Category Archives: Guest Post

Feb 8 2012

5 Tips on How to Manage Up in the Workplace

Taking the initiative + building relationships = Managing Up

Pretty easy and fairly simple, but many of us still struggle with this in the workplace. As such, here are some of the best tips I can provide on how to accomplish this feat:

1. Take Initiative- Do not wait to be told do something just do it. Look for ways to improve day-to-day operations. Suggest ideas with outside the box thinking. By taking initiative, you increase visibility within the company. Management will take notice.

2. Keep the Boss Informed- Communication is the key. Make sure they know everything there is to know about an assignment or project. This helps build a solid relationship with your boss.

3. Leave Personal Opinions to Yourself- Like mom always said, “If you don’t have nothing nice to say, don’t say nothing at all.” Despite how you personally feel about your boss, it should not deter you from giving maximum effort. This is tough because you’re not always going to agree with them. Plain and simple: Be professional at all times.

4. Stay Away from Office Politics- Beware of the internal struggles and daily gossip. Stay safe from being involved in any name calling accusations by not participating in any conversations degrading a co-worker. If you can’t say it directly to the person being mentioned don’t bother talking behind their back.

5. Build Relationships- There is no “I” in team. Make it a point to work well with others. Know their name and get to know them personally. People like to work with someone who treats them as equals. Everyone cheers for the team player that gets the promotion.

Managing up helps you add an irreplaceable value to the company. Do not restrict going above and beyond for just your boss. Do it for the team as well and all else will follow. Create a winning work environment where success is achievable through hard work.

About the Author
Kaleef M. Lloyd is an Indpendent Public Relations Practitioner & Social Media Strategist. He embraces the art of storytelling and feels everything has a story to tell. Find Kaleef on Twitter via @kaleefmlloyd.

 

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Jan 24 2012

How to Find and Secure a Part-Time Teaching Position in Public Relations

Opportunities abound for public relations professionals willing to share their expertise and passion through teaching. Here’s an overview of how to find these part-time teaching jobs at higher education institutions, based on techniques I’ve employed during fourteen years of teaching such classes.

- Check out regional listings under Yahoo by visiting here to identify universities where you’d like to teach. Next, visit a university’s website, identify academic programs that offer relevant classes, then move on to other university departments that may offer degree and non-degree granting programs. You also might search a university’s course listings using key words “public relations” and “marketing” to unearth courses.

- Visit websites that list part-time positions in higher education, such as: 1) The Chronicle of Higher Education; 2) Online Faculty Careers; 3) Inside Higher Ed; 4) HigherEdJobs; 5) The National Higher Education Recruitment Consortium; 6) AdjunctWorld Resources. These encompass opportunities in traditional classroom settings as well as online. I’ve found that using keywords “adjunct” or “part-time” combined with “teaching” or “instruction” (along with a geographic focus, if your goal is to teach in traditional classroom settings) will generate results.  Also explore general job search sites (e.g. Craigslist) as they often post announcements for adjunct teaching positions. On Twitter, follow @onlinefaccareer and search using the keyword “adjunct.”

- Once I identify programs that interest me, I secure the name of the person who screens and/or hires part-time instructors. I’ll then send that person a short e-mail (or leave a brief voicemail message), introducing myself, providing an overview of my experience, and stating an interest in adjunct teaching. I identify a class that’s already listed in the school’s catalog or on its Web site as one I’d like to teach in this initial query. The school might respond affirmatively to this inquiry, as they need someone immediately to take over teaching duties for the class. Alternatively, they may need someone on standby for the time when a faculty member is no longer available to teach. Should you receive a “no” or no response at all, don’t give up. Be persistent, and recognize that the lead-time for decision-making can vary from weeks to years.  I taught several classes at one university because I e-mailed the academic coordinator more than a year after my initial query, highlighting my availability and interest in teaching. The class I’d targeted eventually needed a new instructor, and that quickly evolved into a second class on a different topic (but one related to public relations).  My persistence paid off.

- You also can volunteer to be a guest speaker in an existing class by contacting the instructor. I’ve found highlighting a specialized area of knowledge (e.g., social media) as well as specific industry (e.g. education), sector (e.g. non-profit), and/or setting (e.g. agency, independent consultant) experience as the best approach to fit in to an existing course syllabus. A positive impression as a guest speaker can turn into an opportunity to teach an entire class. In addition to the techniques I’ve outlined above, it’s also important to let everyone know you want to teach part-time—particularly fellow members of professional organizations such as PRSA and IABC as well as friends and colleagues who work at educational institutions. Adjunct openings often are not advertised.

In short, teaching opportunities await public relations practitioners who spend the time to seek them out.  The techniques outlined here should give you a great start on that process.

About the Author
Dr. Mitchell Friedman (@mitchellfriedmn) has taught management communication and related topics to graduate students at the University of San Francisco, the University of California, Davis, and West Virginia University. He also provides professional development and education to public relations agencies. He recently completed doctoral dissertation explored leadership development in public relations. 

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Jan 18 2012

3 Ways to Get the Brand Awareness Your Company Deserves

You want people to know you and your company. But that’s not enough.

You have to keep people excited, informed and hungry for more of what you offer. And that starts with omnipresent – or as close to it as you can get!

So how do you get your brand the attention it deserves?

Find out what your audience cares about by leveraging social media platforms
There are powerful tools that can help you understand what your audience wants. So what can you do with them?

-Ask followers what they’d like to see more of
-Conduct polls about your products or services
-Take note of which posts people respond to most
-Try giveaways: This can range from providing useful how-to content for free to offering a free product or webinar. Money is often a barrier to entry—give people the opportunity to try your product or service, love it, and come back for more.

Show people you’re human
Imagine you’re a PR pro for a celebrity. Would you pitch a piece on how many tweets Kim Kardashian gets per month? No. You would cater to what people want to know, like her workout plan, what she eats for breakfast and who she hangs out with. Surprisingly, people do actually want to know these things about Kim K.

The same rule applies to your brand. Yes, you want to provide useful information, but there’s a great benefit to creating and showcasing the culture around your brand. Share YouTube videos of co-workers joking around, encourage your team to mingle at events, create a blog with personality that highlights fund tidbits about employees. People are far more likely to remember you if you let them get to know you.

Find opportunities to share your work
Find speaking opportunities, reach out to bloggers, and submit your publications to magazines. Be creative!

Have you tried submitting your work to awards programs? Ragan Communications’ PR Daily Awards program, for example, (Disclaimer: I work for Ragan) is a great way to get your work in front of prestigious judges (from CNN to The Los Angeles Times) and boost brand awareness.

Winners are awarded a free registration to a Ragan conference of their choice. And, as our conferences feature companies like Southwest Airlines, Ogilvy 360 Digital Influence, and Mashable, it’s an opportunity to learn from and connect with the best and brightest in PR and social media.

Learn more about the PR Daily Awards and submit your entry.

What creative strategies do you use to build awareness of your brand? Please share this with your network and leave a comment on this post!

About the Author
Sam Hosenkamp is Ragan’s social media director. She grew up in the deserts of Saudi Arabia and San Diego, and graduated from the University of Michigan with degrees in English and Psychology. Connect with her on Twitter via @SamHosenkamp.


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				Jan
				12
				2012
			
		

		
To Stick with your Social Media Program or to Abandon It, That is the Question

	


		

		
Getting yourself into social media is a breeze. Membership is free and setting up shop on Twitter, Facebook, Google+ and LinkedIn takes all of about an hour.


Getting yourself out of social media is another question altogether. How do you judge program performance? How do you know if the ends justify the means? How can you tell whether you’re one Tweet away from roaring success or only throwing good money after bad?


Here are factors to consider when determining whether it’s time to make a strategic withdrawal from social media.


Decide with Metrics


One of the silliest ideas floating around is that social media is somehow above or beyond statistical analysis. Don’t buy into this thinking. If your social media program does not have metrics in place, you’ll need to put them in place and track performance for several months in order to make an informed decision on whether to continue or terminate your effort. Whatever your program’s goal, there are performance metrics that can be associated with it.  For instance, retweets and mentions are measures of brand awareness. Blog and Facebook comments are measures of engagement. Referred traffic and form fills are measures of conversion.


For a plug-pulling discussion, the key consideration is not magnitude, but the trend. If numbers are going up, keep going. If numbers are flat or declining – and you can’t think of ideas for improving – consider other marketing options.


Decide with Business Sense


Even though social media metrics exist, they are far from perfect and should always be considered in the context of your general business sense of what’s going on. Contextual issues to consider include:


Anecdotal evidence. Managing social media from an ivory tower can be deceiving. When you’re in the trenches, reading comments, responding to tweets, etc., you may find success stories that don’t show up in the analysis:  For example, if you secure one new customer with a lifetime value of $100,000, this alone may justify your social media program. On the flip side, the numbers might show tons of retweets, but if they all involve strategically unimportant tweets, they may have little or no value.


Competitive evidence. How are your competitors doing in social media? If some of them are doing well, it indicates your program has the potential to succeed. However, if few (or none) of your competitors are thriving, it could mean that social media is not a good option in your niche.


Decide with Every Option in Mind


Withdrawing from social media to save money is risky; withdrawing to devote resources to another, more promising program is smart. The problem with eliminating social as a cost cutting maneuver is the difficulty of starting up again when your business returns to expansion mode. Certain Internet marketing activities, such as pay-per-click advertising, can be turned off and on like a faucet. In the social space, however, consistent presence is critical. A sudden withdrawal may inspire conversations that negatively impact your brand, and you’ll have a hard time winning people back if you return.


Decide by Process of Elimination


If you decide to abandon social, you won’t want to look back and wonder, “What if?” To avoid abandoner’s remorse, ask yourself and your organization the following questions before taking the step.


    

  • Have we given social media our best effort?
    • 

  • Were our goals clearly defined?
    • 

  • If we lack internal resources, would it help to outsource some or all of the work?
    • 

  • If we are outsourcing, would it help to bring some or all of the work in house?
    • 

  • Are there any bold ideas that we can try?
    • 

  • Would it make sense to scale back rather than eliminate social media, and give our customers time to catch up with us?
    • 



It is not smart to abandon social media because you are so repelled by the idea of social media that you are blinded to its high potential in your business. Neither is it wise to give up because of a negative comment or two, or even several. People are going to talk about your brand whether you have a social media presence or not … which, come to think of it, is a really good reason to have one.


About the Author

Brad Shorr is Director of Content and Social Media for Straight North, a Chicago marketing agency.  They specialize in B2B, with clients in niche industries such as credit card processing and GPS vehicle tracking. A blogger since 2005, Brad writes frequently on social media and copywriting topics. Contact Brad on Twitter via @BradShorr.


 


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				Jan
				6
				2012
			
		

		
5 Simple Ways to Stand Out with Your Clients

	


		

		
“Stop trying to fit in when you were born to stand out” – What a Girl Wants


Have you ever met someone who stood out so much that their presence was not only apparent, but remains your paradigm for remarkable?


The first time I met such a person, he walked into the room and said a genuine “hello” to everyone – even the people he didn’t know. He asked, “how was your weekend?,” and stayed to listen to the response. He was warm, kind, and honest when answering questions. He tried to relate to others. Best first impression I ever had.


My encounter with this person taught me about what good client service looks like, and why clients abandon some companies, but praise others and refer their friends.


Here are few simple things I think we can do to stand out with our clients as well.


1. Personalize the client experience


Whether addressing the principal or the most junior person on their team, your ability to personalize their experience is one of the easiest ways to create a lasting relationship. When working in Investor Relations, I kept notes about my conversations with clients, including little details about their families or hobbies. Sending something as little as a birthday card can also go a long way. Although your ultimate goal is to demonstrate results, your amiableness and understanding of what they care about shows them that you are always listening.


2. Be intuitive and proactive about client needs


If you know your clients, you can anticipate what might help them achieve their goals or make it easier to complete a task, even when it means going out of your way. Over-delivering demonstrates just how committed you are to their success.


3. Present a logical story and never hide in times of need


There are times when things don’t go as planned, and you need to deliver the bad news. In these times it is important to be there for your clients and to relay the problem logically. In late 2007, I interned for a financial advisory group in an investment bank. I remember how appreciative clients were when their advisors reached out to them in the most difficult times to explain the situation and deliver a plan of action.


4. Never answer a question without knowing the answer


When you don’t know the answer to a question, it is professional to say that you don’t know, but that you are happy to find out and get back to the client. Pretending that you do might destroy your credibility. It is impossible to know everything, and clients will appreciate that you listen to their concerns and get back to them with the right answer.


5. Be detail oriented


It’s on every job description, and it’s a great way to stand out. There are many ways your work can go wrong, but a spelling mistake shouldn’t be one of them. Mechanical or simple math errors are easily avoidable if you have the right tools for checking your work. A reputation for mistake-free work builds a foundation for trust.


What other simple tactics can make you stand out from the crowd?


About the Author:

Marina Tsipenyuk is marketing professional with experience in the financial services, music, and beauty industries. She currently works in the marketing department of a french beauty company, and has previously worked in the marketing department of a fund of hedge funds and interned in a Public Relations firm during her time in Rutgers. Connect with her on Twitter via @msipen. 


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