What is Public Relations?

 

I have learned a great deal about what public relations is throughout the course of the semester from professor Mullen.  When I first came to Indiana State University, I started out as a business major and was unsure if that is what I really wanted to do with the rest of my life.  I finally realized that business was not the major that would suit me best, so I decided to begin studying communications instead.  After completing my first full year as a communications student, I realized that I made an excellent choice going with the field of PR over business.

My last assignment in my public relations class this semester was to create an original info graphic covering an important takeaway from the class.  I felt that it was necessary to explain in more depth what I now think the meaning of public relations is through constructing an info graphic of my own.  The one part about public relations that I really enjoy and find interesting is that it is a very versatile job or career.  Public relations professionals do a variety of tasks daily, which does not seem like every day would be repetitive.

After completing this public relations course, I now feel more prepared to take on a career in this field.  I was able to gain very significant knowledge about what an average day would be like in this field from interviewing a PR professional, and learning more about it from this class.  Often times when people ask me what my major is, they are not familiar with what public relations is which surprises me.  I will now be able to tell my peers that a public relations job consists of working with media relations, promoting clients and businesses, and doing other various tasks that will improve the brand of a person or company.  My info graphic directly above this blog incorporates my own knowledge of public relations along with other research that I did on this topic.  I hope my info graphic gives everyone a more visual idea of what PR entails.

#PRpro #publicrelations #communicationiskey

Political Campaign Success

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Image Credit: by Lenny McAllister via Compfight

A political campaign ad can really make or break a politician’s chances in an upcoming election.  Over the years, there have been many successful campaign strategies that have caused candidates to skyrocket in the polls and ultimately come out victorious in the race.  A well-planned out campaign strategy may be the most important factor for a candidate’s chances at winning.  One particular political campaign that I found to be very successful was Barack Obama’s “Yes We Can” web ad back in 2008.  I came across this successful strategy on an article written by Matthew Green discussing the top 10 campaign ads ever made.

Many people have said that this campaign ad that was created for Obama was one of the most unconventional ads to date.  The ad put music to Obama’s New Hampshire primary concession speech after he lost the state to Hillary Clinton in 2008 and was produced by Will.i.am of the Black Eyed Peas along with Bob Dylan’s son James.  The ad featured a succession of over 30 celebrity performers singing the words he wrote in his New Hampshire speech.  The video was originally posted to YouTube, and it rapidly gained national attention with over 26 million views in just a few days.  Following the praise that it received, it led to an online fundraising boom and a new wave of momentum for his campaign.

A few reasons why I believe the campaign ad was so successful is because it was original, and it captured the nation’s interest with its creativity.  No one had ever seen anything quite like this, and Obama’s use of social media and the web was one of the main reasons that carried him over Hillary Clinton in the final polls.  Another element that made the strategy effective was how it gave its audience what it wanted.  In a time where new improvements in technology continued to occur, the ad captured what the audience wanted to see.  Obama took the versatility of social media and used it to his advantage in his successful campaign ad.  I believe that being creative and achieving the wants and needs of the public are two very important characteristics of a successful campaign strategy.

#campaign success #politics #yeswecan

 

Interviewing a PR Professional

Image Credit by Bright Blue Global via Compfight

Thinking about what the future holds can be a scary thought, especially when trying to figure what career will be the best fit.  Listening to people who already have a career is a great way to learn more about a particular field that interests you, and even just hearing what it’s like to be in the real world will benefit you greatly.  I had the opportunity to sit down with Patrick Dolan, a Communications & Client Manager at CBRE located in Indianapolis to find out what its like to work in the PR field.

I realize that in order to be successful in this field you have to really work hard and be versatile for whatever may come your way.  This is exactly what Patrick Dolan has done throughout his career and it has allowed him to be successful for last 18 years in various marketing and communications roles.  Patrick has been in the same business unit for six years now in various roles with two different companies.  He began as an employee for Johnson Controls.  Two years ago, his business unit was sold to CBRE, the largest commercial real estate company in the world where he is currently employed.

One question that I was particularly interested to hear was what is his favorite part about his job.  Dolan said, “I really enjoy helping others formulate their message in a way that is memorable, creative and influences the intended audience.  It’s exciting to see how well executed strategies and messages can change behaviors and elevate the reputation of a product, service or company.”  On the other hand, the most challenging part about his job is “encouraging leaders to prioritize proactive communication efforts and to coordinate the team’s efforts so messages are thoughtful, consistent and repeated for maximum effectiveness.”  I found these answers very interesting because, I feel that it is important to enjoy your job, but also understand the challenges that come along with it.

What I was most intrigued by is what an average day is like at his job.  Dolan said “I am often meeting with subject matter experts to learn more about a successful project, new initiative or advising leaders on communication projects.”  He also spends the majority of his day meeting with clients to discuss strategy and gauge their customer satisfaction.  I was interested to hear what an average day could be like so I know what to expect if I am ever in a similar role.  Lastly, the most important thing that I took away from our meeting was the very last piece of advice that he gave me.  Dolan said “the beauty of the communications profession is that you can practice your craft in a variety of industries and support companies or causes that connect with your passions and interests.”  Overall, listening to what an experienced PR professional had to say was very beneficial to me and I now know what to expect a little more from a career such as Patrick Dolan’s.

 

How To Deal With a Crisis

Photo Credit: Patrick Frater via Compfight

A crisis can unfortunately occur often when businesses are not careful of what they are posting or advertising.  It happens all of the time with no intention at all and companies are forced to quickly respond without much thought.  The real question people ask when a crisis occurs is how exactly will it be handled.

One example of a crisis in the field of public relations that really caught my eye was the Sony Pictures Entertainment crisis back in 2014.  I found an article written by Paul Holmes who touches on the top 10 crises of 2014, which he included Sony at number 4 on the list.  I remember hearing about this particular crisis, but I do not recall exactly how the situation was handled until I did some research for this blog post.  Sony Pictures became the victim of a cyber attack resulting in leaked emails and the release of several upcoming films.  It was discovered that the link was traced by to the North Korean government who were furious at the time due to Sony’s upcoming movie The Interview, which used the assassination of their leader Kim Jong-un as a major plot point.  Sony could have been portrayed as the victim of this crisis, but the way the company handled things guaranteed a less sympathetic coverage.   Sony however took a week to respond to the hacking, but it was an effective strategy in the end.

The company ultimately described the attacks as “unprecedented in nature,” the first step in dealing with the situation.  Sony’s next move was firing its senior communications executive in response to suggestion of co-chairman Amy Pascal’s husband, and employed attorney David Boies, who attracted even more media scorn by threatening reporters who wrote about the leaks.  Sony then got President Obama involved cancelling the release of The Interview amid the backlash it received from the North Korean government.  One crisis expert believed that the real damage was done to Sony’s stakeholders and not the general public they were focusing on apologizing to.

Every crisis can be difficult to handle, and although Sony may not have done the best possible job responding to their own crisis with North Korea, they should still receive some credit in my opinion for the way they attempted to handle it.  There are some ways to deal with a crisis in communication according to specialist Commcore, which he believes are “common sense.”  The most important tip that I read in my opinion was to consider using private web-mail addresses instead of addresses on server-based corporate networks to send and receive ultra-sensitive e-mails.  This is just one of a handful of ways to handle a communication crisis when and if it occurs.

5 Tips On How To Be A Successful Blogger

 

Image credit by Christie Glascoe

By Nathan Truncone

Many people probably think that blogging is an easy process that doesn’t take much thought, but there is much more to blogging than one may realize.  I first thought that blogging was just a combination of brainstorming and being creative that eventually leads to jotting down thoughts.  While researching more about blogs, I came across an article titled 5 Tips on Building a Successful Blog by Nikko Marasigan that will hopefully help people become successful bloggers.

Tip # 1: Preparation (Before putting up a blog, make a plan)

Having a good plan is very beneficial in any situation, but it is especially helpful when writing a successful blog.  Your site design and structure allows people to better understand exactly what your blog is all about.  The next step in the plan is to choose colors and the theme of the blog wisely in order to catch the attention of readers.  Another important step would be making sure the blog is well organized.  A blog that is hard to read and very unorganized decreases the chances that people will read it.

Tip # 2: Don’t just write blog entries, write compelling articles

The author Mirasigan talks about a compelling article having a powerful headline, it should capture the audience with the first paragraph, and it should be easy to read and understand just to name a few.  Doing those three things will ensure people that your blog is worth reading.

Tip # 3: Engage with your readers

This is very important, because engaging your readers allows the audience to want to continue reading the blog to find out more.  Engaging readers includes publishing regularly, giving them something informative, staying within the area of topic of the blog, and even keeping track of what readers are most interested in.

Tip # 4: Make use of social media

I found this tip very helpful, because social media now plays a huge role in the everyday life of an average person.  I felt that the most important tips about social media are setting attainable goals in relation to the overall blogging objectives, research the social media sites that are most frequently used, create and maintain relationships, and attract and acquire followers.

Tip # 5: Reach out to other blogs

Last but not least, reaching out to the blogging community is a great way to improve expand and improve on a blog.  Doing things such as commenting on other’s posts, write for readers of the host blogger, and simply being courteous and careful not to offend the host blog’s readers.

Hope everyone finds these tips helpful and useful.

 

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