's an example of a business that's really using social media to make getting a cup of coffee easier for their valued customers. And let's be honest, a lot of us out there need our coffee because we're not quite awake enough to function, so if getting it is easier - I'm sold. This is a valuable tool that was obviously made with the customer in mind. That's value in social media. That's smart mobile business.

A lot of companies get a Facebook page or promote an event or their brand using Twitter, which is all good. But somehow they think that makes them progressive and they really give themselves a pat of the back for using social media. The businesses that see the greatest payback from using social media though, are the companies like Starbucks, that see how it can add value to their customers' days. They're not just talking about social media, they are really doing it in a way that will no doubt create greater customer satisfaction.

Getting into social media is a big step for businesses who are still just joining the game. But to really get value out of social media for your business, you need to find a way for it to have value for your consumers first. That's my PR thought for the day.

*Photo from Google images

Social Media and Cultural Diplomacy

2009-09-21T15:06:00.000-07:00

Today I went to a panel discussion on Cultural Diplomacy as part of a Cultural Symposium at Syracuse University. (http://www.thenewshouse.com/content/cultural-diplomacy-symposium) The panel included Marjane Satrapi, Paul Salopek, David Pogue, and Shen Wei, and was moderated by SU law professor David Crane. Each of them are very respected in their fields and watching them interact was very interesting, particularly the inputs and interactions between David Pogue and Marjane Satrapi.

David Pogue is a New York Times columnist and author of "The World According to Twittter." Marjane Satrapi is an Iranian and French contemporary graphic novelist and author of "Persepolis." While the discussion was not devoted to cultural diplomacy as it related to social media, the topic certainly came up. These two panelists views on social media and cultural diplomacy seemed to be quite opposing, though both were respectable.

Pogue kicked off the discussion using his iPhone to demonstrate cultural diplomacy by using an App to listen to an amateur musician play music on his iPhone in Australia. He explained how this technology has the ability to connect with complete strangers in very unique ways. He may be impressed or unimpressed by the Australian's musical talent, but he most certainly feels connected to him, improving the diplomatic relations of two individuals. He went on to further explain his points, but I'll now explain Satrapi's side.

She criticized that social media; Twitter, Facebook, and other such outlets do not have the power to improve cultural diplomacy because it is not real. She even said something to the idea of you can have 500 friends on Facebook and none of them may be your "real" friends.

To this, I say two things. First, I disagree, this person agreed to be connected with you. Just because you cannot see or hear a person in real time, does not mean that you are not connected with one another. Secondly, who is to say, even if they are not best friends or even face-to-face friends that their connection within the social media realm cannot give them the power to influence one another?

Example: Friend A and Friend B connect on Facebook. They do not know each other personally, but have similar interests; they are in the same groups and fans of the same pages. Friend A is from the United States, and Friend B is from Iran. Two weeks go by, and Friend A puts up a status that pops up on Friend B's newsfeed. The status reads "I support the 'Greening of Iran.,'" in reference to the Green Movement that does not the support the current radical regime of Iran and may force the regime to close Iranian universities to prevent protest and opposition.

Friend B reads this and is a student at a university in Iran, who also supports the Green Movement. Friend B messages Friend A, and they begin an in-depth discussion of Iranian politics from two totally different points of view. Friend A learns a lot about the Green Movement from someone who is actually living it; and Friend B finds comfort in support from an outsider. Maybe this is a miniscule scale, but here are two people, an American and an Iranian citizen, who have forged an important bond. If that's not cultural diplomacy, I don't know what is.

Marjane Satrapi made many insightful and interesting points during the panel discussion; I simply did not personally agree with this one. If we are truly trying to improve cultural diplomatic relations, then shouldn't we go after it with any means we have available? To rule out social media, a force that is taking the world by storm, seems like taking a step backwards.

Social media is a force whose undeniable advantages should not be ignored by anyone; businessmen, politicians, diplomats, or anyone hoping to stay informed in this world. Social media does have the power to aid cultural diplomacy when used in the proper manner. Thats my PR thought for the day.

Ignore My E-mail? Not A Chance

2009-09-20T17:48:00.000-07:00

I recently purchased the book Socialnomics by Erick Qualman and read the first three chapters today. I won't comment too much on the book until I'm finished, but so far it has been interesting and provided some good insight. It's an easy read, so I should get through the rest fairly quickly, but I wanted to comment about an excerpt from Chapter 3, titled, "Social Media = Braggadocian Behavior."

The excerpt discusses how e-mail, though still a vital computer mediated communication medium, is actually being ignored by some members of Generations X and Y. Immediately, I began to disagree in my head, however, as I read on, the proof shocked me. According to the book, Boston College did not give @bc.edu e-mail addresses to incoming freshmen this year and Apple hired a 22-year-old who had never sent an e-mail in his life.

As a fellow 22-year-old, I found the latter incredibly difficult to digest, considering I have sent at least two e-mails a day since I started college over four years ago, and most days I sent infinitely more than that. I have three different e-mail accounts (2 for each college I've attended and my personal g-mail), and I send e-mails to friends from home every single day; I e-mail my boss countless times a day about various projects I'm working on; I e-mail former professors and bosses; I e-mail my sorority sisters for updates; and of course, I e-mail my mother. Not to mention my Google Alerts that I rely on to stay informed about current events in PR and social media. Without e-mail, most of my friends and family would not even know I still existed and I would have a much harder time maintaining connections and relationships.

Maybe this 22-year-old was able to get away with texts, instant messaging, comments on Facebook, and other such mediums for informal e-mails to friends, but what about professionally? How did he even submit his resume to Apple or any other companies that he applied to? If this person went to college, what if he had to ask a professor a question?

Additionally, while networking sites and other social media may provide messaging services very similar to e-mail, most, if not all, lack one major function; the ability to attach an outside document. This includes Word documents, presentations, photographs and much more. How would this person send such stuff; is it really possible that he has never had to?

All I know is that I have a lot of questions for this 22-year-old employee of Apple who has managed to escape the e-mail phenomenon for so long and still landed a job for Apple. I'm also not trying to knock the guy, good for him I guess. He's clearly been able to master social media in such an incredible manner as to have replaced a more traditional form of communication, at least as far as new media goes. Still, inquiring minds want to know, how did he do it?

I've embraced social media in my life, but I still find the need for constant e-mailing. The fact that others don't and can still maintain a professional online lifestyle baffles me. That's my PR thought for the day.

Staying Current: Vital to PR and Not as Time Consuming as It Seems

2009-09-15T15:13:00.000-07:00

So by now it should be no secret that's it's vitally important to stay current if you're in the public relations industry. This means current with all kinds of news, because you never know what news could impact your business or client, either positively or negatively. But it's also important to stay current with industry trends and changing social media. If you're in PR and you don't follow social media, you won't be in PR much longer.

Today, during my research pubic relations class, we talked about the blogosphere and even Google alerts. A lot of fellow classmates were wondering, if there's so much news and so many blogs out there, how are we supposed to follow it all? I agree that there's hardly enough time in the day as it is, but I still manage to find time to stay current in the news and the world of social media. So I thought I'd share my tips about how I manage my time and still stay current.

First of all, our professor today discussed Google alerts, which I also subscribe to. He discussed following something as specific as a company, particularly Wal-Mart. However, I've decided to broaden this quite a bit. I subscribe to three Google alerts; public relations, social media and politics. Whenever there is a news item or blog about any of these topics, I get an e-mail. It's not a pain like it may sound, for those of you who already have an overflow of items in your inbox. I get three e-mails a day, one for each topic. In the e-mail is a list of all the articles or blogs that pertain to the topic. Now, do I go through and read every single one? No, but I read each title and the first paragraph. If I like it, I read on. If not, it's on to the next article. So I do not read every single thing, but I get a general idea from the first paragraph, and I read all of the stuff that seriously interests me.

Also, I know you've all heard enough about Twitter, but when used effectively, it can actually save you time. Follow people or organizations that are worthwhile; such as PR firms, the PRSA and social media experts. They'll post links that are worth your time - they've already done the work of sifting through the surplus of information out there to find the good stuff for you!

On top of this, I also read almost everything on mashable.com. This is a great Web site for people breaking into PR, or those who know little to nothing about social media. I also recommend pr-squared.com, which connects social media to PR more than mashable. Both are great sites.

It can be difficult to find time for things in your day that don't seem absolutely necessary. But you have to think that if you really want a career in this, it isn't just an option anymore; it's becoming a necessity. That's my PR thought for the day.

Establish Web Presence with Brand-Yourself

2009-09-08T17:21:00.000-07:00

Establishing GOOD Web presence can be tiresome; it can be difficult; it can be tedious. But it is also vital to success in a down economy during what some have called "the Youtube era." If a potential employer googles your name, do you think they'd hire you?

Brand-yourself.com is trying to help people do just that. It's a company created by three student entrepreneurs from Syracuse University's Whitman School of Management, to help people establish a good Web presence that will help them get hired. (Disclaimer: I work for the Whitman School.)

They coach you on many aspects of the job-hunting process, such as creating a meaningful personal brand, marketing yourself online, reputation management, and the importance of useful activities, not the summer jobs where you made coffee all day. Not to knock that, I spent a few summers at Dunkin' Donuts myself in order to makes ends meet during undergrad.

All I'm saying is that anyone who's interesting in establishing a good Web presence, which should be almost everyone in this economy, should check out the tips they have, and actually put them to good use.

There are so many articles out there that are useful on this topic; all you have to do is look. One I found recently from the jobmob.com about 5 social media power tools was very useful. I actually found this article from a tweet by brand-yourself.com. Like I said, they know what they're talking about; that's why they've experienced so much success.

http://jobmob.co.il/blog/social-media-job-search-tools/

Creating a brand with brand-yourself.com can help anyone with their social and professional networking if they want to. Make sure you know what's coming up on a potential employer's screen if they google your name. That's my PR thought of the day.

Obama Warns About Dangers of Social Media

2009-09-08T17:10:00.000-07:00

Okay Okay, maybe this topic has been beat to death. Yet, people are still doing it. They are incriminating themselves with what they put up on their social networking sites. Pleading the Fifth won't save you now, your Facebook album already incriminated you. What will it take to make these people realize that no professional business or recruiter will take you seriously if you're profile picture is you doing a keg stand?

Well, maybe the president will be convincing enough. When a student at Virgina High School asked how he could be president some day, Obama answered honestly, that people young and old need to be careful about what they put on their Facebook profiles. It's a technology age and it seems we'll be able to get dirt on just about anybody in a few years from now. Maybe it's not fair to this generation because these social mediums weren't around before, but it seems simple to me. If you don't want people to know about it, don't put it online for everyone to see. Better yet, don't do it, but everyone's young once and makes a few mistakes. Just be smart enough not to document it on the World Wide Web.

Networking sites are supposed to be a useful tool, not a harmful one. There's enough literature out there about it now, so there's not much room left for excuses. If you're serious about your career, you know what to do. Keep an updated LinkedIn profile, have a serious and non-incriminating Facebook, update your Twitter with tweets of substance, not what you had for lunch.

It's nothing too new, but that's my PR thought for the day.

From Matchmaker to Wedding Planner

2009-09-08T16:08:00.000-07:00

First of all, I'd like to apologize for a mistake I made in yesterday's post about blogging. PR-squared has stayed very up to date with their blogging. They provide relevant and valuable information on social media frequently. I mixed up their site with another one, techprgems. Like PR-squared, I really do enjoy this blog and they have great information for newcomers or experts in social media. However, techprgems.com is the site that has not posted since August 20th, and we'd love to hear from them soon!

Onto today's post. Since I discovered mashable.com, I've been fully addicted to it. Today they had a post on how to plan a wedding on the Web. http://mashable.com/2009/09/08/wedding-planning/

For this service, you can do everything from planning your proposal, sending invitations, registering, picking a caterer, a vendor, creating a Website to keep guests informed about nearby hotels or your fiance's background, and even afterwards sharing your photos. Basically you can plan your whole wedding without even leaving the confines of your own home.

All of this is great if you're a Web-equipped individual, I won't deny that. But they help you plan the proposal? Where's the romance? What happened to the days of a fancy dinner, ring in the dessert and getting down on one knee? I'm not saying that's the only way to do it, but the point is that it's supposed to be personal and thoughtful. Brainstorming ideas with people you don't even know hardly seems like either of those.

Also, how are you supposed to pick a caterer while sitting on your couch. You can read as many reviews as you'd like, but when it comes down to it, don't you want to taste the meal you choose for all your loved ones to eat on your most special day? And it that cake is going in your face, you had better hope you like that whipped vanilla frosting or whatever you choose.

The Website seems like an excellent idea though, as a way of keeping guests informed. They can find maps, hotels in the area, maybe even predicted weather. But if my friend or cousin is getting married, I want to meet the fiance, not just hear about him or her on their Website. He's a new family member, not a new employee, so I'll skip the resume thanks.

I feel like I'm criticizing Web weddings too harshly. I think it's a great service and many people have successfully capitalized on it. It surely makes a lot of people's lives easier in a very stressful time. When it comes time to plan my own wedding, I'm sure I'll make good use of many of these applications. However, I won't get too carried away in making my wedding impersonal. What's next, an online bachelor party instead of going to the strip club?

That's my PR thought for the day.

Introduction Post

2009-09-07T15:49:00.000-07:00

This is my first blog and I'm pretty busy with work and grad school, so I don't know how often I'll be able to update, but I'll try my best. Here's a little about me first.

I'm a graduate student at the Newhouse School at Syracuse University in the public relations program. I earned my BA from Merrimack College in North Andover, MA, majoring in Communication Studies with a minor in Business Administration. Currently, I work at the Whitman School of Management at Syracuse, as the PR/Web assistant.

After graduating, I plan on moving back to my hometown just outside of Boston, looking for a job at a PR agency in the area. I like agency work over working for a corporation, because I think being able to work on different project and with new clients will satisfy my creative and restless mind.

I thought I'd just introduce myself so people know who they're hearing from. Look back for my views on social media and public relations.