What do you call it...Twitter Chat?

WOW! That's one word that comes to my head when I think about the Twitter chat that I tried to take part in. Yes I said tried, I don't think I did a very good job. Or at least it wasn't very effective. I didn't actually 'talk' to anyone.

First off, I was confused because I am currently in the United Kingdom and I think I may have got confused with the times of the chat. A little hard to figure out. Second, I couldn't even find a place where people were having a conversation. I used the tweetchat website but it didn't help. Third, for some reason it would only load the last twenty tweets that were in the conversation. That didn't help anything because I couldn't look back at what happen before, if I missed something. 

So overall, all I read was twenty tweets and they were of the same four articles that had just been retweeted by different people. No one was saying anything about them or discussing them. To say I was confused would be an understatement.

One positive thing I can say about my experience is that the articles that I did read were excellent. I thought that they were an interesting read and something to keep in mind. I don't know that I will take part in another Twitter chat unless I can figure out a better way to use it efficiently. I would definitely go back to the chat to check out some of the new articles they have. If they are always that good it would be worth going back to check them out!

Why Research?

Research is the foundation of any good PR campaign. The information that is collected will be used to make crucial decisions. With accurate information a strategy is more likely to be very effective.

Research can be used in many different ways including, identifying target segments; plan for any issues that may rise; evaluate current and future competition; and measure success in a campaign. There are other reasons to do research but I think that these are some of the most important ones.

It is important to know what audience you will be targeting with your campaign so that you can adjust your key messages accordingly. You have to learn as many things about the target audience as possible so that you can understand what they are looking for. You must align your messages with their beliefs and habits.

Research will help make some of the most important decisions in a strategy. For example, if you do research such as a survey you may find out valuable information. You could find out who has been buying your product or services previously and why they have been buying it. When you find out this information it can be used to retain loyal customers and gain new ones by adjusting key messages and objectives.  

If you research your competition it may give you opportunity to see what they are doing and find a way to do it better so that you can sway their customers to your company. Also, by researching them you may find out what they are doing wrong and make sure your company isn't doing the same thing.

Research is a valuable tool and should always be one of the first things that is done in a PR strategy. If it is ignored then the strategy is sure to fail.

'PUBLIC'...Which one are you?

Public is a group of people with align standards, or some define it as a community. 


I am a member of the student public. I chose to become a student so that I could explore different career opportunities. I was ready to learn so that is what I am doing, learning everyday. Students are typically grouped into the lower income, younger people. There are exceptions to this though, especially in this program. Students can be a driving force to a new trend.

I am also a member of the traveller public or segment. I have travelled to many different places in the world. I am always researching new places to go and information on them. I am electronically signed up to tons of newsletters about travelling and deals and also have many flight watches. I would say that this demographic would be an airlines dream. If we see a deal we are likely to take it with no fear or hesitation as long as the funds are there, or sometimes even when they are not!

I am not sure if tech savy is the perfect way to describe the next public I am apart of, but I have too many gadgets for one person and know how to use them! By putting myself in this category am I by no means claiming to know the most. I don't.

I am the only person that lives in my apartment but my list of gadgets is LONG. I have a Blackberry, a computer, an Ipod, and an Ipad. I know what you're thinking and I find it a bit ridiculous at times too. Now I am not saying that I couldn't live without all these by I do manage to find uses for all of them. Today this is a large public to be apart of. I think whether it is good or bad is still up in the air.

 

If PR professionals could talk....

When we were given the assignment to interview someone in the field I was very excited. I saw this as an opportunity to learn real firsthand experience. It is always good to hear from someone who is doing exactly what you want to do.

Since I am looking to get into the tourism/travel/hospitality industry (I know there are a lot of options there, but I am still in school with time to decide!) the first place I thought of was Travel Manitoba. Travel Manitoba is a public crown corporation working to attract tourists to Manitoba, as well as let people from Manitoba know what is going on in their own province.

I sent out a couple of e-mails to one of the organization’s media coordinators and she was happy to help. When she was willing to take time out of her schedule to talk to me, it reminded me that when I get into the field to always be willing to pass my knowledge on as well!

When asked the media coordinator told me that there is no week that is typical for her. There are always different projects going on so it really just depends on what project is priority at the time. Some examples of what she does would be responding to many e-mails, working on a year end report of earned travel publicity throughout the world, dealing with travel writers, and keeping the social media up to date. That is just a few of the m many responsibilities she has.

There has been many projects that she has been proud of but one in particular was when a writer from Lonely Plant came to Winnipeg and was exploring seven Canadian cities. She was able to pitch ideas to the writer, help plan his itinerary, and hosting him. She was very proud to see the final product on the Lonely Plant website.

As we all know PR is an ever changing industry. So when I asked her what she does to stay current in the field she said that she attends 3 media events per year. These events are filled with an afternoon of professional development. Some of the most successful PR people will sit on a panel and answer any questions.

This woman attended Red River College, and before starting her career she wishes she would have had more hands on knowledge, especially when it comes to writing things such as communication plans.

She informed me that writing is so important in the industry. She has travel writers approaching her all the time so she needs to be able to communicate with them. They are always looking for quotes as well so it is important to choose the right words to get the message across.

When working for a corporation such as this, there is a lot of reporting that is required. All the money that has been spent has to be accounted for, and proof of what your work has done throughout the year is important.

Some final words of advice that she gave me were to have a polished portfolio that has great examples of your work and to spend time volunteering. I was happy to hear since I am trying to do as much volunteering as I can. It let me know that I am on the right track!