Public Relations

Higher education PR: who controls the college website? by Elizabeth Rhoads

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High school students begin their college search online. They explore Princeton Review, US News & World Report and search for some of the colleges they’re familiar with on Google. College students are directed to their college’s website to get more detailed information on a few assignments for the semester. Professors who have completed research in their field want to make sure that their information is on the website for everyone to see.

One of the most crucial parts of public relations in higher education is a website. Considering that the majority of high school students spend quite a bit of time online, a college’s website often serves as the first impression for prospective students. While it’s used as the primary recruiting tool, it also has to serve a couple of other audiences – current students and faculty members. So, websites in higher education are more complicated than they may appear.

Not only does a college website have to serve a few different audiences, but everyone wants to have control over their part of it. I recently read an article that questioned why college websites are so awful, given that faculty and staff in higher education are often perceived as being a very intelligent crowd. Part of the answer is that while there is a common theme and template, every department has their own information that they feel is absolutely essential to display on the website. It’s often impossible for one or two web designers to be able to keep up with all the constant updates and posting, in addition to somewhat serving as a filter to what gets put up online. As a result, many departments are given the ability to update the site, and therefore, the website is actually written by several different people, in several different tones.

The question becomes, who’s the most important audience to serve? The answer depends on the college.

Personally, I believe the most important thing is to have a consistent tone throughout the entire website that is appealing to prospective students. Although a second person, conversational style was rare years ago, it has become more common. Rather than trying to formally convey the college, or departments’, mission and vision, I believe simply stating the benefits of the college (or department) in a conversational style is the best way to communicate with prospective students through a website. As for the faculty – often times they don’t have much time to dedicate to posting content on the website, which gives someone else an opportunity to write for them. That’s where we come in – who could be better for the job than a PR professional?

Elizabeth RhoadsElizabeth Rhoads currently serves as the Web Content Coordinator for a small liberal arts college in Central Pennsylvania. She graduated from Susquehanna University in 2009 with a Bachelor of Communications. She is an alumna of the White House Internship Program.  Rhoads serves the PRSA New Professionals Section Executive Committee as Programming Chair.

Introducing your 2011 Executive Committee

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In addition to new blog chairs, the New Professionals Section is happy to introduce the rest of the Executive Committee members for 2011.  Below are our new volunteers, with a selection of their New Year’s PR resolutions:

Sarah Siewert, Chair

-Learn more about leveraging mobile technology and location-based apps

-Keep up with my RSS reader

Noelle Pennyman, Member Chair

“My PR Resolution for 2011 is to always remember the value of a personal connection. Technologies will continue to integrate into our communication tools, but the basics will always remain the same.”

Joshua Romero, Member Chair

-Get more involved with my local PRSA chapter through service to our profession and the community. 

-Incorporate more online videos into the stories and web content I create for the law school. 

-Continue building the law school’s innovative social media program. 

-Launch my consulting company and get tons of clients!

Crystal Olig, Mentorship Liaison

“Get better at helping clients think through their online content strategy (link to oxiem.com) and how it ties into social media, SEO and sales.”

Anna Cramer, Programming Chair

“Although out of college, I would like to continue my curiosity, stay up-to-date and learn as much as possible about PR, my specific industry (sports and non-profit) and any industry trends.  I would also like to remain as involved if not more so in PR as I was able to in college. I hope to remain involved locally with my PRSA chapter as well as continue my influence with PRSA nationally with New Pros.”

Elizabeth Rhoads, Programming Chair

“Explore web design and photography a bit more. My position as Web Content Coordinator includes quite a bit of writing and scheduling photo shoots – hopefully this year I’ll be making my way into taking some of those pictures and having the ability to do a bit more web design.”

Alyssa Bronikowski, PRSSA Liaison

Ashlee Tate, Section Liaison

Eva Aivaliotis, Newsletter Editor

“Leveraging more digital influencers (a.k.a. bloggers) for media placements”

Diahnn Henderson, Blog Chair

Heather Sliwinski, Blog Chair

Tamara Halliburton, Social Media Editor

Leah Moon, Social Media Editor

“Attend more PRSA events and meet more PR pros in the Dayton area”

Adrienne Bailey, At-Large Member

Kate Bergeman, At-Large Member

Katie Bryant, At-Large Member

Andrea Nourse, At-Large Member

“As a recent graduate and entry-level public relations professional, my 2011 New Year’s PR Resolution is to learn as much as humanly possible in the field, and to apply the knowledge and experience I have gained in my previous fields to my current position.”

John Whitcomb, At-Large Member

-Get up before 6 each day

-Read 20 pages out of a book

-Go to bed earlier

-Utilize to do lists to help organize my life

-Improve my writing

2011 Blog Chair Introductions

Heather Sliwinski 1 Comment

Welcome and Happy New Year, New Pros!

While 2011 marks the end of term for last year’s Executive Committee, the new year also ushers in a new crop of PR professionals excited to serve as Executive Committee members.  We are so grateful for the 2010 team and strive to follow their example.  We are your two new Blog Chairs—Diahnn Henderson and Heather Sliwinski. 

Allow us to introduce ourselves:

Diahnn Henderson is a human resources generalist with an emphasis on employee relations at ProQuest LLC, an electronic publisher in Ann Arbor, Michigan.  With 10 years of experience in the HR profession, she needed a change of pace and began focusing her attention in a new direction.  In 2010, she completed her studies in Communications at Concordia University and recently launched a new business venture, Collaborative Communications.  As a new professional, she looks forward to serving in her role as the Blog Co-Chair.

Heather Sliwinski is a marketing communications manager at United States Drug Testing Laboratories, a forensic drug testing laboratory in the Chicago suburbs.  After receiving her degree in Journalism and Mass Communications with an emphasis on Strategic Communications from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, she has enjoyed learning every aspect of marketing and event management for almost two years at USDTL.  She joined PRSA hoping to increase her network of peers, especially within the New Professionals Section.  Heather looks forward to the new year serving as Blog Co-Chair, offering New PR Pros a wealth of information and professional development.

Together, we hope to meet your expectations for this blog.  We look upon this blog as an outlet for virtual mentorship, through perspectives from new professionals like yourselves and seasoned professionals who have insider tips for those of us still learning.  For example, each month we will continue to feature a different aspect of the public relations field in the “Intro to…” series.  Look for our “Intro to Sports and Entertainment PR” post from a seasoned professional later this month. 

We encourage dialogue from fellow members.  After all, we only consider this blog successful if we are able to provide information you find useful.  So please, comment on posts.  Tell us which trends you are interested in.  We welcome the feedback.  Respond to the blog on Facebook or Twitter.  If you are itching for a more involved role, contact either of us to make your voice heard in your own New Pros blog post.  Our goal is to collaborate with members and create a discussion important to your careers.

So, New Pros, what do you want to see in the New Pros Blog in 2011?  We are excited for the coming year!

-Diahnn and Heather

A Lesson in Governance by Mike Greenberg

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There’s the concept, and then there’s the reality. The former involves the process, customs and rules by which an organization such as PRSA, is run and the manner by which its members participate in their Society. The reality: that I had the privilege to observe first-hand as our Section’s Delegate to the Leadership Assembly, which met in Washington, D.C., on October 16.

The session began with a review of the Assembly procedures, a report on the financial health of the Society and a review of key accomplishments during 2010. We also voted to keep 2011 PRSA dues at the 2010 level. In other business:

  • There was a much-anticipated and hotly debated amendment to the Society’s by-laws that would allow persons who do not have the APR (Accredited in Public Relations) credential to be nominated to serve on the national Board of Directors. Presently, non-credentialed members cannot serve on the national Board even though they may have held other PRSA leadership positions, such serving on the Board of their local Chapter or national Section, and worked in public relations for at least 20 years.  To me, the strongest argument for change was the fact that only about 16% of Society members carry the APR credential; thus, national leadership opportunities are limited to a small minority of PRSA members. I was convinced that we will be a better Society if we can draw on the talent and experience of more, not fewer members. I voted for the amendment, but the motion failed.
  • Prof. Donald Wright, APR, Fellow PRSA, and Christina M. Darnowski, who heads the PRSA research department, presented their early analysis of a survey of employers on what  knowledge, skills and abilities tomorrow’s PR professionals will require. Future employers will expect new professionals to be proficient in media relations and social media engagement. Polish-up on your writing and listening skills, too. The full report is expected to be released in 2011, but you can see their presentation here.

What impressed me about this experience was the respect, despite their passion, that the Delegates displayed to each other. They clearly shared a deep commitment to the success of PRSA and enhancing the value the profession. As New Professionals, we should follow their example. Yes, we are busy with our new careers, or working to land that first job, but I encourage you to take an interest in serving your Society; and getting involved with the New Professionals Section is a fine way to start. If you want to learn more about opportunities to volunteer your time and talent, e-mail me.

Mike Greenberg is Director of Membership for the PRSA New Professionals Section. He is a member of the PRSA National Capital Chapter and co-Chaired the Chapter’s Volunteer Committee for the 2010 PRSA International Conference in Washington, DC

Intro to Series… Corporate Consumer PR by Kelly Misevich

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In Corporate Consumer PR we may not work on client projects in the way PR agencies do, but we have no shortage of work to do for our customers, consumers, employees, stakeholders and other function areas within our organizations. A typical day can range from working on media relations, developing internal employee communications, fostering brand awareness through community events, issues management, and promoting corporate philanthropic programs.

As a corporate consumer PR professional, branding is key. We connect our brand with customers and consumers through strategic and creative media relations, community relations, and brand awareness programs. We also ensure that employees are engaged as brand ambassadors through the use of internal communications such as newsletters, intranet sites, and company-wide magazines. Teamwork, flexibility and enthusiasm for the brand you represent are extremely important in this industry.

Challenges in Corporate Consumer PR

Some of the challenges of the corporate consumer PR industry arise when dealing with the following areas:

  • Issues management: monitoring and researching political, economic and social environments for any potential threats to a brand
  • Crisis communications: developing clear messaging during an emergency, while ensuring timely delivery of information
  • Reputation management: ensuring trust, credibility and responsibility around a brand

Non-PR Activities to Consider

If you are considering a career in the corporate consumer sector of PR you might want to consider exploring some college courses that offer insight into other function areas within an organization, while giving you the opportunity to sharpen your communication skills. I’d recommend taking introductory courses in

  • business law
  • operations management
  • finance
  • human resources.

Kelly Misevich is a Public Affairs and Communications professional for the Midwest region of Coca-Cola Enterprises. Her four years of experience include internal communications, community relations, event planning, government relations, issues management and media relations. Kelly attended Georgia State University earning a B.B.A in Managerial Sciences.