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PR and Social Media

How PR and Social Media Go Together

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When you think about PR and social media, you may find the two to be very different. In fact, that’s one of the reasons PR professionals didn’t really embrace social media in the beginning.

However, an opportunity has presented itself to actually combine efforts and maximize both as a result. 

Think about it: public relations is all about relationships and storytelling. What better way to help companies make connections and build a reputation than with social media? 

Recently, I had a great conversation with Christoph Trappe on his Business Storytelling Podcast where we dove into this further. 

PR and Social Media Can Work Together

Despite their differences, PR and social media can be used together strategically to create a major impact for your brand. Approaching them as a united campaign sets your business up for increased brand awareness, more engagement, and better relationships. 

First, social media offers endless opportunities to get out there and make connections.

Beyond members of traditional media like journalists and producers, you can now collaborate with social media influencers, bloggers, podcasters, live streamers, and more. 

Whatever community your collaborator has, that is another way to extend the reach of your story and thought leadership. 

With that said, always align yourself with those who share your values.

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Beyond just brand awareness, PR uses strategic communications to engage with certain groups. 

I shared with Christoph and his audience examples of customers, employees, media, and your community. It’s really up to you which group you want to engage with, and PR is the way to make that connection. 

That being said, communication with your audience can no longer be one-way. PR may be the bridge to communicating your message, but listening is just as important. 

Storytelling and Social Media

Social media allows voices from both directions to be heard. When you take the time to listen, yes it can sometimes feel noisy, but there are also many valuable insights ready to be discovered.  

Lastly, while most people may know PR through earned media and publicity, it is so much more than that. 

In reality, PR is grounded in the fact that good relationships are at the heart of a successful brand. 

Social media gives citizen journalists a platform, which is why we now have so many different avenues to share stories and build those relationships. 

Something we have learned from social media, however, is that you must be authentic in your storytelling. You can no longer just put your spokesperson out there and expect strong relations from it. No matter the audience, social media encourages people to be smarter consumers than ever. Therefore, always make your intentions, purpose, and values clear in any message you send. 

Ultimately, social media is an extension of your public relations efforts to grow your brand and relationships. Marrying the two strategically not only helps tell your story, but build a community around that story. In doing so, you create meaning around your brand for long-term success.

For more building strategy around PR and social media, watch the full episode on https://authenticstorytelling.net/

#BeAPioneer, Pioneer in Skirts

The Impact Marketing Approach We’re Using to Change the World

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A Guest Post By: Director Ashley Maria & Producer Lea-Ann W. Berst, Pioneers in Skirts

It was the summer of 2015, and filming of this very important impact documentary was going as planned.  We had been traveling throughout the United States speaking with women and men about the setback’s women were still facing in their careers. We were learning about the issues unique only to women.

Pioneers in Skirts® is a movie about ambition in women today.

We had hours of incredible character footage and a strong story arc. Our team estimated we’d finish the film after another year of following characters and fine-tuning scenes. We were almost done!

But, since we had depleted our savings and the donations we received from friends, we decided to head down the road of launching a Kickstarter campaign. The funds we’d raise would get us out of production and take us into post.

Pioneers in Skirts follows Ashley Maria’s journey as she examines the barriers and setbacks women confront in their careers. Our film came to light at a time when the Pioneers in Skirts topic, to many, was considered a non-issue. We were in an uphill battle when it came to educating the public that gender issues still existed. The word “bias” was not a term associated with women. The word “sexism” was a scary and misunderstood term. And “feminism”…many people we met had no idea that they didn’t have to burn a bra in order to show their support for equal opportunities and treatment for women!

Movie Sizzle Trailer from Pioneers in Skirts ® on Vimeo.

Here we were, about to have a Kickstarter campaign for a project that many wouldn’t understand until they saw the movie. We were in a Catch-22 and needed help.

Our PR intern, Lauren McDonald, stepped forward to suggest creative ways of building awareness for the movie and educate the public as we do it. On Lauren’s lead, we reached out to Deirdre Breakenridge for advice and quickly learned that Deirdre is a person who uses her expertise to help amplify others – not just for her clients – but for people who want to find their voices, share their stories, and make a difference.

To help us communicate the right message, Deirdre suggested that Ashley appear on her Women Worldwide podcast. That one opportunity set us up for the next, and then the next. A few months later we kicked off our month-long Kickstarter campaign and successfully raising the funds we needed!

Ashley Monica on Women Worldwide with Deirdre Breakenridge

Today, we’re excited to share that on October 26, 2019, we premiered Pioneers in Skirts in Los Angeles, CA!

Pioneers in Skirts Premiere in Los Angeles, CA

What’s Next?

Our goal is to screen Pioneers in Skirts in schools, communities, and companies, and help them utilize the film to spark conversations about what inclusion really means, and how to support and actively promote gender parity in our culture today.

And, now that the movie is ready to be seen, we are dedicated to sharing lessons-learned with fellow filmmakers. We’ve also started to post behind the scenes career advice videos aimed at helping others elevate in their careers!

Attributes a Mentor is Looking For in a Mentee from Pioneers in Skirts ® on Vimeo.

On January 30, 2020, we’re kicking off our “Ambition In” speaker series at the University of Southern California (USC). Our message reaches across industries, so we are working to influence post-screening discussions called Ambition in Science, Ambition in Robotics, Ambition in Politics, etc.

Called Ambition in Film: Overcoming Obstacles, Changing the Landscape of the Industry, for the January 30th event we’ve teamed up with two USC groups to instigate a productive action-based conversation!

Ambition in Film Event

We made this film for communities pursuing gender equality movements of their own, companies looking to better their inclusive culture, and schools who want their students to be aware of what’s ahead for them.

We especially made this film for the many young women who need to know: You Are Not Alone.

To achieve our impact goals, we emulated the approach we used for our Kickstarter campaign:

  1. Work to build an audience of screeners and influencers
  2. Research past successful impact film campaigns and try to emulate the steps they took
  3. When we launch, line up initial, targeted screeners who
    • can afford screening packages that will allow us to raise much-needed funds, and
    • are capable of bringing the film into communities and schools
  4. Create buzz and excitement around the film aimed at:
    • incenting people to want to see the film
    • incenting companies and nonprofits to want to support our impact efforts

Pioneers in Skirts is taking its first steps of our impact campaign – with an outcome of having an international deep dive changing-of-the-world for women who dream big. Our success could never have happened without the people we met and the support we received along the way.

Go Pioneers!

By Ashley Maria & Lea-Ann W. Berst

Ashley Maria, Director & Lee-Ann, Producer, Pioneers in Skirts

Pioneers in Skirts is a film from a daughter-mother team dedicated to fast-tracking the cultural change we need in order to achieve gender parity in the workplace.

Ashley Maria is a director, writer, and sound engineer based in Los Angeles, CA. She is a winner of the Directors Guild of America (DGA) award and has also been recognized by the DGA Women’s Steering Committee as a director who represents The Future of Women in Film. Most recently, Ashley won Best New Director by the Downtown Los Angeles Film Festival.

She is also a directing instructor at both UCLA’s Film School and America Film Institute’s Young Women in Film program.

Lea-Ann W. Berst is a Raleigh, NC-based producer, writer, and activation marketer. She started her career in the corporate arena, then, after 17 years, transitioned to competitive positioning consulting with mid-to-large sized companies. She is a winner of several technical and leadership awards – including the Triangle Women in Business award and twice receiving the prestigious IBM Award of Excellence!

Lea-Ann entered her career at a time where she had to fight for many of her career achievements, but – was shocked to hear her daughter, Ashley, had to fight just as hard. With years of studio and independent production experience under their belts, Ashley and her female colleagues started to notice they were consistently turned down for jobs because of being inexperienced “women-directors.”

Years of championing Lea-Ann’s daughter to be and do anything she wanted – wasn’t working!

That’s when Lea-Ann and Ashley picked up their cameras to share Ashley’s story; revealing the career obstacles she and many other women still have to deal with today.

Now that the film is released, the daughter-mother team is focused on building partnerships and tactics designed to deepen and advance the impact the film will have on our culture.

Find out more about Ashley, Lea-Ann and Pioneers in Skirts by visiting www.pioneersinskirts.com.

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Effectively Engage and Build Your Community Through Podcasting

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A Guest Post by Christy Maguire, Graduate Student at American University, PR Expanded Blog Contest Winner

Podcasting is the quickest growing communications medium, and it seems like everyone is jumping on the bandwagon. Research shows that there are more than 750 million podcasts and that 22% of Americans over age 12 have listened to a podcast in the past week. It’s a crowded field to be sure, but it also offers an excellent, and even underused, opportunity for businesses to increase engagement with its community. It’s an intimate medium that builds trust and authority, offers inclusiveness and provides both information and inspiration.

Think of your community when podcasting
instead of focusing solely on promotion.
Image Credit: Pixabay

Universities, nonprofits, museums, law firms, associations, and small businesses have branched out into podcasting – expanding their online presence in ways that serve their business and community. Now is the perfect time to begin. Earlier this year, Google began including direct podcast links in its search results, providing an immediate opportunity for potential listeners to discover and sample podcasts.

While podcasting is a great tool for optimizing SEO and visibility, these shouldn’t always be the main focus. Businesses can get too caught up in using podcasting solely for promotion, without looking closely at building engagement and loyalty. Don’t forget that engagement can also be measured. Have you increased website traffic, comments, reviews, membership, feedback, and event participation through your podcast? Have customers mentioned your podcast on social media, in blog posts, or through referrals?

Whether your business already has a podcast, or you are considering starting one, there are several factors to take into consideration to increase engagement:

1. Invite Feedback

  • Issue a Call to Action

At the end of every podcast episode, issue a call to action. The best calls to action invite your listeners back to your website to further interact with your content, obtain their email address or offer a freebie.  

  • Invite Listener Questions

Get listeners involved by inviting them to ask questions of future guests. This is not only an excellent way to promote a future guest or episode but encourages loyalty by making listeners feel like part of the process. A growing trend is to ask listeners to call in to leave a question, which can be directly embedded into an episode. Google Voice is easy to set up and convert into usable audio.

  • Welcome Comments

Basecamp, a project management software company, encourages feedback by making each show a separate blog page with a comments section. They recently aired an episode around their new logo, which generated a mix of reactions. The company even did a blog post about how important feedback was to them by detailing their inspiration for past episodes, indicating that much of it came from listeners, coworkers, businesses and PR firms.

  • Make it Easy to Connect

Some constituencies may not be familiar with podcasting, so teach them how to use the technology. For populations who may not be acquainted with podcasts, the most straightforward way to tune in is to embed a podcast player directly in a blog post.

Establish a social media account on a platform that has the best reach for your audience, and tell your listeners where they can find you. The Smithsonian has its own social media accounts, but they established a separate Twitter account for their main podcast, Sidedoor Podcast, allowing listeners to share, comment on and engage with the content.

2. Be Creative

Podcasting is personal. The medium offers a chance for your business to tell your customers how to engage with content, build your brand and tell stories. We can’t always predict what will resonate, so it’s important to not stick to a formula or rigid guidelines. Harvard Business Review offers a discussion guide for each podcast episode of Women at Work signaling that this content is intended to be discussed widely, similar to a book or article.

Trader Joe’s podcast, Inside Trader Joe’s, is fun and is filled with puns, which is perfectly aligned with its reputation. The company planned for just five episodesbut continued after gaining a quick following by customers who wanted more. 

Nonprofit Save the Children did a six-episode drama series called Anywhere But Home based on true stories of children’s harrowing, yet inspiring journeys. Stories offer hope and connection on a level that direct appeals do not.

3. Leverage Relationships and Build Partnerships

  • Invite Guest Hosts and Feature Client Stories

A simple way to build relationships with top executives, clients, and members is to invite them to guest host an episode on a relevant issue or to share their business story.

Membership organizations have an excellent opportunity to spotlight their members. By doing so, organizations create opportunities for its members to network and connect, immediately drawing them in and illustrating the organization’s usefulness. The Leukemia and Lymphoma Society’s podcast, The Bloodline With LLS, covers a range of topics, including information and resources, but also has diagnosis stories offering hope and connection to those living with blood cancers.

Clothing retailer Rebecca Minkoff hosts a popular podcast called Superwomen. Every week she interviews female CEOs, business leaders, and artists, not only promoting the brand’s values of supporting women-led businesses but sharing their platform with potential partners.

  • Collaborate with Targeted Partners

The lifestyle brand goop has a successful podcast and recently partnered with the clothing brand Banana Republic on a limited series called “Women on Top.” These conversations featuring boundary-breaking women promote their joint efforts to discuss issues around women empowerment. Loyalists of both companies are introduced around shared values.

  • Host Live Events

Listeners like, and are beginning to expect, live podcast events. This affords businesses the opportunity to interact with its community in real-time. There are two ways to do this. The first option is to tape a live podcast event, which could be held at a summit or conference. Be sure to advertise this before the event. The second option is to use audio from conferences, meetings, and panels to engage those who are unable to attend, widening your reach.

There are no hard and fast rules for engagement, though consistency is key. Podcasts can be as short as 5 minutes but would be better suited to daily or biweekly episodes. Longer and more complex shows might only air once a month. They can be limited to a short series or be tailored around a special event. Be sure that it’s on a schedule that allows your business to take full advantage of engaging your community in a meaningful way. Experiment, enjoy and tweak as necessary.

Christy Maguire, Graduate Student, American University

Christy Maguire produces and hosts the podcast Forties Stories, which amplifies the voices of 40-something women and promotes connection and compassion – one story at a time. She is currently a graduate student in American University’s Strategic Communications program. Connect with her on Twitter @_christymaguire.

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Pearson Podcasting: How ‘This Is Us’ Can Help Us Become Better Podcasters

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A Guest Post By Brittani Riddle, Graduate Student, American University & PR Expanded Blog Contest Winner

By now I’m sure you’ve seen the hit series This Is Us, the one-hour drama known for its heartfelt storylines, family-friendly themes, and of course, “The Big 3” Kate, Kevin, and Randall. (And I promise, there will be no Season 4 spoilers in this post!) The show has become a pop-culture juggernaut since its debut in 2016, winning the hearts of both Hollywood and millions of viewers. When the Pearson family isn’t making us laugh and cry weekly, they can teach us a few lessons on polishing up our podcasting skills. Whether you’re a podcast novice or more adept, here are a few tips on how the Pearson clan can help you perfect your podcast.

This Is Us Cast Photo Credit: Livekindly.com

Start with Solid Foundation.

We wouldn’t have the “Big Three” without our beloved fictional lovebirds, Jack and Rebecca Pearson.  Their origin story lays the foundation of what makes This Is Us a fan favorite. Their relationship sets the tone and reminds us to begin with a quality substance. For podcasting, the quality substance begins with good audio. If you aren’t able to record in a traditional studio, record in a quiet and soundproof location. Always use headphones when recording, to make sure there’s no background noise and that your audio levels are even and not distorted. This Forbes article is one of my favorites and offers excellent technical tips for podcasters. If you want to add creative sonic elements to your audio, try some of these free sound effects.

Sell the Star Power.

Kevin, the oldest of The Big Three and the actor of the family, brings the star power. Much like Kevin, the hosts are the stars of your podcast. And the same way Kevin studies his lines for television and film on the show, your hosts must know their material! If you host your own or are a podcast producer for a third party, make sure all hosts have the tools needed to shine! No matter the subject, you want your podcast to inform and entertain your listeners with catchy and engaging topics to keep them wanting more. Prepare for your show by watching and reading the news, listening to new music, attending events, or any activity that will be relatable to both your topic and listeners.  There’s nothing worse than a host that doesn’t sound aware or sure of their content.

Stay On Task.

Kate, our favorite middle sister, is a task-oriented member of the family. Like Kate, setting a weekly list of tasks will keep your podcast on track. Before re-launching her music career, Kate worked as a personal assistant to both Kevin and other high profile clients. This part of Kate’s journey teaches us to dot all of I’s and cross all of our T’s. Make sure to maintain a consistent recording, editing, and posting schedule for all of your episodes. Have special guests joined you for the show? Be sure to follow up with them on when the episode will be available to listeners. Mention any reference materials such as books or albums while discussing the topic? Provide an accurate description of each resource in the show notes, so it’s readily available for listeners. You’ll make Kate proud, trust me.

Don’t Be Afraid to Take Risks.

Randall, the adopted member of the Big Three, has grown quite a bit since Season 1. We’ve seen Randall go through a number of changes, from quitting his job to becoming a City Councilman in a new city. Randall’s’ gumption teaches us to take risks, and we must have the same attitude with our podcasts. Are you thinking of launching a new segment? Introduce it on one episode and ask listeners for feedback to gauge if they enjoyed it. Want to add a video component to your show? Record a few snippets of the show on your phone and post it to your social media or website. If it works and viewers respond well, expand to full recordings so listeners can have a new visual component to enjoy.

Have a Supportive Cast.

Our beloved Pearson family wouldn’t be able to thrive without some of their biggest supporters: Beth, Toby, and Miguel, to name a few. Much like the supporting stars of our favorite show, it’s important to have people around who will support your podcast. Your supporters can provide constructive feedback to keep your podcast fresh and exciting.  A supporting cast can also provide additional exposure. Supporters can help by sharing episodes on their social media to amplify your show to their followers or write positive reviews on podcast subscribing sites. These word of mouth efforts can help you reach a wider audience. It’s always a plus to gain new subscribers!

Now that we’ve examined how an Emmy award-winning series can help us with podcasting, I hope you find the connection between the characters and concepts helpful while working on your podcasts.  If you have any other Pearson Podcast connections, be sure to connect with me on social media so we can compare notes! One final tip, avoid all This Is Us spoilers by catching up on episodes here. 

Brittani Riddle, American University Graduate Student & DC Communications Professional

 Brittani Riddle is a Washington D.C. based communications professional and first-year graduate student at American University. A lover of communication, books, music, and pop culture, Brittani always looks for creative methods to intersect all of her passions to create dynamic and innovative messaging and communication in various fields.  

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The Launch of the Women Worldwide Video Podcast

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In 2014, I started the Women Worldwide podcast to give women a voice and a platform to share their amazing stories and incredible career journeys. My goal was to have guests offer advice and insights on challenging topics and to empower listeners as they navigated the ups and downs of their own careers and lives. I’ve always said, “If the show can help listeners to feel like they’re not alone as they face obstacles, then we’ve succeeded.”

Podcasting was also a way for me to step out of my comfort zone. Today, we’ve launched Women Worldwide as a video podcast on YouTube. Once again, I’m stepping into an “uncomfortable zone” to build a video show with a team of dedicated professionals, and to experience video with my interview guests.

You can check out my launch video below, which also discusses the first episode with Rebekah Iliff, founder of WriteVest. Rebekah and I discuss creativity and problem solving through the lens of writing. In between the conversation, advice and insights are quite a few laughs. Rebekah made my job, as the host, really easy! You can check out the video interview on YouTube or visit the Women Worldwide website for show notes and the audio version.

Lastly, I’d like to dedicate the launch of the Women Worldwide video podcast to Noelle Skrobola, my stepdaughter, who passed away in September of 2018. Noelle was an instrumental part of Women Worldwide. She worked with the publicists and the guests who came on the show. In the short time that Noelle was with us, she empowered women and she always wanted to amplify their voices. Noelle … this one’s for you!

Featured Image Photo Credit: Noelle Skrobola

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Before You Launch Your #Podcast, Consider these Five Tips

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Screen Shot 2016-05-23 at 1.38.39 PMWith the dramatic increase in podcast listening hours in the US, and the rise of mobile usage, marketing professionals are exploring the world of podcasting; how to launch a show and the strategies to attract and build a large community of engaged listeners. In 2015, Americans listened to approximately 21.1 million hours of podcasts per day, according to Edison Research. But, is podcasting right for everyone? Will you capture your audience’s attention so that they become your loyal podcast fans? There are several factors to consider before your dive into podcasting, especially when you know every media initiative takes precious time and resources.

These five tips will help you if you want to launch a podcast and create a devoted community of listeners.

Tip #1: Know your purpose. Ask yourself, “What’s my passion and what am I trying to achieve?” You should select a show theme that you love in order to commit the time and energy necessary to make your podcast a long-term success. Of course, nailing down what success looks like is a critical first step. Goals and objectives should be specific. Are you trying to reach your base or perhaps increase your community size? Do you want to monetize your podcast (how much by when)? Are you interested in creating a network that goes beyond your podcast show? Are you trying to educate listeners and use your podcast as a thought leadership platform? Drilling down the details and benchmarking over time will help you to stay on track and reach your intended goals.

Tip #2: Talk to other podcasters. When you talk to people who are already podcasting or those working with podcasters on the production side, it really helps you to understand the time, energy and resources needed for your own program. Before I decided to dive into podcasting, I spoke with several podcasters to find out how they readied their content for primetime and also formed an alliance with the Social Network Station. I needed a strong partner who could do the heavy lifting when it came to producing, distributing and promoting my show. Having an experienced partner who understands the podcasting landscape really helps a busy professional to enjoy the podcasting experience rather than stress out over the process.

Tip #3: Spread the word about your show, everywhere you go. You have to let everyone know that you are podcasting. From your networking and speaking events to your website and social media communities, get excited and “talk up” your show. Whenever I share information about Women Worldwide, the outcome varies from friends and colleagues sharing show ideas / topics, getting introduced to amazing guests, capturing the attention of sponsors and advertisers and growing my community with more listeners.

Tip #4: Measure success with numbers. Podcast measurement is easy because you can go by the numbers. We use Libsyn to gauge at any given time the shows that create the most interest by the number of downloads. We’re able to identify where the download numbers are coming from whether it’s a marketing campaign through mobile ads or via Facebook. At the same time, we can review listener demographics including country, state, city and the gender of our listeners.

Tip #5: Listen to feedback and grow. Feedback is a gift whether it’s positive or negative. I’ve learned from my listener feedback to laugh and be more relaxed, share personal stories, and to interview guests who have experienced challenges on their way to success. I also learned through feedback that I had to invest more in broadcast quality equipment to get better sound quality. I’m using a Yeti Microphone, Audio-Technica Headphones (ATH-M50x) and a Knox Pop Filter. Feedback is the only way that you will learn and grow. Plus, if you incorporate listener feedback into your show, your community knows you care and value their opinions.

If you’re interested in learning more about podcasting and you would like to review additional tips, then you can check out the article, “Jump into Podcasting: 5 Tips From the Experts” by Joanne Hague on the Likeable Media blog.

 

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Finding the Time in 2015 to Achieve All of Your Goals

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Moto 360 ScreenshotA few months ago, I decided to review my 2014 New Year’s Resolutions to see if I had accomplished all of my goals. At the time, I had completed approximately three quarters of what I had set out to do for the year.  However, when I reflected on the areas where I fell short, my excuses (notice, I purposely used the word “excuses”) had to do with “time.”

Here’s what I heard myself saying as I went through some of my resolutions:

  • “I didn’t have enough time to do this.”
  • “I shouldn’t have wasted time doing that.”
  • “I wish I had focused more time here.”

In 2014, I also frequently found myself saying:

To our kids … “You’ll have plenty of time to do that,” or “All we have is time.”

To my students when they didn’t get the grade they wanted on the midterm, “Don’t let this single point in time define you.”

I’ve also heard myself saying to my colleagues, “Where does the time go?” And, during our #PRStudChat chat sessions, you’d see me tweet, “Wow, time flies!”

Everything that I did or didn’t do in 2014, came down to one simple factor … Time!

So, before starting off in 2015 with a new or expanded list of resolutions, it thought it would be a good idea to get this “time” factor in check. Here are my five simple time tips to get focused and to help find time in the New Year:

  • Don’t Meet, Unless It’s Important. What you can do in an email, you should do in an email. Only schedule conference calls with your clients, teams, colleagues, partners, etc., if it’s absolutely necessary. Of course, if you need to have a meeting, then make sure you have a good agenda prepared ahead of time and distributed in advance. The agenda will keep everybody on track and not allow your meeting to go into overtime. You also want to make sure you have clear goals of what should be accomplished during the meeting. When it comes to your meeting schedule and your precious time, first try to help, answer questions and solve issues through correspondence. However, if a meeting is truly necessary, then your best bet is to always guide the group with a planned agenda of discussion topics, allowing you to start and stop the meeting within a set timeframe and to accomplish your pre-planned goals.
  • Be Selective with Your News: Clean Out Your Inbox. There’s no need to have a cluttered inbox with 50 different news sources that you never get the opportunity to review. I find a lot of my emails come from news sources; some are very helpful newsletters to get the most important news and other sources that probably don’t need to be a apart of my daily reading. For me, theSkimm, Huffington Post, CommPRO.biz, Business Insider and my PRSA member newsletter give me a well-balanced look at daily world news and a good industry briefing. And, if you’re reading your news on your smartphone then, it’s important to find a good app, such as Circa or Flipboard, so you can get all of your most important news in an instant. Relying on a few good sources, delivering exactly what you need, is so much better than an abundance of sources that give you some helpful tidbits of information, but require you to search through articles, wasting more of your time.
  • Work in Scheduled Times to Check Social Media. Of course, if you’re a community manager then it’s your job is to be on social media more often to help your customers and to engage people in conversations. This particular time tip may not apply to you. However, if you’re like the rest of us, then you may find that selecting specific times to check your social media community activity is a much more efficient way to “listen” and engage. In a perfect world, I would like to be active on social media around 9 a.m. in the morning, at lunchtime, and then again in the evening. However, it’s really important to match the time you want to spend on social media with the time your community is the most active. In 2014, I often found myself at the mercy of my Twitter feed, at any given time. I’m going back to the set time method to check in, making sure my alerts are turned on should something of great importance pop up that needs my quick and careful attention.
  • Tech Test More For Productivity. When you learn about new resources that gather and filter information for you, suddenly you can become better organized and you have even more time to help others reach the same efficiencies. So, yes, Tech Testing your tools, platforms and resources, from your social media monitoring and measurement tools to team collaboration and project management platforms, takes a time investment at the onset. However, finding the right tools and platforms, based on what works best for you and your team, will lead to more productivity together and much less wasting of precious time as individuals working in silos.
  • Maximize Your Down Time. With the ability to take media “on the go” such as podcasts, and audio books, you can really make the best use of your down time. In 2014, I spent many hours commuting to New York to teach at NYU and plenty of time waiting for scheduled appointments. How many hours did you spend sitting in a waiting room for your doctor or your dentist appointments?. Having a subscription to Audible and listening to my favorite podcasts on iTunes is one of the best ways to learn in short clips. Yes, there are interruptions when you’re on the go and you’re experiencing bursts of knowledge. But, it’s better than not having the opportunity to use this time to experience something new. Learning is always my goal, so by maximizing my downtime time, by increasing my learning 10-fold, I’ll be able  to achieve so much more in 2015.

Now that I’ve shared some of the ways you can make “time of the essence” and not let “time fly by,” you can move forward into 2015 ready to plan, tackle, and, of course, achieve all of your goals.

How are you going to find the time, and what will you do differently in 2015, so that you it can be your most productive year?

 

#PRStudChat Challenge Winner

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Finally, we’re ready to announce the winner of the #PRStudChat Challenge.  The two finalists were:

Finalist #1: Karen Russell, PR Professor at the University of Georgia. Editor of the Journal of Public Relations Research. Karen’s collaborative lit review: http://bit.ly/9aT851 group SM book review: http://bit.ly/bW0l9Q offered a great example of the use of collaborative learning techniques in the classroom

and,

Finalist #2: Barbara Nixon, Assistant Professor, Southeastern University; Adjunct professor, Georgia Southern University. Barbara’s blog posts / assignments for #PRCA3030 (Social Media for PR) from Spring 2010 http://bit.ly/a4kZcW including a final project for which students had the option of creating their own Social Media Resume or writing a Social Media Policy for a client organization, gave students an opportunity to get experience that will directly impact their professional success.

Although both professors had excellent submissions, the winner of our challenge is:

(Drum Roll…….)

Winner: Barbara Nixon

Congratulations Barbara!  Here are your prizes:

We want to thank all of the professors and students who participated in the October #PRStudChat challenge.  We hope you will all help us to congratulate Barbara on being our winner.  Great job Barbara!

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