As a recent graduate, I know that sometimes finding a job board is as hard as finding a job. There are tons of faulty job postings and spam cycling many job boards, and it can be frustrating to know that your resume or CV isn’t being looked at by those in the industry. In such an up and down economy people are becoming restless, so it’s important now more than ever that you’re looking in the right places when trying to find a job in PR. Continue reading
A great speech doesn’t count for much if you’re talking to the wrong audience. Most PR professionals know that speaking to the public is important, so they create great seminars and presentations for those who attend the event. However, no matter how much you advertise this event, it always seems to be family members and existing customers or clients who show up to “learn more.” Right? While it’s great that you have loyal customers, you want your audience to be full of new faces. I like to think of it this way: 1/3 of a PR agency is producing quality work, 1/3 is maintaining current customers and clients, and the other 1/3 is grabbing new clients. Therefore, it is extremely important that your expert speakers are heard by prospective clients and people who actually need to learn more about your company. Continue reading
I’ll be the first to admit that sometimes we need to get creative in the world of PR—how can I get this person to email me back; how can I get this person to see that my idea is the best; how can I make this company look a little bit less boring. It can be tough, and in some situations creativity is absolutely the key to success. However, PR professionals are often in charge of creating press releases, helping with interviews, and creating campaigns for the eyes and the ears of the public. In other words, PR departments have the entire public analyzing their work. This led me to wonder: Can being too creative be too risky? Continue reading
I tried to avoid writing this post because it scares me; however after one week of reading magazines and watching the news I simply have to comment on the PR that occurred during the Amanda Knox trial. For those who are unfamiliar, Amanda Knox was studying abroad in Italy in 2007 when she was charged with the murder of her British roommate, Meredith Kercher.
After being convicted, Knox’s charges were overturned last Monday, Oct. 3 because the evidence was proven to be too weak. Now this scares me for more than just the obvious “murder is scary” or “being innocent and put in jail is terrifying.” No, this story scares me because Amanda Knox and I not only share the same name, the same age, and the same college major, but we look chillingly alike and I was very close to studying abroad in Italy myself. Needless to say I have been following this trial very closely, but I digress. Continue reading
In the coming and recently passed days we’ve seen a lot of different PR firms sending out stories and reports about remembering 9/11. While this type of report is fortunately a rarity, there will always be those few days where everyone stops to think about a devastation that happened to our nation. Along with 9/11 we remember Hurricane Katrina, Columbine, and the shootings at Virginia Tech among others. It is the job of the press to be sure that not only are these historic days not forgotten, but that they are remembered with the right amount of respect and nationalism. With that said, this is virtually the only thing the press needs to be doing during these tough times.
Although it may seem obvious, PR agencies still continue to make rookie mistakes when it comes to expressing their sorrow for the lives lost because of these tragedies. Whether you need a refresher on the basics or you are, in fact, a PR rookie, consider some of these necessities. Continue reading
The popular “it’s not what you know, it’s who you know” has come back in-style (if it ever left), so networking is becoming more important than ever. Whether you are in college or already a veteran PR professional, it is a pretty well-known fact that getting to know people in the industry is a good idea. As a 2011 graduate myself, internships were pushed on me constantly for this exact reason – networking. I am not here to lie and say that internships are overrated. Internships are probably the best possible way to network and get your name out in your field, and I had many friends who secured a job solely because of their internships. Aside from networking, internships can give you a real look into what it’s like to work in PR. In other words, I agree that if you can get an internship, you are probably ahead of most.
However, during my time in school I noticed that there were many college students who simply could not afford to spend a summer at an internship for a variety of reasons: Continue reading
Any PR pro knows that PR is entirely different than marketing and advertising. So how much should be done online and how much should be done through more traditional styles? That depends; how much what? The answer to this question differs depending on if you are discussing marketing, advertising, or public relations.
Every company should capitalize as much as possible on new, online forms of PR. This is the latest rage in the world of PR, and for good reason. Online PR is often cheaper, allows for better targeting, reaches a wide variety of people, and is flexible. However, this does not mean that you should forget about your old, traditional PR ways. Continue reading