Virginia's PR Blog

GM issue

vofferl — Thu, 04 Dec 2008 16:58:22 +0000

In class we examined the current GM problem. I did not really know much about the situation before class, but I cannot believe the representatives went to congress to ask for money in their private jets!!!! According to Adam Denison’s blog post, he was asking for PR theories associated witht the problem, not offering to change according to the public’s suggestions. I think GM has a lot of image restoration to do. They need to listen to the public because they have lost credibility and many people now view them in a negative light. I thought the idea of creating a website for feedback, like Starbucks, would be an excellent way to work towards solving this problem!

PR Example #3

vofferl — Tue, 02 Dec 2008 15:16:05 +0000

This weekend (December 5-6), the South Carolina High School Football League is hosting the annual Weekend of Champions. This is the weekend in which high school football teams from around South Caroline compete for the state championship. My sorority, Alpha Delta Pi, will be selling programs at this event on Friday and Saturday. There are two reasons why I think this is good PR for ADPi. First, all of the money that we raise (expected to be around $2,000) will be given to our sorority’s charity, the Ronald McDonald House. It will be good PR for RMH because we will be getting the word out about all they do to help families with children in the hospital. It will also be good for ADPi because people will learn that all of the money we raise is going to charity, not to our chapter. The second reason I think this is good PR is because with all 200 members of our chapter wearing our ADPi shirts and surrounding the stadium, high school students will see us and hopefully become interested in our sorority. They will see that we enjoy doing our part to help the community and raise money for charity, and hopefully want to join our sorority when they come to college!

Dr. V’s survey

vofferl — Tue, 25 Nov 2008 14:03:06 +0000

I was searching through twitter when I found Dr. V’s link to her survey about if blogs matter or not. I found the results very interesting. One of the most interesting statistics was that 91% of respondents think that the blogs of PR practitioners have a positive impact. I absolutely agree with this stat because blogs give PR professionals another way to reach people. They help clarify and clean up problems so they are absolutely positive and helpful. The other statistic I liked was that if given a choice between two identical job candidates, 74% of respondents said they would hire one with a blog over one without a blog. This shows how crucial having a blog is. It is vital that even after this class we continue to maintain our blogs because it puts us ahead of the competition and shows possible employees that we are comfortable with social media.

PR Example #2

vofferl — Thu, 20 Nov 2008 13:53:36 +0000

Yesterday I was walking by the freshman dorms on campus when a woman handed me a package of new Starburst GummiBursts. Not only were the Starburst employees handing out free candy, but they had set up a trailer where students could play Rockband. There were students lined up to get the candy and play in the trailer. I thought this was an excellent way for Starburst to introduce this new product. By handing the candy out for free, students were more willing to buy the candy and try it for the first time. Also, by giving them the option to play Rockband, a very popular video game, Starburst helped students associate new GummiBursts with fun!

Crisis Communication

vofferl — Tue, 18 Nov 2008 21:50:34 +0000

The past two classes have been about crisis communication and I have found that to be one of the most interesting things we have learned all semester.

Here are a few things I have learned:

NEVER LIE!!! If you lie it will most likely come back to haunt you. (example: Bill Clinton)
The way you deal with a crisis can become a second crisis so make sure you do it correctly.
If at all possible, do not remind people of the problem! However, be careful of your word choice and how you frame the issue so as not to offend anyone or downplay the event.
There are many strategies for image restoration. (assume responsibility, apologize, offer to rectify problems, scapegoating, denial, shifting blame)

MAC’s new recycling program

vofferl — Tue, 18 Nov 2008 21:39:46 +0000

Today in class Lee Anne talked about MAC make up company’s new recycling program. I think this is an excellent example of PR for many reasons. First, and most obviously, is the fact that it shows that MAC cosmetics cares about the environment and doing their part to recycle. It also give an incentive for people to bring in old MAC makeup so they can get a free lipstick. I think what is best about this campaign is that most people think of the beauty industry as pretentious and uncaring. This is the first campaign I have heard of that is a cosmetic company trying to help the environment. I have never worn MAC makeup, but it really does make their cosmetics more appealing to me because I know they are trying to do their part for the environment.

PR Example #1

vofferl — Tue, 18 Nov 2008 16:33:51 +0000

Today I talked about the current blood drive for my PR example. Although a classmate had already talked about it, I felt like I had a different approach.

When I was in the library I received two fliers. The first was handed to me by an employee of the Blood Connection. Although it had a picture of the tiger and gamecock, the main goal of the flier was the blood drive, not the competition. It also gave locations and dates for the blood drive. I found the second flier on a table. It focused solely on the competition, saying if we give the most blood we will beat USC.

I think it was a good PR strategy to have different fliers because it helps reach different people. Students who are obsessed with the USC/Clemson rivalry will be drawn to the competition, but others who may not feel as strongly might simply believe in doing good.

Why is it so hard for me to blog?

vofferl — Mon, 17 Nov 2008 16:21:04 +0000

Sitting in the library desperately trying to escape work, I decided to browse through my classmates’ blogs thinking it would take my mind off of my studies. However, all it did was make me realize how far behind I am in this class too! Its not that I never blog. I do my assignment diligently and correctly, but I can’t seem to get the hang of blogging for fun or when I think of interesting ideas.

This realization made me remember talking with Dr. V. in class about why we have trouble blogging. One of the main reasons is not for lack of ideas. I, like many of my classmates, have ‘ah-hah’ moments through the day that I’m sure would make great posts. However, once the moment passes, I seem to forget that thought and forget about blogging.

I have found it easier to use Twitter because posting there is short and to the point. Now I know blogging doesn’t have to be philosophical, but it is easier to update my status than start a whole new idea on my blog.

Any tips?

Response to BeingCheryl

vofferl — Mon, 17 Nov 2008 16:11:31 +0000

After reading Career Building for College Students, a blog by Cheryl, I realized that students today blow our responsibilities out of proportion. Cheryl makes it sound so simple. Reading her blog made me think, DUH!, why didn’t I think of that!

I think one of her best points was that students today say we don’t have enough time to fit things like internships into our schedules. Granted I feel like there is not enough time in the day to even sit down and breathe, if I was better at managing my time, I could get a lot more accomplished.

I always think I am too young to be worried about a job or an internship, but the truth is, it is never too early and in two years when I graduate, I don’t want to look back and wish I had done more!!

Blackboard readings for T. Oct. 28

vofferl — Mon, 27 Oct 2008 18:27:31 +0000

There were many readings for Tuesday so I am just going to comment on a few!

Top 5 Cooperate Blogging Mistakes

I really enjoyed this post on the top 5 cooperate blogging mistakes by David Meerman Scott. I think he is correct that many people who have just started blogging for their company don’t know much about blogging and begin rambling on about their products. This is why company’s have websites. If a customer wants to know about a product, he or she will go there. If the customer wants to read your thoughts or opinions, he or she should be able to find them easily on your blog.

The other interesting point Scott made was on the importance of the ‘About Me’ page. These pages are vital because they are the one place a blogger can go to find information on an author. They should be professional and informative, and maybe include a photo.

50 Ways to Take Your Blog to the Next Level

Here are the points I think are most important from this article by Chris Brogan.

#5 Up the ante on delivering original material. Get outside the echo chamber. Writing a me-too blog isn’t the way to build your blog to the levels you seek to attain.

#11 Get your own unique URL. (This will help people remember you and find you easily online!)

#16 Is your layout readable? (Needs to be easy to navigate and find information. Not everyone is a blogging professional!)

#23 Link (This is one of the most important things I have learned! Give credit where credit is due and make it easy for your readers to find articles you talk about )

#48 Build relationships with similar blogs

What did I learn?

I think one of the most important things I took away from these readings was blogger relations. The concepts I decided were most important when dealing with blogger relations were being relevant, personalizing, and making it easy and accessible. It is important for bloggers to feel like they can respond to your blogs and interact with you, so give them issues they want to talk about. Also, make it easy for them to do so. No one wants to spend 10 minutes on a page trying to figure out how to respond.

It is also important to have a target audience. Decide what you want to talk about. This does not mean you can only talk about one idea, but you will have more readers if people know what you are likely to talk about. It is also important to get your name out there. Using other social media tools, like Twitter, or listing your blog at the end of your emails will help raise awareness and interest.