CNN and Facebook Partner to Create an Interactive, Social Election

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Coverage of November's presidential election has already become a regularly reported topic for most news outlets. However, with the announcement of the partnering of CNN and Facebook to create the most "interactive and social" election experience the nation has ever seen, the excitement surrounding the campaign has sufficiently increased. This decision will undoubtedly get the nation more involved in the campaign and encourage those that do not normally pay much attention to tune in and voice their opinions on political matters.

In this agreement, both CNN and Facebook will benefit immensely. CNN has hit an all-time 21 year low in their ratings and have been awaiting the opportunity to converge their TV and digital presence for quite some time now. They have predicted that the 2012 Election will be both an efficient and seamless transition into this newly popular media outlet because it will unite CNN's on-air, mobile, and online audiences with Facebook's over 160 million US users. Facebook will see great profitability because they will now be equipped with sought-after date regarding the nation's political thoughts and feelings that political scientists and data collectors will be willing to attain for years to come.

The most influential aspect of this agreement is the new "I'm Voting" app that has been created. This application will allow users to show their support for certain candidates and voice opinions regarding various topics publicly on Facebook Timelines, news feeds, and the real-time ticker. CNN is hoping tht this will encourage others to participate that would not normally do so. 

Additionally, Facebook will soon begin to issue surveys to those users of voting-age in crucial US locations. These metrics will be measured and CNN will further break it down by specific state to state analysis. CNN hopes that this will increase the national exchange of ideas. Furthermore, they anticipate  that users will interact through the usage of  the "I'm Voting" app while various topics are being discussed on television which will ultimately make the election an entirely interactive experience for all.

Although I am not sure how I feel about having political surveys appear on my Facebook timeline, I can already foresee the heated discussions it will encourage among my outspoken Facebook friends. As a person who probably is not as in-tuned to the political world as I should be, this could be an extremely beneficial change. As Joel Kaplan, Facebook Vice President-U.S Public Policy stated, "Innovations like Facebook can help transform informational experience into a social one for the American people". With the impact social media has already proven to have on various campaigns, this partnership will indisputably change the way the nation regards political discussions leading up to a presidential election.

North Road Communications Update from Firm Director, Julie Moller

This past year was our very first as an established student-run PR firm at Marist. Our first year has been a great success; we ended the year with three clients in the Dutchess County community and successfully aided in the production of two client events. But now is the time to be thinking about how we can further our success. One of the challenges of starting up a student-run firm is figuring out what kinds of services can be offered to the client.

We could offer very minimal services during our first year because we had zero funding and almost no experience to work with. Many of us had yet to even have an internship in the PR field. This is why I look forward to the new school year. I think that with everyone’s resumes expanding and our experience in the PR field increasing, as a team we will be able to offer not only more services, but more valuable work.

My goal is that we take our internship experiences – the good, the bad, and the unglamorous – and implement those lessons into our playbook for North Road. I’m hoping that each returning member – and future members – of the firm will bring with them the valuable knowledge that they have gained at their respective internships this summer. Areas I know we can expand on are in perfecting a press release, use of a wider range of PR related programs such as Cision Point and even Photoshop, and how to interact with clients in all sorts of situations.

I’m looking forward to sharing what I’ve learned from my internship experience this summer as well as seeing what our firm members will be bringing to the table.

Twitter: Mixing professional and personal content

The Twitter logo, a songbird whose name is apparently Larry (true story: check it out), received a fabulous makeover in June. So why not give your own Twitter handle a makeover, too?

As young, soon-to-be PR pros, we should be keeping our social media sites up-to-date while adding a dash of our own personality. While Ragan.com offers company strategy 

 

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to tweet fresh and new content, I've adapted some of the suggestions to cater to college students in their quest to be ahead of the Twitter curve.

• Tweet interesting articles. If you read something worth sharing, tweet it. Sharing content that was produced by someone other than yourself shifts the focus; followers might be bored of solely reading your own content.
• Share resources. If you recently discovered a PR tool that is worth mentioning, let your followers know. If there's a new iPhone app that is useful, tell your followers about it.
• If you blog, share it. Tweet links to new blog posts, or even older ones, to share it with as many people as you can. Hence the reason we share these blog posts on our Twitter handle @MaristPRSSA, as well.
• Everyone loves inspirational quotes. So, if you've come across one that is relevant and uplifting, go right ahead and tweet it.
• Share industry news. Doing this alerts followers that you are up-to-date with all things PR.
• Link to industry blogs, or even ones you are interested in. Let followers in on where you receive information, PR-related or not. You can incorporate personal interests by sharing that witty, ever hilarious post on Thought Catalog.
• Answer questions. If you are following industry professionals or your favorite companies and they ask a question, engage them and answer it.
• Participate in #FF. Recently realized that #FF stands for 'Follow Friday' (I know, late in the game for me). Twitter is all about sharing content; if you follow a handle you think others should follow too, give them a shout out.
• Tweet your interests. This is what makes you unique. I have come to understand that while we need to maintain a professional Twitter handle, it is completely acceptable to let your personality shine through. Having the right combination of professional and personal tweets will be beneficial to all of your followers ranging from friends to industry professionals to professors.

These are a few ways to update your Twitter handle so your followers are constantly receiving fresh, new content. Can you think of other ways to be professional and personal on Twitter?

LinkedIn 101

There is no denying that our generation is extremely knowledgeable in terms of social media. However, I feel that I am still not completely positive how to best utilize LinkedIn and all of its features. Being that this social network is so incredibly valuable in regards to the future and possible job opportunities, it comes as no surprise that it is somewhat of a trickier platform to effectively utilize.

Undoubtedly, potential employers will one day glance at your LinkedIn accounts from time to time which is why I felt that everyone could use somewhat of a crash course in how to use it to its full advantage.

I have compiled information from various blogs and websites regarding LinkedIn and have came up with the following tips that I see to be most useful:

• Make your profile image a picture of just you.
• Using a picture in which you are in either a casual environment or surrounded by others makes you appear unprofessional.
• Your headline should be meaningful and say whatever it is that you want a potential employer to know about you.
• LinkedIn will automatically use your most recent employment. However, you have the ability to change it to say whatever you would like it to say.
• Make your summary go deeper than you normally would.
• Your entire profile puts your past experiences and expertise in black and white. Speak of a lifetime goal or an interesting skill you possess to make your page memorable.
• Become familiar with technical skills you possess.
• These key words are essential to have on your profile because it shows off your industry knowledge.
• Update your status periodically.
• Doing this makes others notice you, as well as shows your passion for staying up-to-date with current events.
• Change your URL from the default one given to a personalized one of your name.
• It looks more professional and you can easily include it in a resume or e-mail signature this way.
• Make your profile public.
• You want people to know when you have viewed their page and being completely visible allows potential employers to find you with no problem. 
• Get recommendations.
• Give to get. Write a recommendation for someone you truly admire in the workplace and hopefully they will return the favor.
• Join groups that pertain to your major of study.
• Just joining is not enough. Be sure to participate in discussions in order to get both your voice and presence out there.
• Finally, if you want to show up in searches done by potential employers, headhunters, or recruiters, you need connections (and lots of them)
• When a person like a potential employer does a search, people in their network show up first no matter what. This can be by either a group or direct connection. Therefore, unless you have a decent amount of connections, you are less likely to show up in searches and get noticed for hire.
• Basically, connect with as many people as you can! However, be cautious if you decide to add people that you do not actually know. If a person expresses that they do not know you, LinkedIn will then make you enter a person's e-mail every time you go to connect with them.

To read Hannah Morgan's full Youtern article, click here.

Being professional on social networks



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Marist grads are armed with education and experience to enter the professional world, diploma finally in hand. But do their online profiles look as presentable as their commencement gowns?

These days, employers are looking past resumes to make employment decisions. I'm sure everyone has heard about the controversy surrounding interviews in which candidates are asked to open their social media sites, including Facebook. Even if they're not asking, they are looking. It is just as easy, if not easier, to type in a candidate's name into a Google search to see what comes up. A few clicks later, judgement might have passed. And your chance was short lived and shot down by your online profiles.

My boss at my first internship, who happened to be the CIO, admitted that he had Googled my name even before my interview. A wave a relief ran through me when I realized I passed the I-Googled-your-name-and-you-still-got-the-position test. Even still, knowing he did Google me was nerve wracking; knowing someone is surfing the Internet to find out about you is, well, creepy. But the blatant fact is, I've put everything out there as fair game to be searched by future employers.

So what can you do? Use your online profiles to stand out in the sea of applicants and give employers a reason to take the next step and schedule an interview to meet you. The Savvy Intern offers a blog post by Brandon Manson including advice for not only recent college graduates, but also future grads in developing a professional social media persona.

Be sure to look presentable. Every social media profile has a picture of you: make sure it is a good one. And be sure to fill your profiles out completely especially your biographies. On Twitter, you have 140 characters to describe yourself professionally and uniquely.

Use social media sites to network in a professional manner to brand yourself.

Become an industry expert by knowing everything there is to know about one or two areas of interest with your industry.

Become a reliable source of content by sharing content in your industry--retweet, shares and +1s--daily. Engage users in your network and participate in conversations. Build your network by reaching out to industry experts and influencers. They'll realize that you share industry news and appreciate the content you post or tweet.

Write a blog to share your thoughts on the latest industry news and any knowledge you acquire through experience, courses and internships. You could even send along a link to it to PR professionals; then they see your name and might possibly even share it in their network.

A valuable piece of advice by Manson resonates within his contradiction to the popular phrase “it’s not what you know, it’s who you know." In opposition, he says this statement is false because you have to know things to get to know people. And if you've read this entire post, that is the most important lesson you should take away.

World's First "Social Games"

Often, there is much excitement leading up to the Olympics, and this year's games are in no way an exception. I personally am a big fan of the summer olympics in particular, so I am very excited that it will be occurring next month. With the financial crisis in Europe, coupled with the growing popularity of social media, the world is in for quite a spectacular event.

Back in 2008, there were significantly less users on both Twitter and Facebook. Presently, there are 140 million users on Twitter and and 845 million users on Facebook. Undoubtedly, there will be both positive and negative buzz via social media, but many would argue that any coverage is good coverage.

Also noteworthy, is a campaign containing a series of original "webisodes" that allow people to follow numerous athletes' journeys. The series was designed to allow viewers to get better acquainted with the athletes that will be partaking in the games.  This is done through a social media platform called Bumebox, which allows people to stay up-to-date with various athletes' tweets and posts, respond to other's posts, and bring to light opinions of their own. There is no denying that this will make the games entirely more interactive and get people more involved.

To read the full Mashable article, click here.

Photo Credit: Mashable

How do employers feel about social media?

We love infographics. They add visual aesthetics to statistics that we would glance over otherwise. The question the infographic below addresses one that is becoming more and more important for Generation Y: Are we allowed to use social media in the workplace?

Payscale completed research to create an infographic to answer this question: "Do employers "like" social media?" ComeRecommended elaborated on key takeaways, specifying that results revealed employers feel social media is for brand promotion, but are weary of employee use because a negative tweet can spread like virtual wildfire.

Pertaining to the field of public relations, the infographic states that "59% of media companies actively encourage their employees to use social media." Works for me. Not only does Payscale contribute evidence to social media policies in small, medium and large companies, especially within the media field, but it also shows us that employers love social recruiting, mainly on LinkedIn. Adding to the be-careful-but-smart-with-social-media debate (and recent blog post), this research provided in visual form tells future PR professionals what to expect in regards to social media in the workplace and hints that we should definitely use social networking to our career and job search advantage.

 

 Photo credit: ComeRecommended