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

MyPRGenie: Turning buzz into leads

There's a platform that can do everything you need for online marketing. MyPRGenie. It has everything PR professionals need to track PR campaigns: social media tracking, email marketing and SEO. Turn buzz into leads, the platform's slogan, aptly captures the potential it provides for PR success.

The Genie platform offers social networking apps: Facebook Genie ans Tweet Genie. They help you maximize your social media presence and complimented with Genie Analytics, these apps can tell you who and how many users are actually viewing your content. MyPRGenie also provides a database of 540,000 media contacts who can then use your content to generate buzz in the media. The Lead Genie, another platform aspect, analyzes traffic generated by your content.

Basically, MyPRGenie is another social media platform, but unlike Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn, it is one created for PR with the intention of creating PR buzz. For future PR pros, this platform offers an opportunity to familiarize yourself with a different kind of social media site, one that was designed for PR to publicize and market your business. Be ahead of the curve by knowing how to potentially use MyPRGenie.

Understanding PR Lingo

In many professions, there is a certain lingo that is to be adequately understood and frequently utilized by all members of a relevant field, and Public Relations is no different. Being that I am rather new to the PR world myself, I found this list of common terms to be extremely helpful and beneficial to take a look at.

Some of the terms I hear in every day conversations amongst both classmates and professors, but usually just nod in agreement despite my lack of understanding as to what they are trying to say.

It is not easy to admit that you are confused when it comes to something you are supposed to be so well-versed in so I have included the list of Ragan’s “18 Common PR Terms- Defined”.

Pubs – publications, as in “we need to get media coverage in 100 pubs.”

Hits – media coverage.

Opp – opportunity, as in an opportunity to get media coverage.

Journo – a reporter (journalist).

Pitch – note to inform/gauge interest.

Running/ran – article appeared.

Traction – interest/coverage.

Open the kimono – reveal more details.

Prezo – a PowerPoint presentation.

Release – a news announcement (as opposed to a product release).

Launch – the public marketing announcement of a G/A product (G/A = generally available).

B-roll – “highlights” video of something we want to promote (company, person, event), often used to show broadcast outlets the potential for a story and/or provide them with footage for the story.

Ed Cals – editorial calendars (predetermined story topics by media outlets).

Boilerplate – short description of a company, most often used at the end of a press release.

Evergreen – story/pitch angle that won’t fade over time, could be pitched/published at any time (as opposed to news that is only relevant during a certain period of time).

In-house – a “corporate” job in which one conducts PR inside a business, as opposed to an agency job in which one services several clients at once.

Flack - although defined as “a publicist or promoter,” it is also a derogatory reference—often used by journalists—to describe a bad PR executive.

Hack - PR’s response to “flack,” often used to describe a poor journalist or reporting job.

Hopefully you found this list beneficial. Personally, I don't see myself using the phrase "open the kimono" anytime soon, but I guess you never know!

To see the article regarding "PR Slang", click here.

A North Road Communications Update from Firm Director, Julie Moller

I have recently begun my work as Firm Director with our student-run PR firm, North Road Communications, and it has already been both hectic and exciting! First, I would like to give kudos to Charlotte Catania for having been firm director for two semesters and never breaking a sweat. She made this job look so easy!

This past month, a few members of the firm were promoted to the position Account Executive. These ladies showed great dedication and really hard work this past year with our client projects. Congratulations to our new Account Executives Jackie Mucilli, Erica Jordan, and Jennifer Laski!

Though May brought the end of another school year, members of North Road have still been hard at work on projects for our clients. The most time consuming of them has been a social media proposal. It’s more challenging than any of us initially expected, but definitely a learning experience.

Initially, I was under the impression that creating a Facebook page for a client would be the easiest task we could take on. After all, I’ve been creating and recreating my social media presence since I was in high school. However, there are many more factors to consider for an organization. For instance, who is your target audience? Can that audience be reached via social media? What are the best ways to advertise that you have established an online presence? We’ve realized it’s also important to establish which social media outlet is best for the organization. While Twitter may be ideal for a celebrity or persona, it may not be the best avenue for a non-profit organization.

Luckily, Facebook has recognized these difficulties for non-profit organizations and created a helpful guide that can be found here

Facebook Timeline: The music video

The new Facebook Timeline allows users to essentially tell their life story through social media by including important dates and events. One pop star in particular creatively utilized the storytelling layout of this platform to narrate the events of their career. Katy Perry debuted her new lyric video for "Wide Awake," at Sunday's Billboard Music Awards which features lyrics to the song, as well career highlights and her own cover photo, pictured below.



Watch the entire lyric video here.

Celebrity Timeline pages were introduced in February. Not only does Katy Perry aptly use Facebook Timeline, but she also incorporates the evolution of Facebook into her new video. It seamlessly integrates the story of her album Teenage Dream while documenting the evolution of Katy Perry as the global pop star she has become.

Social media extends far beyond the reaches of users like you and me. And celebrities are helping to extend its reach by overlapping video and social media channels, as Katy Perry has done. Do you think this Facebook Timline lyric video is groundbreaking in the way that it promotes Katy Perry, her new song and social media? Does the Facebook Timeline layout truly embody the narration of one's life or, in this case, career?

Watch the video and let us know what you think!