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Three Ways to Stay Informed in a Busy PR World

Jess Noonan 1 Comment

blog6Pitch targeted media. Handle company crises. Prepare media materials. Tweet, post, pin – then do it all again. Side note: You’re on deadline. Side, side note: The company’s reputation is in your (probably trembling) hands.

Ahh, a day in the life of a PR pro. And, on top of those responsibilities – and many more – you must find time to keep up with the latest trends and news about, well, everything.

Yeah, I guess that whole “PR executive is a top five most stressful job” is true after all. But it doesn’t have to be.

With the right mix of media – and some high-quality multitasking – you’ll be consistently on top of your game. It took me upwards of two years to perfect my “mix,” but I think I’m finally getting somewhere in the busy world of PR. Here’s how:

Email newsletters: If it’s in your inbox, it’s more likely to be read. That’s why I love my email newsletters. One note of caution, though: Don’t sign up for too many newsletters. You’ll end up overwhelmed, deleting them all before reading. (As someone who loves a clean inbox, I initially drove myself crazy).

But now I’ve narrowed it down to three newsletters. And yes – I read them all:

  • The New York Times features a comprehensive news-of-the-day overview with top headlines from all sections and short excerpts.
  • Social Media Examiner sends social updates as they happen along with tips for using the latest tools.
  • PRSA Issues & Trends compiles all the PR industry news you need in one place.

Aggregated news sites: With all the news sources around us, we could spend eight or more hours a day just reading. But with a full-time (ahem, top five most stressful) PR job, who has time for that?

No one. That’s why I love these aggregated news sites.

  • Alltop Social Media displays top headlines from hundreds of social and PR news sites.
  • Circa is an app that combines popular news headlines for on-the-go reading. I especially like to scroll through this in the morning before I start my day.
  • Facebook Trends turned out to be more helpful than I initially expected. It’s quick, comprehensive and features the most talked about news – from pop culture to politics – in one place.

Podcasts: If you’re like most new pros, you have several mundane – yet still important – tasks on your to-do list. Why not get some additional education during those tasks with a good podcast in the background? Here are my recommendations.

  • Inside PR features notable PR pros discussing the latest industry trends.
  • Brave Ad World gives a quick look at the changing social and digital media world.
  • NPR is probably a given – it has hundreds of podcasts to choose from based on your interest areas. If you can’t decide, try the Shuffle podcast. It randomly chooses the content for you.

Since our digital world is constantly evolving, this resource list is nowhere near complete. As new PR pros, we should always be on the lookout for the latest time-saving tools. But remember: These resources can only get you so far. It’s your job to use them for information gathering regularly.

How do you stay updated on breaking news and industry trends? Share your tips and tricks for new pros below.

Stephanie Vermillion headshotStephanie Vermillion is an account executive at Wordsworth Communications, a public relations agency in Cincinnati. She is on the PRSA Cincinnati Leadership Team and is part of the PRSA Cincinnati New Pros Committee. Connect with Stephanie on LinkedIn and Twitter (@SMVermillion).

Book Review: What’s the Future of Business: Changing the Way Businesses Create Experiences

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51NxMSgBwIL._SX258_BO1,204,203,200_This post is part of The Edge monthly series of book reviews on books relevant to new PR professionals.

I first heard from Brian Solis at the Social Business Summit in New York City last year and received a copy of his book [What’s The Future] Of Business from the summit. Solis is a digital analyst, anthropologist and futurist studying and influencing the effects of emerging technology on business, marketing and our culture today.

Not just another social media or customer service book, this is a detailed and insightful book on our changing customer experience and social commerce that revolves around a new generation of connected consumers (Generation C as Solis calls them) on the opportunities we are missing or underestimating. The book outlines actual recommendations on how to align your new business objectives and marketing plans based on the new world of engagement and the upcoming Generation C.

Solis focuses on how we can create and invest in meaningful and shareable experiences; this is the future of business. It provides great visual with well-designed graphics, sketches and examples of actual tweets. Personally, I appreciated the research and case studies Solis put in this book to make it even more authentic. From the design and layout of the book, it is one you will want a tangible copy of, not a Kindle version.

“In the circle of life, connected consumerism is the new reality. Those businesses that don’t disrupt their own markets will find their markets disrupted for them.”

Solis says now is the time to innovate as Generation C is taking place and innovation starts from within. The most dangerous words in a meeting can be “this is the way we’ve always done things,” but Solis says change starts with a vision. “To change takes two things: the aspiration and determination to change.”

The book provides inspiration around rethinking your business model, helping your company equip itself to change with your customers and learning how experience design helps businesses.

0114bd7Lauren Gray works within public relations and marketing from Stamford, Connecticut. She serves as a PRSA New Professionals Section blog co-chair and as a PRSA New York new professionals co-chair. Connect with Lauren on Twitter and LinkedIn.

Applying Your Education to Your New Position

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diplomaAfter you’ve graduated and you’ve settled into your new job, college and your education starts to slip through the cracks of your memory. It may be hard to remember the theories and texts you read in college as it recedes further into the past. Here are some ways to apply your education to your new position, and keep what you’ve learned fresh!

Examine what the brand and messaging are for your company or client, and figure out how it was created.
Every company that has an established public relations staff should have an established brand and message in place. It is good practice to discover how that brand and message came to be, in order to offer educated suggestions later on to keep your work in line with them.

Ask questions and discuss best practices using your knowledge from your education.
The best way to learn is to ask questions. Each company will have its own best practices and methods to use that have been tried and established. Learn what you can from them to do your job better and apply your learned skills to make them even better.

Take the communication skills you’ve learned and be part of the solution to address communication issues, where appropriate.
The biggest problem that humans have – whether it’s in their career, relationships, friendships, and family life, is communication. Having studied how communication breaks down, what causes it, and the theories behind it, you are the perfect candidate to contribute to solving them as they come.

Education is ultimately about learning, and it doesn’t stop once you have your degree in hand. Remember to continue striving to learn as much as you can, stay well-read and up-to-date on what’s happening in the public relations industry and the world-at-large, and make sure you’re always searching for the information that you need to know.

What advice do you have for new professionals looking to apply their learning to their new job?

dTbWKDtT_400x400Samantha Owens is a writer, hobbyist photographer, and grammar enthusiast based in Napa Valley, CA. She writes her own blog, contributes at a literary fiction book blog, and freelance writing work. Find out more about her at about.me/seowens or follow her on Twitter at @sowensphoto.

Takeaways from working in healthcare PR

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When I sit and think about what I wish I knew before going into healthcare PR, so many different things come to mind. I have to say these past few years have brought me the most life learning opportunities as well as business learning opportunities and I often catch myself saying, “if only I had already known this…” I work in the healthcare field and with this comes unique opportunities (aka challenges) like 24 hour coverage, employees that work three days a week, the “administrative side” and passion for compassion.

Takeaways from working in healthcare PR, that can apply to all areas of PR:

1.       Wording is everything
Above, I referred to challenges as opportunities. This makes the daunting task of having a challenge not seem so challenging. Looking at challenges as opportunities leaves room to think about all of the learning that can occur.

 2.       Data is (almost) Everything
While content is extremely important in PR, don’t underestimate the power of data, especially in today’s world. There are many ways to measure what we do as PR professionals and various tools out there. I remember taking my PR research class in college and letting my team members, who were better in Excel than I was, take the reigns when it came to the data, now I wish I had really taken the time to learn more about it. You impress leaders when you can show them, with data, what you have been able to impact. In today’s ever changing world of healthcare reimbursement, showing your worth is important and executive leaders love data.

 3.       Excel is my friend
Going off of number 2, comes my number 3, Excel is my friend. I often have to tell myself this. I found Excel is good for making simple graphs to show data I need it to show, but is also an amazing tool for organizing everything from events to campaigns to checklists.

 4.       Don’t Underestimate “Old School” Paper Print Outs
The majority of the employees I communicate with are on shift work, some only work three days a week (imagine what your inbox would look like if you only checked it three days a week). As PR professionals, we love our email, social media and any way to connect via the web, but when we break it down to healthcare and how to reach employees, they want something more tangible. Unique to healthcare is the passion for compassion and one thing that drives this is integrating our technology with real-person interaction and tangible things to hold. Bathrooms and break rooms are a great place to put your paper print outs.

5.       Have a title that reflects what you do
For the past three years I have been titled as a Nursing Resource Coordinator, which doesn’t describe what I really do. When I look and ask myself what I think it means to me, I think it means I coordinate resources for nurses, but my job encompasses a very small amount of that. I do a lot of employee communication, education and event planning. This is something I have recently talked to my manager about, changing my title to reflect what I do. It is important to have a title that reflects what I do and for future roles that I will have within or outside of my organization. I want a title (and so should you) that will give someone a little direction of what I do.

Katie Kitchen is a 27 year old mother who lives in Hanover County Virginia and works for a 225 bed hospital in the county she lives and has grown up in. Her role entails a great deal of employee relations to about 1,600 employees. She attended Virginia Commonwealth University where she received a B.S. in Mass Communication with a concentration in Public Relations. She enjoys spending time with her little girl, her dog, creating new craft projects and enjoying all of the activities Richmond Virginia has to offer. 

Flourishing Your Local New Pros Chapter

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Being responsible for building your local New Pros committee or Chapter is not an easy task. In addition to your job responsibilities and launching your career in the PR world, you’ve intentionally chosen to pile more on to your plate. The good news is that you’re not the only one solely accountable for your group’s success – well, you shouldn’t be, anyways. Most likely you have a team of like-minded individuals working towards a shared goal of flourishing your New Pros chapter. And if you find yourself as the lone leader, then … recruit, recruit, recruit!

Here are some lessons learned from PRSA Charlotte New Professionals and a few ideas on how to flourish your New Pros Chapter:

Get on the same page

How are you going to connect with fellow New Pros if you don’t know their interests? At the end of each year, implement a survey that will help you plan and organize for the upcoming year. Ask questions about what topics and programming interests them, what expectations they have of the group and what changes they want to see to help everyone get on the same page.

Schedule mind-blowing programming

ENOUGH with the socials! We all miss college, but the days of hosting all your events at a bar are over. Somewhere along the way, our group found ourselves socializing more than learning. It’s great to host a networking social every now and then, but don’t be afraid to get a little crazy with your programming.  You’ll find success in diversifying your events and mixing in educational programs that are targeted to your group’s needs. If you have dedicated members, they’ll want to learn and grow just as much as they want to network. If you haven’t tried this approach, give it a shot.

Encourage attendance at PRSA programs

It can be terrifying for a new member, especially those fresh out of college, to attend programs and events hosted by their local PRSA chapter. Yes, those highly experienced, well known, senior PR pros are intimidating to all of us who aspire to be just like them one day. But, those are the individuals you should want to be affiliated with. Encourage members to attend Chapter events and work the room. Network with everyone and make sure they know that the New Pros are worth watching. Plus, you can get ideas and speakers for your next group event.

These are some of the ways we have connected with our new pros in Charlotte. What programs have you found to be successful?

Jessica_Ernstberger_HeadshotJessica  Ernstberger currently works as an administrative coordinator for Carolina Public Relations, a Chernoff Newman company, where she aids senior level practitioners for each active client.  She serves on the PRSA Charlotte New Professional’s board, she’s on the communications committee for the chapter and served on the communications team for the 2014 Southeast District Conference in April.