Navigating Your Financial Future:Tweets from the Brown Bag

April 26, 2011Heather Sliwinski 1 Comment

The PRSA New Professionals Section held our first brown bag teleconference “Navigating Your Financial Future” with financial advisor Jim Beverley on Thursday. In case you missed it, Beverley covered four main topics directly affecting new professionals: student loans, credit scores, retirement savings and budgeting. PRSA New Professionals Twitter hashtag #npprsa tracked the conversation surrounding Beverley’s most valuable advice.

On student loans:

@MelindaBiegen: Tips on paying student loans from #JimBeverly– Step 1) Organize your loans, start paying the ones off w/ the highest interest rate. #npprsa

@MelindaBiegen: Step 2) Never miss a payment! If you can, try to set up automatic payment plans. Don’t be afraid to pay a little extra too! #npprsa

@MelindaBiegen: Step 3) #JimBeverly encourages recent grads to see a local Tax Advisor to educate us further and answer any financial questions. #npprsa

On retirement savings:

@prsanewpros: Save early! If you want to have $1 million at retirement and start saving at 25 = $300/mo., at 35 = $700/mo., 55 = $5,326/mo #npprsa

@DZ_Invictus: Retirement savings through company withholding plans confers pretax convenience, possible matching benefits. #npprsa

On budgeting:

@daniellerideau: Creating a budget for my future. budgeting.thenest.com #npprsa

@JoriRobinson: Good to have 3-6 months of expenses in cash in savings that is readily available in the event you lose your job. sleepability #NPPRSA

On credit scores:

@AnnaCramer1: Any number in the 700s is good, 750 + is excellent for credit score #npprsa

@prsanewpros: Improve credit score: 1. reduce debt 2. get back on track with missed payments 3. spend less! #npprsa

What’s the bottom line from Beverley’s seminar?

@AnnaCramer1: Save some money every month, pay some debt off every month and most importantly: live within your means! #npprsa

If you are interested in hearing the playback of this discussion, and did not register prior to the event, please stay tuned to our online discussion forum for a link to the recording. This event is free for Section members.

Jim Beverley, CLU, ChFC, CFP®, Financial Advisor, Partners Wealth Management

Jim Beverley has 16 years of experience as a financial advisor. Beverley offers Securities and Investment Advisory Services through NFP Securities, Inc., member FINRA/SIPC. NFP Securities, Inc. is not affiliated with Partners Wealth Management. Beverley empowers clients by eliminating conflicts of interest, taking the time necessary to understand each client’s financial situation and educating clients on the solutions available to help accomplish their objectives.

Event PR: the Original Mobile Marketing by Andrea Nourse

April 15, 2011Heather Sliwinski 2 Comments

Mobile marketing can mean one of two things. The most recognized meaning today involves smart phones and mobile Internet. The other, more traditional, kind involves hitting the road and bringing a brand or product to the masses. Although the two can, and often do, go hand-in-hand, mobile event marketing presents its own challenges and advantages.

MMA Creative, the agency I work for, represents one of the largest food organizations in the world, and this weekend we kick off two separate tours to promote the nonprofit society. Aside from the hours of logistics that go into these tours, there is also time spent on pre-event PR and marketing through social media that lead up to each of the 20 to 25 stops each tour makes. That adds up to many Tweets.

Being a smaller business, our agency creates everything internally, from press releases and social media to logos, collateral and even truck wraps. Planning for 2011 started long before our 2010 tours ended. As the sole PR practitioner in the agency, I help create and execute this plan.

The PR Plan

For each tour, we create a national press release to announce the tour along with local releases and media advisories for each stop. For our primary tour, we have seven primary sponsors and two secondary sponsors. Two of our primary sponsors also have their own special programming, which includes additional stops and contests. Additionally, a separate partner has its own mobile marketing program. This program creates another layer in the plan, as we target the additional local markets and create a national release to announce the new programs. So on any given week, there are between one and five events going on (two tours and three partner programs), and I am responsible for making sure the local media are out in full effect.

Social Media

The part of mobile marketing that I enjoy the most is using social media—reaching out to and engaging the enthusiasts that make the societies we represent so huge. Even when we are not hosting an event or on the road promoting the client, I am always working hard to ensure that the conversation around our clients and partners continues. Social media is a crucial tool in the success of this effort. Where else can you directly and personally reach out to such a large and diverse audience?

This plan is only a small piece of what goes into producing and managing a mobile marketing tour, but it is one of the most important pieces of the puzzle. Our clients and partners invest significant amounts of money into these programs, and our agency must deliver the results they expect. One thing I love about mobile marketing tours is the quick results. Whether it is from handing out samples to event attendees, engaging them in social media conversations or having our tour team interviewed by the local network affiliate, we get real, tangible results that increase awareness for our clients.

Originally from Kansas City, Mo., Andrea Nourse moved to Nashville, Tenn., in 2005 to pursue a career in songwriting. Then, in 2006, she enrolled at Middle Tennessee State University, where she studied public relations, marketing and political science. While in college, Nourse worked full-time as the assistant manager for Jos. A. Bank, interned with U.S. Rep. Bart Gordon and, after graduating in May 2010, joined his staff as a field representative and communications assistant. Nourse currently works as a content specialist for MMA Creative, a full-service marketing and advertising agency with offices in Cookeville and Nashville, Tenn., and serves as an At-Large Member of the PRSA New Professionals Section Executive Committee.

Creating a Blog Strategy that Works: 10 Tips for Company Bloggers and Teams by Crystal Olig

April 12, 2011Heather Sliwinski 5 Comments

Blogging can be frightening because no matter the size of your organization, not everyone believes they are a writer. The allure of a brand-spanking new blog tarnishes quickly when everyone realizes you have to feed the beast.

As PR pros, we mobilize a company’s internal experts and find a way to help them turn their knowledge into dynamic and compelling content. Whether we write it, ghostwrite it or edit it, thoughtful preparation and tools go a long way. Here is a quick guide to creating a long-term strategy that works.

1. Editorial strategy & calendar

Blog platforms today, from WordPress and Blogger to Tumblr and Posterous, are intuitive to use, and you can be up and blogging in a day. However, that day should include at least a basic outline of content areas of focus with a frequency goal – once a day, a few times a week or once a week, at minimum. Even better is a strategic plan based around a few key information architecture elements.

Combine your content plan into strategic groups. A tool like MindMeister is great for team brainstorms and collaboratively creating a plan with your team. Within each of your topical areas, pick out a few descriptive words or phrases. Your groups can become blog categories, and the rest are viable tags.

Lastly, a deadline calendar that you gently enforce, or even better, incentivize your staff with, helps everyone know what they are expected to do and when.

2. Be a great curator

While brainstorming is great, sometimes you just do not have it in you to start completely from scratch. I remind my clients that they are constantly consuming great content and forming an opinion. Applying an expert eye to e-mail newsletters, tweets from colleagues and magazine articles, a good blogger just picks the most on-trend, compelling or controversial info. Flip it around, add your own spin and you have a new post. The ability to curate content and choose the most compelling to share and open for commentary is a cultivated blogging skill.

3. Content isn’t just words

Pay attention to your blogging team members’ strengths. The most persuasive and prepared salesperson can turn to jelly at the thought of putting pen to paper. Find a way to capture that person’s voice through rich media. Put a flip cam in the table in the breakroom and ask the salesperson some questions – “What is the most common question you get asked?” or “What questions do you wish our customers asked you?” can generate fascinating “vlogs.” Even a quick audio recording using a microphone or headset can do the trick.

4. Mobilize a team

Unless you are a sole practitioner or an executive blogging for the sake of your own reputation, payday or thought leadership, chances are writing for the company blog is not your only job. Find a team who can help you, and get buy-in from the top to support everyone’s involvement. A monologue is rarely as compelling as a conversation or symphony of voices and perspectives.

5. Do what you do

When you create your team, do not limit it to your peers in communications. A favorite client of mine mobilized his school’s whole staff to post on their education blog. Everyone can bring a unique perspective. Some of the most popular posts are photo-driven, created by the school’s facilities and maintenance manager showing events across campus. If your goal is to highlight the rich talent at your organization, allowing them to talk about their passions in relation to your industry and individual roles is a great starting point.

6. Come packing

Rich blogs full of photography, infographics, videos and graphics do not just happen. Arm yourself with the gadgets you need to capture the moment when inspiration strikes. A flip cam, digital camera and smart phone are all helpful and affordable.

You do not have to be an expert to produce blog content. If the content is thoughtful and compelling, it counts. If you have access to a design team or some skills of your own, enrich your verbiage with imagery.

7. Make it recognizable

Not just any old blog will do. It is getting easier every day to create customized and branded blogging platforms. If you know enough about the web or HTML to be dangerous, you can tweak colors, add logos and imagery templates and designs. Template libraries like Themeforest can help you on your way.

8. Simplicity & SEO

One of the most common questions I hear from my interactive marketing clients is how to keep a corporate website interesting and the content timely. Often times, competing priorities of an organization or the complexity of your corporate site technology prevent communicators from changing it up. A blog can be simpler to use and involve fewer hoops to jump. Google sees the recency of content and gives value to fresh stuff. Blogs today typically have all kinds of built-in SEO-friendly features like the ability to manipulate title tags, URL structures and heading tags.

9. Make it sharable

In a social world, the best stuff gets shared. Plug-ins and widgets like Topsy, Share This or AddThis, paired with other direct interaction opportunities like Facebook or Linked In “Like” buttons, make it easy to pass along great ideas or stories.

10. Create a voice

While communicators today often advocate for a clearly articulated brand voice, not everyone in the C-suite sees value in talking to your customers in a casual, non-journalistic or even friendly tone on your corporate site. A blog by nature is often more conversational and meant to elicit commentary and discussion. Writing about issues and trends affecting your industry, great corporate social responsibility initiatives or community action can often allow for more freedom – and more fun for those who are blogging.

Crystal Olig is an online content and digital marketing professional at Oxiem, an interactive marketing agency in Columbus, Ohio. She serves as the New Professionals Section Mentorship Liaison and is on the University Liaison committee locally, working with future PR pros through the Central Ohio PRSA chapter.

2011 Blog Chair Introductions

January 11, 2011Heather 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

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

July 23, 2010July 26, 2010New Professionals PR Blog Leave a comment

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.