PR

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

Heather Sliwinski 1 Comment

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

career advice… Ticking Through Last Year’s To Do List Before January by Janet Krenn

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I’m big into lists. I write them. Re-write them. Revise. Lose. Re-imagine.

I wrote myself a “to-do by the end of the year” list last week, and it’s horribly intimidating. I’m not embarrassed to admit that it’s full of things that have been sneaking to the bottom of my “to-do” lists since April, and although I know I have a long month ahead of me, I’m propelled to get through it and start January with nothing hanging over my head.

Imagine! Only having to do the tasks and jobs that are new! (It does sound like a dream, doesn’t it?)

As PR professionals, we can’t control the speed at which new projects and responsibilities fly at us, but we can make sure we’re ready to take them on.

For me, this means I’ll be buckling down. I’ll be more focused at work, checking my Facebook page only when it’s work related or when I’m at home (shuddering with pre-emptive withdrawals). I’ll be a dynamo, or like some kind of well-trained PR Kung Fu master executing tasks with quick, deadly precision.

The list is long. Writing articles, sidebars, upcoming press releases. Then there’s video transcribing, scripting, editing. And then there’s the stuff that I don’t even know about yet, but will undoubtedly make its way to my desk, just as the clutter’s starting to clear.

But I know with my trusty list in hand, I’ll tick through the tasks of soon-to-be yesteryear, and when 2011 rolls around, I’ll be ready to take on the new challenges and rewards without fretting about projects fermenting on my desk.

So who’s with me and ready to write down, then take down, that to-do list of 2010?

—

Janet Krenn is the 2010 Chair of the New Pros Section. She’s optimistic about closing out a successful 2010 at work, even though she has 23 things on her to-do list, and 3 days into December, none are checked off!

twitter… My Top 3 Handles for Keeping Up with PR Trends by Janet Krenn

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Keeping up with the trends means that you stay relevant, and developing those good habits now will only help in the future. (It may be hard to believe, but one day, when we’re not the New Pros, we’ll have to stay on top of what the newbies know!)

I end up reading several blogs, pubs, and papers to keep up on PR trends, but I also use Twitter to keep up with PR trends. Here’s my favorite top 3 people or organizations that I follow to stay up to date on PR trends:

  • @Mashable – When it comes to social media news, Mashable has been my fail-safe source! This blog posts so often, the only way I can keep up, is to follow them on Twitter.
  • @PRSAtactics – Getting Tactics in the mail is one of my favorite PRSA benefits. Reading about the trends and news before it hits print, is only better.
  • the New Pros of PRSA list – OK, it isn’t a handle per se, but I do glean some interesting ideas off of my fellow New Professionals of PRSA as they tweet personal and professional news. (I also get to know you all better!) If you’re a New Pros of PRSA member, you can join the list by making a request to join on our eGroup. (Only members can access the eGroup, and only members can be included on the list!) If you’re not a New Pros of PRSA member, you can become a member and then request to join the Twitter list, or just follow us!

Of course, this list is very short.

Who do you follow on Twitter to stay up-to-date on PR trends? (Shameless self promotion is only acceptable if you tweet PR issues and trends most of the time!)

—
JANET KRENN is the 2010 Chair of the New Professionals of PRSA. She also “hosts” the New Pros of PRSA Twitter list! You can contact her at janetqs(a)gmail.com or @janetkrenn, but remember, to get on the New Pros Twitter list, you must respond to the eGroup posting to prove you are a member.