Deirdre Breakenridge

Last week I did a blog interview “Test Drive my job” with Amanda Miller Littlejohn at Mopwater PR & Media Notes .  I answered a series of questions about my job, what I do every day, what I like about my marketing agency and what I would want to see change. After she posted the interview, I went back and reread all of the questions and answers.  The one question that stood out in my mind was, “Describe your typical day.”

I based my answer on my general routine but really didn’t get an opportunity to dig deeper into how my information gathering and web procedures in a typical day have radically changed as a result of social media and PR 2.0.  So, if I were to go into more detail for Amanda or anyone else who’s interested in the details of a PR person’s typical day, here’s what it looks like for me:

•    Check my blackberry before my eyes are even focused
•    Jump on Twitter to say, “Good Morning,” give a quick tweet and respond to tweets after signed off the night before
•    Check email and respond to client related matters
•    Review profiles and add new followers/friends on different networks
•    Check my RSS news feeds
•    Review my email subscriptions (from blogs) and make comments
•    Post interesting articles to my networks via Ping.fm
•    Gather interesting video and podcasts to share internally
•    Check out the AOL headlines
•    Finish all other emails
•    The cycle repeats itself at least twice a day

Social media has changed the way I get informed.  I used to watch NBC Network News, Fox or CNN in the morning to get the early morning news and then read The New York Times or The Star-Ledger.  Now, I rely on social media to get all of my news headlines and information.  However, I still get The New York Times in my inbox and read Star-Ledger articles at NJ.com.  I do look forward to certain publications such as Wired, Inc. and Entrepreneur that are circulated in my office.  I have mixed emotions when other social media marketers say “Print is going away.”  In this respect I think I must have a little baby boomer in me!

Other roles and responsibilities that I never thought I’d be doing in a typical day as a PR pro:

•    Programming in Microsoft Sharepoint
•    Updating my client’s websites and/or newsrooms in a backend content management system
•    Using iContact for eblasts to distribute company communications
•    Making recommendations with the mindset of web developer with respect to analytics and web metrics
•    Acting like a customer service representative for my company and for my clients companies (providing useful information that helps them to better their products and services)

When I look at the added social media and web responsibilities, I often wonder how PR professionals will find the time to remain abreast on new trends and to keep their clients updated.  Is it a sheer passion of social media and learning or is it just knowledge that they feel they need, so they don’t get left behind?  What do you think?