Through the PRinciples class, I did not necessarily discover the fun in blogging, but I certainly discover the joys of twittering. It’s a fast, convenient way to let people know what’s going on with you, and to see what’s going on with others in the twitter world. I’m able to connect to pr professionals, and read posts that they think are interesting. So while I may not be writing 3-5 hundred words every week, I am staying connected to the PR world via instant tweets. We learned a couple of other cool features of this social media tool. For instance, one class we had a live twitter session, where we took notes via twitter. Our class has used twitter as a great source for asking communal questions to our professor about assignments and tests. Finally, it has certainly be the easiest way for me to keep up with my classmates, and decide on times to meet. I feel like you can learn a lot from twitter even though it is a much more concise form of social media. This is one tool I hope to continue using after the PRinciples class!
The makings of a great blog Sunday, Nov 30 2008
As I’ve been looking at various blogs, I’ve noticed that there are a couple things that make a blog appealing to readers. It’s clear that those who blog consistently have more of the qualities that are a part of a great blog.
I think the most important thing a blogger can do is write in ways that engage a reader. In other words, I’ve noticed that those writers who have found an appropriate audience and written for them (well not necessarily for them, but in a language and voice that the readers can connect to), tend to have more success-more responses, better feedback, more readers- than those who don’t. Make it relevant!
Going along with writing for the audience is letting one’s voice shine through. I enjoy reading those blogs that are in a conversational tone, rather sounding like monotone research reports. The voice/tone that a blogger takes affects how readers feel about reading and interacting with that writer.
Also, While perfection is certainly not a requirement in the blogging world, or even a desired product, I think that having too many grammatical errors distracts a reader from the message of the blog post. Also, using a strong vocabulary, and the proper jargon (if writing for an audience who will understand that set of jargon), helps to make posts reader-worthy.
Keeping Blogs clear and concise is a good thing as well. If they are too long, people may stop reading before the writer actually gets to his or her point. Also, formatting posts with appropriate white space, bullets, fonts, and bold, italics, etc…makes it easier to read.
While there are endless criteria for a great blog, these are the things that tend to stand out for me as a reader.
Great Blog’s From PRinciples class Wednesday, Nov 26 2008
Responses Erin Martin, Kristi Yoos, PR 11:19 pm
I’ve been looking at different blogs in our class and I’m pretty impressed with several people’s, but a couple really stood out for me.
I’m really impressed with erin’s consistancy in the blogosphere. I can look at her blog and recall several things that we learned during class. She also has several insightful responses to what she sees in everyday life about P.R. Her responses are short and to the point but they are packed with cool information.
I really enjoy reading Kristi Yoo’s as well. Her responses are not quite as frequent as Erin’s however when she does write she is very thorough. She blogs about things that we talk about in class, as well as things that she finds interesting in life related to PR. Also she does a really good job about using PR jargon…seems like great practice for PR blogging once we get into the professional world.
Blogging Anxiety Tuesday, Nov 18 2008
I think I have a case of blogging anxiety. There is something scary about putting your thoughts out in a blogosphere for everyone to read. My family has always been a big fan of “think before you speak” and I think that has translated into my fear of advertising my thoughts. My mom has always told me, be careful what you write, bry, because once it’s down on paper- or written in a text message, email, or blog- it can not be erased. People can use it against you. What if I say something that’s interpreted the wrong way? What if my opinion is seen as unintelligent? What if what I write is completely boring, and noone cares what I have to write? I generally like to write something, leave it alone, and then come back and look at it before I will let anyone else read it…so blogging is a very new principle to me. This is why I have been so reluctant to write free responces to Public Relations issues we talk about in PRinciples class. Well I think it’s high time I get over my Blogging anxiety. I’ll start writing my thoughts, because afterall, the more you practice writing, the more you grow!
Chapter 9 Tuesday, Sep 23 2008
Reading Notes Public Relations, Tactics 2:17 pm
Tactics are public relations action designed to have a particular effecto on an organization’s relationship with a public.
Tactics can be seen as messages and tactics and channels that can be taken are SPECIAL EVENTS, CONTROLLED MEDIA, AND UNCONTROLLED MEDIA.
SPECIAL EVENTS- “actions speak louder than words”. special events weave together the message and the channel. This occurs when organization offers a special deal, etc… that will strengthen its relationship with its public.
Controlled Media- advertising, employee newsletters, speeches, brochures, and websites. We control what is being published, therefore we control our image.
UNCONTROLLED MEDIA- the news media that we cannot control. credibility is heightened with uncontrolled media because the organization is not controling the message.
Successful Tactics:
- part of a written pr plan that is tied to an organization’s mission
- target different publics one at a time
- based on research about a particular public’s values, interests, etc.
- send a clear message
- evaluated as they are performed and after they are executed
Their are different channels that you use for the different publics of each organization. What may be the most successful tactic used with employees may not work for the community groups in the area.
Accomplishing the task involves 6 steps: 1. delegation 2. deadlines 3. quality control 4. communication within the team 5. communication with clients or supervisers 6. constant evaluation.
Chapter 7 Thursday, Sep 18 2008
Reading Notes 1:39 pm
Research and Evaluation allow us to investigate what we think we know and what we do not know.
In a research strategy we ask ourselves: what do I want to know? and How will I gather that information? We explore these questions through many types of research.
–client research–stakeholder research–problem-oppurtunity research–evaluation research–secondary research–feedback research–communication audits–focus groups–
Focus Groups occur when interviewers meet with groups of people to get their opinions on issues. The interviews compile a list of questions, select a skilled moderator, recruit participants, record the sessions on tape, observe the session, limit the discussion to between an hour and hour and a half, discuss opinions and problems, transcribe the tape sessions, and prepare a written report. KEEP IN MIND THAT THIS IS INFORMAL RESEARCH.
Research is so critical to pr practitioners because “as organizations become more results-oriented, public relations practitioners are increasingly expected to defend their decisions and measure the effectiveness of the actions they propose”.
chapter 4 reading notes Thursday, Sep 11 2008
Reading Notes 5:01 am
Publics seem to be a driving force behind the success or failure of Organizations because the publics can have a great influence on whether or not an organization can achieve its goals.
Publics include: employees, the news media, governments, investors, multicultural committees, voters, businesses and consumer/customers…all have some pull on organizations.
There are three main things organizations need to know about publics:
1. How much can the public influence an organization’s ability to achieve?
2. What is the public’s stake in the relationship with the organization?
3. Who are the opinion leaders and decision makers for the public?
chapter 3 Tuesday, Sep 9 2008
Reading Notes 2:09 pm
Public Relations has been used in our country since we were formed however the importance of PR has shifted entirely since then. What we refer to now as modern PR was only just recently taken on as meaning in the 20th century. From what I gather, Public Relations was originally used as a way to get the general public educated and involved in the governmental process, something that was most likely a foreign concept to most citizens. Ivy Ledbetter Lee, who wrote Declaration of Principles was one of the first major players in the PR arena, but the real “father” of public relations was a man named Edward L. Bernays who made great strides in spreading the words of a variety of agencies. It seems that as Public Relations has become a more integral part of our society, and as our world has become more interconnected, we’ve realized both how dependent we are on the public relations area and how corrupt it can be.
PR Job Requirements Thursday, Sep 4 2008
Assignments advertising, journalism, Marketing, Public Relations 1:31 pm
When looking at job requirements for Public Relations positions, there seems to be a common theme in what companies are looking for. Most are looking for strong writing skills and communication skills. Most ads that I saw also emphasized some sort of self motivation and a good attitude. All these skills make sense. What I thought was most interesting however, was how hard it became to search for a job that was exclusively PR. Most companies were looking for their goto guy that would manage the marketing, media, or journalism side of their organization as well along with the area of public relations. I just thought this was ironic because we had just participated in class discussion about how these are NOT the same thing. It’s interesting that even people in these areas can’t seem to separate PR from marketing, advertising, journalism, or media.
Chapter 13 and BB Readings for September 2 Tuesday, Sep 2 2008
Reading Notes IMC, Marketing, Media, Public Relations 12:00 pm
Chapter Thirteen goes more in-depth about the relationship between Public Relations and Marketing. The funny thing about this chapter was that it was almost like an overview of my principles of advertising course that I took last spring. The book says that it is so important to read about and understand the key concepts of marketing because Marketing and many aspects of Public Relations focus on the same thing. Public Relations Professionals used to be able to rely on mass marketing to get their word out. However with the rise of mass media, audiences have become can be reached on one television station. Even though audiences have become fragmented, they are still easily and more efficiently reached due to the increase in channels through mass media. With the fall of mass marketing, the PR world has adopted a new kind of marketing that is “consumer-focused”. This uses “a variety of media to build relationships with individuals”. This is where Integrated Marketing Communications has become really important. The rise of consumer-focused marketing has changed the face of Public-Relations from an afterthought in the minds of advertising agencies, to an integral part of the advertising process. The idea of combining marketing and public relations is that if we build relationships with consumers, we can better understand how to persuade the publics to purchase products. On the other hand. The article by Bill Sledzic talked about what PR is not and his main focus was on the fact that Public relations and Marketing are not the same thing. Public Relations uses tools like advertising, selling, public affairs, media relations, publicity, and marketing but in know way are they the same thing. because PR reaches a far broader scope.
