9 Best PR Moves I Made in ’09

1. Start the PRepguide blog

By far, one of my best moves in 2009 was starting my own blog. Starting a blog, as I’ve mentioned before, is a great way to  get recognized for your PR knowledge, ideas and writing skills. It is also a great way to get constructive criticism when people leave a comment. If your post fosters a discussion, then you know it was a good post.

2. Learn how to use twitter

When I first joined twitter, I had no idea what I was doing. It wasn’t until I started my blog that I started to use twitter as an means to an end in order to promote my blog. But by doing that, along with my curious personality, I “accidentally” learned how to engage myself with other people using twitter.

3. Joining twitter chats, such as #PRStudChat and #Journchat

PRStudChat and Journchat has allowed me to meet and discuss with other likeminded people on twitter. The trick to these chats? Jumping in feet first with no hesitations. You will be shocked at how fast the time goes by!

4. Get to know PR professors beyond the classroom

Develop a lasting relationship with your professors and touch base with them regularly, even if it doesn’t regard the latest assignment. After all, they’re people too! It’s easy to slack off when you don’t have an interest of your professor but when you personally know your professor, it makes it nearly impossible to let them down.

5. Connect with other PR students

Since I’m not  a PR major (See “The PRepster” page for more info), I haven’t spent the last 4 years getting to know Ferris State PR students inside or outside the classroom. This year, after joining PRSSA (See below), I’ve connected and made friends with many of them. I’ve used twitter to connect with PR students around the nation and have even met individually with PR students from other schools, such as @RachelEsterline and @PattyBaragar. It can never hurt to have too many friends. Unless it’s your 21st birthday and you’re at the bar. Then it might hurt the next morning. Very badly.

6. Join PRSSA

This is my first year in PRSSA. As I mentioned above, it’s allowed me to make friends with a lot of the Ferris State PR students beyond my PR classes. Even though I’m not on e-board, I try to help any way that I can and offer all ideas and suggestions to them. Even if I don’t have an official leadership position in the Ferris chapter of PRSSA, that doesn’t mean I can’t still be a leader among my peers and offer my help and advice to others. The key is to be an active member. Don’t just sit for a half hour during meetings; speak up to offer suggestions or ideas.

7. Toot my own horn

People aren’t going to talk about something if they don’t know about it; so who better to hear it from than you? You need to toot your own horn first if you want others to eventually do it for you.

8. Start freelancing, even if it’s “pro-bono”

A few people have mentioned they like my blog and have asked me to do some freelance writing and consulting for them. Most of those opportunities have been unpaid, but since I like helping people, I’ve offered to do it for them. It adds more experience to my resume and allows me establish my own deadlines: when I’m not being paid for freelancing, my other “paid” priorities come first. Freelancing, even when it’s pro-bono, can lead to other paid opportunities.

9. Learn when too much really is too much

My worst habit is not saying “No” often enough, which results in me taking on more than I can physically or mentally handle. I’ve had several great opportunities present themselves to me, but having a full load of classes, two jobs, homework, job searching, PRSSA, freelancing and running when I get a spare moment can eat up a lot of time in my day. Sometimes you need to assess what is on your plate and realize when your eyes are bigger than your stomach.

I’m looking forward to #10 and more in 2010.

PRepster of the Month: Rebekah Nale on “Graduation”

Rebekah Nale, a native of Savannah, Ga, is a recent December graduate with a degree in public relations from the University of South Carolina.

Beginning her college career as a Business major, Rebekah took a risk and switched her major to Public Relations at the end of her junior year. The Public Relations program at USC has allowed her to develop her skills as a writer and create meaningful relationships with her PR professors.

Gearing up for graduation this December, she has been doing several things to get a job after she leaves the campus bubble. She was kind enough to chat with me about what she is doing to prepare for a career in public relations:

Building an online presence

First, I started with creating online resume accounts on VisualCV.com, Card.ly and LinkedIn.com. I also utilized my presence on Twitter to network with other public relations and marketing professionals.  I found that there were people who were more than willing to help me, whether it be passing around my resume at their place of work or simply giving me interviewing tips.

Finding the job

At the beginning of my job search, I contacted one of my father’s friends who is a headhunter for several big corporations.  He gave me some advice on how to search for job openings, who to contact and how to interview and follow up.  He also compiled a list for me of big corporations from North Carolina to north Florida (this is the “zone” where I’m looking for a job) that I could contact for possible job openings.

Then, I started applying for jobs.  Whether it was simply searching for “public relations agencies in Charlotte, N.C.” on Google, or looking on Web sites like TalentZoo.com, I was on the hunt.

Standing out

I had calling cards made with my name on the front, and additional information on the back: address, phone number, e-mail address and my LinkedIn account address.  I take them with me wherever I go and I also put them in my thank-you cards that I send after interviews with potential employers.  It’s just a nice, professional touch that sets me apart from other candidates.

Staying organized

I created an Excel spreadsheet to keep my endeavors organized.  The spreadsheets are organized by company name, person of contact, their title, phone number, and e-mail address, the date I applied and what the outcome was.  This allows me to make sure that I haven’t applied to the same job twice, and also keeps me updated when I’m conducting follow-up phone calls.

And her results?

I have landed multiple interviews with companies all over the country.  I am still in the process of interviewing with more companies and receiving feedback from them. A very wise man, Mike Boyle, told me, “in order to get one job interview, you have to apply to 10 companies, and in order to get one job offer, you have to do 10 interviews.” So, do the math.

I am now up to about 130 job applications, with only a handful of interviews. It’s a tough job market, but I am not allowing myself to become discouraged.  Mr. Boyle also told me that, “failure is only a stepping stone to success.” I have taken his advice to heart, and remind myself of his wise words daily.

I became an intern for a public relations firm, Abshire Public Relations & Marketing, in Savannah, Ga. last summer and am currently doing distance work for them.  I also worked with a non-profit organization, Alala Cancer Society, this semester, creating and implementing a public relations campaign for them.  I have enjoyed every second of these two great opportunities.  Working in both of these places has simply confirmed that this is the direction I want to take with my professional career.

The End of Social Media

Don’t let the title of this post deceive you: in no way is social media ending, it’s just getting started! But social media is simply the means to a very important end: face-to-face communication.

Social media is a great way to facilitate conversation online, but it needs to go beyond that if you want to fully establish your personal brand. 140 character is just not enough to make meaningful connections with people.

Last week, I attended The Interactive Association of West Michigan (#aimwest) event, “Egg Nog Networking” and Grand Rapids Social Diary Retro Christmas Party (@GRSocialDiary), both in Grand Rapids, Mich. Aimwest was my first mass-tweetup where I met almost 10 people that I regularly talk to on twitter. It was exciting having people come up to me and saying “Are you Mikinzie? I recognize you from your avatar photo!” I stayed an hour or two longer than I had planned, even though I knew I had an hour drive ahead of me. I made real-life connections with @SuperDu and @Stellafly – both big on the Grand Rapids PR and social scene and both great people with amazingly big hearts – among several others.

Two days later, I drove the hour drive to back to Grand Rapids for the Grand Rapids Social Diary Retro Christmas party, where I reconnected with several people I had met a few days prior and chatted the night away with a few new people, such as Grand Valley State University PR Senior @PattyBaragar and Marketing and Sales Manager at Amway Hotel @SmileRy (see below, first and second from the left). And I had a few free professional photos taken of me to boot! Needless to say, it was a fun and light-hearted networking event.

After countless new advancements in technology, face-to-face communication still proves to be the most effective method of communicating with people and creating meaningful relationships. Sometimes it may be impossible to personally meet some of the people you communicate with through social media, such as when you are time zones away. However, my advice is to take advantage of EVERY opportunity you have to meet the people with which you tweet.

I didn’t feel like making the hour drive to Grand Rapids and back at night in the snow (if anyone has talked to me at length or read my tweets, they know my phobia of driving). And after a few stressful weeks of finishing papers, projects and exams for school, the last thing I felt like doing was getting dressed up and engaging in small talk when I finally had a chance to relax. Quite frankly, I felt like sitting on the couch in my sweatpants and watching movies all night. But I dragged my bum off the couch and made the trip. At the end of the night, I was so glad that I had.

There are several ways to meet-up with people near your geographical location:

1. Conferences or Group Events

Any group that you belong to or are interested in probably has some sort of event; go to it! Some events will require payment, but you can usually find a few “freebies” or free networking events held at restaurants, pubs, bookstores, etc throughout the year. A few Michigan events that I plan on making the drive for this year are West Michigan Public Relations Society of America, Aimwest and Grand Rapids Social Diary. In Chicago, I’m hoping to be able to make it to (or afford) at least one Ragan Communications Conference within the year.

2. Organize a Tweetup

Nothing going on around your location? Create your own event! Talk to a few people you regularly chat with on twitter and collectively organize your own tweetup or do it yourself. Invite anywhere from five people to a hundred! Make sure the location is easily accessible, affordable and not too distracting, ie a restaurant or a laid-back bar.

3. “Lunch” Dates

Schedule one-on-one coffee or lunch dates with people you know from twitter. Make sure that you have chatted with this person and know they are who they say they are by connecting with them on several different forms of social media and researching their online presence (Google is a good place to start). You want to make sure that he or she can be fully trusted before you meet them. Make sure it is a public place and let others know where you are going and what time you’re expected to be back. Safety first!