Make Social Media Work for you

February 25, 2010 at 5:28 pm · Filed under Uncategorized

Social Media is everywhere and part of  practically everything. It is so important for one considering the PR industry. Social Media can do work for you if you know how to use it correctly. All types of social media are not right for all projects. The spray and pray approach is not always the best. You should not put yourself out their in all forms of media and hope that the results are positive. This is a good way to look like spam or perhaps even unprofessional. When considering social media, you should consider the organization, its target publics and the current project and then make the decision as to what form of social media works best. The great thing about social media is that it continues to work for you even when you aren’t working. The blog posts, tweets or facebook groups are still live and generating buzz even when you are not logged on.

Some people also refer to social media as viral marketing. Regardless of what you call it, it is here and important to know how to use. I am not saying that social media will replace all forms of marketing/pr, but it is a nice supplement to them. Social media is not the wave of the future, it is the wave of the present. So log on and start learning because knowing the ins and outs of different forms of social media can be the difference in a successful and unsuccessful organization.

People need to reconsider what they think of as social. Social does not have to mean in a room full of people it can be in a chatroom full of people.  I personally utilize facebook and twitter. I also plan on signing on to linked in one of these days. Between those three and blogging keeping up with my online life can get pretty time consuming. I suggest for an organization planning on utilizing social media to set aside a certain amount of time in the morning and then perhaps again at the end of the day to manage their accounts. This is a good day to get buzz out or send out new information at the start of the day and then respond to feedback or send out updated info at the end of the day without spending your entire day checking for updates. Setting aside specific times for social networking can also make sure that it gets done everyday without consuming your day!

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OHHH RSS

February 18, 2010 at 11:27 pm · Filed under Uncategorized

To RSS or not to RSS? Or perhaps what the heck is the point of RSS? If you are like me these are some questions you might be pondering. RSS or Really Simple Syndication (I think not so simple syndication might be more appropriate, NSSS) is a type of web feed. These web feeds are designed to be used in conjunction with sites that are frequently updated, like perhaps other blogs. News might be another popular form of RSS feed. However, in this day and age one could probably use an RSS feed for a site with just about an type of information. The benefit of the RSS feed is that readers can subscribe to these feeds and thereby receive personal updates when a site is updated. For RSS amateurs such as myself, googlereader reader.google.com might be a good place to start. So, if you are feeling apprehensive about RSS or still don’t quite see the usefulness start here, get your feet wet and get updated!

Now, I would just like to share a little tid bit about my self. I am obsessed with the winter olympics. All of it-every sport. I am snowboarding around my house, lugeing in the bathtub and skating everywhere. Here is a little video of my favorite snowboarder and fellow red-head Shaun White on my other favorite’s , Ellen D. show. I am currently searching for clips of hum from his outrageous snowboarding last night and will promptly share them!

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Blogs about blogs

February 11, 2010 at 8:52 pm · Filed under Uncategorized

Blogs are a great way to express ideas, generate buzz about something great or blow off some steam. Of course, all of these blogs are different and should be kept separate because you never know who is going to read your blog. For example, don’t blog about how you hate your job when office employees know about and read said blog- this could lead to big problem.

Blogs are also a great way to earn some extra money. Some of the most popular blogs out there are blogs started by everyday people about the ups and downs of their lives. As we have read over and over: Be Creative Be Innovative.

Some of my favorite blogs to read (other than the guilty pleasure of celebrity gossip blogs) are fashion blogs and health blogs. Some of the fashion blogs I follow are written by people with average day jobs and a ton of insight. They can be really helpful to see where to find the best shoe sales or health tips!

This is a hilarious blog, I love to read. I actually wrote a paper on it once. Further more, the author will have her own reality show on HGTV soon! www.dooce.com

Fellow grad student turned intern, Molly Free, also has a super cute fashion blog I love to read. I think you ladies will enjoy it as well: http://molldoll428.blogspot.com/

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