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Writing for Strategic Communication Course Blog Contest on #PR Expanded with AU Grad Students

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Every year, I hold one or two writing contests for students and I announce the winners on my blog, PR Expanded. This semester, I’ve teamed up with Professor Priya Doshi, who is teaching a Writing for Strategic Communication course.

Here’s my video with information about the latest blog contest with Professor Doshi’s graduate students who are a part of American University’s Strategic Communication Master’s program.

Stay tuned for the three winners in the upcoming weeks!

Targeting the Hispanic Market

#PR Expanded Guest Post: The Three Cs for Targeting the Hispanic Market

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A Guest Post By Stephanie Lopez, American University Student & PR Expanded Blog Contest Winner 

The Hispanic community is quickly becoming one of the most important consumer markets. According to the Pew Research Center, the Hispanic population reached 55 million in 2014 making the group 17.4 percent of the total U.S. population. The growth in the Hispanic population has had significant impact on the economy. Hispanic spending power is estimated to be over $1.5 trillion dollars. With the community’s growing influence, how can businesses target and win over Hispanic consumers?

First, it is important to recognize that marketing to Hispanics is more than just simply translating business campaigns into Spanish. The Hispanic community has many layers including sociopolitical status, generational and cultural gaps, and regional differences between countries. Therefore, to get the attention and respect of the Hispanic market, companies need to tailor every marketing campaign to a specific audience inside the community. This can be done by using the three C’s for public relations: credibility, charisma, and control. Each step plays an important part in creating a brand’s image within a population.

The first step is credibility. Credibility is important because it establishes trust and respect for any audience. To establish credibility businesses first need to know their audience and know what is important to them. Many businesses have made the mistake of creating a generalized marketing campaign for the Hispanic community, but that is a grave mistake. As with any audience there are different demographics in a population, therefore the two big factors businesses need to keep in mind about the Hispanic community are the regional and generational groups.

The Hispanic population is diverse throughout regions, so with differentiating values each will react differently to marketing campaigns. Therefore, learning about the regional differences in the Hispanic community can help companies narrow down what they should add or cut in their campaign. For example, in 2016 Corona released a “Cinco de Mayo and Tequila” commercial, which appealed to the Mexican community because it is part of their Mexican-American identity. However, it would not appeal to any other Hispanic community as not every Hispanic in the U.S. is Mexican.

Another factor to keep in mind is generational gaps. The two big groups are traditionalists and millennials. Traditionalists, tend to be older immigrants who do not speak fluent English. This group tends to value their traditional values from their home country including food, family, and media. Doing research about traditionalists’ values and the media they consumed in their home country can help narrow down what businesses can target. The second group is millennials, usually second-generation Hispanics who were born in the United States. This group has adopted many U.S. customs and have a variety of cultural factors that affect their identity and consumerism. For example, millennials prefer ads in English and want commercials that connect both with their U.S. and Hispanic identity. Having campaigns that can relate and respect both their cultures while also discussing topics that matter to any millennial.

The second step is charisma. Tapping into Hispanic’s cultural connections and familiar influencers can make credibility easier. For example, DISH Network has used Eugenio Derbez, a Mexican actor and comedian, as their spokesperson for Dish Latino. By using a familiar celebrity for many Hispanics, DISH Network established trust and appeal to an audience that may not have known about the company. Charisma can go further when focusing on the regional and generational differences in the population. Finding influencers that the audience relates to and sees often in their city or home can also cause more impact. Influencers do not necessary have famous celebrities but individuals that a community can sympathize with. Therefore, if companies use Hispanic/Latino actors to sell products they may have a better reception because that influencer resembles the audience.

Influence can also lead to controlling your audience. The last step to targeting to a Hispanic audience is control. Businesses need to know how they can reward or skew their audience. Appealing to things that are important like family values or brand loyalty can help businesses establish relatability to the audience. Creating partnerships with companies that Hispanic populations already know can make the transitions into the Hispanic market easier especially when trying to relate immigrants.

Another way to control audiences find where they are consuming media and ads. The Pew Hispanic Center found that Hispanic mobile phone owners are more likely than Anglo owners to access the internet- 40 percent vs 34 percent. Additionally, a 2014 Google Consumer Survey found Hispanics are 1.5 times more likely to buy mobile apps and digital media than non-Hispanics. Thus, companies can use this research and market to Hispanics through popular apps like Facebook and What’s app.

Following the three C’s: credibility, charisma, and control will help any company get into an edge to marketing to the growing Hispanic community.

Stephanie Lopez AU StudentStephanie Lopez is studying Public Relations and Spanish at American University. She is interested in Latino marketing, specifically for nonprofit and grassroots campaigns. After graduation, she hopes to work for a nonprofit communications office.

 

Professor Jason Mollica PR Class

#PR Expanded Experiment: Results of a Spring Semester Blog Contest

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Jason Mollica American University ClassLast year, the PR Expanded blog community conducted an experiment with student written articles. The  response was positive with professionals and educators giving encouragement and helping to share the student guest posts. This year, the student experiment moved to a new level when I teamed up with Jason Mollica, who is a friend and colleague and professor at American University. Together, we conducted a blog contest with his Introduction to Public Relations class.

My video shares the details of the collaboration with Professor Mollica and his students. We’ll be announcing the winners over the next several weeks. After seeing the positive results of the initiative, I’m happy to entertain additional opportunities with a few professor friends who would like their students to be a part of a a blogging contest. The timing would be this summer or in the fall 2018 and would be on a “first come, first serve basis.”

Getting professors, students and industry professionals closer together is one of the best way for us to learn and for our industry to thrive.

Stay tuned for the American University student winners to be published on PR Expanded.

What Blogging Has Taught Me

What Blogging Has Taught Me About Personal Branding, the Job Market, and the Fashion Industry

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A Guest Post by Lauren Goldstein, Part-Time Lifestyle & Fashion Blogger, Full-Time Student, American University

For the past eight months, I’ve posted three times a week, every week, on fashion, New York City, Washington, D.C., and life in general. Along the way, I’ve learned more about myself, fashion, and PR. Today, I’m sharing those lessons with you.

There’s no one way to use social media: When I started blogging, there were maybe three to five bloggers I followed on a regular basis. I found bloggers primarily through Instagram. At the time, it was my understanding that an amazing, curated, consistent Instagram theme was the key to drawing attention to your blog. I had this fantasy in my head that I would create Instagram, Pinterest and Twitter accounts and people would magically find me and flock to my blog. Boy, was I wrong. Instagram is hard; it’s hard to get attention, to always have aesthetically pleasing, well-edited pictures to post. To get people interested in your posts it’s a slow, grueling process, and doesn’t amount to much, until you make it big. My 500 followers draw minimal traffic to my blog. Granted, that could be different, if I chose to use bots to engage with potential followers and comment and like pictures, but that’s not my brand, so I’ll stick to slow growth. I’ve learned hashtags matter, consistency is key, and Instagram isn’t everything. Instead, most of my blog traffic comes from Facebook – my family, friends, family-friends, and friends of friends who are seeing and sharing my posts.

Blogging will allow you to make new connections: Where I go to school, we have a Facebook group called “Free and For Sale.” People use the group to buy and sell everything from clothes to furniture at ridiculously low prices. One day, I was scrolling through Facebook and noticed a post selling business clothes. I work at my on-campus Career Center and earlier that week we had discussed doing a business professional clothing drive. I commented on the post saying if she was unable to sell the clothes, she should keep them to donate to the upcoming drive. The poster decided to follow my comment back to my Facebook page, where the link in my profile picture goes back to my blog. She then messaged me to say she was also a DC blogger who had attended American University and asked if I wanted to grab coffee. That was the first message I’ve gotten from Facebook, but I’ve received similar e-mails from other DC college bloggers who found my page through my Instagram, Twitter or through blogger Facebook groups. There are so many bloggers trying to make it and while there is certainly some competition, I’ve found that for the most part, bloggers love to connect, find each other, and help each other whenever possible.

Influencers aren’t going away, but how they influence is going to keep changing: It’s no secret that brands love influencers. They spend countless hours and dollars sending bloggers and influencers care packages in the hopes of making it on their blogs and into their Instagram stories. Although brands are looking to bloggers to promote themselves, the system works both ways. Some of the best bloggers are not only influencing their audience, but influencing and taking command of the market too. They’re making their own lines and doing collaborations that go beyond what the brand is already doing. From Target’s “We Wore What” line to Something Navy x Nordstrom and Gal Meets Glam x Frye, influencers are not just promoting other products, but creating their own. As the number of influencers, Instagram users, and social media platforms grow it’s become harder and harder to make it as a blogger and grow an audience, but the successful ones are going beyond blogging in a way that was once unimaginable.

Staying true to your brand is key: When I started my blog, I struggled for weeks on the name. I wanted something that would be consistent with me and what I represented even years from now. When I first started blogging, I would become giddy with excitement every time I got an email from a brand, and, subsequently, disappointed when I opened it only to find a 50% discount code. I’ve avoided promotions and sponsored content in favor of products and brands I really love. As a result, I haven’t made much money from my blog, but I’m okay with that. If you go into blogging with the intention of making money from it, your readers will see right through you. I’ve seen bloggers promote anything and everything – cheese, credit cards, you name it – they’ve done it. It’s a testament to the influence bloggers can have on their audience, but with a caveat; do too many collaborations or sponsored posts and you’ll look like a sell-out. The best influencers will continue to share their favorite fashion, beauty, health and other products, but in a way that’s true to their brand and represents their audience’s interests.

Blogging is by no means easy. It’s challenged me to constantly come up with new ideas, learn how to use software like Adobe Photoshop and Lightroom, sacrifice weekends and nap time to create new content, and go beyond my comfort zones to reach out to friends, professors and family for help. For me, it’s been worth it – I’ve created a brand I’m proud of, shown myself what I’m capable of, and taught me so much more than I could have learned in classes alone. But, before you decide to go out and start a blog for yourself ask yourself these questions: “Why am I doing this?” “What do I hope to gain?” “What do I stand for?” and “What do I want my blog to represent?”

Lauren. GoldsteinjpgLauren Goldstein is a part-time fashion and lifestyle blogger and full time college student at American University, majoring in Public Relations and German. She lives in New York City and is passionate about branding and personal style. You can check out her blog at www.fashionandfernweh.com or connect with her on Twitter @LNGoldstein. 

Blogging Tips for PR Pros

Blogging Tips for PR Pros

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A Guest Post By Maris Callahan, Director of Public Relations for Donuts Inc.

Blogging Tips for PR ProsFast forward almost ten years and blogging is so ubiquitous that not only are blogs supplanting traditional media channels as sources for breaking news, practically every single company I can think of has one.

A good public relations professional will counsel their client to have a blog or content hub as a way to showcase thought leadership, earned media placements, company news, and announcements, and engage with fans and followers.

Yet, we are often the shoemakers with no shoes.

If you’re a PR pro, and you’re thinking of starting a new blog or rejuvenating a dormant one, here are a few tips to boost your digital presence.

Commit to a Schedule

 When you’re writing content for a client, you probably don’t pick up your pen on the day of deadline. So don’t do that for your blog, either! It’s okay if your post schedule is once or twice a month at first. But do it consistently so people will come to expect and rely on your content.

If you have the ability to commit to daily blogging, that is amazing. But if you don’t, decide on a pace you can stick with, and plan your editorial calendar a few months in advance.

There are some great editorial calendar and social media calendar templates on HubSpot. Many social media content management systems you probably already use for your clients have their own templates or proprietary editorial calendars.

It’s fine to pick a cadence that feels reasonable—say, a post every other week—and increase that when you can.

Your blog is your community. And it’s better to build an engaged community over time than it is to serve up a lot of content in the beginning and then drop off the face of the planet.

Pick a Fresh, Relevant Domain Name

 If you already have the perfect website name, this one may not apply to you. In 2015, I did the unthinkable and let the domain www.mariscallahan.com expire.

Then I learned all about hundreds of new domain name choices which had recently become available and moved my PR blog to the more appropriate: www.mariscallahan.media.

Along with .media, there are a lot of great domain name extension choices which better fit a blog than a .com, .net, or .org.

Where there used to be scarcity in online naming, now you can tell the world exactly who you are and what business you’re in.

Or in this case, what your blog is all about.

A few I like (beyond the most obvious: .blog) are .digital, .world, .life, and .today. If your business contains the word “marketing” or “agency” then domains ending in .marketing or .agency could be the best fit for you.  I’ve also seen PR professionals cleverly use .pr – the internet country code domain for Puerto Rico that anyone can use free from geographic restriction.

Be Realistic with Your Time for Social Media

Social networks are a great way to promote your blog if you use them wisely. When you’re considering your social media presence, there are many questions you should ask yourself, such as  “Realistically, do I have time for this?” Move this question to the top of your list.

I advise you to learn from my mistakes. I have two blogs—a food blog and a marketing/PR blog. I tend to update my food blog weeklyish. But I’m usually neglecting my marketing blog to write for other websites. And my client needs have always come before my blog posts.

Yet, at some point, I decided both blogs needed separate social media channels. So I have two sets of Facebook, Pinterest, Twitter and Instagram accounts.

Yes, it is way too much to manage.

Before you start opening accounts and spreading your followers thinner and thinner, ask yourself why? It may be smarter to create one concise brand. Unless there is a strategic reason to have multiple brands, don’t do it!.

Similarly, you shouldn’t feel like you have to be on every single social network out there just because it exists. I’m stubbornly protesting Snapchat (I only post snaps of my dog). And I do very little video on my blogs and social media channels because I am not convinced that people want to see my face that much. I do post regularly to Instagram and Facebook where I’ve built engaged and consistently growing communities, and where I can be present on a consistent basis.

Turn Your Case Studies Into Content

When you’re a publicist, you probably think about your client more than you think about yourself. So make your blog a two-for-one: a place where you can connect with and inspire others in your industry, and give your clients a little extra “love”.

My clients always liked being featured on my blogs, especially if I was writing about a successful campaign or an event I had helped them with. I’ve “covered” book releases, product launches, and restaurant openings. You can even link back to your media hits, extending some extra shelf life to those hard won placements, and showing the media your appreciation.

This is a huge time saver too because you probably wrote their media talking points or press materials. Paraphrasing those things in your own conversational tone for your blog will be quick and easy. Then, when you need a great case study for a new client, you can point them to your blog posts. And voilà!

Use Guest Bloggers

If you’re struggling to find time to write or generate post ideas, talk to other respected professionals in your industry about swapping guest posts.

You might have a special area of expertise, say, using Instagram, while someone else you know is excellent at crisis communications. Interview each other or trade posts.

Then, you can syndicate them back on your own blogs with canonical links. You get an SEO boost, exposure to a brand new audience, and two pieces of content for the price of one.

Despite my love for blogging, I work full-time in PR and maintain two of my own blogs. I understand there aren’t enough hours in the day to do all these things. Pick one or two activities and aim to tackle them as part of your “social media spring cleaning.” Your blog will be running smoothly in no time!

Maris-Twitter-Photo-300x300Maris Callahan is the director of public relations for Donuts Inc. and name.kitchen, where she does media relations, content marketing, and social media. She lives in Chicago with Brad, her significant other, and their chihuahua Henry. You can find her on Twitter and LinkedIn.

5 Ways to “Listen” For Better Blog Content

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It feels great to be teaching again! I have a class of 30 NYU PR and corporate communications grad students. We are exploring social media objectives, strategies and tactics. One of the required course assignments is to create a blog with eight posts due by the end of the semester.   As a blogger, a great deal of my writing stems from paying attention to my community and “Listening” closely to the conversations .  So, for all of my students (who I hope are reading this blog post) and for my communications friends, here are my five tips on how to “Listen” so you can create more compelling content for your community.

1. Find the experts and you will find the questions.  There are plenty of professionals participating on platforms such as Focus and Quora, and in LinkedIn groups.  They are busy creating questions for the community and answering them at the same time. Once you identify the most pressing topics, you can create your blog posts around additional thoughts and perspectives on these critical issues.  One step further would be to ask an expert to create a guest post or to participate in a Q&A on your blog.

2. Dig deeper into the blog comments and you’ll find even more interesting topics and questions.   When you read your favorite blogs, hopefully you are getting an in-depth look at a topic by a trusted source. However, digging deeper into the community comments is where the discussion gets really interesting, and you can find varying opinions on a subject.  The comment section is often overlooked, yet it is a valuable source of information.  You will also find additional questions in the comment section go unanswered. Now is your chance to answer these questions for your own community.

3.  Watch your Twitter stream for a couple of minutes and you will have plenty of blog ideas.  My Twitter stream is filled with questions, opinions, statistics, articles, photos, videos, etc. I think you get the picture. Knowing the trending topics and offering a different angle or learning about new technology and sharing your thoughts and personal experience is not only great blog material, but also truly helpful, if you are breaking down a complex subject into simple and usable layman’s terms.

4. Peer related questions are asked every day and how many do you answer?  Your peers are talking non-stop and you can offer them your answers on your blog.  Just because you check your social media communities a couple times a day (maybe more) doesn’t mean the conversations stop.  Simple monitoring tools and following hashtags can help you to uncover an abundance of questions.  Now is your chance to answer the questions and to help your peers.

5. Follow your favorite experts and personalities, and filter their information into your news feed.  I learned early on that whether it’s a friend or a colleague, when people are excited about some “big” news, even if they can’t tell you about it right away, they will allude to the excitement on Twitter, Facebook or Google+.  If you are listening, you can be there to catch the actual news when it breaks, or ask if you can receive information as soon it’s publicly available.  If you’re listening carefully you may be among the first to report a breaking story to your community.

These are just a few of the many ways to “Listen” for better blog content.  I hope you turn on your listening ears on to create meaningful posts that ignite your audience and lead to more interesting conversation and engagement. What are some of the ways you are “Listening” for better blog content?

Bloggers Have More of an Influence in 2011

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I found a really interesting annual study by Technorati called, “State of the Blogosphere 2011: Introduction and Methodology.” Of particular interest to me was the breakdown of the different types of bloggers and the motivations and consequences for blogging.  If I were to categorize myself in relation to this study, my blogging falls in two categories.  I am the Entrepreneur Blogger as well as the Hobbyist. I definitely don’t fit in the Corporate or the Professional Full Time or Part Time blogger.

As the Entrepreneur, I use blogging to discuss industry topics and to share my perspectives on public relations, social media and technology. I also enjoy blogging every week, because it’s my hobby. When I was younger I would horseback ride and participate in kick boxing.  Today, I find myself blogging for fun, to express myself, and my views about the changing media landscape. I’m also blog for my own personal satisfaction.

The Technorati study stated, “… we are seeing bloggers updating their blogs more frequently and spending more time blogging.  The type of information influencing blogging has shifted from conversations with friends, which was the primary influence in 2010, to other blogs, which for 68% of bloggers are having more of an influence in 2011.”  I recall in 2010, there was a question of whether or not people found blogs useful and if we were completely moving over to shorter forms of news and information (media snacking).  However, I still believe, blogging serves a specific purpose that you can’t find through other forms of social media, i.e., Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, etc.

The main reasons why I rely on blogs/favorite bloggers is to get an inside view, deeper perspective, more insight on a subject or topic, to see if my perspective aligns with my influencers, and for information that only a particular blogger can review, breakdown and even translate for me (when a topic is complicated, i.e., technology).  I have been reading the same blogs for the last 3+ years and there’s a reason why I don’t deviate.  I am constantly learning from my blogger friends and I value the information that they are sharing. I trust them and the information they provide. I feel like I know them (in most cases I’ve even met them in person or had conversations).  I always look forward to receiving their posts through my RSS feed or even in my email inbox. As you can tell, I place a high value on these relationships.

Take a look at the Technorati study.  If you’re a blogger, it’s interesting to categorize yourself and to review the percentages of blogger motivations and consequences.  However, moving beyond the statistics, think about what really makes you want to blog and why you also rely on your favorite bloggers.  You might even want to let your bloggers know what it is you like so much about their community, so they keep delivering the most meaningful information.  I don’t think one study will ever make or break the State of the Blogosphere, but it’s great to see that bloggers are having more of an influence in 2011.

A pitch for PR to focus more on owned media

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A Guest Post by Justin Goldsborough:

What if I was writing this blog post with only the hope that it would be published? What if I took the time to research the topic, identify the story, and find the case studies with no guarantee anyone but me would ever see any of that work come to fruition? What if I was completely reliant on a third party to decide if my post has what it takes to make it to the Internet?

Sounds absurd, right? Well, companies and agencies take this approach all the time. They spend hours researching and putting together a story to share with the media and the bloggers in the form of a pitch. Then they conduct their outreach and hope to earn placements in a top-tier newspaper or with a blogger in their niche. But that’s where it stops. And that’s where companies aren’t getting the most out of the content they are creating.

If you were taking a history class on public relations, one of the first chapters would be on the topic of “earned” media. PR has always worked to tell the client’s story to those who actually cover it, which ideally makes that story more trusted.

There is still value in that approach. However, pages are being added to the “owned” chapter of PR every day. Pages communicators need to read to determine how the content they create can work harder than just a pitch. It’s a mindset shift from solely working with the media on behalf of a company, to also seeing that brand as its own media company.

Own your owned channels

Emarketer shared research last week that showed Facebook fans No. 1 expectation of the brands they follow is exclusive content. In fact, the “sneak peek” companies can give via their owned channels is one of the main reasons customers are drawn to engaging with brands this way. Just ask Burberry.

During the London fashion house’s Spring/Summer 2012 fashion show, Burberry provided customers with a variety of content via its owned social media channels:

  • A #Tweetwalk, where @Burberry tweeted pictures of the new looks before they hit the runway
  • Burberry Twitter account takeovers by fashion editors from Elle and Vogue
  • A lives stream of the event for Facebook fans and YouTube subscribers
  • Lookbook shared via Twitter before any media photographers had a chance to photograph the new styles
  • A Burberry photographer posting a stream of photos from the event to Burberry’s Instagram account

Hear more about Burberry’s strategy behind using its owned channels to share the fashion show experience in this video (start at 2:15) from Chief Creative Officer Christopher Bailey.

Owned content makes a great pitch

If you’ve ever worked in PR, you’ve probably written a pitch. And if you’ve written a pitch, you’ve researched and created content. So why not take the extra step to flesh out those pitches and create content for owned channels first that can also be used in a pitch.

My friend Rochelle Veturis turned me on to this idea. Rochelle, who works for architecture firm LPA Inc., often shoots video of her company’s live events or blogs about their sustainability efforts. The initial purpose of this content is to tell the LPA story via its social media channels (blog, YouTube, etc.). But Rochelle often repurposes that content as part of her pitches to media and bloggers.

This approach makes a lot of sense for two reasons: 1) A blog post or YouTube video already tells a story. And stories resonate with people better than pitches. Even reporters. 2) Newsrooms are cutting staff at a rapid rate and bloggers often are a staff of one. So both groups are in need of content and may be able to repurpose some/all of what she sends them.

Owning search

My favorite search analogy goes as follows. Remember the old Dewey Decimal System at the library? The more cards a book had in that card catalog, the better chance you had to find it. Search is the same way. And every time a brand creates a new piece of content for its owned channels, it adds a new card to Google’s catalog. With Google handling more than 11 billion searches a month according to comScore, your company needs all the chances to be found that it can get.

PR has always worked with the media and probably always will. But to connect with customers and give them stories to tell about our brands, we must learn to make our owned media work for us too.

Justin Goldsborough is a PR pro and SM guy for Fleishman-Hillard. KCIABC board. #pr20chat co-mod w/ @PRtini. #HAPPOKC reg champ. Blogger at JUSTin in Case You Were Wondering.

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