Category Archives: Other
PR Advanced: How to Prepare for Speed Networking
One of the many amazing aspects of the PR Advanced conference is the ability to network with top industry executives. 
Ironically enough, speed networking is not all that different from speed dating–you show up, look your best, and attempt to impress a myriad of people in under five minutes, hoping to make a connection with one of them. During speed networking, it is extremely imperative that you be prepared in order to present yourself in the best possible manner.
Here’s a few tips to prepare:
Rehearse your elevator speech
- Since you are essentially pitching yourself to these executives, you want to sound well-rehearsed, but not stiff.
Spruce up your resume
- Make sure you update your resume and highlight your most recent experiences.
Make business cards
- Have business cards printed up with your name, contact information, and blog or twitter handle if they prove relevant. This will make exchanging information quicker and easier, and also help for the person across the table to put a name with a face.
Research whomever you can to have better questions
- Its always a good idea to research who you are going to be conversing with and what companies they represent. This can help you to ask pertinent questions and actually have a much smoother networking experience.
These are just a few of the things to think about when speed networking. It is also important to be professional and act as if every person you meet is like a mini job interview. Just be yourself, present your best assets, and good luck!
5 Ways to Keep Your Blog On Track
Starting a blog isn’t hard at all, however, keeping it going can be difficult. It’s so easy to let a few days go by, and then a few
more, before getting back to posting. But it is important that you train yourself to write regularly! The most important way to keep your audience happy and to gain new traffic is to produce consistent relevant content. This does not mean you have to post everyday; however aiming for 3-4 posts a week is generally a good rule of thumb. Here are a few tips to stay on track:
1. Make an editorial calendar. I know it sounds kind of intimidating when phrased this way but an editorial calendar is a very useful tool to keep the content of your blog fresh and on topic. By planning ahead and writing down ideas for future posts with a corresponding due date, it won’t be as hard to produce content because you will already have a general idea of the subject you want to cover for a certain day. An editorial calendar also sets deadlines for yourself so you are less likely to fall behind on posting.
2. Make a writing schedule. Set aside a block of time everyday or every other day that you can use to write your posts, or at the very least, hash out a first draft. The best way to write well is simply to start. If you get all of your thoughts out on paper it will be easier to clean it up and edit everything down to a coherent on-topic post.
3. Keep a notebook with you. By having a small notebook with you 24/7, you can jot down a blog post idea whenever it comes to you. Simply slip it into your backpack or purse–you may have a sudden thought in the grocery store or while in line at a coffee shop. I know that if I don’t write down my ideas immediately, I will forget them. Keeping note of your various thoughts and inspirations will give you more material to add to your editorial calendar later on.
4. Stay Current. Tying in relevant current events to your blog topic is always a good idea. What is going on right now that you can relate back to your subject matter? What current event clearly illustrates a concept you want to get across? Referencing current news items gives you another avenue to reach your readers and to drive a point home.
5. Research. Set aside a period of time–in addition to your writing blocks–to research new post ideas. See what is going on in your subject area and write down thoughts of what would be good to cover in the future.
If you follow any or all of these tips you will be well on your way to posting regularly, as well as gaining and maintaining an awesome following. Stay current, stay fresh, stay motivated. Your readers will thank you.
PRAdvanced Tips and Everything Else You Need to Know
This years 6th Annual PRSSA Conference- PRAdvanced Unleash our Generation is coming up in just a few days. As you 
begin to prepare for this years conference, filled with a day of great conversations and speakers, you must think about how you can impress the slew of professionals that will be attending the conference. The key to impressing people- is by your appearance.
At PRAdvanced impression is going to matter- and we want you to make the best impression upon people that you can. Therefore we have compiled a guide of the “Do’s and Don’ts of Conference Attire.”
DO:
Wear a button down and slacks
Wear a Blazer
Wear a tie and suit
Wear a business casual dress
Iron/ dry clean your clothing before the conference
Do wear comfortable shoes because you will be on your feet all day
DON’T:
Wear anything that you would wear to the gym
Wear anything that you wouldn’t feel comfortable wearing in front of your family
Wear wrinkled or stained clothing.
Wearing nice, clean-looking business wear will give professionals a first impression of you that will make them want to talk to you.
Also on the day of the conference, be sure to bring your resume. The Professionals at PRAdvanced are there to look at your resume and see all of the wonderful things you have done- why not win them over by handing out copies of your resume to them! Along with that if you have a business card we highly encourage you to bring them, it will show professionals that you are prepared and that you want them to remember you.
And last- don’t forget to bring a cell phone charger, because your cell phone will die from all of the tweeting you will be doing at the conference!
For more information about PRAdvanced which is to be held this Saturday 2/25 at 8 St Mary’s St Boston MA- check out http://pradvanced.com/
Professor Quigley on In-House vs Agency PR
I had the pleasure of sitting down with the School of Communication’s Professor Quigley on Wednesday afternoon to discuss 
what any Public Relations major could expect their first time working in a corporate PR environment. He went on to explain that in order to understand what to expect, one had to be familiar with the two possible environments PR contains:
1. Agency PR: Professor Quigley began the conversation by stating that the trend among PR professionals is to begin in Agency PR and transfer to In-House to continue their careers (this is not always the case, however). He describes working in an agency utilizing the metaphor “an inch deep by a while wide”. That is to say that one must know how to spread themselves over a wide variety of topics in order to deal with multiple clients. With this in mind, the head of an PR agency is going to expect the interviewee to be:
- Well-Rounded: though one might believe that having a strong knowledge in a specific area will work to their advantage, an agency environment requires one to either know a lot about different subjects, or be prepared to learn about them. Research is a skill that goes a long way in the industry.
- Able to Handle Change and Ambiguity: When one asks anyone who’s worked in an agency, they’ll always get the same answer: “There is no typical day.” So one must be prepared to handle a variety of clients on any given day, and be able to juggle.
2. In-House PR: In contrast with agency PR, the metaphor is inverted: “a mile deep, and inch wide”. You are expected to go in-depth, learning, researching, and studying the company’s image and brand. Understanding the brand involves understanding its history and mission. Working within In-House PR suggests that you have prior interest or knowledge about the industry in which you are entering. This is why, in order to work in this portion of the industry, you must be:
- Well versed: Show up to the interview with prior knowledge of the company. “Do your homework,” as Professor Quigley suggests. This is important because you will be working with this company’s image, brand, and goals to formulate their PR approach, and how they come across to the world.
- Invested: Agency provides variety, but In-House provides a structure to your day. This does not imply monotony, however. Know that you are going to be working with this company from the deepest core to the most superficial details in order to better promote and advocate for it. The more passion you feel for the company, the better understanding you’ll have to help it go the distance.
Whether you go into agency or in-house public relations, you will be expected to have a perfect balance of industry and public relations – immerse yourself in your trade, and everything else will fall into place. Odds are, the company will be more than willing to give you an opportunity to learn about them. Study up until you are up to speed, but know Public Relations like the back of your hand, and it will all work out.
Thank you to Professor Quigley for all his advice and help.
The Twitter Advantage in Media Relations
There are a few cardinal rules of media relations; in particular you must know what is newsworthy and to whom you are pitching. A 
great way to try and get a feel for the personality of the journalist to whom you’ll be sending your pitch is to follow them on Twitter. By following what material a journalist chooses to tweet and retweet, it is easier to get a sense of their interests and what they cover so as to better tailor your pitch to them.
However, you can’t just follow a journalist and immediately expect them to be running your news releases. You have to pay your dues a bit before you can expect them to help you out in return. The best way to make that happen to is to engage with them on Twitter but don’t push your agenda upon them until you have had some good solid interaction.
There are many online resources that allow you find journalists on Twitter, specifically:
Help A Reporter Out (HARO)
HARO is a social media service that aims to “To heal the rift between journalists and publicists, to allow journalists to find the sources they need, while allowing sources to reach journalists in a SPAM-free, socially-connected way.” Essentially it is a forum for journalists to find quote-worthy experts and for PR pros to post their pitches.
JournalistTweets
Powered by Cision, JournalistTweets makes all the tweets in their database of journalists searchable. Also the site is designed so that you can tweet directly to a journalist when using it, without even having to go through twitter.com. This site allows you to reap the media relations benefits of twitter without needing an account. Though as a PR professional you should definitely have one. They “provid[e] a real-time snapshot of what thousands of reporters, editors, bloggers and broadcasters are discussing in the areas of business, technology, lifestyle/entertainment and health.”
Muck Rack
The main point of Muck Rack is to “[verify] the journalists on social media who do the muckraking for major media outlets and [analyze what they say in real time, Muck Rack delivers a glimpse of tomorrow’s newspaper to you today.” They list the Twitter, Facebook, Tumblr, Quora, Google+, LinkedIn information for thousands of journalists. The content is analyzed by a group of editors and they send out their findings in a daily email called the Muck Rack Daily. The email focuses on the “tweetworthy” stories that are trending amongst journalists. I have Groupon and Living Social too, the last thing I am trying to do is allow more spam into you inbox. However this “daily deal” seems to be pretty good. Anthony De Rosa, Social Media Editor at Reuters, said, “There are a lot of daily digest emails out there, both curated and automated, but @muckrack continues to be the one I learn the most from.” You can subscribe to the email, here.
There are many benefits from following journalists on Twitter and too much potential to expand your networks, go take advantage of the Twitter advantage! You will improve your media relations skills and be a much better public relations professional as a result.
