Hosting Social Media Boot Camp in June

Test post test post

Test Post

testing

Test Post

Hello world!

Welcome to WordPress.com. This is your first post. Edit or delete it and start blogging!

A Writer’s Coach: Learning How to be a Good Writer

Over at Verve in Bloom, my agency blog, Michelle Pera posts on writing tips from Jack Hart of the Oregonian. Check it out.

Yes, Social Media is the Real World

Some of the biggest PR firms (Fleishman, Edelman) and companies (IBM, MTV, Verizon, and Yum! Brands) are searching for social media managers. What, do tell, does a social media manager do?

• manage and implement social media strategies such as social networking
• manage a variety of content in a deadline-driven environment
• understand and implement consumer generated media initiatives.

If you consider yourself and expert and are thinking about a social media job, what do you need to know from your employer?
James Durbin of brandstorming asks these questions of Fleishman-Hillard’s St. Louis office. Fleishman answers here.

The job descriptions associated with “public relations” positions are changing. Are you keeping up?

PR Major Poll

Please look to the right and take my “PR Major Poll.” What do you think? As we look at curriculum reform in the School of Journalism, are there courses we should add?

Interview Tips from a PRo

Guest post from Sally Garner. Undergraduate academic adviser at the School of Journalism and Communication, newly designated Master and grad student in my J454: PR Campaigns class.

Marilyn Hawkins of Hawkins & Company PR, LLC handed out some great tips onjob interviewing last week. “Be pumped for every interview,” she writes. “Get a good night’s sleep before and consume a limited amount of coffee, soda or other stimulants.”

Great advice but I’d go one step further: Have a good solid breakfast.Whether or not you believe it’s the most important meal of the day, eat something hearty before your interview, especially if you’re in for one of those hours-long marathon interviews that are becoming more and more popular.

Trust me: it takes fuel to remain “on” for hours on end. You’ve got enough to worry about that day; you don’t need hunger pangs or a growling stomach to distract you. Bonus tip: stash a granola bar in your bag or briefcase. In between interviews, take advantage of the restroom break to take a quick bite. Your mom will cringe but you’ll feel better after the quick refuel.

(This is true even if you’ve treated yourself to T-Bone Steak and Eggs at IHOP that morning. Your adrenaline will sap up your reserves faster than usual.)

One of things the handout doesn’t mention is how to handle yourself on a phone interview. HotJobs has some great tips.

Phone interviews are rough for reasons most of us are familiar with: no visual cues, everything must be relayed via voice alone and you never really know who’s in the room on the other end.

One tip that isn’t mentioned here: make sure your phone line is reliable. In this day and age of “I only have a cell phone,” make sure your phone is fully charged and you are in a spot that doesn’t provoke static. You might even check with your cell phone provider to see if there’s a way to turn off your call waiting function for the duration of the interview.

Students are Interested in Cocaine

As part of their blogging assignment, students are required to respond to a prompt that I send. This week, I sent this post about the PR fallout around the “energy drink” called Cocaine.

Lindsay says that Cocaine has more problems than just its name.
Jessica chimes in and says she’d be embarrassed to be seen drinking it.
Finally, Chelsea suggests that any company inclined to name its product “cocaine” is not likely to bow out gracefully of any fight, despite the recommendations of PR Week.

What do you think?

PR Students are Smart!

We’ve started our blogging project in Advanced PR Writing. The students are tasked with writing two posts per week – on based on a prompt from me and one of their choosing.

Here are some of the highlights from the first couple of weeks.

Megan talks about what she’s learning at her internship with a real estate software developer in Eugene. Sounds like she’s getting a good foundation in the basics of communication. You know, try as we might to “teach” this kind of thing, it’s really the on-the-job work that helps connect the dots between class and the real world. Kudos to Megan for taking the time to process what she’s learning and making these meaningful connections.

Jessica’s post about wanting more up-to-date news strikes me as interesting commentary on how the public’s demand for information has changed. I find myself expecting more and different news on a story, too. That’s really where Internet media comes in. While this particular story she talks about might not be covered “more” in blogs, it’s just the kind of thing that will be as the medium grows.

Shelley says pastors make the best presenters. I wholeheartedly agree! My dad was a senior pastor of a church for 20 years and he’s one of the best speakers I know. Shelley is doing an amazing job with this assignment. Check out her other posts, too.

Finally, Heron has a thoughtful post about the advertising agency environment. Heron gets “it.” She’s a big picture thinker and a good team leader. This is a great post that made me think. And one of the things I thought is that I’m clearly not even remotely “edgy” enough to even think about walking on the sidewalk in front of the “leading edge” boutiques. Wexley School for Girls?

Look forward to sharing more with you soon.