What To Prepare For in a Crisis

            What is crisis communications? I’m sure when most people hear that term, they think of a someone spinning controversies andprotecting the president from lies and affairs. We can thank Shonda Rhimes and her show Scandal for that. Although, it’s not very often crisis communication specialists are covering up affairs, they do have a very important job of maintaining a companies reputation when things do happen. 

            Here is a list of the most popular and important tips for having affective crisis communication skills.

            1.) Anticipate the crisis. It’s never if, It’s when. Have a crisis communications plan ready at all times.

            2.) identify your crisis communications team. It’s very important to assign roles and make sure that each person knows what their assigned role is.

            3.) Train spokesperson. The spokesperson is essentially serving as the face of the company. It’s very important they know what needs to be said and that they say it right.

            4.) Identify your stakeholders. Who is this crisis impacting? Who has vested interest in your company or organization? It is very important to know who they are and you need to notify them of the situation promptly.

            5.) Adapt key messages. What do you want the public to know? Make sure your key message is precise and correct the first time. The better and more transparent your key message is, the chance of the public remaining calm is much higher.

            Crisis communication directors are a vital role in any organization. These 5 steps are crucial for protecting any company or organization.

Sources:

http://www.bernsteincrisismanagement.com/the-10-steps-of-crisis-communications/

Jour 4470 Ethics: Are PR professionals ethical?

Public Relation Professionals are often under the misconception of being “spinners.” People who don’t have a solid understanding attribute public relation professionals to Olivia Pope from Scandal. Realistically, hiding affairs and crime that the president of the united sates is committing is not very common.

The ultimate goal of a public relation professional is to reach the goals and objectives of an organization through earned media and reputation management. Although their ultimate goal is to protect whatever organization they are working for, they know that remaining transparent is what will keep the public happy and will help maintain a positive reputation.

With that being said, I think a good, professional public relation practitioner will remain ethical.

In the power point, one of the issues listed is that public relation professionals are seen as unethical because they “withhold information.” In some situations, PR professionals WAIT to provide information until they have received all the facts. In crisis management, specifically, situations have the potential to change quickly. Stories change and facts are continuously unraveling. Therefore, it is best to wait until the situation is sorted out before reporting all of it to the media.

Another issue that was listed in the power point was that PR professionals send inappropriate messages via social media. Tweets and posts are not always considered inappropriate because of the content but more because of the timing of the post.  Social media is something that is still considered fairly new and with it how it continues to rapidly evolve; PR professionals are still learning how to use it. Automated tweets and posts used to be seen as this convenient tool but now it is highly discouraged. Many companies face a lot of flack when a tweet promoting their business is sent out in the midst of a tragedy.

With all this being said though, public relation professionals are needed and should be valued. There are just some people who do not know how to properly communicate. A good PR professional will remain ethical because that is what they know is good for their company.

Sources:

Class Powerpoint

Tips to Land That Internship

          Your undergraduate career is coming to an end, the all-nighters, the projects, still one thing looming in the back of your mind; finding a job. You want your years of hard work to mean something but it can still be a tough transition into the real world. Here are a few tips to help land you that PR internship after you graduate college.

1.)  Make sure your resume is top notch.

            -Your resume is the first impression employers get. If you resume doesn’t stand out, then chances are you won’t get asked to come in an interview. Be sure to keep the resume clean and precise.

2.) Be personable during an interview.

            - This is public relations. You want to show off how personable you are. During an interview it’s best to be yourself. Don’t give off robotic, perfectly rehearsed answers. The point of the interview is for the employer to get the chance to get to know you a little bit and to make sure you will be a good fit with their company.

3.) Have references ready.

            -Some applications don’t require you to list references but it is still smart to have references on hand in case they ask you for some during your interview. It is best to have references from current or previous employers but it’s also smart to ask some of your professors to be a professor.

Internships are a major stepping-stone into your career field. Follow these tips and you will be one step closer to landing that perfect internship that will boost your career experience!

Sources:

http://www.bigspaceship.com/internship-tips/

Tips and Tricks for Using Instagram Effectively

Instagram is popular around the world. Today’s generation lives through the lives of an Iphone camera. People are always anticipating their next opportunity to post an overly filtered photograph on the web. With Instagram as popular as it is right now, it only makes sense for PR professionals to learn to use it effectively right? After doing some research around the web; here are benefits of using Instagram along with some tips for using it effectively.

BENEFITS

1.) Show off your work or products.

            - If the company you are working for did something great, share it. We live in a world of visual learners. AKA, people love eye candy!

2.) It is an effective way to raise awareness about social causes and issues

            - This is extremely beneficial especially for those doing nonprofit work. A picture can speak a thousand words and has the power to make all the difference. Think of animal shelters for example. A picture of a dog that is available for adoption has much more impact than a paragraph long description would.

TIPS

1.) Optimize your hashtags

            -Hashtags are very important. They can make all the difference in the amount of reach your post gets. It’s important to research your hashtag and make sure it will reach your target audience.

2.) Don’t forget about your caption.

            - Although the photo is the primary focus, the caption tells a specific story.

3.) Match the message to the medium

            - Like any platform, Instagram has a certain etiquette. It might be okay to post a long status on Facebook but, on Instagram it might look a little off. Don’t get me wrong, captions are important. Keyword: caption. They’re not meant to be extremely long.

Instagram is effective and continuously evolving so it can be tricky to keep up with but if you stick to these ground rules, you will be good to go!

Sources:

http://www.cision.com/us/2015/07/10-pro-tips-for-instagram/

http://www.cision.com/us/2015/01/6-ways-to-use-instagram-for-pr/

Lack of Diversity in the Advertising Industry: Jour 4470

What impact does the lack of diversity have on the advertising industry? That is nearly a loaded question. But to keep it simple, the impact is huge in my opinion.

For years we have basically seen the same ads over and over again. By that I mean, the ads are filled with the same type of people; White/Caucasian, slim fit, women or tall, buff men. There are so many cultures in the U.S. alone but yet we are only exposed to a few. It gives a false representation of society.

The Ted Talk, “The Danger of a Single Story” explains lack of diversity in advertising perfectly in my opinion. Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie gave this specific Ted Talk in October of 2009. Her talk focuses on stereotypes and how different parts of the world are only exposed bits and pieces of different cultures that are not their own.

She shares the story of coming to America from Nigeria for college and one of the first things her roommate asked her was where did she learn to speak English so well. Adichie proceeded to tell her that English was a common language spoken in Nigeria. But, since the U.S. is only exposes the foreign speaking and poverty stricken areas of Nigeria, we assume all of Nigeria is like that.

My point is that our society’s reputation is based off what people see. Advertisers have so much power over how our society is perceived.

The employees in the industry have a strong influence on what viewers see. The lack of diversity in the work place could be considered one of the roots of the problem. According to the Marcus Graham Project, the amount of women in the industry has increased, now outpacing the men. I believe since the increase of women in the work place we have seen some positive changes concerning how females are portrayed in the media.

Some improvements:

TheAlways “Like A Girl” Campaign

DoveEvolution Video

LaneBryant #Imnoangel Campaign

Although, we have seen some improvements, I think we have a long way to go. We want to see change in the world, less racial and sexual profiling, and I think advertisers can help start that movement.

Citations:

Lee, Wei-Na, Jerome Williams, and Carrie LaFerle. "Diversity in advertising: A summary and research agenda." Diversity in advertising (2004): 3-20.

Drumwright, Minette E., and Patrick E. Murphy. "The current state of advertising ethics: Industry and academic perspectives." Journal of Advertising 38.1 (2009): 83-108.

Ryan, Gerard, Marcel Gubern, and Inma Rodriguez. "Recruitment advertising: The marketing-human resource interface." International Advances in economic research 6.2 (2000): 354-364.