Annie Morales

Social media has become one of the largest and fasting growing trends on the Internet. Individuals, companies and organizations are using them to engage with their audiences. Social networking is vitally important because there are people on the Internet already taking, so why not join the conversation. Sites like Twitter, Facebook, Myspace, LinkedIn, Blogger, WordPress and hundreds of other sites have become the number one way to network. Blogging has become a great way to get thoughts, ideas and information out to the public.

“According to technorati.com, 50 percent of bloggers are between the ages of 18 to 34, two-thirds are male and 70 percent have college degrees. Pew Internet & American Life Project reports that 27 percent of Internet users read blogs.” (PR Online Social Networking) Social media sites are a way to get news out to a companies public. News is quickly moving to the Internet, newspapers are almost a thing of the past.

PR professionals should use social networking for engaging in conversations and building relationships.  It is a way to monitor what is being said about you, your brand, your company, etc. For more ways that PR professionals to get involved in social networking check out Heather Yaxley blog.

Technology is becoming more advanced each day and there are many ways the PR profession can use these new advances. Audio and video is a great tool for PR professions to learn how to use.

“If a picture is worth 1000 words, good video and audio clippings to media has to be worth at least 100,000!” (Action Strategies).

It is important now in this new technological world to not just have still and lifeless pictures for you PR campaigns and on your Web sites.  Now, PR professionals must use video and audio to keep the audiences attention. A great way to release audio and video out into the public is on social media site. Most all sites have a widget that allows for audio and video to be placed right within their sites. On Yahoo videos there is a great video on “Marketing With Audio And Video on Social Media & Social Networking Sites.”

By using audio and video along with tradition media, you can reach out to more of you target audience. It is a great tool to draw people into your company or organizaion. Sites like BizPods Productions can help PR professionals to learn how to make a podcast. The Internet has a endless supply of information on how to use audio and video, why to use it and the ways to make it successful.

focus group report

Interview Report

Southwest Airlines Social Media Monitoring Data Table
southwest-airlines-social-media-monitoring-report
Southwest Airlines Social Media Monitoring Report
swa

Project By: Annie and Rachel

There are many blogs on the Internet that are looked at by millions of people.  Many views want theses bloggers to write on subject important to them.  Therefore it is important to know exactly how to ask a blogger to write what you want.  Whether pitchers are working for a company trying to get their name out or for a local newspaper or just for themselves, they must know how to properly pitch an idea to bloggers.

The first thing pitchers need to do is get involved in the blog that they want to give the idea too.  If you are not commenting and creating conversations with the blogger before you pitch then they will not give you the time of day.

Then next way you need to approach a blogger is to get to know the author and personalize the pitch e-mail you send them.  This shows them that you are only sending this idea to them and they are special.  In the email you need to mention how blogging about your topic will benefit them.

Do not treat bloggers like journalists! They are more than likely already getting many press releases and do not need anymore! Also make sure you content is relevant and current.  Blogs are all about timeliness; if it is not up-to-date they will not blog about it.

It is crucial to build a relationship with the blogger because that is lasting.  Engaging with the author of ht blog helps you to get ahead of your competition. Lastly, there are no set rules for pitching blogs so be creative!

When writing e-mails to professionals, teachers, reporters or anyone in an authority position it is important to make a good first impression.  The most important thing is to spell the person’s name correctly and use it formally. It is one of the first things the person sees and they will dismiss your e-mail if it is spelled wrong or in a casual format, such as “Hey Annie.”

Another great e-mail tip is to proofread, proofread, proofread!!! It sounds simple but if you step away from the e-mail for a few minutes and come back you might find an error you didn’t catch before. One thing that makes an e-mail look more professional is having a signature. Make sure to include your full name, position in company, contact details and a website, if you have one.

Make sure that the subject line is descriptive.  The reader wants to know what the e-mail is about before they read it. Never put “READ IMMEDIATELY” or “VERY IMPORTANT” in the subject line; this e-mail might not be important to them and it will come across as irritating. A tip that will help you cut down the e-mail is to be concise.  Do not tip toe around what you are writing about just get to the point. Most of the time people do not have all day to read their e-mail and quick e-mails are more often read all the way through.

Some last things to consider when writing an e-mail is to be polite, keep it simple and format your paragraphs.  Follow these tips to a better and more professional e-mail.

Blogging has impacted the world of public relations significantly.  Reading and being actively involved in blogs is key to learning and growing in the PR profession. There are blogs on anything and everything, so start reading and responding!

“The power of bloggers to influence thought, to reach large numbers of people and even to eclipse the impact of traditional media is huge and will grow even larger in the near future,” Blogging and Social Media expert Don Crowther announced today at the 2007 Blogword and New Media Expo in Las Vegas.  (http://www.webpronews.com/insiderreports/2004/10/12/blogging-for-pr)

Bloggers are public relations practitioners on the Internet.  In order to further succeed in a PR plan, blogging is an important component.  Blogs can bring feedback into a company and produce positive messages.  Blogs are a way to bring conversation between customers and businesses.  These are all PR techniques that practitioners can use via the Internet and blogs.

Another great thing about blogs is it lets PR professionals feel like journalist.  Public relations practitioners can get in the head of a journalist through blogging. It helps PR professions to bridge the gap between PR and journalist.  Knowing how journalists think is important to making and keeping a good relationship with reporters. In order to correctly pitch a story and get it recognized by the media, you have to think like a journalist.  (http://www.flacksrevenge.com/2008/12/more-on-blogging-and-pr.html)

Overall, blogs have become a vital tool in public relations. Blogs aid in the PR process and helps to expand conversations.  Knowledge is power and blogs spread knowledge to all that are willing to listen.

Ethnography Project – Junk Food