TOW 9 advice on blogs

1. Blog often- Blogging often keeps you updated along with follows on whats going on with people you follow.
2. Add pictures- This makes for an interesting blog to read
3. Hyperlink- This makes it easy for people to access websites easy and quick
4. Comment on others blogs- This allows for the further viewing of your own blog.
5. Focus- Make sure your writing stays on subject. This is easier to read.
6. Categorize- Categorize your subjects so people can pick and choose what they want (people like choosing).
7. Stay current- Write on issues that are happening now so it is fresh on the mind’s of readers.
8. Change your theme- Doing this will keep people curious about what is next.
9. Ask questions- Doing this allows for people to respond back to your blog, creating followers.
10. Give social media site- Doing this allows for people to see what other writing you may be doing. Also creates common interest relationships

Favorite youtube post

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dDnrLv6z-mM

I play football here at georgia southern, so i love to compete. I always love hearing inspirational stories about competition. This video shows the true courage of a man and love for his son. I promise after watching this you will be moved.

TOW 8 annoying PR people

I found ten ways that PR professionals annoy journalists on http://tajanicole20.wordpress.com/2010/04/15/10-ways-pr-practitioners-can-drive-a-journalist-crazy/.

PR pros and journalists have to work together. Alot of times it is smooth, but their are some ways that a PR person can drive a journalist crazy.

1. Problem- PR practitioners tend to not have enough information on a subject, and can leave a journalists with limited information to edit and send in.

Solution- Educate yourself with the right information so you can provide the journalists with the right information for their story.

2. Problem- Journalists think that PR practitioners have no idea on what is newsworthy.

Solution- Find a journalists that is willing to help you decide what is newsworthy and not. Also, compare what you have said with things in the news.

3. Problem- PR pros use hype words that make them sound imcompetent to journalists.

Solution- Just state the facts, don’t use hype words. Journalists get paid to write let them hype things up.

4. Problem- Journalists think that PR people twist their story to fit their agenda.

Solution- Just provide what is their in the story not what you want to hear or see.

5. Problem- PR people are never available for journalists. Journalists say PR people are hard to get ahold of and rarely have comments.

Solution- Work with the journalists and make yourself available. This will encourage the journalist to write a better story.

6. Problem- Journalists find that PR people have little regard for their deadlines.

Solution- As a PR person, be cautious and considerate of the journalist deadline. Also, be sure to actually give them some part of the story early in advance.

7. Problem- PR people call journalist too much.

Solution- Call once and ask to be called back. If it is important enough the journalist will call you back.

8. Problem- PR people give to many gifts to get their story published.

Solution- Simply dont provide them. Let the story speak for itself.

9. Problem- PR people are seen as over accessive.

Solution- Dont email and fax too much about why your story is not published. Just wait for an answer.

10. Problem- PR people do not provide the meat of the story to the journalist.

Solution- Do not be wordy just say what needs to be said and leave it at that.

Make Europe an educational and fun trip

ce00363 said,
July 11, 2010 at 11:58 pm

This is an experience you will remember forever. I went to Europe last summer and I enjoyed it immensely. I went their for vacation, but came back alot more educated than I had planned. I saw many different types of cultures all in one city, Rome. That city was crawling with different types of people, languages, and cultures. I did not even have to try to learn. Being their was enough for me. I was overwelmed sometimes with the things I was viewing, but it was all well worth it. So with that said, take in as much as possible and do not be afraid to ask questions. One more thing dont drink too much (its easy to do). Enjoy yourself

Dont FLUFF!!!

July 11, 2010 at 11:53 pm

Once again I am left happy with one of your post. I especially love your first problem and solution. Noone likes fluff. It is useless information and information that can be left out of writing. You can make your main points and good information without using “fluff.” This makes it harder to read actually and makes writers seem not as educated. Also, writers that do insert words that are useless are not viewed as good writers. Doing this makes it seem as if you are just getting by by the minimum. Great post once again. Enjoy Paris!!

Stay focused

Your comment is awaiting moderation.

July 11, 2010 at 11:48 pm
I really liked what you had to say about focus. This is true with any type of letter, blog, or post. I can not stand reading things that bounce around and are not on topic. In otherwords, I can’t stand reading unfocused material. Do not write just to write. Write to enlighten and present ideas that others could learn from. This is accomplished by focused writing. Even today in college, alot of the text we have to read is not focused writing and it makes it hard to learn. I love not only this part of your post, but the entire entry as well.

Something new everyday

This was great to see. I had a graduate from G.S.U. come speak to our class about what she does everyday as a PR professional. Everyday was different. Yes, she did the normal everyday busy work, but there was something more challenging everyday that she said, “kept me loving my job.” The opportunity for boredom just does not seem like it is there in this profession. This was great to see because it was confirmation on what the lady had to say. I am a huge fan of new and exciting tasks to try and tackle. With that said I am excited to finish my college career and embark on my professional one.

Differences, where learning really happens.

ce00363 Says:
Your comment is awaiting moderation. July 11, 2010 at 7:35 PM
I could not have said it better myself. This is an example of what you said about presenting new ideas. You hit the nail on the head when you said “blogs allow us to see the differences that exist.” I did not think about that until I read yours. I have always thought that blogs brought people together with a common interest when actually they allow people to view what other people really think. I appreciate people’s opinions and especially different ones than my own. It is from difference of opinion that learning takes place at the highest level. Difference of opinions allow for mind stimulation and learning. This was a mind changer for me, and I appreciate that. What a great post.

Reply

Twitter. Not just a friend finder.

on July 11, 2010 at 7:28 pm

I completely agree with this. I did not have twitter before, but I always thought that it was just another social site. I love how you can find information and answers from educated practitioners. It is nice to know that there is one site out there that is made to help people find answers to things. One point that I really love about twitter is that it brings people that are in common together and that leads to intellectual conversation. Yes, twitter is a social networking site but one that has many educational opportunities to be found out. This is a great post and one that I feel the same way about.

About SMNR’s

Throughout this summer semester we have learned a lot about what PR practitioner does. This job entitles many things. One of the most important jobs they perform is making social media news releases. These news releases are one of many that can be done. They are viewed online so they have the ability to make very large impacts. They represent one of the jobs that a practitioner does and that is to get something promoted, advertised, or heard. According to our book Public Relations Writing and Media Techniques, a social media news release is a very basic element in any publicity plan. These can raise awareness and have a huge impact on decision making. SMNR’s let the public know when something new is happening or is coming out. It is short and straight to the point. Two websites I have found to be very helpful are www.briansolis.com and www.pitchengine.com. The first website offers advice on how to put together a social media news release while the other provides examples of top notch social media news releases. These websites are great because they give you a chance to write one and then judge it compared to ones that are written very well.
After reading about these releases, I have arrived at some advantages myself, and also will provide advantages from other sources. Social media news releases have a very big advantage when trying to pitch something to someone. That is they are very inexpensive. Once you have a website up and running it is not expensive to post social media news releases. Another advantage is that these releases are not long and entertain the reader for the whole release. In doing this, the reader does not get bored or tired of reading. According to Public Relations Writing and Media Techniques Vice President of Marketwire, Paolina Milana, said that, “Social media releases are generally formatted so information is easy to scan, utilizing bullets and lists of ready-made quotes instead of dense text.” Also, social media news releases take advantage of using images, hyperlinks, and providing websites so the reader can access them easily. This accessibility for readers makes the news release that much more effective and easy for them to retain the information they have read. These advantages are easy to master and vital in a PR practitioner’s life. The ability to do these things are key components to the success of their job or project.
While social media news releases are great, there are some disadvantages. The first is the same exact first advantage I stated earlier. Because the releases have to be short, you cannot be too wordy. The last thing you want to do is be too wordy and your readers get bored and not finish reading your release. Journalists, buyers, and prospects want to read these releases in a matter of seconds. This is a big disadvantage, but one that needs to be worked around. Another big disadvantage of social media news releases is that there is no confidentiality. The personal information that goes on a social media news release could be used to harm someone or a whole company.
PR practitioners should use social media news releases when they want to promote a big event. Another time they should use it is when they want to send it to a lot of websites. When they send it to websites the probability of having more readers is greater than selecting a few people to email it to. This is a great example of a social media news release http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/chevrolet-volt-freedom-drive-to-celebrate-newest-launch-markets-97595984.html. Also, on this site Chevrolet has given tags you can click on to access more social media news releases. This makes it very reader friendly and easy to navigate.
After learning about social media news release I have some tips I would like to share.
- Be aggressive in your writing
- Write with conviction
- Use bullets to get main points to stand out
- Write short sentences
- Make sure to make it entertaining
- Use a social media news release as a marketing tool
- Send to the appropriate websites.
Learning about these releases has made me a more efficient writer. Being able to write good ones will set you apart from the pack of writers.