Posts Tagged ‘IABC’


Young Professionals: St. Louis PRSA Pro-Am Day

Monday, March 1st, 2010

I had the pleasure of attending and serving on a career panel at the PRSA/PRSSA Pro-Am Day in St. Louis last week. (New PRSA president/CEO Gary McCormick was the luncheon speaker, but that’s for a future post here on BurrellesLuce Fresh Ideas.)  

 In this post I’d like to share some of the advice that was provided in the “Diary of Young STLPRSAproam-youngpro panelProfessionals” session.  Allison Hughes, Lara Golike, Tanya Kath and Phillip Cleveland served as panelists and answered questions from the Missouri and southern Illinois PRSSA members in attendance.

When asked for advice about entering the job market, the panel offered these points:

  • Don’t go in with a sense of entitlement. You’ll be “knocked down a peg” and only set yourself up for disappointment.
  • Not everyone works with clients immediately. While you should have a writing portfolio, you are still the “low man on the totem pole.”
  • With entry-level positions, you may have to jump through the hoops and prove yourself until acknowledged as a professional.  It can be a long road, but you must keep on until accepted.
  • In corporate PR there can be as many as ten approvals and red lines before something is given the go-ahead.
  • Not every office is like “Devil Wears Prada!”

As far as advice about job searching and what skills should be highlighted, the panel offered this guidance:

  1. Digital PR is a must. Agencies want to hire those that already have these skills. 
  2. Be sure Facebook, Twitter and other social media pages are “clean.” With Facebook, you can set privacy filters, but keep in mind that nothing is truly private on the web. 
  3. As far as skills to be highlighted, do NOT say you are a “people person.” 
  4. Include group projects (not just individual) as this demonstrates team work.
  5. Showcase achievements rather than activities. 
  6. Be prepared for an on-the-spot writing test.
  7. When interviewing, ask lots of questions before accepting a position so you know what you’re getting into.
  8. Early in your career (or even when doing internships) – diversify. Even if you know what area you want to go into, don’t pigeon-hole your experience.

Finally, panelists were asked about some the things they wish they’d learned more about in school, to which they responded:

  • AP Style (there’s even an app for that now!)
  • Social Media
  • Reading industry magazines and newsletters as well as thought-leaders blogs.

If your local PRSA, IABC, AMA or other group has a Pro-Am event, I’d encourage you to participate in any way that you are able.  What additional advice would you offer these about-to-be young PR pros?

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Posted in Career Advice, Industry Events, Public Relations | 4 Comments »

The Value of Joining a Group-Take 2

Thursday, January 28th, 2010

Smiling business people standing togetherIn my last post I asked, “Why should you join a professional organization?” There were so many great answers that I felt it deserved a follow-up post, recapping all the insight.

Tangibles:
There are a lot of resources a professional organization can help you find, like: magazines, newsletters, sample reports, case studies, conferences, awards, seminars, webinars…  But, the people seem to be the real reason many communications professionals join.

B j Altschul, APR, Montgomery County Humane Society, summed it up with, “…the value of peer support and knowledge has been a key benefit of my PRSA membership.” Like many of us, Altschul has moved from city to city. Her moves brought new leadership opportunities and new friends through her new chapter.

Inspiring others:
Association for Women in Communications (AWC) member Tina Christiansen, Write as Rain® Communications, says: “These are the FIRST people I turn to when I need another professional to partner with on a project or to make a referral — or when I just need to bounce ideas around.”

“I also think volunteering for IABC activities is one of the best things anyone can do to build a personal brand. People get to know you as a person then, and not just a business card, resume or portfolio,” says independent writer and editor Richard Buse.

I liked this idea of building a personal brand. How are you known in the communications community? Many people may see me as the “BurrellesLuce woman.” But, I hope they also see me as a volunteer, leader, tweeter or another persona I try to exhibit.

Media and communications advisor Jason Berek-Lewis noted, “We live in a linked world and I believe that real value lies in having access to a large, international network of thinkers in strategic communications – that’s why I joined the IABC.” Mary Wilson, ABC, Girl Scouts of Eastern Missouri, agreed that the network has helped give her fresh ideas.

How are you using your professional community or organization to inspire you? Are you gaining the benefits of your membership?

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Posted in Career Advice, Industry Events, Public Relations | 1 Comment »

Membership Has Its Privileges

Wednesday, January 13th, 2010

Last week, my colleague, Tressa Robbins, reviewed some ideas for PR resolutions. She referenced a post by Charlotte Schaff, who is looking to get more involved in her local PRSA, which made me wonder why people take the time to join a professional organization? My own personal thoughts aside, I queried my network on why they join professional organizations, and what are the advantages. Considering the economy, why are they paying their dues? (Full disclosure, I am a member of several organizations, and the current president of Washington Women in Public Relations.)

Networking
The top advantage cited by everyone was networking. Lauren Lawson, Goodwill Industries, met her future boss at an accreditation event. Lawson told her of her goal to work at a nonprofit. They kept in touch, and her goal came true. You need to look at networking as building relationships. Lawson’s advice, “It helps to be persistent (without being annoying), look for likeminded individuals or people you’d like to achieve to be and also offer help when you can to that person. You never know what inside knowledge you have that might be helpful to someone else.”

Anne Lasseign Tiedt, APR, Momentum Public Relations writes, “I joined the Austin AWC professional chapter my senior year in college. The instant connections and access to networking opportunities helped me land my first job.”

For anyone who travels or has moved cities, a professional organization can be a life-line, offering activities and a network of people with similar interests. I experienced this when BurrellesLuce  first moved me to Washington, D.C. a number of years ago. Some of my best friends were found at professional development seminars.

In the video below, Robin Lane, ZComm, explains why being a part of a professional organization is important.

Enhance Business and Learn About the Industry
Networking can lead to new business opportunities as well. Beth Keller Legate, Image Base, joined IABC over 12 years ago to drive new business, and she has remained a member because it worked.

Organizations give members an opportunity to learn more about the industry and relevant topics through panels, speakers, events and conferences. Melissa Chang, APR, has found PRSA’s Travel and Tourism Conference to be helpful, and she especially enjoyed a “lightening round” pitching session one year. 

Volunteerism
Opportunities to volunteer run ramped.  Independent writer and editor Richard Buse says, “I think the greatest benefits I’ve gained have come from volunteering. There are lots of great workshops and seminars out there, but I find that I learn much more through the hands-on experience I get from volunteering for various chapter functions.”

Meghan Sager, New Media Strategies, explains how membership in a professional organization recently helped her career:

Leadership
Your needs may change as you progress through your career. Jeff Ghannam, Biotechnology Institute, commented, “Ten years later (after joining PRSA), the chapter now offers me something totally different. It gives me the opportunity to explore and enhance my leadership abilities… This service on the board has allowed me to enhance my people management skills, public speaking ability, and my ability to organize and delegate, just to name a few benefits.”

Additional advantages:

  • Resources and publications.
  • Learning new relevant information and tactics
  • Meet potential partners
  • Network of resources for questions
  • Job boards
  • Mentoring programs
  • Friendships

While there are many benefits to joining a professional organization, you may wish to exercise caution and do some research before committing to a membership. Consultant Robin Smothers says, “One thing to keep in mind is to make sure the organization will meet your needs: I wanted to expand into a new industry a few years ago, so I plopped down $200 to join a organization I thought was a good fit. Turns out that although the people were nice, they did not have the power to hire or even offer recommendations to those who did hire.”

 And Meredith Mobley, marketing communications coordinator and PRSA Hampton Roads board member, reminds us that “with any membership, it is what you make of it.” Simply attending events, is not enough, you need to get involved.

Why have you joined a professional organization? Please share your thoughts on making the most of membership.

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Posted in Career Advice, Industry Events, Public Relations | 2 Comments »

How Do You Bridge the Gap Between LinkedIn and Twitter?

Thursday, August 6th, 2009

Gail Nelson
A recent Mashable blog post outlined the different ways to apply Twitter and Facebook to your social media strategy and described how the author, Soren Gordhamer, uses each platform. For B2B marketers, though – many of whom have grown up with LinkedIn – that social network remains important.

I started to wonder, with Twitter gaining traffic every day, how do PR and marketing pros balance their use of LinkedIn and Twitter? I ran a quick, one-question poll earlier this week on both LinkedIn and Twitter, and this is what I found:

twitterlinkedin.jpg

As expected, the preferences of the 58 folks who answered the question at the time of this post differed a bit based on whether they accessed the Twitter poll or the LinkedIn poll.  For example:

  • More than half (56 percent) of the Twitter poll respondents used both, but preferred Twitter.
  • LinkedIn respondents were more likely to say they used both and found them equally useful.

(For those of you looking to run a poll on these services — perhaps more scientifically than I did – consider using LinkedIn. It has good free tools and, for a fee, the ability to target the right people inside and outside of your network. But for a full-fledged survey, I still like SurveyMonkey. )

For insight into the Twitter versus LinkedIn issue, I asked two successful users of both services to weigh in.  

Kent Huffman, CMO at BearCom Wireless and author of the soon-to-be launched SystemicMarketing.com (Twitter: @KentHuffman LinkedIn: Kent Huffman), has built a large community of marketers. Here’s what he had to say:   

“I spend about the same amount of time on Twitter and LinkedIn. Twitter has been a great tool for finding like-minded professionals and initiating relationships. By contrast, I’ve found LinkedIn and its associated groups to be ideal for sharing more in-depth conversations and relating on a deeper level. Both forums have helped connect me to some awesome people who have become great colleagues and even better friends.”

Johna Burke, Vice President at BurrellesLuce and Southern Region Chair for IABC (Twitter: @gojohnab LinkedIn: gojohnab ), said:

“I find them equally useful, but my contacts are different on both networks and I use them for varying purposes. There are significant distinctions in how I share and engage on each network. I update Twitter more frequently and send and receive on average 25 direct messages each day. I have an average three emails daily through LinkedIn, but then talk – yes “old school talk,” – to at least a couple LinkedIn contacts each week.

“That said, there is still some industry cross-over in both networks and when there is something relevant I will post an update to multiple platforms via ping.fm. There are other services, but this is the one I have found to be the easiest for me.”

As for me, I have found that as the time I spend on Twitter has accelerated, I check LinkedIn less often.

How do you participate in LinkedIn and Twitter? Are you phasing out one in favor of another? What is the best use of each?

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Posted in Public Relations, Social Media | No Comments »

A Public Relations Cliché I’m Really Tired Of

Wednesday, June 24th, 2009

Steve Shannon

If you are going to play business buzzword bingo at any public relations conference, the one phrase that should sit square in the middle as the free space is “seat at the table,” as in, “PR needs a seat at the table in the C-Suite (another buzzword) and/or the boardroom.”  I’ve been associated with the PR industry for 17 years now and I heard “seat at the table” at my very first PR conference, and I’m still hearing it today. No matter the topic, session, or agenda, that gem is sure to come out multiple times. How is it, in 17 years, PR is still wandering the halls, looking for the conference room with the meeting that has their “seat at the table”?

I’ll tell you why: Because the vast majority of PR professionals cannot tell you, in numbers, how their 71926867_14.jpgcommunications efforts impacted the bottom line of the organization and, if not the bottom line, how their communication efforts supported the organization’s overall business objectives, again in numbers.  In fact, other than senior communicators at any given organization, I’d wager you’d be hard-pressed to find PR pros who can rattle off their company’s business objectives, as defined by the CEO.

Why the emphasis on numbers? Simple: it is the language of the C-Suite and the Board. That’s a cliché too, but it’s the hard truth. No CEO or board member worth their salt focuses on clipbooks, story counts, impression counts, and the like. Numbers like that get a SO WHAT, as in “so what did that do for the organization’s bottom-line or business objectives?” Buzz and 50 cents get you a cup of coffee, bub.

So what’s PR to do? How does PR measure its communications efforts in a way that can show bottom-line results or business objective support? Unfortunately, there are too many organizations with differing or unique circumstances and objectives to provide a cookie-cutter approach or it would have happened already.

What I’d like to suggest (and BurrellesLuce is ready to help lead the effort) is that the various public relations organizations such as the Public Relations Society of America, the International Association of Business Communicators, the Council of PR Firms, the Institute for Public Relations, and the Society for New Communications Research, among others, come together, and lay out simple, easy-to-get-started measurement templates for the universal business objectives of the most common business or organization verticals, which do share common circumstances and objectives. 

For example, hotels all share the common business objective of getting guests to book sleeping rooms, meeting rooms, and dining or catering services. How does PR support this? How can that be measured and numerically reported in a way that shows the C-Suite how much PR drives sales of sleeping rooms, meeting rooms, and dining or catering?  With a measurement template out there for hotels, endorsed by all of the organizations above, how much do you want to bet that every hotel PR professional out there not measuring bottom-line results or business objective support would start? 

Imagine if there was a template out there for your industry? Wouldn’t you start measuring how your PR efforts deliver bottom-line results or support business objectives?

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Posted in Media Measurement, Public Relations | 3 Comments »

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