Category: public relations

Mallory Boulware

I found out, despite the fight I put up getting one, that Twitter is not as bad as I thought. It can actually be a quite helpful tool for getting information about events and simply networking with people. Twitter is a good way to get your name out there for people to see. Another thing it is good for is increasing your visivbility on search engines. Things like Twitter and PROpen Mic can help you boost your name to the top of the list.

Matthew Caudill

“Keep your eyes and ears on the news.  Reading and watching it can help your write for print and broadcast, not to mention it’s just a good idea to know what’s going on in the world.  The podcast “Wait Wait!…  Don’t tell me!” and it’s lightning round revealed to me how little news I’m actually aware of!”

Emmanuel Colon

“Invisibility: Many of the things you write may not be published under your name. Your goal is to be published and get your name out among clientele networks, but the public may never know a piece you’ve written. Knowing this, you should write in a manner that keeps your identity hidden.”

Noelle Cottom

“The importance of editing and checking your work before publishing or posting. I now realize the importance of editing and checking your work. It looks really bad to post or write anything that has spelling and grammatical errors. I also realize that it is so important to make sure you have all your facts right, before writing or posting anything! Nothing will ruin your career as a writer faster than posting inaccurate information. People will discredit you, and it’s really hard to bounce back after that.”

Erin Hertha

“E-mail subject lines should be STRAIGHT to the point. Journalists have a lot to do in their every day lives.  They get sent so many stories a day and do not have time to fiddle with spam in their e-mails or other things that may waste their time.  So it is important to have a catchy, short subject line.  This way, you can grab the attention of the journalist, and they do not delete your e-mail before even reading it.”

Rena Koziek

“Contact List: I was given an assignment within this class called a Contact List. As I was putting all of it together, I realized the amazing benefit this could have for you and your company that you are working with. This helps organize and create a specific list of important media contact within the area that is relevant to your company. In case something happens all of the information is ready to go at you fingertips!”

Lisa McLaughlin

“Twitter- I created my first Twitter account and learned some of the proper ways to use Twitter.  Contrary to what I previously thought, Twitter is supposed to be used for so much more than status updates.  It can be an extremely valuable source of information, whether that be breaking news,helpful articles, or upcoming events.  There are even resources to help people find jobs and network with others in their area.  The most important things that I learned with Twitter is that it is all about who you follow.  If you follow interesting tweeters, professionals in the field you hope to go into, and people who have generally interesting tweets, you will have a good Twitter experience.  If not, it will probably be less than par.”

Tara Parker

“The most important thing that I’ve learned in my PR class is that networking is everything in PR.  The more connections you have and the more your name is out there the better off you will be.  PR is a lot about building relationships and the bigger your networking circle the more people you will have to help you out when you need it.”

Danielle Suarez

“Proofread, Proofread, Proofread!!!- You can never proofread too much. Look over your releases, and articles ten times, and then let someone else look it over as well. If there are mistakes, you will lose credibility, and confidence in your co-workers and the community. You never want to look stupid just because you didn’t take the extra time.”

Shelly White

“Always provide follow-up. After you meet a potential client, or have an interview, send a handwritten note. This shows high character, integrity, and will set you apart from the rest.”

In my Public Relations Applications course at Southeastern University this semester, my students blogged about the Top Ten Takeaways from this introductory course. It’s always interesting seeing the diversity of thought in what stood out to each student. Below, I highlight excerpts showing several students’ thoughts.

Jared Coats

“Commenting – Although I am usually a quiet individual, I have never had a problem expressing myself and my opinions. This class thought me that the same should also be applied to commenting on blogs. In Professor Nixon’s interview with Kneale Mann, Mr. Mann stated, “the price of admission is contribution,” concerning blogging and commenting. I thought this was a great statement.”

Molly Dodd

“Proofread x12 You can never proofread too much. Look over your releases and articles ten times, and then let someone else look it over as well. If there are mistakes, you will lose credibility, and [the] confidence [of] your co-workers and the community.”

Amanda Furmage

“Finding my way: After taking this class and taking Kneale Mann’s advice I started finding my way. I really enjoyed writing about public relations issues that were occurring in the world of sports, dedicating most of my PR connections posts to baseball, football, and basketball. Because of this, I have been looking up possible careers and internships with professional sports teams.”

Rob Goetsch

“Interviewing: I was able to interview a Public Relations professional this semester, and it was really enlightening. I learned a lot about Public Relations that I did not know prior to the interview. This was an awesome opportunity to learn not only interviewing skills, but also how to speak with someone in such a “high up” position. Being a student has a lot of perks, and one of my favorites is that I always have access to some great leaders and professionals simply because I have an “assignment” due.”

Tiana Holding

“Enjoy your work: It is very important that you enjoy what you’re doing and that you especially enjoy writing. If you don’t enjoy it, you probably won’t go far. On top of that, you’re going to be miserable everyday.”

Brianna Huisinga

“Have a set of ethics already in place before entering the workforce. If you already know what you believe in and feel comfortable with, it makes it much easier to make a quick decision when dilemmas arise.”

“Buy the domain for [your company]sucks.com. It sounds funny, but you’ll want to snatch it up before someone else does and starts tearing apart your company. You might also want to purchase die[yourcompany].com and ihate[yourcompany].com.”

Jen Molitor

“Relationships and contacts are important to make and to keep. You have to initiate contacts and nurture the relationships. Eventually you will get to the point where you don’t pitch a story anymore but just have conversations about stories.”

“To be an effective communicator, a person must have basic knowledge of: what constitutes communication and how people receive messages, how people process information and change their perceptions, and what kinds of media and communication tools are most appropriate for a particular message.”

Shelly White

“Become educated in the world of social media. FaceBook. FourSquare, and Twitter are just a few of the essential social media tools in the field of Public Relations. Learning about these tools and using them successfully is important, and will open up new educational doors as well as providing new connections.”

COMM 4333 Spring 2010 Students Only

For your final exam in COMM 4333, we’ll do something a little non-traditional. Create a list of the ten most important things that you learned in our class, and explain why these things are important. Be sure to touch on a variety of the topics we covered in COMM 4333; the only required topic to discuss is the importance of AP Style.

This exam (as noted on your syllabus) is worth 10% of your grade in the class.

Format (your choice)

• Write a blog post of ~500 words
• Create a PowerPoint & upload it to SlideShare (should have at least 7 slides, with detailed notes in the Notes panel). Embed the SlideShare slides into your blog.
• Create a podcast (audio recording) using Utterli or Podbean (should be ~5-10 minutes long). Embed the audio into your blog.
• Create a video & upload it to YouTube (should be ~5-10 minutes long). Embed the audio into your blog.

DUE: No later than Tuesday, May 4, at 1:50 pm. Submit the URL of the specific blog post in BlackBoard.

NOTE: Since our final is completed using an online method, do not physically come to class for the final.