Warning: This post does not have subheads, bullets, or lists. Just good old fashioned prose will fill your RSS feed today, so if you don’t have the time to read full paragraphs, I suggest you save this for later (or cheat the system and mark it as read, if you’d like). While I hope you stick around, I won’t be offended if you leave. We’re a fast-paced culture, and I don’t know about you, but I need a breather. Join me, if you can.

Last night, I had the fantastic opportunity to hang out at the Capital City Brewing Company with some of the brightest bloggers from Gen Y. As many of you know, I am part of the growing BrazenCareerist blogging community - a group blog written by Gen Y professionals - and the guys behind BC, Ryan Healy and Ryan Paugh, hosted a meet up for those in the D.C. area. Besides being a great time, the event also rekindled my passion for writing… which was the whole reason I started blogging back in November.

While sipping a beer and mingling with my new friends, Ryan H. made a joke about how all he seems to blog these days are “5 ways to do this” or “7 ways to do that.” I laughed, and nodded in agreement - my post from yesterday was exactly that.

“But, that’s all people seem to read,” Ryan said.

It’s true. According to my WordPress stats, my most popular posts are my “how to” guides. If a post doesn’t have subheads or lists, I can almost guarantee my readership will be below normal. I stood there thinking about that, when I realized something: I’m not getting paid to blog - I’m doing this for me to help hone my writing skills, to do something I love doing, and to interact with others who might have similar interests.

But the blogging community can be harsh. When I graduated from college and made the move to D.C. to start my first job, I stopped blogging with any sort of regularity. It was a very stressful time for me and blogging was one of the last things on my mind. I knew I was losing readers and fewer people were linking to me or stopping by for a chat in my comments sections. It came to a point where I dreaded looking at my site stats almost as much as my depleting bank account. Both result in unnecessary bouts of high blood pressure.

Slowly, I started blogging again but nothing changed. Visits to my site stayed static, even on days I posted I’d only see a slight jump. Defeated, I’d hang my head over my battered keyboard. Not even a year old, and my blog had already lost its momentum.

I would ask questions on twitter and no one would @reply me. I wrote what I thought were interested or helpful posts, and even asked questions at the end, with little to no response from my once engaging and insightful readers. I started feeling… invisible.

Talk about depressing.

I thought I had blown my chance and that my blog was fading from the tiny radar it was on a couple of months ago. Then, as I talked to the talented bloggers from BC last night, I realized how whiny and narcissistic I was being. I don’t mind if 500 readers turns into 200, and 200 turns into 10 - those are still 10 people I’m connecting to through my writing, something that would be much more difficult to accomplish without social media and blogging. Just look at all the great people I met last night, people I would never know if it hadn’t been for PR Interactive and BC.

Can someone explain what you DO with a Fan page on Facebook? What comes next? How does it help your business? 10:22 AM August 05, 2008 from web

Since this was exactly what our seminar was on and I couldn’t come up with a clear answer, I decided to pretend I wasn’t one of the volunteers leading the session, but instead that I was one of the participants hearing about Facebook tools, pages, and applications for the first time.

This shift in mentality helped me focus on concepts I thought I knew a lot about, but as it turns out, didn’t actually understand as thoroughly as I probably should.

A Little Background about Life on Facebook

For me, college is synonymous with Facebook. The social network took off at the same time that I started my first semester, meaning I’ve been a Facebook addict since the very beginning – before I could upload and tag photos and before high schoolers even knew what it was.

Needless to say, it was hard for me (and many others at the seminar) to identify Facebook as a professional tool that could help organizations market themselves. All I knew it as was a site to, um, stalk old high school friends and ex-boyfriends.

Facebook: Pages Become a Professional Tool

As Facebook grew in popularity, the developers began releasing new versions of the site regularly. They redesigned the layout, launched new applications, opened the site to the public, and created “pages” to help organizations and causes promote themselves. At first, I thought “pages” were a way for Miley Cyrus fans everywhere to unite. I didn’t see the difference between pages and groups… what was the big deal and why would a company want to use Facebook pages?

All you have to do is look at some of the most popular Facebook pages to understand how they can help your cause go viral. Here are some great examples: Barack Obama, John McCain, Greenpeace, Apple, Susan G. Komen

Facebook Pages: Why They Work

• It’s free - Unlike MySpace which charges for-profit businesses for branded sites, Facebook pages are free to create for everyone.
• More customizable than group pages - You can use your organizations’ logo and arrange the content boxes to work with the layout of your page. No matter the size of your organization or budget, you can build a highly interactive community very cheaply.
• Stream content from other sites - By using Facebook applications such as RSS feeds, MyFlickr, and YouTube Video Box, you can easily manage your Facebook page with minimal work. Many of these applications simply aggregate the content you post on the other sites so you don’t have to do double the work.
• “Fans” self-select - The people who want your content can opt-in to it, which means these users are most likely champions for your brand or cause who will help build a Facebook community that promotes your organization. If naysayers post something about you in the message boards or wall, it won’t be too long before a fan counters or corrects the comment. This will most likely put your executive board at ease, since this is a huge concern for company leadership with launching social media initiatives.
• Fans Help Spread the Word - Facebook is social in nature and has many features to help spread the word about your page. When people become fans of your organization, it will show up on their mini-feeds, which all of their friends will see and (hopefully) click on. Depending on how popular you want your site to be, you will have to conduct some basic marketing to hype up your site, but at least you can count on others to do some of the work for you, too.
  
• Metrics and monitoring tools - Each page has a comprehensive monitoring capability called Facebook Insights. This allows you to monitor the effectiveness of your page and to bring specific demographic information back to the boardroom. Insights can also help you refine your Facebook ad campaign, if you have one.

Like any social media tool, I am sure there are downsides to Facebook pages and their effectiveness depends on the organization and brand. From my basic research, it looks like non-profits and politicians tend to do better than companies.  If you are interested in learning more about pages, here are some more in-depth resources to check out:

Facebook Pages Official Link

Facebook Developer’s Blog: Introduction to Creating Facebook Pages

Facebook Pages Terms and Regulations

Why Facebook? Mari Smith’s blog about Facebook “for fun and profits”

A post by Mari specific to pages for business purposes

Inside Facebook Pages

(If you have any others, feel free to add in the comments!)

]]> http://megroberts.wordpress.com/2008/08/06/facebook-pages-using-them-to-benefit-your-organization/feed/ megmarie412 Loader http://megroberts.wordpress.com/2008/07/22/social-media-and-politics-candidates-interact-directly-with-voters/ http://megroberts.wordpress.com/2008/07/22/social-media-and-politics-candidates-interact-directly-with-voters/#comments Tue, 22 Jul 2008 16:32:25 +0000 Meg Roberts http://megroberts.wordpress.com/?p=53

Living in Washington D.C. and working for a public affairs firm has made me more politically inclined than ever before, and I still feel as though there is too much information for me to fully grasp everything that is being thrown my way. Which is not a good thing – especially during a high-intensity election year.

I could spend hours sifting through the campaign sites on the New York Times or Washington Post Web sites trying to educate myself on the myriad issues that presidential and congressional candidates are addressing in their platforms, but as a Gen Yer I want something a little more… personal, conversational, direct. And then I want to read news articles to supplement these conversations - they shouldn’t be my sole source.

Luckily, politicians are taking advantage of social media tactics that make campaigns more personal with their constituents (hey, isn’t that a novel idea?). Federal and state Senators and Representatives are blogging (and allowing comments). The White House has a Twitter account. Barack Obama has changed the face of online campaigning with his appearances on Facebook, YouTube, and Twitter. John McCain is breaking the generation stereotype and showing up on these outlets, too (albeit with far less momentum than his opponent). Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi has joined the conversation, and even several government agencies are showing up on the new media map. Both the House and the Senate have Twitter accounts to track legislation moving across their respective floors.

I don’t know about you, but this is very exciting for me. For the first time, I feel like I’m hearing these messages directly from the people I may or may not be voting for. There isn’t a staged press conference, no paid advertisements - just an open dialogue where I can interact with the people who will be representing my voice.

Actually, on that point, an interesting thing I’d like to know is just how interactive are these politicians and groups. I’m not talking in terms of updating and using the tools, but the practicality of it – if I were to @BarackObama on Twitter a question about his platform, what are the odds he’d get back to me or even see the Tweet amidst his 40,000+ followers? Does John McCain (okay, I’ll even take a staff member who might relay information to him!) actually check to see how many people are watching his YouTube videos?

So while this is an excellent step in bridging the gap between politicians and the people they serve, I hope true engagement and interaction do not take a back seat to the publicity and fund raising elements that these tactics have obviously ignited.

Regardless, I’m very happy to have multiple media to evaluate and learn about candidates’ and their platforms while also staying informed about current government issues. As a social media aficionado, I hope to see this trend expand as more and more in the public affairs realm begin to experiment, and I’d also like to see the effect this has on young voters this fall.

So what about you? Are you using any of these tools to stay up-to-date on the candidates or other issues? Do you think this will help politicians reach out to audiences that might have been missed otherwise?

I’m a big fan of how-to guides and an even bigger fan of the 2003 romantic comedy How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days where Kate Hudson creates a how-to in reverse – a list of what NOT to do.

A while back, Cody McKibben tagged me in the Media Diet meme and asked the simple question: how do I filter through the static? So that got me thinking: what do I do to stay afloat in the ocean that is today’s mass media? Well, I could give the typical list of everything I use… but instead, I’m going to copy Kate’s character and give you a how-to, in reverse:

1. Don’t start a Google Reader to help you stay on top of your favorite blogs without cluttering your e-mail account.
2. Don’t subscribe to online newspapers’ RSS feeds so you have to browse through entire Web sites to find headlines that actually interest you.
3. Don’t organize your RSS feeder using folders and notes.
4. Don’t create a del.icio.us or other social bookmarking account to let other people with similar interests “do the work” for you – or in the spirit of good Samaritism, do the work for them.
5. Don’t browse tweets on Twitter to see what industry experts or other influentials are linking to that day.
6. Don’t use Google Alerts to stay on top of latest news about your clients (or football/baseball teams that you love with all your heart).
7. Don’t use Mozila Firefox’s toolbar bookmarking system for sites you check obsessively.
8. Don’t start an iGoogle page that can give you a one-stop look at things like the weather, your Gmail and Google Reader accounts, top news headlines, and fun stuff like games and pictures of places you should see in your lifetime.
9. Forget that there is life outside of the Internet and never watch your favorite TV shows on DVDs, read good books, or browse print publications (you don’t see a lot of the great print ads online).
10. Don’t take a break from mass media by going for a run, hiking, grabbing drinks or dinner with friends, or, ahem, sleeping.

What do you use to sift through the static? Is there an awesome new tool out there that I’m overlooking? Is FriendFeed worth its weight? Please, let me know!

To all my Floridian readers, especially USF PRSSA members, I highly suggest attending this year’s BlogOrlando conference on September 25-27. This FREE event features top bloggers Shel Israel, Geoff Livingston, Joe Thornley, and many more. Florida blogger Josh Hallett will be in attendance as well as other social media experts from around the state.

You can find information about the conference, sponsors, location, and sessions at the Web site: http://blogorlando.com/

I can’t stress enough how great of an opportunity this is for PR students to meet intelligent people, learn about the industry, and broaden your social media knowledge – trust me, it’s a valuable resource to have out here in the workforce.

Wish I could make the trip down from Alexandria for it, but I’ve already signed up for one chicken marsala dinner at my friend’s wedding.

(Also, for RSS subscribers: not sure what is up with the crazy characters at the beginning of my most recent posts… they aren’t showing up on my blog and if anyone can help me get rid of this issue, I’d greatly appreciate it!)

I put myself in the corner today. I’m punishing myself for being a bad, bad blogger. It’s unfortunate— just when I was getting passionate about blogging, I experienced several major life changes that, well, exhausted me and kept from being as committed as I had been earlier this year.

I won’t ramble on with tons of excuses because I don’t have any you haven’t heard, but I will briefly fill you in on what my life has been like the past 6 weeks:

I wake up at 6 a.m., a time I didn’t know existed while I was still in college. Instead of throwing on sundresses everyday, I have to stare at my closet and try to create a business-saavy outfit from what’s inside. Sometimes I eat a bowl of cereal while cursing my unreliable Internet connection. As I run out the door, I grab my umbrella and a novel (I’ve read 6 books in 6 weeks – all for pleasure!). I walk across the street (literally) to the metro station, usually just in time to see my blue line train whizzing past me, which means I have to wait 4-6 minutes for the next one. While on the train, I alternate between people watching and reading. Then, I get to work around 7:45 a.m. and stay until 6 p.m. After that, I commute home and run with my roommate around Alexandria or some of the fantastic parks in the D.C. area. Any spare time I have is spent eating, sleeping, showering, watching LOST, or exploring.

So while I have been lazy with my blogging, I have been productive in other areas of my life. I’m running regularly again, something I haven’t done since I got injured my freshman year of college. Reading has once again become my favorite hobby and I’m doing a pretty great job of staying in touch with all my Florida friends while managing to go out and meet amazing new people here. I love my job and the people I work with—looking back, I can’t believe how much I’ve learned in a month and a half.

But… just because I left the blogosphere does not mean I’ve been ignoring the community. I still check my Google reader religiously and have been active on Twitter. Learning from other PR professionals’ posts and online conversations has helped me in my career, and having knowledge about social media tools has allowed me to work on some very interesting projects at my agency.

This is reason enough for me to put away the excuses and to make time to blog. I feel better now. Maybe if I finally put up that “The First Month at Your First Job” post, I’ll let myself out of timeout.

In two hours, I will be leaving Florida and making my way to the nation’s capital to begin the next stage of my life. Although I rarely write about my personal life on this blog, there’s a lot going on in my head that I feel like sharing.

College is over. It’s a surreal feeling– one that hasn’t quite hit me yet, and probably won’t until August when I see most of my friends buckling down for a new semester.

I’m leaving my family and friends and wondering how I’m going to afford life in a big city. First of all, everything is a lot more expensive than I think it should be. For example, bath mats at Target are $12.99 and up. Seriously? 13 bucks for a bath mat? In my head, those things should be 3 dollars. Or free, that would work, too.

But, I digress…

A lot of changes are taking place, and I don’t want to take a tone that’s too self-pitying because I know I am just one in a million recent college grads taking a chance and starting over, but it’s a difficult time for me. I’m a homebody who truly puts family and friends first, and leaving them all behind is challenging.

Once I get to D.C., I know I’ll be happy, but that 11 hour car ride is going to be rough, and not just because I have to share the backseat with my two younger brothers. It’s going to give me ample time to reflect on the first 22 years of my life and wonder what the next 22 will bring. Because that’s what I do–I over analyze.

When it comes down to it, I’m ecstatic to finally be moving to a big city where I can rely on public transportation and have a wealth of culture and history at my disposal. I plan to take full advantage of my time there, embracing every opportunity that comes my way, but that doesn’t mean I won’t look back on my time at USF.

So, as I get ready to place the last box in my family truck, I’m hanging on to the memories and looking forward to chasing my dreams.

Real world, here I come.

As a new—brand new!—PR professional, this tug-o-war between public relations practitioners and the media is exhausting. For those of you who don’t know about this already, another public outing of PR agencies that apparently spam bloggers and journalists has been created. Coming only a couple of months after Chris Anderson’s infamous blacklist, this shows that PR pros haven’t learned their lesson yet. But what exactly is the lesson that needs to be learned when it comes to media relations?

After reading the slew of posts covering this topic that popped up on the blogosphere yesterday, I think I’ve narrowed it down to a couple of core issues:

• That’s not how I want to be contacted. These PR pros pitched the blogger at her personal e-mail address, when she clearly said this is not how she wanted to be contacted. This should be the first step in media relations—if you are trying to build a relationship with someone, you should respect their requests. All relationships are built on trust and respect, right?

**UPDATE: In this particular instance, Cision listed the blogger’s personal e-mail address as her main form of contact. Clearly a mistake on this company’s part, which might account for the heavy influx of pitches sent to this address. I’m interested to see how Cision handles this specific case. I am not making excuses as I still think it’s important for PR pros to monitor their media lists, making sure that they are up-to-date and correct.

• 587 new e-mails…Bah humbug. Bulk pitching is, apparently, the devil. Bulk pitching equals laziness. It shows that the PR professional didn’t take the time to read the journalist’s past work, comment or engage in the material, and decided to send out mass pitch e-mails instead. Brian Solis’ post broke down e-mail pitches into three categories: spam, bacn, and tofu. The varying levels of processed (eh, or fake) meat depend on the level of connection the pitcher made with the journalist. I won’t go into too much detail because I really want you to click on the link and read the post for yourself—the post and the comments make for an interesting read. The point is that you have to know who you are pitching. Todd Defren at Shift Communications posted a terrific guideline to blogger relations and how to build these relationships before you pitch. He makes his employees laminate it and stick it on their desks—I’ll be doing it, too.
• But I write about technology, not pet care. Another problem is that the journalist never writes about what we are pitching. This is the issue I have the most difficulty understanding, because it seems like common sense that you would only pitch those writers who have an interest in your client or product. I find it hard to believe that every agency listed on that wiki pitched an unrelated topic, which makes me wonder how broad is too broad? If you cover technology, and my client is releasing a new product related to Web development, shouldn’t I pitch you? Maybe I’m over thinking the whole process, but this is where my knowledge of media relations grows thin. How can I ensure that my message is wanted without being a mind reader?
• What do you expect? I don’t know what I’m doing! Jeremy Pepper thinks the main issue is that PR pros aren’t being properly trained when it comes to media relations. While I can’t speak from the professional side, I can agree with him from the academic side. As a recent grad, I can tell you that I have had minimal exposure to pitching the media. This is, obviously, very difficult to do in the classroom setting, and most of my internships would let me pitch only when everyone else was swamped with bigger clients. For many of my peers, pitching is the thing we know the least about after graduation, which means it’s the area we need the most training in when we enter the workforce. What do we need to know? How do bloggers and journalists want to be pitched? Better yet, professionals, what are your media relations training programs like in this PR 2.0 world?

Back when I was a baby blogger, I wrote about this topic. I asked how to be better, and I got very few responses. So here I am, a PR professional, asking (again) what I can do to help make the relationship between PR and the media more beneficial for both sides. What’s the lesson that needs to be learned?

Because, personally, I want to stop this tug-o-war. My hands are getting blisters.

To be successful in any industry, you have to differentiate yourself from the competition. With new technology, building a personal brand has never been easier, and “Brand You” is what will make you stand out from your peers. “Brand You” is a concept that I learned from my mentor, Professor Bob Batchelor, at the University of South Florida.

You can build a spotless personal reputation with hardly any financial investment, but it’s setting aside the time that might prevent some students from developing their own brands. Here are 10 easy ways that you can start building your brand, even as a busy student or young professional:

1. Spring Clean your Social Networks: You’ve heard it before, but let me reiterate how important it is to maintain a professional appearance on Facebook and MySpace. It doesn’t matter if your profile is set to private, you should still take pride in who you are and the image you are portraying. Remove those keg stand pictures and tasteless bumper stickers now, please!

2. Use Google Reader: This is a valuable tool when it comes to starting a personal brand. Subscribe to news sites that are industry-related or about current events. I suggest PR Newswire, PR Week, the New York Times, and BBC, especially for an international perspective. To be a proficient communicator, you must know what’s going on in the world and in public relations. The only way to do this is to educate yourself. Google readers makes it simple—it’s free and easy to navigate, plus almost every site has an icon that allows you to subscribe to their updates.

3. Add to your Reader: After you subscribe to news feeds, search for blogs on topics that interest you, such as marketing or public relations. Read a few posts and see whether the material interests you enough that you’d want to read it on a regular basis. If so, subscribe! Some blogs that I suggest you read are: PR Squared, More with Les, Teaching PR, copyblogger, and the Bad Pitch Blog. Each of these sites link to other great blogs that will keep you entertained and informed.

4. Comment on Blogs: Don’t be afraid to voice your opinion! Bloggers love receiving comments, and most will respond back to you. Always comment using your full name so you can start building your personal brand. The more you comment, the more people will start to recognize your online presence. Make sure you bring value to the conversation—don’t just say “great post!” Tell the blogger why you agree or disagree, or point out something he or she may have overlooked or did a great job explaining.

5. Create a Digital Portfolio: It’s a lot easier than it sounds, especially if you use www.freewebs.com. The site has tons of templates that you can choose from, and is self-explanatory. It’s easy to upload your résumé and writing samples, which allows potential employers to view all your work online. Since your Facebook and MySpace profiles should be professional, link to them so that employers can see your other interests and get a glimpse into your personality. Potential employers are people, too! Most enjoy people with intriguing personalities, and you never know when you might share a common interest with the person interviewing you. Any possible connection could be to your advantage!

6. Make Business Cards: Personal business cards are a great way to pass on information about yourself when you first meet someone. Include your basic contact information, but also links to any sites you have created for yourself, such as a blog, digital portfolio, or LinkedIn profile.

7. Join LinkedIn: This social networking site is more professional than Facebook, and is a great way to interact with those already in your desired career. Check it out at www.linkedin.com, and then make a profile. I actually landed a couple of interviews through this network, including ones at Ogilvy PR and Fleishman-Hillard.

8. Experiment with Social Media Tools: There are a lot of interesting tools at there that can help you make your presence known. Twitter is simple, and helps initiate conversations with people you might never get the opportunity to speak to otherwise. It can be found at www.twitter.com. Another tool you should familiarize yourself with is www.ning.com.

This site is a group-based community that allows you to search for those with similar interests. For example, I am a part of the 20 Something Bloggers ning, which has helped drive traffic to my blog and allowed me to communicate with other young bloggers around the world. Another great forum is the new PR Open Mic, started by Professor Robert French at Auburn. The site has only been up for a couple of weeks, but it’s already a remarkable resource for students, professors, and professionals. I highly recommend joining!

9. Just do it! Start a Blog: Maintaining a blog is easier than you might think. Most of my posts are less than 500 words and take me no more than an hour each week to write. This minimal commitment has been one of the most beneficial and fun things I’ve done as an undergraduate student. The benefits are innumerable: I’ve received job offers and freelance requests, I’ve been able to communicate with top-tier professionals and professors, I’ve enhanced my knowledge about the industry, and I’ve been able to practice my writing skills.

10. Ask for Help: Building a personal brand can seem overwhelming, so don’t hesitate to ask for help. Both professors and older students are excellent resources to guide you through this process. It is never too early to start building “Brand You,” and I hope that all of you will start soon so that you can impress potential employers with your outstanding reputation.

(This article was originally published in the University of South Florida’s chapter of PRSSA’s newsletter, imPRessions, which can be viewed at our Web site: http://www.prssausf.com. It has been edited for the Internet and updated since the original publication date.)

Let me give you some advice: apply for that job you think you aren’t qualified for, or submit your entry to win an award you think will probably go to someone else. You never know when the people selecting the winners will think that YOU are the perfect candidate.

Last fall, I was browsing the PRSSA Web site for scholarships and internships that I could apply for when I stumbled across the Daniel J. Edelman Award for the Outstanding Public Relations Student. I read over the qualifications, and thought it seemed out of my league. After researching past winners, I saw that almost all of them were presidents or vice presidents of their own chapters with impressive resumes that made mine look weak in comparison. Defeated, I clicked off that page to look for other awards that I might have a chance to win.

A couple of days later, I returned to the site. I thought– why not? What did I have to lose by submitting an entry? I respected the Edelman agency, and wanted to learn more about its culture, clients, and past work.

Once I sent out my entry, I thought that was it. I honestly wasn’t expecting to hear anything, and took the experience as an opportunity to learn how to piece together a portfolio.

I am very honored to say that I was wrong. In January, I received a phone call from Heather Crowley at Edelman informing me that I was a finalist in the competition. Only the friends who were with me that night can truly understand the shock, amazement, and joy that I felt upon receiving that call. It was an exhilarating moment that made me appreciate all the work I had put into my PR education.

From then, it only got better. I had a phone interview with Heather that went beyond discussing my qualifications for the award because Heather was so open to questions I had about Edelman and the public relations industry in general. Our forty-five minute conversation was one of the most informative and interesting talks I’ve shared with a professional, and that was reason enough to be happy that I applied for the award that I never thought I had a chance at winning.

A week later, Heather called and told me some great news: I was the runner-up in the competition, which meant I had won $500 and the chance to interview at any of Edelman’s offices for an internship position.

Just recently, Edelman posted a press release about the competition. It’s surreal and very humbling that an agency I have admired for some time saw something in me that I didn’t even see in myself.

I can’t believe I almost passed up this opportunity when I thought about not applying back in December. I shared this story not to brag, but to encourage other students to aim high. I know a lot of my peers talk about not being qualified for certain positions they want, or not having the experience or achievements to apply for an award, but everyone feels that way. Half the battle is placing yourself in a position to succeed, and you’ll never get anywhere if you don’t try!