Crisis Communications in a New (Media) World

I adapted the following from PR Tactics, which I receive through a subscription to PRSA.  Crisis communication is something that everyone has been aware of from the beginning.  I would argue it may have even been the birth of public relations.  Here are a few pointers on keeping your crisis communications up to date in the social media world:

• Update with care – consider using social networks in your newest version of your plan.
• Learn from others’ crises – monitor social networks, because everyone is a publisher and negative commentary could hurt you even more in addition to initial crisis.
• Use your own channels – have upper management use channels to calm upset consumers so they know someone is paying attention.
• Tone down commercial content – no one wants to see you pushing your brand when a tragedy strikes.  You should always be able to bring down content and sympathize with the grieving audience.
• Stay aware and active – let’s just say moderation consoles, page management tools, and self-service dashboards – oh my!

Courtesy of: PR Tactics

Texting While Driving is the New Drunk Driving

In class on Tuesday, we discussed a short film from the UK that depicts a young girl texting while driving, and subsequently killing multiple people.  This short film is supposed to be turned into a 30 second PSA for the US and AAA is sponsoring it in North Carolina.  You can view the video here.  I will warn you now that it is very graphic, so maybe don’t have the sound up too loud, or tell young “over-the-shoulder” lookers to leave for a while.

Let’s talk about this, from a PR standpoint.  What is the message that the Gwent Police School is trying to convey?  I would say that, at the very core, the  message is stop texting while driving.  But, I also believe there are sub-messages, as well.  For example: When you are in the driver’s seat, you are responsible for more than just your own life – act responsibly.  Or: As a young and inexperienced driver, you have absolutely no business multitasking while driving.  Or even to quote a great move: With power comes responsibility.  In any case, the theme was clear: Be careful and act responsibly/grown up.

An article about this video was published earlier this week in the Greensboro News & Record, which coincidentally happens to be my hometown newspaper.  The article questions whether this advertisement will get through to teens, the target audience.  My question is: if teens are  your target audience and viewer discretion is advised, how are you going to accomplish anything?  If some teens happen to daringly charge through the warning and stay long enough to watch the final scene, will they be scared enough to stop texting while driving?  Sure, I think they will for awhile.  But, eventually, they’ll think they have got the hang of driving and can handle doing other things simultaneously.

I think this ad is a great start to a life-long campaign against dangerous driving.  However, I think there needs to be a plan in place that will combat those who claim invincibility in their 16 years of life.  A current fine and ticket does little to no good.  Sure, it’ll scare them for a minute when they see those blue lights coming up behind them, but the next time they’re in the car, I’m almost positive they will reach for the phone, out of habit, and continue on with the trend that could be a fatal as alcoholic influence.

In conclusion: great message, great ad, great start.  Let’s keep working to keep everyone safer on the roads.

Social Media Impacting PR

I read KDPaine’s PR Measurement blog today and liked the post she wrote citing Michelle Hinson and Don Wright about the impact social media has had on PR in the recent past.  I’ve listed some key points below that I found particularly intriguing.

• In 2009, respondents saw search engine marketing as most important. This year Facebook and Twitter were seen as most important.
• PR practitioners feel that whether you call it new media, social media, or blogs, their influence on the practice of public relations is growing.
• While the majority gives traditional news media higher credibility scores, this year fully half of respondents now expect blogs and social media to be honest, tell the truth and advocate for a transparent and ethical culture.
• People seem to accept the fact that social media encourages two-way conversations.
• More and more people are putting social media under the public relations functions.

You can view the blog post here.

Me Inc.: Branding You

My PR Campaigns professor gave my class an assignment: Brand Yourself.  I thought this would be easy enough, but I was in for a ride.  This goes much deeper than your usual, “I’m a dedicated, hard-worker, who will bring another smiling face to your agency.”  Yeah, yeah.  We all do that.

BrandYou is supposed to set you apart from every other graduating senior in the world, or just wherever you’re applying for a job.  I am hoping that BrandMandi will do just that, and I will stick out in potential employers’ minds.  Here is what I came up with.  Grading comments from the one and only Scott Misner to come later.

Mission

My purpose in life is to learn as much as I can about anything, do a good job at whatever it is that I’m doing, challenge myself everyday with new things, and lead a successful and fruitful life.

Brand Values

True to myself and stick to my moral character

Constructively critical, but not judgmental

As close to a perfectionist as humanly possible

Goal-oriented and dislike incomplete projects

Lover of organization/neatness

Open to trying/learning new things

Brand Positioning Statement

Mandi Nealen is the brand of young, female graduating journalism student that provides a solid work ethic, coupled with a great personality and a ready for anything attitude to potential employers and those she meets.

Look Mom! I’m a big girl now!

Well, I’ve always been small in terms of size, and I’ve been a “big girl” since I turned 13.  But seriously.  I am entering into the newest phase of my life: the real-life job hunt.

I plan on re-locating to Baltimore, MD after graduation, so it’s been a little more difficult looking for jobs in a place where I am not.  Not to mention, I have no grasp on the area or companies there.  So, I did what I do best and Googled.  And then SimplyHired.  And then CareerBuildered.   I even PRSA’d.  Needless to say, I spent time looking for my next step.

Unfortunately for me, and every other college grad, hardly any companies are hiring.  And if they are, they’re looking for managers or directors or senior vice presidents.  Not entry level account coordinators.  Nevertheless, I’m plugging and chugging away at applications, cover letters and submitting resumes.

Here’s to my first big girl job.  Wish me luck!

What is communication?

This post is a little less about PR and more about communication in general.  I recently had a, albeit heated, discussion about what communication is about.  I described what I saw communication as and asked what my opponent thought it was.

I see communication as the portal to progress.  Communication is the way in which we are able to get things done and move forward through life.  For instance, learning to speak helps you interact with others, which is enhanced and built upon throughout all of your school years and finally put to the test at your first job.

Communication, for the most part, clears up confusion.  (In my case, it only seems to be making things worse.)  When an issue arises, the parties are able to hash out differences with their communication skills.  This comes back to the progress aspect, too.  Once the parties have settled the differences, they are moving forward.

So my problem is: why is communication different for everyone.  I communicate practically 24/7, or just whenever I’m awake.  Granted, I’m a Journalism major, so I’m always tweeting and blogging; but what is everyone else doing?  How can one NOT be communicating?  If I’m not actively engaged in some kind of social media, I’m physically talking with a friend or roommate.

I need to communicate to live.  Without communication, I would die…a lonely death.

I’m starting to wonder if it is a bad idea to be so connected to, well everything, all the time.  I wouldn’t go so far as to say that I’d die on vacation without my Blackberry (that I have yet to get!), but I would be wondering what was going on in the world.  This “need-to-know” phenomenon seems to be raging through the bubble that is where I’ve been for the last 2 years: the Journalism school.  What happens outside that world?

My goal is to balance my communication needs with reality and hope to find some kind of equilibrium.  I’ll get back to you.

Back to the life of an student/unpaid intern…

But it goes without saying that this experience will be some of the best that I will have pre-graduation.  This is my third term with Howard, Merrell & Partners in Raleigh, N.C.  I began interning with them in January of 2009 for the spring semester, stuck around to do a summer semester and am now back for my final spring semester as a college student.

From day one, I knew that I was in the right career field.  I enjoyed everything I was doing.  I called my mom after every day and told her what I had done that day and then gushed about how much I loved doing it.  I felt comfortable doing the work and learned every day.

The best part about this internship is that I’m not stuck doing the work that no one wants to do.  I get to write, pitch, draft, etc.  It feels good to be applying what I’ve learned in the classroom to real-world situations.

Additionally, I began my last semester of my undergraduate career yesterday.  It went swimmingly!  I am pleased with all of my classes so far, and am thrilled to only be on campus twice a week.  All the “free time” I appear to have, however, goes to working at HM&P and my restaurant of choice: Red Robin.  (What’s a girl to do?  I have to make money SOMEHOW!)  I’m enrolled in two JOMC (Journalism and Mass Communication) classes: Concepts of Marketing and Public Relations Campaigns (the capstone course!).  I think both are going to be very beneficial to my learning and will greatly impact how I conduct business after I graduate.

And oh yeah, the free time that isn’t devoted to HM&P or Red Robin goes to extracurriculars.  Hello PRSSA and Tar Heel Transfers!  Let’s apply everything I’m learning so that I really take something away when I leave the comfort and safety of my favorite home away from home.  I’ve been working on a newsletter for THT and planning to host our first meeting of the semester for PRSSA.

Needless to say, my life is FULL of public relations.  And you know what?  I wouldn’t change it.  I love being fully immersed in what I’m learning and something I love being a part of.

Chapter 2: Putting the Public Back in PR

Even though it seems like ages since I last read a chapter out of this dynamite gift from my uncle, I’ll have you know that it was not for lack of desire.  I’ve wanted to read, and finish, this book for a mighty long time.  I have also had a jam-packed schedule from the start of school in August.  Looks like I’ll be taking it slow until more time frees up – maybe in May?

Chapter two is entitled: PR 2.0 vs. Public Relations.  This chapter was about the past, present and future of PR.  It gave a lot of history, noting greats like Ivy Lee and Edward Bernays; it discussed how we’re moving out of the spin/hype phase of PR into the transparency phase; and finally, it talked about where we’re headed: social media.

This last part is probably my favorite, though I do love to hear about how people got things done in the “good old days.”  Social media is taking the world by storm, and I can’t help but to be a part of it.  I’ve been a Facebooker since I started college; I felt like it was the college network, whereas MySpace was for high schoolers.

Last year, I tweeted for the first time.  I had just been to PRSSA that night and listened to a speech about how to throw myself into the social media frenzy.  Admittedly, I was a little disconcerted at first.  Why do people want to hear about what I’m doing all day long?  I’ve since learned that it’s not about me.  Well, it’s about me, but it’s more about surrounding events.  Later tweets included phrases such as, “Pick up your issue of Blue & White!” or “RSVP for the Internship Speed Networking Night.”

In addition to tweeting, I’ve also become a blogger.  Never in my life did I think I would, but it has become my new favorite thing to do.  I have this blog, a resume blog that has my portfolio on it and a cookbook blog – which is really more for me than anyone else, but I’d like to think I’m the next Julie Powell!

Essentially, what I gained from this chapter was to keep moving forward with the times.  Charge headfirst into the era that IS social media.  Learn as much as you can and apply it any way you can.

Goodbye Blue & White

As the fall semester draws to a close, I come to terms with the fact that I’m relinquishing my post as Vice President of Public Relations at Blue & White magazine.  It has been a great year, and I learned a lot.  I am leaving this position in the hands of one of the most capable and impressive ladies I know.  I am positive she will take the magazine to new heights and expand into new directions.

I am taking this time to remember what I did and hope that my mistakes serve as guidelines for my successor.  I served as a PR staff member for Blue & White for the semester before I was appointed as VP.  I worked with a tremendous VP and learned a lot from her.  But, I also learned that I wanted to take the magazine in a different direction.  There was nothing wrong with the way she did things, but I was stretching my wings and seeing what all I was capable of with my staff of eight.

One of the  most important things I learned, though, is that even with a staff of eight, many people will opt out of their responsibilities.  I began wondering if this was just because it was a “student organization,” or if it was something I was doing.  I thought I was doing a pretty good job of keeping duties to within the required time frame and was not asking too much of my staffers.  But unfortunately, they started dropping like flies and quit responding to my emails.  Not only did I find this disrespectful to myself, but also to the magazine.  (I may be biased, but Blue & White is a very well-produced magazine, with great content and design.)  Who would want to just drop out of that?

I always had a few golden eggs to hold onto, and I cherish the work those girls put toward building their experience and resume.  I hope that I have given them something to build off of and learn from.

So I say goodbye to Blue & White – but, I will always pick up an issue every month!

PRSSA’s Internship Speed Networking Night

Tonight, with the help of Carolina PRSSA, I put on an Internship Speed Networking Night for students to network with area professionals and possibly get an internship for next semester.  I’m happy to report that it was a success and I’m thrilled to have pulled it off.  We had 7 professionals in attendance, representing 4 different agencies.  We also had a handful of students show up; but I understand that given the rain, some people opted to not come.

I have taken this opportunity to assess my plans for the future.  Planning this event was a great deal of fun for me, and I feel that a career in this field could be fun.  I don’t want to completely abandon PR as a career choice, especially since I’ve been working so hard toward it – and it is still a lot of fun.

I tried to make the most with what I could – and I think it pulled off.  I think doing the “catering” myself was also a smart choice.  Even though I had to cut all the food up myself, I am sure it was significantly cheaper than having someone else do it for me.  Everything else was free – the venue was bookable through the Journalism school and FREE for me as a student!  (I’m going to miss these perks once I graduate.)

I hope to plan more events like this in the future and to hone my skills at hosting, as well!