May 19, 2012

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Dear Graduating Communications Major:

April 3, 2012 By Marion Myers Leave a Comment

First off, congratulations for completing your studies and choosing an exciting career path.

While I hold a firm belief that your undergraduate years should be about learning what it is you WANT to learn, in this job market, you NEED to have specific skills and experience to even get your foot in the door.

I meet graduating communications majors every spring , to give them a chance to interview, learn a little about the industry, and to get some guidance on how to proceed. With few exceptions, these students are coming out with little if any experience and limited skills to contribute to a PR or Marketing firm.  I’d prefer to hire a philosophy major with leadership experience and some workable skills than a Phi Beta Kappa Communications Major without it.

What I look for in an entry-level communications employee:

  • Experience:  Event and festival volunteers, fraternity/sorority event planners, bloggers, amateur video or web developers, college paper editors, college radio hosts, and other leadership roles.
  • Practical skills:  Good written communication skills (first and foremost), the ability to edit, social media use to spread the word about your pet project or organization (not just familiarity with your personal Facebook page), photography, videography, HTML, graphic design, web design, etc. Certainly not all of these, but SOME of these.
  • Basic computer skills including Microsoft Office Suite.
  • Bonus computer skills: Adobe InDesign, Illustrator, Photoshop, Fireworks, and even WordPress.

If you are looking for an internship, consider what area you are most interested in pursuing. Is it sports marketing, festival and event planning, healthcare PR, public affairs, media relations, crisis communications, community relations, or online marketing?  You have lots of options.

Some ideas to beef up that resume:

  • Intern for one of your local elected officials.
  • Shadow a legislative aide.
  • Volunteer for a political campaign.
  • Volunteer at a polling site in November.
  • Write a guest column for a community newspaper.
  • Volunteer for community/charity events.
  • Work on the student newsletter/paper staff.
  • Intern with a local radio or cable TV station.
  • Maximize your scholastic or social leadership experience.
  • Start a blog about these experiences!

One last thought:
If you are not already, get on LinkedIn. AND, make sure your Facebook page is presentable to a potential employer.  Yes, we will cyber-stalk you.

Good luck!

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Professional Positioning – Part 2 of 2

October 12, 2011 By Marion Myers Leave a Comment

Last week we talked about a subject near and dear to the PR heart – professional positioning.  Remember to review your affiliations, participate, volunteer, and pursue a leadership role. Here are four more ways to position yourself for professional success:

  1. Go after awards – Many organizations offer awards for service to the group or to the community. Some organizations offer business excellence awards. Some recognize their top volunteers. Determine if you have the time and talent necessary to pursue one of these awards and go after it. It may take several years to position yourself or your business to be recognized, but well worth the commitment.
  2. Speak up – Seek out opportunities to speak. Nobody (at least most of us) craves public speaking, but it’s like exercise. The more you do the better you are at it. Speaking, leading seminars, and/or joining a panel of experts, will allow you to showcase your knowledge and raise your visibility as an expert in your field.
  3. Give – Not everyone has the time to volunteer, the personality for public speaking, or the required ramp up time to seek out and win awards. If you or your company can afford the investment, donate to or sponsor an activity for your organization.  Most organizations rely on the generosity of their members to keep the doors open and continue their work. Before you write a check, be sure that your organization properly recognizes donors and sponsor with visibility on their website, newsletter, and/or appropriate signage.
  4. Don’t be afraid to walk away – Again – review your affiliations. Ask yourself – Can I effectively “work” this organization? Is this organization working for me? If either answer is “no”, withdraw. There are myriad opportunities to get involved in something you enjoy, something that is meaningful to you and something that ultimately meets your needs. Don’t be afraid to withdraw and try something new.
Filed Under: Uncategorized

Professional Positioning – Part 1 of 2

September 28, 2011 By Marion Myers Leave a Comment

Enough about new technologies…. How about some good old fashioned professional positioning?

ARE YOU POSITIONED FOR SUCCESS?

  1. Review your affiliations – What organizations, clubs or groups are you a member of? Are you an involved member? It doesn’t do any good to just belong if you aren’t active in the organization. You need to work your memberships so they will work for you.  This can be done effectively in a number of ways:
  2. Participate – Attend events, join a committee, and get to know people who may need your services now or be able to refer you down the line.  People are naturally more apt to refer someone they have spent time with and know. Never underestimate the power of a personal referral.
  3. Volunteer - Choose a committee or task that you would enjoy spending some time doing.  This will allow you get to know other members better and allow you to showcase your skills. Think writing the newsletter vs. stuffing envelopes.
  4. Pursue a leadership role – Most organizations have levels of leadership – committee chairs, board of directors, etc. Talk with someone already in a leadership role and ask, what is the best way to advance within this organization. Leadership brings respect and visibility.

Next week we’ll talk about four more ways to position yourself for professional success. Stay tuned!

 

Filed Under: Uncategorized

Google Plus for Business – Not ready for Prime Time (yet!)

September 7, 2011 By Marion Myers Leave a Comment

Google + is a promising new addition to the Social Media toolbox. Why? It’s directly tied into the most widely-used search engine on the planet. Google+ is Google’s answer to Facebook.

In comparison to Facebook, Google+ will list employees and management as well as fans.  It will also be possible to add more than one location via Google Maps and Places.  This has huge potential for businesses, but we’ll have to wait a bit to try it out. At the moment, Google features for business pages are still in development.

Google is encouraging businesses to WAIT until they roll out their business section of Google + later this year.  They are actually shutting down business accounts that are masquerading as personal profiles.  They’re focusing on optimizing the consumer experience first – which really makes good sense.  It will be exciting to watch this all unfold!

Here is an interesting article detailing the future possibilities of your Google+ business profile: http://www.reelseo.com/google-plus-for-business/

Other good business tools to consider are LinkedIn and the LinkedIn Company Page.  We’ll take a look at these next.

Filed Under: Social Media, Uncategorized

How Does Google+ work

August 2, 2011 By Marion Myers Leave a Comment

The Google+ network is designed around a system of segregated social groups (called Circles) and lets users share information with specific groups within their network, rather than sharing with all their social connections as typically seen on Facebook. Circles make it easy to categorize your colleagues, your family (primary or extended, your choice) in another, and a separate circle for your “social” friends. You can segregate the information your share by circle. For example, I am happy to share my vacation photos with my family, but I really don’t need the world at large to know that I am not at home. This may also come as a relief to young job searches who would prefer not to have their weekend activities viewed by the person they are about to sit down and  interview with. You can set up as many or as varied circles as you like.  While facebook has recently heightened their privacy settings, allowing users to set up their own friend categories, the google+ interface for circles makes it much easier to share the right information with the right people.

Here’s a helpful article on how to navigate Google+.

Next up – Business and Google +

 

 

Filed Under: Uncategorized Tagged With: ,

Google+

July 15, 2011 By Marion Myers Leave a Comment

As a marketer, I am always on the lookout for the “next best thing” in communication technology. Recently, I was delighted to discover Google’s new social media platform Google+.  According to Google, Google+ is currently in a “limited field trial”, meaning only a small number of people can access it and, by invitation only.  As of their second day (July 13, 2011), the “limited field trial” quota had already been reached, with eBay sales for invitations being offered for up to $5 each! If you didn’t get on board for the first offering, you can sign up to get an email when Google+ is ready for everyone at  https://plus.google.com/welcome though there is no clear timeline on when that may be.

Next up – How Does Google+ work?

 

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Going the Digital Communications Route:

July 7, 2011 By Marion Myers Leave a Comment

Fun With QR Codes

 

The newest tool to enter the marketing mix is Quick Response (QR) codes, which have become increasingly visible. You see them in print ads, on the back of buses, on your ice cream containers and in store windows. Users with smart phones can scan the image and open mobile web content directly!

The opportunities are boundless, but marketers who lack understanding risk disappointing rather than engaging their  audience. A QR code that leads to a cumbersome company web site defeats the purpose – content will be delivered on the user’s tiny smart phone screen and must be both easy and rewarding to navigate and access. A more engaging and effective approach is to link to appropriate mobile web content that offers instant gratification such as a relevant video, an exclusive offer, or other more rewarding and mobile-adapted material. QR codes are our link from the physical to the mobile world, and content should be adapted accordingly.

These QR codes were used at Mazza Gallerie to entertain and engage the overnight line up for the Filene’s Basement Running of the Brides event. Two sided signs were placed along the waiting line route with links to wedding appropriate blog posts, fun quizzes, videos, and other Mazza Gallerie social and retail information. A captive audience. Message delivered. Facebook “likes” and Twitter followers increased dramatically overnight!

 

 

 

Filed Under: Social Media Tagged With: , ,

Going the Digital Communications Route:

June 29, 2011 By Marion Myers Leave a Comment

Why is Social Media Effective?

Social media is just what it sounds like. It’s a relationship. It’s a conversation with your audience. It’s a means of letting them know what is exciting, fun, informative or needed about what you have to offer. It’s also an invitation to your audience to participate. When executed effectively, it’s more interactive than traditional marketing tools like print, radio, TV advertising or direct mail.

Social media is also more flexible than traditional marketing tools and should be reactive as well. It’s not just about posting your message, link, or video and “job done”. It’s important to monitor responses so you can gauge the level of interest and tailor your messaging accordingly. It’s also very important to answer questions quickly so the conversation is fluid and two-way. For an example, you can refer to Reston Town Center’s FaceBook page at https://www.facebook.com/RestonTownCenter.

Filed Under: Social Media Tagged With: , ,

Going the Digital Communications Route:

June 22, 2011 By Marion Myers Leave a Comment

The Emergence of Social Media

Currently, one of the most popular non-traditional marketing channels is social media. Many companies are experimenting with FaceBook, Twitter, FourSquare, LinkedIn, Wikipedia, YouTube, Digg, Yelp, etc. These communication channels are cost effective compared to traditional marketing options. The challenge is in understanding HOW to use these tools and dedicating the time necessary to execute an effective campaign.

Social media is not something to be foisted off on a junior employee, or (horrors!) an unsupervised intern. It takes a carefully thought out plan, with story lines, calendar and editorial schedule. There should be plenty of thought put into what photos, video, and web links to include to keep it fresh and entertaining.

Once a plan is laid out, a less senior person can execute the postings but still need a supervisor to monitor responses and determine if the campaign is rolling out effectively. Get to know your audience as you post and adjust as needed to encourage interactions.

Filed Under: Social Media Tagged With: , , , , , , ,

Reaching a Multi-generational Demographic:

May 25, 2011 By Marion Myers Leave a Comment

This is the final installment of the three-part series, “Integrating Social and Traditional Media for an Effective PR Campaign.”

The tools: We are often asked why we need to integrate our Marketing with traditional as well as “New Media” – online advertising, Social Media, blogs and websites. We have to take into consideration a variety of audiences. While some people routinely gather information through television news casts, radio and the daily newspaper, many others rely on their lap tops and smart phones to get their news “fix”.

The message: It is also important to consider your target audience’s age when developing your message.  You have The Silent Generation, age 65 and older, The Baby Boomers, age 45-64, Generation X, age 30-44, and Generation Y or The Millennial Generation, age 20-29. Every generation has had a different life experience and communicates differently, so you need to create messages that resonate with your target generation/s. You can’t take a “one size fits all” approach.


Filed Under: Integrating Social and Traditional Media Tagged With: , , , , ,
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