social media – University of Oregon PRSSA

February 23, 2018

Strategic Social Media Tips For Brands

By Kate Templeton

Social media has become a prominent and critical tool in the world of public relations. The online presence of a company can either make or break its reputation. When working in PR, it’s important to understand this powerful tool and how to find the most success while using strategic social media tactics. Here are a few tips for using social media to positively support a brand’s digital presence.

Use Hashtags Professionally.

Hashtags are a great tool to grow an online following and engage with users. There are specific social media tactics that are important when using hashtags. For some brands, using the same hashtag on every post creates consistency. This eventually can be seen as a slogan for the company, and all posts that accompany the hashtag are easy to find. Hashtags can also be used to gain traction and reach more users. Because they are easily searched, using relevant hashtags that appeal to the audience will help the brand expand.

Pay Attention to Your Audience.

Discovering what the audience cares about is a crucial step in creating an online brand. Public relations professionals have the opportunity to listen to the conversations their audiences are having on social media platforms. Responding to comments, questions and listening to critiques will help a brand find more success.

Consistency is Key.

When developing a strong social media presence, it is essential to pay attention to the full image the brand portrays online. Developing a consistent look and voice will help establish a solidified image throughout. The design and graphic elements should be similar to increase audience engagement and differentiate the brand from others.

Create a Strategy.

Not every social media platform is going to be beneficial for every brand. Organizations should only focus on social platforms that add value to their company. Create and implement a social media strategy that will meet the brands’ unique goals and objectives.

Analytics, Analytics, Analytics!

It’s one thing to post consistently on social media accounts, but it is another to actually grasp how the audience is responding. The use of analytics is necessary when evaluating the effectiveness of social media strategies. This can help companies reach the correct audiences that positively impact the brand. (Check out Sierra’s blog post last week for more insights on social media analytics)!

You will now be one step ahead when using social media to professionally maintain a client’s brand!

February 19, 2018

What You Need to Know About Social Media Analytics

By Sierra Goodman

Social media analytics is a measuring tool that helps professionals monitor their digital audience and performance. Analytics allows them to see what strategies work and what strategies don’t in order to use the platforms as efficiently as possible. Reading and understanding these numbers can be a bit daunting and difficult to interpret. As rising PR professionals, social media analytics can bolster a resume and portfolio with quantifiable results. Here is what you need to know about social media analytics:

Reading SM Analytics

Filtering through all of the noise is the first step to categorize the information and understand what is and isn’t important. Facebook and Twitter provide free built-in analytics through the platform. If you are looking for deeper insights, you may want to consider “freemium” social media management applications such as Google Analytics, Meltwater, Hootsuite, and Buffer. Many employers use these programs to help clients run their social media accounts and set goals.

While these programs will do some of the legwork, running a social media audit by categorizing past post into themes (videos, links, photos, etc.) will help you determine which themes produce the best results. This, in turn, will help you figure out which content to invest more time and energy. For example, you discover that over the past three months, posts about new products receive significantly more likes and shares than events. This could help you and your organization pivot to create more content that your viewers like to see.

Reach VS. Engagement

Reach and engagement are often confused to mean the same thing. Reach refers to the number of people that have viewed your post while engagement is all the likes, shares and comments your post has received. Engagement may be oddly high at times — when this happens some investigation may be needed. Perhaps a post went viral or became popular for a reason. The high engagement will affect your data for about a month until it gets back to normal. This occurs because of Twitter, Facebook and Instagram’s algorithms that send posts with high engagement to the top of people’s feeds.

Boost Your Portfolio and Resume

It’s a competitive world out there and social media analytics can help boost your resume and portfolio with tangible results. Running the social media account for a club, organization, nonprofit, or even your own professional accounts will show employers your social media knowledge extends beyond personal use.

When you first start tracking analytics, be sure to record the number of followers and the average post engagement and reach. That way you can determine how you have increased followers, engagement and reach over time. It is one thing to say you “increased social media presence” but you offer more credibility if you can say that you increased followers by 25 percent and the average engagement by 30 percent over a six-month period. Plus, you can turn your results into an infographic to make your portfolio aesthetically pleasing.

If you want to learn more about social media analytics, sign up for Kelli Matthew’s strategic social media class at the SOJC.

April 7, 2017

UO PRSSA’s Top 20 Twitter Influencers

It started as a simple question to a professor: “Who should I be following on social to keep up to date on the industry and learn more about PR and media in general?” From there, it blossomed into an idea to compile a list of people and companies students in the SOJC should be following in order to learn outside of the classroom. Each account was chosen by professors in the SOJC (with a few bonuses added by myself) and includes a small blurb about why students should be following. In no particular order, these accounts will give students a diverse range of profiles so they can learn about the media climate, techniques to use and the wonderful, crazy world outside of Eugene.

Lydia Polgreen: @LydiaPolgreen

She is the editor-in-chief of The Huffington Post. She is believed to be the first woman of color to head a major news organization. She has an international perspective as a former foreign correspondent who grew up in Ghana. She was quick to adapt to digital news and is a prolific Twitter user. She’s working to reenergize a newsroom that had previously had only one editor—Arianna Huffington, the organization’s founder.

Fast Company: @FastCompany

Originally a monthly magazine, now a popular news website, Fast Company focuses on business, technology, and design. Fast Company operates as a network of websites online that focus on a variety of issues from the environment to the economy. Students should follow if they are considering entrepreneurship in their future.

Recommended by Public Relations Professor Kelli Matthews

Brian Stelter: @BrianStelter

He is the host of CNN’s @ReliableSources and is a senior media correspondent. Students should be following him because he will help them to understand the latest developments in modern media. He is especially knowledgeable about media coverage of the political landscape.

Recommended by Journalism Professor Damian Radcliffe

Kelli Matthews: @KelliMatthews

She is a PR professor at the SOJC, but is known nationally for her social media know-how. “She’s the first person I thought of in terms of Twitter importance. I’ve learned so much from her.”

Recommended by Public Relations Professor Dean Mundy

Gini Dietrich: @ginidietrich

Gini Dietrich is the founder and CEO of Arment Dietrich. She is very involved in the PR world and has authored books and blogs on the subject of digital marketing communications. She operates “Spin Sucks,” which students should also follow.

Recommended by Public Relations Professor Kelli Matthews

Salena Zito: @SalenaZito

She writes for The New York Post and The Washington Examiner. She accurately predicted that Donald Trump would win Pennsylvania when no one else did. She is now a commentator for CNN. She lives just outside of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, which takes her out of the bubble that tends to envelop media based in New York and D.C. “I’ve found her reporting and perspective highly valuable over this year.”

First Draft News: @firstdraftnews

The account is for a non-profit working on solutions to challenges with trust and truth in news. Following will teach students about social media reporting, verification tips and case studies.

Recommended by Journalism Professor Damian Radcliffe

Arik Hanson: @arikhanson

Arik Hanson is the head of ACH Communications. He focuses on a blend of digital and traditional PR through multiple marketing channels. He has been in the communications industry for more than 20 years and has worked with Fortune 500 companies as well as small boutiques. Students should follow him to learn about theory and different parts of the industry.

Recommended by Public Relations Professor Kelli Matthews

Karen Freberg, Ph.D: @kfreberg

She is from Louisville. She’s amazing and provides a ton of great information on Twitter. I’ve learned so much from her.

Recommended by Public Relations Professor Dean Mundy

Spin Sucks: @SpinSucks

Founded by Gini Dietrich, Spin Sucks intends to “change the perception people have the PR industry.” Tweets focus on how to use PR without becoming a “shark” and to be respected in the industry.

Recommended by Public Relations Professor Kelli Matthews

Margaret Sullivan: @Sulliview

She’s a columnist for The Washington Post and former public editor for The New York Times. She is one of the sharpest media analysts working today. She tweets links to her own work as well as other noteworthy links and engages with followers. “I don’t miss anything [she] writes.” She’s an important figure as the media learns how to handle the Trump administration. “An essential follow for any student who wants to be an engaged citizen of the world. I don’t say that lightly.”

Recommended by Journalism Professor Lori Shontz

News Whip: @NewsWhip

The account offers news, trends and insights from the world’s most advanced content intelligence platform. It has great data on social, including analysis of campaigns, platforms, publishers etc.

Recommended by Journalism Professor Damian Radcliffe

Corey duBrowa: @coreydu

He is a University of Oregon alum and the current VP of Communication for Starbucks. He’s great on Twitter. He not only represents Starbucks well, but has a great Twitter personality overall.

Recommended by Public Relations Professor Dean Mundy

PR Daily: @PRDaily

Advertised as, “your one-stop shop for news on PR, marketing, social media & more,” PR Daily has everything and anything a PR major would need to know about the industry. It is important for students to stay updated on what is occurring on a daily basis in order to stay current in an ever-changing market.

Recommended by Public Relations Professor Kelli Matthews

Jay Rosen: @jayrosen_nyu

He’s a journalism professor at New York University. He is one of the smartest media analysts and critics working today. He tweets links to his own work and shares other noteworthy links. He engages with followers on Twitter and his blog. “I don’t miss anything he writes.” He is an important press figure in the media in terms of politics. “Essential readings for students who want to be engaged citizens of the world.”

Recommended by Journalism Professor Lori Shontz

Bulldog Reporter: @BulldogReporter

“Bulldog Reporter serves PR professionals by delivering industry news, opinion and analysis.” Students should be following because the account is produced by PR professionals for PR professionals and will help students establish career techniques and principles that they will be able to take with them when they enter the job market post-undergrad.

Recommended by Public Relations Professor Kelli Matthews

Tina McCorkindale: @tmccorkindale

She is the President and CEO of the Institute for PR. She is an amazing leader (and all-around amazing person), great Twitter personality and provides a ton of great resources that bridges academics and practitioners. She was the PRSSA national adviser. (I’d also recommend following the Institute for PR. It is a great organization with many resources.)

Recommended by Public Relations Professor Dean Mundy

Pew Research Center: @pewresearch

Data. Data. Data. PR is based on results in so many ways. By following Pew Research Center, students can learn about data and analysis on “issues, attitudes and trends” in the U.S. Following will help students stay up to date on the latest trends.

Recommended by Public Relations Professor Kelli Matthews

Juan-Carlos Molleda: @GlobalPRMolleda

Students should be following the Dean of the School of Journalism and Communication for a multitude of reasons:

1) To learn more about the happenings at UO and #LifeAsAJStudent.

2) To learn about the PR industry as Dean Molleda has years of experience working professionally.

3) To get a more global perspective from a very worldly person.

University of Oregon PRSSA: @UOPRSSA

Follow the University of Oregon chapter of the Public Relations Student Society of America in order to stay up to date on our events and meetings and gain firsthand experience networking with local professionals. Engage in our workshops and learn about navigating the SOJC!

Recommended by author/PRSSA member Jillian Niedermeyer

January 26, 2017

How to Create Portfolio-Worthy Samples without a Summer Internship

By Talia Smith

It’s the PR major’s dream to snag a big-name internship over the summer, plop it on your resume in the fall and have a dream job nailed down by the time your graduate; it doesn’t always work out that way. Some of us spend the summer taking classes, traveling or working. There’s nothing wrong with that, and in fact, there are still plenty of ways to keep building upon your résumé and portfolio if interning does not fit into your summer plans. Here are some options to consider:

Create Your Own Blog

Writing consistently over the summer is a great way to practice discipline. If you can give yourself deadlines to meet, then not only will you improve your writing but you will end up with at least one solid piece to add to a portfolio. Employers like to hear that you write for pleasure because it’s an indication writing is more than a just requirement but it’s also something you are passionate about.

A few summers ago, I wrote a travel blog when I took a cross-country trip. I mentioned it in a cover letter which was later brought up in an interview. Mentioning my travel blog opened up a conversation which would not have otherwise been brought up in an interview, and the more conversational you can make an interview the better!

Write Freelance

After creating a collection of samples from your blog, you can take your writing a step further and try freelance writing. There’s a bit more effort required for writing freelance, some trial, and error, but after all of the hard work you could end up with a published piece of writing that will hold weight in your portfolio.

First take a look at the writing opportunities offered on campus. There’s the Emerald, Spoon University, and Her Campus, to name a few. If you’re looking to make a little bit of cash, you could check out a freelance writing aggregator website which will post opportunities. If you have an idea for an article, you could approach a local publication and pitch them an idea. They might want you to write the story and often appreciate articles from a college student perspective.

Manage a Social Media Account

Do you have a family member with a small business? A friend who is an aspiring musician? Or are you a volunteer somewhere that is lacking an online presence? Offer to create or manage a social media account over the summer and see how many followers you can gain. Coordinating social media for someone will provide you with quantitative results to add to your resume and you can include the screen grabs in your portfolio. That’s a summer side hustle well spent!

Volunteer Design Skills

Do you have an eye for graphic design? There are plenty of nonprofits that could use your help designing flyers, brochures, posters, social media graphics and more. Whether you have access to Adobe InDesign or use the “freemium” design website, Canva, you can really make a difference to a local charity or fundraising event by offering your skills. At the end of the event, you’ll have a spread of pieces to add to your portfolio.

If an internship is not in the cards this summer, there are still plenty of opportunities to contribute to your portfolio and expand your resume. Each of these suggestions requires self-initiative which future employers will appreciate. While you’re hitting the books, traveling abroad or working at the pool this summer, see if you can arrange one of these side projects to keep adding to your repertoire of communication skills.

October 27, 2016

Tips for a Successful Social Media Plan

By Erica Freeze

In today’s technologically advanced society, more companies are incorporating social media into their marketing and communications plans. For a company’s social media platform to gain attention, strategists should devise a social media plan. Every interaction that is made on social networks should work towards the organization goals. The more time and effort spent on a social media plan, the more effective it will be in its implementation. If your employer asks you to generate a social media plan, here are five ways tips to consider to ensure its success:

Step 1: Define social media objectives and goals

Establishing plan objectives allows you to make changes to your social media campaigns and platforms if they are not coinciding with your goals. Goals need to be established to gauge the overall success of the campaign. When setting your campaign goals, think of the acronym, “S.M.A.R.T.” This acronym is a great way to remember that your goals should be “specific, measurable, attainable, relevant, and time-bound.” Some examples of goals may be: increasing company awareness, increasing sales or increasing visitor loyalty. The goal is important to establish because it is the driving force of a social media plan.

Step 2: Conduct a social media audit

A social media audit is a process of analyzing what is working and what is not across your company’s social media platforms. When first starting your audit, take note of post frequency and follower interactions on each channel. From this, you can compare how your numbers change each month or each year. You can determine which platforms are worth keeping, enhancing or disregarding.

Step 3: Construct a content strategy

Creating a timeline and planning the content to post is helpful in the organization and originality of each platform. Cater your content to your company image, your audience, and the platform. An example: Should we post something funny or more serious? Should a video or a status be posted? Once your content is established, you can decide how frequently to post it on each platform. There are many studies that provide useful information about optimal posting times for each medium. Finding the perfect frequency to post can generate more engagement for your content.

Step 4: Engagement

It is important to see how your followers engage with your content on each platform. Keep track of how well each post is doing on likes, shares, and comments. Be on top of both negative and positive feedback. Instead of deleting negative comments, try to turn the customer’s perception around with positive advice and understanding. Showing that you care about your customers on social media can attract more followers and enhance customer loyalty.

Step 5: Evaluate and Alter your Plan

After you have implemented your plan, you should watch for what is working and what is not. You can use an analytics tool such as Google Analytics to provide data on website traffic. Once you see which content is driving the most traffic, you can apply this awareness to new posts. Because social media is constantly growing and changing, it is important to frequently analyze your successes and failures. From this, you can reconstruct your social media plan to best benefit your organization.

April 20, 2016

Don’t Let Social Media Stop you From Getting a Job

By Arunima Bhattacharjee

Last night’s party was a blast! You and your friends drank and today, you decided to share all of those pictures and videos on your social media: Facebook, Twitter, Instagram etc. Your friends will have a great laugh, people will see how crazy you were at the party and everything will remain a memory. Until one day when you apply for a job, and your recruiting employer decides to check your social media. When they see all your pictures from that night, they will either think you are a very social person or they might actually reject you based on what you did in the past.

Social media is a great place for employers to learn more about a potential candidate. About 93 percent of recruiters check the social media profiles of prospective candidates before they make a decision to hire them. And sometimes, what they find can be a major factor in hiring that person or not. A survey conducted by CareerBuilder with 2,200 hiring human resource managers found that 48 percent of hiring managers didn’t hire a candidate based on what they found on their social media.

Now I am quite positive that you don’t want to be that person who gets rejected from a job because of something you posted on social media. Therefore, here are some tips that can help you brand yourself on social media:

Identifying your brand
From the moment you went on cyberspace you formed your own brand. Google yourself, know what’s coming up when you search your name. The privacy settings on Facebook changes often, so be cautious of what is public and what isn’t. Therefore model a good positive behavior. If you want to impulsively post and share things, do it with positive intentions.

Be Real
Your employer wants to know if you’re really the person you say you are, and social media is there to prove it to them. You don’t have to post things on Facebook or twitter to look more experienced or knowledgeable. You just have to be you (without the drunken pictures of course.)

What you write on social media matters
If you had a bad experience at a previous job, don’t write about it on social media. The hiring manager for your current job prospect will definitely not appreciate what you had to write about your previous employers, and that might put you at risk to getting the job. These 10 people lost their jobs because of something they posted on social media. You don’t want to be them before you even get the job.

Social media is filled with information about all of us. You don’t have to be fake to make yourself look appealing to the job recruiter. However, be conscious about what you post on your Facebook or Twitter. Just be yourself and don’t over exaggerate about your abilities or change your name to provide more security to your private life. Employers will like it if you do have social media because it proves you are up-to-date with the internet and obviously because you have a social life. So go out there into cyberspace and fix what needs fixing.

March 16, 2016

PR on a Budget: 5 Free or Cheap Tools to Stretch Your Dollars to the Max

Guest Blog Post by Josh Wei, Founder of UltraPress, the fastest and cheapest place for custom apparel.

There’s a commonly perpetuated lie in the small business world. It goes like this: “You can’t be successful at PR, because it’s too expensive.” Unfortunately, many SBOs take this statement as fact and never even attempt to develop a PR strategy. As a result, they’re left scrambling to compete against bigger companies with deeper pockets.

While PR can get expensive, it doesn’t have to be out of your price range. For even just a few hundred dollars per year, you can invest in a full-fledged PR campaign that pushes your brand to the top. However, you have to be willing to ignore the noise and silence the myths.

PR Isn’t Optional
Contrary to what some say, PR is not optional. Regardless of the size of your business, the industry you operate in, and the budget you have at your disposal, you can’t ignore PR. As soon as you have a product created and a brand developed, you must begin working on relationship building.

According to business writer Jerome Cleary, there are four main reasons why PR matters for a small business. They are as follows:

Brand reputation. This is by far the number one reason for investing in PR. “The more your brand is recognized,” says Cleary, “the higher you are perceived as a leader in your field and consequently, the more you receive additional business.”

Networking and relationship building. The second reason to invest in PR is that it helps you build relationships and networking opportunities both inside and outside of your industry. You never know when you’re going to need someone to help you, and PR opens up a number of doors.

Industry credibility. “As many people realize often too late, merely opening a business, setting up a website or publishing a book is just not enough to turn you into the go-to resource for your field,” Cleary points out. You need someone to strategically position your brand as credible and worthy.

Finally, the fourth reason PR matters is that it allows you to take full advantage of market opportunities as they’re presented to you. Without a formal PR strategy in place, you’ll miss out on opportunities because you don’t know they exist.

Basically, you can’t afford to ignore PR. And while it may cost you time, resources, and money to develop and maintain a strategy, it doesn’t have to break the bank.

5 Free or Cheap PR Options and Solutions
So, how exactly can you do PR on a budget? Well, you need to arm yourself with the right tools and solutions. The good news is that many are free or cheap, including the following:

HARO:

Out of all the online PR services available, HARO – or Help a Reporter Out – is by far the best. This service works by connecting reporters with a variety of potential sources for stories. It’s designed to be a two-way street that helps both journalists and brands.

The service gives journalists the ability to find relevant stories, while simultaneously allowing brands to secure valuable media coverage. If you take a look at the HARO website, you’ll notice that a number of media outlets use the service, including TIME, Mashable, The New York Times, Wall Street Journal, ABC, and more. You can learn more about how HARO works from the brand side by checking out their How it Works page. Subscriptions run from free all the way up to $149 per month for a premium account.

Tomoson:

Do you sell physical products? Do you want to get the word out about your product? Tomoson may be the answer. This software manages and matches influencers with brands for valuable reviews and social proof. It allows you to give products away to bloggers and people in your target market with the hope of creating some buzz. You can then see who has received your products, talked about them on social media, and posted about them on their blogs.

There are currently more than 20,000 influencers on Tomoson, and the site is growing by the day. It’s a really great way to kick start organic growth and grassroots sharing. For a business account, you can start out with a free 30-day trial. After that, monthly accounts range from $99 to $499 per month.

Guest Blogging:

Honestly, one of the best things you can do is start guest blogging. You don’t even have to write about your brand or products. Just start building relationships with different industry blogs and make sure a byline is included as part of the compensation. Also, don’t be surprised if it’s the only compensation.

As you start accumulating profiles, you’ll begin to gain some name recognition in the industry. Ultimately, this will lead to brand recognition. And once you’ve built enough equity, you may even be able to start writing about your business and products.

This is obviously a long-term approach, but it’s something every smart business owner should do. These blogging relationships are the modern day equivalent of knowing your local newspaper writers. They’ll help immensely in the long run. If you’re unsure of how to find guest blogging relationships, try Guestr. This website shows you which websites and blogs are looking for guest contributors.

Leverage Twitter:

Another very simple thing you can do is get in touch with media members via Twitter. You want to avoid being creepy or obnoxious, but sending an occasional direct message, retweeting posts, and responding to tweets is a great way to make an introduction. After all, you’re much more likely to have a pitch accepted if the person at least knows your name.

Monitoring Tools:

Part of being successful in PR is accurately tracking your progress and gaining insights into how your different efforts and campaigns are being perceived in the marketplace. Once your name gets out there and you have multiple things happening, it’s difficult to do this manually. This is where PR monitoring tools come into play.

There are a number of cheap or free options available. HubSpot has compiled a list of the top 18 tools for monitoring and managing media relations. There are some really good ones on this list. Look through them and see if you can find some that align with your brand.

If you’re just starting out with PR, you may not need these tools yet. They are designed for brands that already have campaigns in place. However, over time, you’ll find that they are invaluable. It’s better to start using them in advance than it is to learn about them on the fly.

PR Doesn’t Have to be Expensive
Your competitors want you to believe that PR is expensive. They want you to think that it’s something only Fortune 500 companies and large organizations with massive budgets can get involved with. And while you may not be able to afford a full-time publicist, there are plenty of things you can do to push your brand forward and find opportunities.

PR doesn’t have to be expensive if you use the right tools and understand how to stretch your budget. Keep these five options in mind and start to develop a cost-effective PR strategy that allows you to achieve success in 2016 and beyond.

January 30, 2015

6 Things You Missed at 6

Didn’t make it to our last meeting? We heard from marketing professor Jessyca Lewis on marketing yourself on Twitter.

Here are some helpful tips to consider when creating your personal brand:

Use a Professional Name for Your Twitter Handle. We know that first impressions are important, and on Twitter, your name and handle are two of the first things people will look at. You want to make sure that they convey the same kind of professionalism that you would have when meeting a potential employer in person. Also, using your real name – or as close to it as you can get – makes it much easier for people to search for you.

Provide a Professional Photo. As with your Twitter handle, the photo you use for your profile is most likely the first photo people on Twitter will see of you. Make sure it represents you in a way you are proud of and communicates professionalism.

Write a Succinct and Appropriate Bio. Your bio can include your professional and personal interests as well as a link to a blog or website if you have one.

Don’t Tweet Excessively, But Do Keep It Consistent. Posting too many tweets in a short period of time can create a negative impression, but you do want to stay consistent and current on Twitter. Jessyca Lewis suggested making a personal social media calendar so you have a schedule of what and when you will tweet.

Who to Follow: To get the most out of Twitter, follow a lot of people and a variety of people. This can include companies you’re interested in working for, UO professors, fellow students, industry experts, brands you like or organizations you’re involved in. Don’t be afraid to reach out to people on Twitter; the worst that can happen is that they don’t reply.

What Makes a Good Tweet? Tweet what you know and tweet what you love. Tell people about what you’re interested in, share interesting articles you find and try to strike a balance between being personal and professional.

Do you have any tips on how to market yourself on Twitter?

Nicola Hyland, external relations committee member, is a junior pursuing a degree in public relations and a minor in business administration. Follow her on Twitter at @NicolaMorgan_.

November 19, 2014

Q&A with Social Media Experts, Kris McDonald and Zach Wright

Are you interested in social media strategy and how it is a defining force in public relations? Join the Social Media Club from 6-7:30 in Lillis 162 on Thursday November 20^th to meet with social media professionals, Zach Wright and Kris McDonald.

Meet Kris: Kris McDonald currently works as a social media strategist at MMGY Global, the largest integrated travel marketing agency in the world, with clients including the Trump Hotel Collection, The Beaches of Fort Myers & Sanibel and Casa de Campo Resort in the Dominican Republic. Recently, The Beaches of Fort Myers & Sanibel were awarded with Adrian and SMITTY awards for their Google Glass campaign, the first of its kind in the travel marketing space.

Meet Zach: Zach Wright is an Enablement Consultant for Sprinklr. Sprinklr offers the only Social Media Management System that enables global scale for the social enterprise. Enabling brands to innovate faster, grow revenue, reduce operating costs and manage risk. Zach has been working in social media for six years and has worked with large brands such as GrubHub, Seamless, Nestle, Kraft, Sears and Kmart.

Zach and Kris graciously reached out to UO PRSSA to provide tips on social media strategy:

What does a typical day of work look like for you?
Z: My days are a mix of client calls and meetings with technical configuring of the platform for the client.
K: My days are usually very different. Some days I’m grinding out strategies, audits, etc. Other days I’m on the road visiting clients or helping them produce a campaign. Then some days I’m going from meeting to meeting. It’s a great mix and I get to interactive with a lot of interesting people.

How does a campaign on social media differ from other forms?
Both: As social media and end-user activity evolves, the best campaigns aren’t just inherently social or print or broadcast. The best campaigns are an integrated mix of various media. It’s all about touch points. When planning a vacation, most consumers have effectively been through 20+ touch points before making a decision.

How do you pitch social media strategies to clients who think they can do it themselves?
Z: With case studies of successful campaigns and applying it to things that are relevant to that client. You have to make them understand that this is truly the best course of action, and that it isn’t a stand-alone marketing function; it’s a support for the entire company’s strategy.
K: You have to make it relevant to the client by showing them case studies and previous successes. Ultimately they want to know why their money is best served in your hands.

How important is content planning?
Both: It’s important to plan proactive content because it allows all parties involved to be a part of the process from the client to strategic experts creating the content. Timely content will come up and replace some planned content, but it is imperative to always have planned content available. Posting on a regular schedule helps create an engaged community.

Why is social media strategy important in the PR industry?
Both: Social media strategy is no longer used as a standalone opportunity; it drives the entire marketing of a brand. It has lasting power that has been proven with results.

What is the best way to use LinkedIn to its full potential?
Both: Talk to people and engage with them. Connect with real world connections – people you’ve actually met. Don’t just hit connect because it may help you. Hit connect because you have a solid reason for connecting with that person.

Do you have any last tips you would like to share with our members?
Z: Work so hard that your company can’t work without you.
K: Never stop learning. Social media evolves daily. If you want to work in this industry, you better do the same.

Lauren Todd, Internal Events Director, plans internal events for UO PRSSA in effort to build relationships within the group. In her spare time, Lauren enjoys assisting with weddings and staying up to date on the world of pop culture. Follow her on Twitter at @Lauren_Todd.