Geeze. It's Freezing but I'm Having too Much Fun.

This is officially the start of homecoming weekend of my senior year of college. I'm pretty excited because I get to spend this weekend with my best friends. Dancing, going to the football game and attending the parade. Yeah, this will be fun...Wait...

Oh, Ada weather you have disappointed me again. You tease me. Hot the weekend that's not busy and then the weekend things are actually happening you turn your temperature down. This is ridiculous. I literally went to Express this past weekend to get new outfits that were designed somewhat for warm weather. Now you have turned the temperature down to 39 degrees. Ridiculous.

But, that does not stop me from wearing my new skirt and designer heels. I will enjoy my new outfits whether rain, snow or hail. I don't care. I am going to enjoy this year even if you, Ada, make the weather awful. So, I am going to go and enjoy this homecoming weekend. Have a good weekend everyone! I know I will :)

Yeah. We're Legit.

Yes, we're a small group of public relations students located in Ada, Ohio. However, just because we're small doesn't mean we don't do legit stuff. Take a look:

We're nationally accredited, determined and hardworking. We've won national campaigns, have a national officer and travel to large cities. We network, we blog and we strategize. Our chapter is PR savvy and we want you to join! 

- PRSSA for me has been a huge influence in real-world experience and has truly prepared me for the job market. 

No. This is Not a Rock Concert But Good Guess.

Yeah. My sister crowd 'sources.'

Crowd sourcing. I am sure those who don't know what crowd sourcing is would say crowd sourcing is similar to crowd surfing. As my group member and I presented our PowerPoint presentation about crowd sourcing to the class she could not stop saying crowd surfing. I knew my group member understood crowd sourcing's definition. However, I thought that maybe some people would really think that the two words were similar in meaning.

Crowd sourcing is basically getting feedback and ideas from people through various social media and online sites. This is very beneficial seeing that this can save a company time and money because they do not need to hire a marketing researcher to gather ideas. Instead, the company can gather ideas quickly by asking a random sample of people who will put their opinions online for a lesser cost, and as long as the company includes a small incentive.

Getting people's feedback or ideas would probably be most effective through Twitter. Tweeting has become so popular and the time to tweet is instantaneous. People will be willing to give feedback or ideas in 140 characters or less. In Realtime Marketing & PR the book gave an example about the Superbowl and how they ran a competition on Twitter to see which commercial was the best. There were thousands of tweets and the campaign was successful.

So, the next time you think about marketing strategies and how to develop an idea you may want to consider the general public as your brainstorming group. Consider them because you can save time, money and effort.

* Other sites you can use include Facebook, SurveyMonkey and Wikipedia.

So You Want to Make Bank?

Wanting to make a little extra cash through your blog? Well, according to a blog posted on Technorati  the way to make money is by following these three steps:

1.) Develop a niche for your blog- focus on a topic that is marketable and is something worth reading. That way people will want to subscribe to your blog.

Example: I really enjoy travel and tourism and would like to write a travel blog or a Disney blog. I know that both of these topics are of high interest to a large audience.

2.) Develop an ad placement strategy- you need to be able to decide which ads you want on your page. Make sure that these ads apply to your blog topic so that the ads are something that your readers will actually look at.

Example: If I have a travel blog I would try to get airline, hotel, attractions and dining ads onto my page.

3.) Search for Advertisers- sometimes you need to find the advertisers. They aren't just going to come to your blog. You have to decide what you want posted on your blog page. To find advertisers the blog suggests that you should look at Facebook, Twitter, Google and other social media and search engine tools.

* Personally, I would look at Google first seeing that they are the world's largest search engine. Then I would move onto the social sites.

As bloggers, to get a little extra cash in your bank you basically need to research opportunities for advertising and think of what will attract a person to your page. This is just like marketing. You need to be able to sell what you're blogging.

"I Can Show You the World"

 As a senior, I have come to the decision that I want to go into travel and tourism public relations post graduation. I have also decided I would particularly like to work for Disney and to be able to travel. I know that to work for a company of Disney's stature you have to network. On Thursday I attended PRSSA's speed networking event which included four bright professionals. I was pretty excited when I heard we were doing speed networking again. However, not one of the four professionals at the networking event had any background in travel and tourism. But, that did stop me from making connections.

Lora Deeds was so helpful in helping me find someone who has been in the travel industry for years. Although she has been working for software and web design companies she was still so enthusiastic about my decision to work in the tourism field. After learning about what she does for her company and telling her about my experiences and goals she had a connection for me in Columbus. I was pretty excited because the woman that she referred me to had been working in travel and tourism for several years. After talking with Lora about her friend, I am even more excited about graduating.

When graduation does approach I feel I am ready to take on a job in travel and tourism. PRSSA has definitely prepared me not only in the job market, but also for real-life situations. You have to be able to have those interpersonal skills and be willing to take a chance. Even though someone may not have the same interests as you they may know someone who does. So don't be afraid to talk to someone about your goals and dreams. Sometimes they are the ones who have the connections and advice you need.

The Not So Glamorous Fortune 500.

After reading chapter five of Real Time Marketing & PR I am a little shocked that so many companies are not keeping up-to-date with current media trends. When David emailed 100 companies and only received 28 responses back I couldn't believe this. I figured most larger companies would be riding the social media and blogging bandwagon.

If I were a company, I would try to keep up with the times. The Internet is the most powerful form of communication between people. People enjoy expressing their self-interests and opinions on the web. Blogging has become so popular I can't imagine why a company wouldn't track what other people are saying about them.

The example about how Boeing recovered (they immediately responded to the blog and made a children's policy) from a father's blog about how his eight-year-old son drew a plane and sent the picture to Boeing only to have the picture rejected, is a great example of how companies should be monitoring customer feedback. A company should have a team of experts monitoring what is being published on the Internet.

So, if a company wants to keep a respectable reputation they must track blogs and other social media outlets. I wouldn't want my company to get a bad reputation just because there are people out there who are going to criticize or complain about a product or service because of one bad experience. You have to be prepared to deal with things like this so you can build relationships with your audience and customers.

Watch for Those Pesky Bloggers.

In a recent blog on Technorati the blogger claims that PR agencies are afraid of bloggers. Agencies are afraid because some bloggers aren't telling the truth or are misrepresenting agencies' work. To an extent I would have to agree that you do need to monitor some bloggers' posts. However, I do not feel that all bloggers are going to give negative feedback on agencies' blogs/comments.

If you look at the blogs on Technorati, I feel some are pretty reliable. However, I did read a blog written by a person who has been in PR for "94" years. As PR professionals we know that this man has to be lying. A 94-year-old man would not be blogging about advertising and PR. 

After reading this blog I have concluded that PR agencies do need to be weary about who is writing about the latest trends or commenting on blog posts because not every blogger is going to be truthful. That is when you have to build trust in readers. We are the ones who have to differentiate between a reliable blogger and one who thinks they know everything when they don't. I was definitely able to differentiate between blogs that know PR, and blogs that are trying to just reel you into a fabricated story. We just need to be smart and use good judgement to differentiate between these blogs.

Beer Craft Booths, Potbelly Pigs and Kettle Corn. Yep. I'm in Ada.

I know I'm from the country when I am reminded of my younger days during the Harvest and Herb Festival (HHF) in Ada, Ohio. Those who grew up in the city probably don't know what a true country festival is or understand why people go to these functions. Well I really enjoy festivals like the HHF because of the food, people, craft booths and animals.

There is nothing more delicious than fair food. I really enjoy working out and attempting to eat healthy, but kettle corn and carmel bananas with nuts are my true weaknesses. I was able to enjoy these tasty treats as I walked down Main Street this morning with a couple of my close friends.

When I go to these festivals I always make sure to go with a couple friends. Always bring your close girlfriends because craft shopping can get boring if you're doing this alone. Not only do I enjoy my friends company when shopping around these small festivals, but I also enjoy the people. Growing up in a small town you get to know everyone. I really like this atmosphere because you make really close friends and everyone is so nice. However, there is one downfall of getting to know everyone. When you live in a small town everybody will know your business. So, don't do anything you wouldn't want your folks to know. I actually saw a kid at a craft booth today that hit a woman in the head with a football. Definitely something you don't want your momma to know.

After watching that kid hit the woman in the head at the craft booth I figured I'd better walk away and look at other things. As I walked away I found the perfect redneck booth. The people had miscellaneous signs about beer, housewives and football. Yep, typical country life for you. Nothing to do except drink beer, watch football and cook in the house. Just the life I want (sarcasm) except I want plenty of animals as well.

The animals that I want to have are a miniature pony and a potbelly pig. I actually got to see both when I went to the HHF today. I love potbelly pigs so much. They are adorable. Although, I don't think one could live in the city which is where I plan on living one day.

So, yes. HHF has brought back some fond memories of my country days but I think the change to the city is going to be nice when I graduate in May.

                                                      

Loving Me Some Viral Videos.

After reading about viral videos and podcasting I went to Youtube and watched a few videos. I can't believe some of the videos that are posted on this site. However, one really stuck out to me. The viral video that stuck out to me most was an ad for SmartWater. The video included Jennifer Aniston trying to promote SmartWater by trying to find the best candidate for making SmartWater go viral. The candidates were all viral videos. However, the ad didn't stick out to me because there was a ton of humor. The ad stuck out to me because of the uniqueness and how the video pertains to what we read in The New Rules of Marketing & PR chapter eight.  The video:

1. Used a well known celebrity- This catches consumers attention.
2. Created buzz for fun and profit- SmartWater ran a campaign and succeeded in the online market.
3. It was all about the timing of the video- When this video came out there were many popular viral videos including ones with puppies, a singing boy named Keenan and dancing animated babies.

When a video for a company goes viral, researchers must do an enormous amount of research and campaigning to try and make the video stand out amongst others. They must also know the best time to market to potential audiences and they must know what will get audience's attention.

We may think that creating a viral video is an easy task, but this is far from true. Creating a viral video takes much time and effort. From the dumbest video to the most serious video, you need to have a plan of action.

'Script Kiddies' and Other Hackers.

Today marks 10 years since 9/11. We will never forget this day and the people affected by this. United We Stand. However, some don't respect our country. They hack into Twitter accounts and post inappropriate tweets that are not funny and cause panic. Public relations professionals realized this was a huge crisis situation and needed to be fixed.

Two days ago, a group of hackers called the 'Script Kiddies' hacked into NBC's Twitter account and tweeted that an airliner had hit Ground Zero in NYC. This is a pretty sickening joke and the media should know how to handle these types of situations. NBC handled the situation very well. They immediately contacted Twitter and had the account temporarily shut down as they fixed the situation. On the news they apologized for any panic these hackers might have caused and are fixing the problem. 

As public relations professionals I feel that we need to be prepared for these types of situations. NBC's way of handling the hacked Twitter account is a great example of how we need to handle crisis situations. Telling the truth and resolving the issue is the No. 1 way of keeping the public's trust. Keeping things hidden would have only caused panic and an uproar. 

Week 3? More like Week 26.

So, we are at getting ready to begin week four of classes. Not too bad right? I mean we are almost  halfway through the quarter. Wait, I forgot we don't have a 10 week schedule. We now have a 16 week schedule. Ridiculous. I can already tell you I miss the quarter system and this is why:

Week three agenda: Exam, Exam, Exam. 

Week four agenda: Exam. 

Class Monday through Friday and 12 more weeks of torturous exams. 

I really do like ONU, but this semester transition is really making me crazy. This may be do to the fact I haven't had a class since February, but I feel like the workload for semesters is a little much. This year, every class requires a large project. I know this is really going to help us get hands-on experience but I just don't know how one can handle large projects, exams, student organizations, quizzes and an internship all at the same time. I feel like this is impossible. The workload is too much and I am just ready to graduate. Ready to enter the working world and ready to get these ridiculous exams over with. 

I'm ready to say goodbye to ONU and I'm ready to move to the big city. Hello Columbus! 

Listening Only Makes You the Better Person.

After reading Marketing in the Groundswell, I now realize as a marketer listening is the best thing you can do to build a relationship with someone else. So many marketers do the research but get nothing in return because they didn't necessarily listen to what the customers had to say.

In one section of 'Listening to the Groundswell', they discussed ways to help you succeed better in listening to the groundswell. Here were the tips discussed:

1. Check how active your customers are with social technologies. (very true if you're marketing to an older generation.)

2. Start small, think big. I agree that market research and listening can get very expensive so start with one product to listen to and then work your way up.

3. Make sure your listening vendor has an experienced team to your effort. You don't want someone who can't listen monitoring your consumers. So, you need experienced marketers who know what consumers want and need.

4. Choose a senior person to interpret the information.  After extensive listening and compiling mass amounts of feedback, you'll want someone who can read the information you have attained and give feedback to your workers. So, making sure someone who has been with the company a long time should now the products and consumers well.

So, to be successful when listening to your consumers through social media practices one most take into consideration the consumers wants and need and the company must focus strongly on the information gathered. You can listen to someone all you want, but if you don't process this information that they are giving you your company will not be successful. Thus, losing loyal customers and sales.

So, Who Are You Again?

When you add a friend to a social media site you realize that this person is much different than you expected. Well, maybe it's because that friend isn't the same person online.

A recent blog posted on Mashable claims that when a person uses various social media sites such as Facebook or LinkedIn personalities tend to become tailored to that Web site. From personal experience I agree to an extent. My personality on Facebook and LinkedIn are totally different. Yet, that doesn't mean that I am a different person because of this. It just means I express my interests differently depending on which site I'm using. When on Facebook I express my personal interests to my friends and when on LinkedIn I express my professional interests to potential employers just like every other user using these sites. So yes, our personalities do change but they do change in every day life too depending on who you are around. So why does the article claim market researchers need to do extensive research on which social media outlets to use when targeting a certain market?

The blog also says that marketers aren't sure which medium to use when marketing a product to certain groups. Well, they are people too aren't they? They need to think about which medium they would use when expressing certain interests. Is the product more for professional settings, are there special interests groups on Facebook about the product or service, or would you think Twitter would be better to reach a larger market?

So basically, I think that you cannot say that this generation has multiple personalities due to the increased number of social media sites. We have always had multiple personalities in every day life situations. The way we talk to a stranger at the grocery is going to be different than when we're talking to our best friend. People change. It's human nature. We are the only ones who truly know ourself. Everyone else only gets a third of our story.

Too Hot for September.

So when did September in Ohio decide to have 98 degree weather?

The past couple days my roommate and I have been suffering from extreme sweating and sneezing  due to the fact that :

1. We have no air conditioning in our ancient house. 

2. We are on the second floor and we all know hot air rises. 

3. My fan is not strong enough to even make my room slightly cool. 

4. My allergies are ridiculous because the hot weather is making the pollen count severe. 

I really hope that the next few days will be cooler (70s would be perfect). I never thought living conditions could be so miserable until we moved into our house. The house itself is ok, but our windows are open at all times and I still don't feel this helps our situation at all. 

Whenever I take a shower I still feel sticky and gross. The steam in the bathroom adds a nice touch to this stickiness. Why is there so much steam? Well, in our bathroom we have a fan (except it's crappy) and the bathroom size itself is insanely small. You can brush your teeth and use the restroom at the same time. Yes, I know. Awkward. 

So, I would advise everyone before you purchase a house make sure you have air conditioning. Especially those with severe allergies like me. I can't stop sneezing and my eyes water profusely every night. This is not fun to wake up to each morning. You can't taste your food and you're miserable in your classes all day. So, for those college students considering buying/renting a house in the future remember one thing. Air conditioning will make you and your roommates lives so much better. My roommate and I had to find out the hard way.