Social Media Marketing Plan Part 3: Maintaining Social Media Sites

Happy Wednesday my readers! Today’s topic is going to focus on the importance of maintaining social media sites during your social media marketing (SMM) plan, along with some helpful tips. Last post, I discussed three popular social media sites (LinkedIn, YouTube, and Instagram) and the importance of choosing the right sites to use during your SMM plan. Today’s helpful tips will focus on all social media sites.

To get started, I’m going to create five categories of tips. This will help you to better understand where to apply these tips. The five categories will be: useful information for overall social media use, targeting the public, pitching to the media, learning about competitors, and company employees.

1. General Tips in Maintaining Social Media Sites
• Valued Content
Your content should always add some value to the reader. How does it pertain to them? How useful is the information? The more valuable your content, the higher importance the public will place on it and the faster your post can spread online.
• Simplicity is Key
Try not to overwhelm the public with too much information at once. Each post should focus on one thought. If you want to share multiple topics, create multiple posts. If a post appears too “wordy” or has too much information, readers will continue to scroll past. Remember many people use social made as a way to relax and unwind from work.
• Do Not Spam
Don’t post repetitive content over and over again on your sites. This can scare away current and potential followers online. No one wants to feel harassed when they go online to check out their social media newsfeed.
• Accuracy
Just like in high school English class, spelling and grammar does matter. Don’t get lazy and forget to proofread every post before it’s published. You don’t want your company to be remembered for spelling “pubic relations” instead of “public relations”.

2. Tips for Targeting the Public
• Creativity and Engagement
Creatively appeal to your public through a variety of ways. You can appeal to your audience through humor with a funny picture or video. Be compelling; provide posts that focus in on a current popular trend. Anything that can grab your audience’s attention.
• Be Personal
Let the public get to know the company in a more personal way through company events, employees, and holidays. This will let your followers feel more involved and provide them with a face for the company. For instance, posting fun facts about employees once a week is a great way for your followers to get to know everyone involved in the business.
• Company Social Media Mentions
It’s important to monitor what is being said about the company. By keeping up to date when a company hashtag or username is mentioned can help to monitor public reactions. That way if a situation needs addressed it will be caught early. Also, if your company is being praised for great work it’ll be a positive reaffirmation for doing a good job!
• Real Time
Post content that is up to date and current, not something that happened two weeks ago. For instance, when the blue/black or white/gold dress photo was taking over social media that was a good time to get involved in a trend. However, waiting until its two weeks out of the news, isn’t. By then the hype is over and no one is interested with the multi colored dress.

3. Targeting Media Personal
• Forming a Connection
There are many journalists, bloggers, industry influencers who utilize social media and your site can be a great way to form connections. By reaching out and connecting online with some of these professionals can help your company grow. For instance, by following journalist’s accounts, you can learn more about stories they are interested in writing. Then you can effectively pitch your news story to them.
• No Information Overload
Don’t try to list every bit of information you can in a pitch. Instead give journalists the facts and go straight to the point. Journalists are very busy and don’t have time to read multiple paragraphs for a story pitch.

4. Learning to Beat the Competition
• Industry Competitors
Do your research and see what similar companies are posting online and how they are interacting with the public. This will be a great way to gain insight to earning followers. For instance, Lowes wants to improve their Pinterest page, so they review some fellow competitors (Home Depot, Ace Hardware, etc.). Lowes learns that the competition have a very active board for home improvements, but lack outdoor settings. This could be a great Pinterest board to add to the Lowes account and try to gain the followers the other two companies’ lack.
• Trending and News Alerts
Stay updated on the most recent news and trends. This will help you to keep the public informed and show your company can provide quick appropriate responses to current information. Google Alerts is one website you can subscribe to that will provide you with updated information.

5. Social Media and Company Employees
• Happy Employees Equals Positive PR
Employees are the face for the company. How they choose to act online through social media when work ends, you can’t control. Try maintaining employee happiness and help the company to treat them well. Then employees will send off positive energy about your company rather than negativity.

I know this post was longer than usual so I will quickly sum everything up. While maintaining social media sites it’s important to remember who you are targeting and to treat them well. They choose to follow your company in their free time. Use social media as a way to reach out to media personal. Lastly, remember competitors and employees have a big impact online, so always do your research and remember to treat everyone fairly.

I hope everyone enjoyed today’s post and provided you some helpful insight! Come back next week for the final blog in the SMM series that will focus on measuring your SMM impact! Until then have a great week!

Social Media Marketing Plan Part 2: Focusing on Social Media Networks

Happy Tuesday blog readers and welcome to social media marketing (SMM) part two! Just to recap my last post, I discussed the background on SMM and the best ways to lay your plan’s foundation. The five main points I focused on were: goals, target audience, content, competitors, and available resources. To benefit you long term, it’s important to clearly determine those five criteria when starting a SMM plan.

This week post is going to focus more in depth on some popular social media sites. Each social media site has its strengths and weaknesses and depending on your goals, it can help you determine which social media sites are most beneficial.

1. YouTube
It provides the public with entertaining and informational videos with ease. This site has over 1 billion users worldwide and can be viewed in 75 countries. YouTube can help you provide users with a face of the company and educate your audience with company information. However, YouTube doesn’t allow you to interact as easily with their audience, but it does allow users to post their thoughts and share videos. It’s important to remember not all information is best conveyed through videos.

Some ways YouTube can best be utilized is:
Promotional videos for upcoming products or events
Testimonial videos from customers and employees
Press Release announcements with more of a personal touch

2. Instagram
This social media site allows you to interact with your audience through photos instead of long videos. This site allows users to easily scroll through posts in a short amount of time. This means your photos have to stand out of the crowd to grab your audience’s attention. If you can provide unique photos, Instagram can help you reach your audience very quickly. In a recent study, results showed this site is more popular among women than men and is most often used at the end of a work week. The negatives when choosing this site is if the content is not catchy, users will quickly scroll past your information.

Instagram can be used for multiple purposes including:
Event photos
Creatively posting new products (different from what you would see on the company website)
Showing off current and new employees
Telling the audience a story (either through multiple posts or a photo collage)

3. LinkedIn
Unlike other social media sites, LinkedIn can allow your company to learn more about your target audience. Through Q &A pages, you can better understand what topics your audience is interested in and what they are looking to learn. With over 227 million members worldwide, you will be able to reach out to multiple audiences. LinkedIn can help you reach out to journalists and bloggers in a new way besides email and phone. You can follow news media sites to view their focused topics for the day or if they are working on any special projects. However, if your SMM goals are more focused on a new product or increasing sales, LinkedIn may not be the best site to use. Since LinkedIn is more of professional setting, it may help your SMM plans if your goals are to better understand your public, help inform journalists about newsworthy company information, or help to build creditability for your company.

Instances LinkedIn is helpful can include:
Posting informational news stories to pass along to journalists or bloggers
Keep the audience updated on company information/changes

Overall, videos and pictures are great ways to interact with your target audience. They are quick simple methods to get your message across. While reaching out to journalists in an easier form, can increase your chances are providing newsworthy information in a new way.

I chose not to talk about Facebook or Twitter because I wanted to provide more in depth information on the above three social media sites.

I hope this post gave you a new perspective on how social networking sites can help you better reach your SMM goals. Next week I will be discussing the importance of maintaining your social media sites and how you can best utilize them for your SMM campaigns!

Determining Your Social Media Marketing Plan: Part 1

Hello fellow PR readers! I want to start with an apology for my lack of PR blog posts the past two months. Sadly, life got in the way and I was unable to write. However, I am back and full of new PR knowledge to share and even learn from you guys! So expect many more posts to follow for the upcoming summer months.

Today’s topic is only part one in a four part series of social media marketing. Today I am going to focus on social media and how to determine the best sites that will help your business. Social media marketing (SMM) is when business chose to market their company through the use of social media channels (Facebook, Twitter, etc.) as a way to reach their target audience or goals. As SMM becomes the large base for business advertising, it might be hard to determine which social media channels can provide the best option.

Here are some key ideas to keep in mind when choosing social media channels for your marketing campaigns.

1. Goals
What’s your desired outcome from using social media? Is your goal to reach a larger audience, educate the public, a call to action, or generate conversations? Determine very clearly the goals and this will help you to chose the best social media channels to help achieve them.

2. Target Audience
Who do you want to target during your SMM? Are they young adults, women between the ages of 28-34, or the general population? Try to be as specific as possible because the more you know about your goals, the easier it will be to determine which networking sites can better reach your audience. There are many studies available that offer information about networking site and their users. The studies can offer the users: age, gender, income, or location. Try researching these sites once you know your target audience.

3. Content
By determining the type of content you want to share, you can research the social platforms that can best spread your message. For instance, a fashion magazine may choose to use Pinterest or Instagram because those sites offer the best ways to share and post images online. However, if a restaurant wants to inform their audience about proper ways to prepare meals, Facebook or a blog site may best fit their needs. Clearly determine the desired content and decide the best way to inform your target audience (through posts, photos, videos, etc.).

4. Competitors
No matter your type of business, there is always competition. Have you researched which social media sites your competition is using? Do some research on your competitors and see which sites they utilize and how much they engage with their audience. This can help give you an idea of which sites you may want to use.

5. Available Resources
Determine early on how much time the company can commit to social media. Remember quality over quantity is always best. Having one very engaging and active networking site is better than have five sites that are never maintained. By determining the amount of available resources (time available, employees, etc.) can help you decide which social media sites to chose.

Just to recap sit down with the PR/Social Media teams to clearly outline the goals and desires you want the SMM to accomplish. By understanding the purpose of your company’s social marketing can help you best determine the networking sites. Some research may be needed before completely understanding the goals, but once the goals are set, it will make the rest of the marketing campaign easier to navigate.

Well I hope you enjoyed part one of my social media series and I look forward to keep sharing! Check out next week’s part two post! I will talk more in depth about some popular social media sites that could help your SMM plan. Please comment your opinions on the five steps I listed and if you think PR pros should be keeping anything else in mind when creating their SMM plan!

Instagram’s Newest Transformation to Carousel Ads

Welcome back readers! Today is Transformation Tuesday and I’m going to discuss Instagram’s newest transformation. Instagram is a social media website that allows users to post photos about events in their life for their friends and family. It also allows companies to better connect with their audience in a more personal and direct way.

Instagram doesn’t focus on words to capture an audience’s attention, but instead allows an image to take the place of words. For instance, Target recently posted a photo to promote the DVD release of the movie Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 1. In the photo you can see clothes and supplies that can be associated with the movie. Target chose this photo because it allows the user to imagine being a part of the rebellion from the movie. The image encourages users to visit Target to purchase the movie and maybe a few extra supplies. This photo is unique because it appeals to a wide range of girls and women. It allows them to imagine themselves as the independent warriors in their own lives.

Instagram’s new transformation will now allow businesses to promote their brand through a photo slide show. Originally, companies could only post one photo at a time on their Instagram account; but now with new slide show brands will be able to post multiple photos together. This new advertising method is called: carousel ads. Carousel ads will allow users to scroll to the left to view multiple photos. Here is a video that shows how the slideshow will work for users.

Another transformation Instagram will offer is a link to click and view a company’s website. In the past, Instagram only allowed companies to promote photos, not website links. But now with the carousel ads, the user will have the opportunity to click on a company website and learn more.

This new transformation was caused by advertisers needing more direct results with their audience. Many current Instagram business accounts wanted more successful ways of reaching their audience and have their audience take direct action (by clicking on a link and purchasing an item). So Instagram worked to create the carousel ads that will allow more direct contact with users, but also allow the users to scroll past the ad, if they are not interested.

From a PR perspective, I can see the new carousel ads becoming effective because it will offer more interaction with users and provide them with more information. I think by allowing companies to promote their message with multiple images can help to better inform the user.

However, my only concern is how accepting users will be about viewing more advertisements on their newsfeed. As a frequent Instagram user, I’m not always happy when I see multiple ads on my newsfeed; especially if I’m not interested in the displayed content. So it will be interesting to learn how these carousel ads will play an effect on the future of Instagram’s advertising.

Instagram will be releasing the new ads on a limited time frame and during that time they will try to determine which format will best relate to users.

Part 2: Rebranding as a PR Pro

Last week I talked about how rebranding allows a company to change their public perception. There are different reasons a company may choose to rebrand some include; reaching out to a larger audience base or reacting to a major company change. During the beginning of the rebranding process companies need to decide their brand identity by determining what parts will stay the same and what will change. Remember the big picture during the early stages of this process. Finally, it’s important to try to have company employees stay engaged and even participate. Employees have an investment in the company and can help them positively move forward during rebranding.

During this post I’m going to explain the last three steps of the rebranding process: distinction, brand launch, and monitoring public perception. As I explained last week, this is only a general overview of the process and I will post links to other articles if you would like to read more in depth on this topic!

Distinction
This is the time for the company to decide how they are going to approach the public. During this step, conducting research is important. This will help you understand the best ways to approach your audience. Also, this will provide honest feedback with how the public views the company.

There are different types of research you can conduct.

1. Public Perception- How the public views the company, like and dislikes, conducting short answer surveys to learn more in depth about the company’s positives and negatives.
2. Brand Loyalty- What is considered sacred to the brand and should be maintained during the rebranding and what new things consumers may want to see.
3. Brand Advertising: How the public learns about the company and best and worst ways to reach out to the public.

After completing extensive research the results can be analyzed and this will help to determine the best way to approach the public on the rebranding process.

An example of a successful company rebranding through research and advertising is Old Spice. Old Spice used to be considered an older man’s cologne, but the company wanted to reach out to a younger audience. So through social media, interacting commercials, and a celebrity spokesperson, NFL player Isaiah Mustafa, the company successfully reached out to their targeted audience and increased sales. Their most popular campaign was this interactive commercial featuring Isaiah Mustafa.

Brand Launch
This is the time to publicly release all that hard work of the rebranding process! There are many ways to release the new image of the company. It all depends on the audience you want to reach during this release, but some choices are a press conference, launch party, or social media launch.

My favorite would be a social media release because you can reach out through many different forms: images (Pinterest or Facebook), videos (YouTube), slogans (Facebook or Twitter), or employee and public reactions (Snapchat or Facebook). All of those social media channels allow you to interact with the public in different ways and learn feedback about the company changes.

Monitoring Public Perception
Make sure to monitor public perception for the first six months to a year. This is important because it helps to ensure the public is receiving the brand correctly and without problems. There are different ways to measure the successfulness of the rebranding launch.

1. Brand Awareness- Was the targeted public aware of the changes and if so how was it perceived, positive or negative?
2. Public Perception- Is the public viewing the brand differently since the changes?
3. Impact- Research the positive or negative impact from the public since the launch.
4. Increase Sales- Has the company seen an increase profit since the brand release?

Don’t let all the hard work of the rebranding process go undone because of skipping this last step! Always stay on task until all the steps are completed.

During the rebranding process the early stages focus on the purpose of the rebranding and determining the goals. While the second half of rebranding process focuses on determining the best ways to reach the targeted public and measuring success. Rebranding can be a long process for any company, but with focus and attention to detail any company can be successful. Check out this article about how to avoid some common mistakes of rebranding.

A little fun fact about rebranding is it doesn’t always have to focus on a company. Whether you are new to the PR field or a seasoned professional you can always rebrand yourself. Maybe you want to break into a new area of PR work or just trying to stand out from the crowd as another PR newbie; either way you can take these same six principles I described to rebrand yourself in the PR field!

Well I hope this topic helped you learn something new! If you have any success stories or mistakes about rebranding that you want to share just comment below. Until next time enjoy your weekend!

Part 1: Rebranding as a PR Pro

Happy Thursday and welcome to another week of PR knowledge! Today’s topic will focus on the first three steps of rebranding a company’s image. Then next week I will conclude the post with the last three steps. During this post I will explain the brief concept of rebranding, also I will link other articles that will provide in depth information on this topic.

So I chose this topic because rebranding can help give a company new life, but it can be a long and difficult process. Rebranding can provide the company with new opportunities by reaching out to larger audiences and investors. However, there are risks when making these transformations. The public and company employees could rebel against the new changes.

Rebranding can be defined as creating a new image of the company through their values and logos. The six basic rebranding steps include: justification, key principles, the company’s employees, distinction, brand launch, and monitoring public perception.

Justify the Change
Rebranding an existing company’s image can be a long and difficult task, it’s important to understand the purpose behind the rebranding. Creating a list of objectives can help to understand the process because it will help to create a clear outline of what needs to be accomplished.
Rebranding usually occurs for two different reasons. One, the company may be attempting to gain a head start on a new opportunity. For instance, the purpose could be to reach out to a larger audience. A similar situation with Target occurred during the 1990’s when Target was viewed as another low priced retail store. However, to stand out from the crowd they rebranded their image to offer affordable and high quality clothing. Then they created a new logo to appeal to their larger audience base and they successfully rebranded their company.

Another reason to rebrand is because the company is trying to react to recent events; for instance a merger occurring between two companies. In 2005, Sprint and Nextel merged together to offer their customers a better service. However, their networks were incompatible and their new logo, that explained the merger, was subtle and very basic. Their rebranding failed and the two companies split up.

Key Principles and Values
During the rebranding process, your company should understand their key values that will be maintained during these transitions. It’s important to explain what the company hopes to achieve during the rebranding and which parts needs to be changed or removed. During this growing process, the company values should be the main focus. Don’t get caught up in creating a new visual, or logo, for the company. Creating a logo will come later during this process.

Employees: Company’s Past, Present, and Future
Never forget about the employees. They make up a large portion of the company and can have a big impact on how rebranding is received. So don’t be afraid to bring your employees together during this transition! Explain to the employees the reasons behind the rebranding and ensure they understand. To help increase cooperation, try allowing the employees to have a voice during this process. Employees understand their company well and can help provide constructive feedback. By providing the employees a voice during this growing transition can help increase their commitment and excitement about the company.

Overall, rebranding can help a company redefine their image and build better relationships with their employees. This can be a long process, but when it’s done correctly companies can be successful.

Check out next week’s article for the conclusion of the rebranding process!

2015’s Super Bowl Commercials

Welcome back readers! If you watched the Super Bowl I hope you enjoyed the game and if not maybe you enjoyed the commercial breaks, Katy Perry’s half time show, or just the snacks and drinks! As promised this blog post will be dedicated to some of the commercials shown during Super Bowl 2015. This post will explain my two favorite commercials, my least favorites, and the most creative commercial!

My Favorites

1. Snickers
The Snickers candy bar commercials are known for featuring a crabby and hungry person and usually they showcase a celebrity. Their creative slogan, “You’re not you when you’re hungry” makes these commercials funny. Well this year was no different when Snicker’s took a step into one of America’s famous TV shows, “The Brady Bunch”. Guest celebrity’s included Sons of Anarchy’s Dan Trejo as Marcia Brady and The Soprano’s Steve Buscemi as Jan Brady. I thought this commercial was funny and appealed to most age groups because of the well known television show and actors featured.


2. Loctite Glue
Loctite is a form of superglue that helps to fix broken items. And this year Loctite made their brand hilarious! While using an upbeat tempo and humor, the company approached using their product in creative ways. The commercial maintained the hype of the Super Bowl by keeping their audience engaged. Then the public was encouraged to use social media to show off their Loctite enthusiasm using the hashtag, “Win at Glue”. I thought this commercial maintained the public’s attention through humor and was able to keep the momentum going through social media!

My Least Favorites

1. T-Mobile
This cell phone company used Kim Kardashian as their spokesperson and Kim discussed the issue of losing cell phone data every month. She explained your lost data could have been used to focus more on the Kardashian lifestyle. I think the commercial was slow and very narrow on the topic. Also, the content only appealed to the younger age groups rather than the public as a whole. I think the concept of “losing data” was good, but T-Mobile should have chosen another way of explaining that idea. They could have showcased different examples of cell phone users losing out on data. For instance, a mother not seeing a funny cat video, a teenage girl missing an interview with a celebrity crush, or a sport focused boy missing draft picks because of not using all their data. That commercial would have appealed to the larger audience watching the Super Bowl.

2. Go Daddy
This year the website and domain company, Go Daddy, which usually features sex themed commercials broke away from their usual content. Their new commercial focused on a determination of a businessman by working through the Super Bowl game. However, I think Go Daddy missed the mark this year. Although I enjoyed the commercial it’s very forgettable compared to other companies.

Most Creative

1. BMW
BMW took a creative approach for the advertising of their newest car model the BMW i3. They used real footage from the Today show in 1994 featuring Katie Couric and Bryant Gumbel. The Today show hosts discussed their confusion about the Internet and email, then it flash forward 21 years to another confusing conversation about the BMW i3. For a car commercial, I found the content appealing and effective. I think BMW hit the mark with the audience they were reaching and I enjoyed their tagline “Big ideas take a little getting used to”.

Overall, I enjoyed some of the commercials this year, but I was hoping for more than what was received. Although some companies were humorous, most commercials weren’t very memorable. Hopefully, companies step up and start creating more unique commercials for 2016! Until then share your own opinions of the best and worst commercials? Comment below and until next week stay warm!

Gaining Public Awareness during the Super Bowl

Welcome back readers! As you’re gearing up for the weekend, you may be watching the Super Bowl this Sunday or, if you’re like me, be checking out the commercials! I enjoy watching the Super Bowl commercials because they are either funny or so ridiculous and crazy, it’s funny. After all when the companies are paying $4.5 million for a 30 second commercial spot, they need to make an impression.

Whether you watch the game day commercials or you’re on social media, you have probably viewed any commercial as successful if the brand is talked about. After all, the purpose of airing these commercials is to create awareness and increase sales with the public.

There are many different ways to grab the public’s attention. Some companies choose to be remembered for their sweet and light hearted commercials. In 2011, Volkswagen aired a tiny Darth Vader using “The Force” to bring a Volkswagen car to life. This commercial was funny and quickly grabbed the attention of viewers. The company used a popular movie reference and the determination of a little boy to make their audience laugh.

However, some companies chose to take a risk and create a commercial that could spark debates. The company, GoDaddy.com, shows they are happy with any type of PR. Recently they released their “Go Daddy Puppy” commercial. The story follows a lost puppy making his way back home, only to discover his owners sold him on their new GoDaddy.com website. That “early” released commercial created such a controversy with the public that Go Daddy is being mentioned in millions of tweets! Although the public is angry about the commercial, the Go Daddy brand is receiving attention all over social media. Check out this news cast that discusses and shows this controversial commercial.

Personally, I prefer to gain positive public awareness because negativity can damage a company’s reputation and overall image. That damage can follow a company for many years and hurt the business.

Lastly, social media is continuing to play an even larger role for game day advertising because it encourages the public to continue discussing different brands. For instance during 2013’s Super Bowl, the football stadium lost power for over 30 minutes during the game. The company, Oreo, quickly ran into action. Oreo released an image all over social media that stated “You Can Still Dunk in the Dark”. Their quick thinking gained major attention and popularity. Oreo provides a great example of how quick thinking and positivity can help earn public awareness during the big game!

This year will be interesting to see how many companies choose a risky type commercial in order to gain attention over other brands. Be sure to check back here next week to re-watch and learn more about the most talked about commercials!

Tackling Crisis Management as a PR Pro!

Happy early Friday! I wish everyone an enjoyable and hopefully warm weekend! As we are getting ready to end the second full week of 2015, I thought a blog topic about being prepared for the New Year would be helpful.

We all deal with problems in our lives, both personal and professional, but we can be prepared for the problems at work. As PR practitioners we always have to be ready for different situations. Although we may wish for a perfect outcome, we can be prepared for problems. This is where crisis management comes into play.

Crisis management is when a business needs to handle an emergency situation quickly and accurately. The best advice I can provide is plan ahead. Have a plan for possible problems and decide on the best ways to handle the situation. For example, the vice president of a company decides to quit and go to a local media outlet and claim the company is mistreating employees. Your business needs to be ready to prove their innocence with facts, or if the claim is true own up to it, and explain how the problems will be solved.

Before I describe some steps to follow, always remember the objective of crisis management. The objective should be to minimize the damage of the company’s reputation and long term impact. This helps to ensure the company will survive after the crisis has ended. So here are some of my opinions for the best way to handle a crisis.

1. Get the facts
Before talking with the media and public find out all the correct information. You can’t expect to solve the issue if you don’t fully understand it.

2. Own up to the problem
If your company is to blame for the current circumstance, own up to it! By accepting blame for your part in the situation, it can show the company isn’t trying to hide anything. By denying responsibility, the truth could eventually be discovered and that crisis will be worse than the current one.

3. Solve the issue
Now that you know the problem and accepted responsibility for any parts you may have, it’s now time to figure out how to solve the situation. Meet with business officials and work out an ideal plan of how the company will approach the situation. You may not be able to solve it all at once, but be sure you’re heading in the right direction.

4. Choose the proper media channels
Depending on the type of crisis your company is dealing with, it’s important to use the right form of channel to communicate with your audience. For instance, if the company posted an inappropriate Twitter status, use Twitter to address how the problem will be solved. However, the larger the situation is you may need to use more channels. Just remember all social media posts should contain the same message. Having different responses will show inconsistencies and appear as if the company is hiding information.

5. Choosing the right spokesperson
When addressing the crisis, try to have a recognizable company figure in front of the camera. By using a familiar face, the public will be more trusting about the received information.

6. Learn from the mistakes
Remember what lessons were learned during the crisis and don’t let it happen again! Take each situation, good or bad, as a learning experience that can help you and the company in the future. Whether it’s from incorrectly handling social media or ensuring the same crisis doesn’t happen again.

So whether you’re a company official or just a PR pro trying to improve on your skills I recommend practice! Take a fictional crisis and imagine how you would handle it. Write out all your steps and talk it over with a friend or colleague. The more practice you have the better you can be!

Have you ever dealt with a difficult situation or problem? How did you handle it and what did you learn? Comment below!

Until next week have an enjoyable weekend!

PR New Year’s Resolutions 2015

Happy 2015! I want to start with apologizing for not posting any blog entries during December, but the holidays kept me from having any free time for my blog. But now I’m back and ready for an all new year of PR blog entries to share with you!

This week’s post is going to focus on how you can improve your PR skills in the New Year. Making New Year’s resolutions are always popular, but difficult to continue throughout the year. I like to write smaller goals that will work towards a larger resolution. That way when I complete my smaller tasks I feel accomplished and it encourages me to stay focus on my larger goal! So I hope I can help you achieve some of your PR goals this year.

Here are a few goals you can focus on for 2015:

1. Discipline
Although PR allows you to be creative, it’s important to remember to discipline yourself. It’s easy to work on fun and creative campaigns, but the backbone in PR are the skills you will need throughout your career. They include: writing, focusing, researching and interpersonal skills. So for 2015, be sure to set aside time to determine if you are giving those basic skills enough attention. And if not, take 30 minutes out of your week to practice them.

2. Negotiation
It’s important to always keep the public updated with information on your company or client. One of the best ways to spread your message is through the media and you’ll need to effectively communicate with journalists. You can do this through email pitches, in-person meetings, a brief video about the topic, or any other way you can grab their attention. During that brief time you need to inform journalists about the importance of your topic. Try improving your negotiating skills this year by practicing on friends or co-workers. Even challenge yourself! When you’re with a group try to pitch a fun activity and see how many agree with your idea. Be sure not to be pushy or waste ten minutes about your idea.

3. Creative Thinking
Never let your creative thoughts stop! You would be surprised how a midnight snack can bring about a great idea. So for 2015 try to be creative in all aspects of your life. Whether it’s a new DIY project or filming a fun YouTube video, this can help your mind stay active and be ready for the next PR campaign!

4. Networking
It’s never too early or too late to network with other professionals in ALL career fields. A new connection can open many possibilities for you. From insightful PR advice to a new friend who can introduce you to a possible client. Try attending a local networking event or even get to know some of the workers at your favorite coffee shop!

5. Attention to Details
Grammar mistakes shouldn’t be your only concern when it comes to the details. As a PR professional it’s important to anticipate large and small problems, evaluate situations, and analyze data. I like to view PR as looking at the “Big Picture” while still analyzing every frame. To test your attention to details try playing puzzle and search & finds games. Also, take a situation you may come across and analyze it from the beginning to end.

To sum up this week’s post remember to never underestimate the importance of your PR skills. PR is an ever changing field because we constantly need new ways to interact with the public. Try to maintain your basic skills even when learning new ones and you will be grateful!

Now I want to share with you my PR New Year’s resolutions. My goals are to become a better communicator with journalists, network more often, and learn more about the different industries in PR. Please comment below your PR Goals for 2015.

Until next week have a Happy New Year!