“Creative”-ly Expressing Through Press Kits

With the use of computer technology, creatively putting together a conventional press kit tends to be overlooked and overrated. Why struggle with your creative side when you can easily direct a potential client, reviewer, etc. to a website, Facebook page, or blog.

Chandelier Creative, a full service creative agency, designed a press kit for their event intended to get their name into the public….and of course to celebrate the holidays. The “Invitation” resembled a more modernly funky funhouse complete with cutout members of the Chandelier Creative team having a grand ol’ time at a party. It also included some of the clients they have worked with in all areas of promotions: Bvlgari, Club Monaco, Nars, 7 for all Man Kind, etc. Bright colors, witty slogans and overall design of this press kit has left many invitees, and those that follow, curious to find out if the décor of the party, or event, will be a comparable match to the invitation.

“The best ideas come form a little idea on a post-it note.  I’ve noticed we do our best when everyone is traveling, and everyone is gong out, and everyone is seeing art galleries and movies and books,” explains founder Richard Christiansen in an interview (LOOKBOOKS).

Too often, people think of the press kit as literally a package of information in folder.  They were an easy way to share a comprehensive look at a business, but were notoriously cumbersome.   A reporter could wake away from a trade show with a case full of press kits from numerous companies which, to be honest, anded up in the recycling bin anyway. 

Companies and promoters became savvier developing kits that were more elaborate and eye catching.  Now, folders contain multimedia information with CDs, content on a flash drive, freebies, etc. that spark curiosity with reporters and media. Focusing on key elements while creating a memorable press kit is as important as having a website, Facebook page and Twitter account.  Creatively express and you will be remembered!

How students can change their social media tactics

These days, it seems like every public relations professional is using social media to their advantage, whether it be to promote a certain company, give information about a specific campaign or to get up-to-date stories and news. But, more and more students and other people trying to get their start in the public relations world have also caught on to the social media phenomenon. What I’ve been noticing lately is that students are not using social media, like Twitter and Facebook, to their advantage. In fact, many public relations beginners are hurting themselves and their chance to get their ideal job by the way they are using social media.

I was recently told by a public relations professional, someone who is familiar with the public relations career world, that “Twitter isn’t meant to tell me what time you got up this morning, or what you’re having for breakfast, or what you’re shopping for today. Develop interesting content and make me want to read your tweets.” On Twitter last week someone who I follow, someone who I’d consider a friend of mine, was tweeting back and forth to another friend about what bar they should meet at later. Did they think that everyone who followed them needed to read that? No. That type of information can just as easily, and more privately, be texted back and forth.

It’s inevitable that some students will follow and like certain groups that don’t show them in the best light. However, to obtain an ideal job, my generation must use Twitter appropriately. Tweets should be about blogs you’ve been reading, or interesting news stories you found, or certain aspects of public relations that would interest the people you follow. On top of this, follow companies that you would ideally like to work for. Follow public relations agencies, corporate businesses and news outlets. On Facebook be careful about what your status updates are saying or what pictures are being posted of you. Even if your profile is set to private some companies have the ability to see your personal information either way. Once something is on the internet we should expect it to stay there. Companies want to see students using these social media tools. Because we have the ability to connect to companies so easily these days we should be. Twitter and Facebook have the ability to help students obtain their idealistic job, but it also has the ability to ruin those chances. To read more information about how to use social media in your job search check out http://jobsearch.about.com/od/networking/a/socialmedia.htm. 

Kelsey Darnall
University of Minnesota
Jour 3279
Blog Assignment

Social Media is a Cocktail Party: Are PR Professionals Invited?

In many respects, social media has turned the worlds of marketing, advertising and public relations upside down. The practiced and preached marketing models, which some CEOs are still more comfortable with yet today, have been tossed aside for a completely new two-way communication approach. No more are the days when public relations professionals and marketers pushed out information to consumers, or developed flat campaigns to be disseminated through traditional media approaches. The seemingly one-way tube of communication has been broken. Let’s just say the average consumer now has an invite to the cocktail party…and he’s making a big entrance.

By entering the cocktail party at all, the consumer enters the conversation. This shift in control—or rather, loss of control—for marketers and public relations professions is a difficult thing to grasp at first. The level of transparency only increases from here, and that can sometimes hurt a brand’s image or a campaign’s objective. The voice of one unreasonable individual can be heard by all, and can raise concerns among other consumers. However, when used correctly, social media is truly the beginning of a lasting, meaningful conversation.

Companies should note that there are many, many individuals in the general public who want to speak with or about you. Social media provides a platform for conversation and increases two-way communication. No longer are websites static, they are now filled with dynamic, interactive content. With the rise of online conversational hosts like forums, Twitter, Facebook, blogs, and comment functions, consumers can share opinions, concerns, questions and praise with the vast audience that makes up the Web 2.0. In this new world, your brand or company already belongs to the public. In a sense, content and information has become democratized.      

By now, big media outlets have even contributed to the shift. Time magazine, for example, picked “You” as person of the year in 2006. With all of the recent growth online in blogs and social networking sites, it seems the media is still less reluctant to accept such changes, while big business has not fully come to terms with just how effective social media can be.  

Prof. Robert Lauterborn, author of The New Marketing Paradigm, describes this shift as ‘demassification.’ According to Lauterborn, from 1950-1970, the marketing systems in the United States functioned like well-oiled machines. “Then,” Lauterborn says, “technology collided with society and human wants and needs.” In the 1950s, power was in the hands of the marketer. In the 1980s, the channel had the power; in the 1990s and after, the power shifted to the consumer.    

Take Amazon, for example. Years ago, Amazon.com allowed unfiltered comments on their products sold online; at the time, competitors were astonished. Now, this consumer-based comment forum is standard, and consumers hold the communication power.

The key is to not view this new social media shift as a public relations disaster. Yes, consumers can provide instant feedback, some good, some bad, and some certainly ugly. Jim Tobin, author of Social Media is a Cocktail Party, advises public relations firms handling a company’s communication to do two things when negative comments are posted. “One, you leave it up. Two, you evaluate the point the person is making,” Tobin says.

But it is important to remember that social media also easily positions a segmented, specific audience in the hands of public relations professionals. Instead of seeking out a target audience, public relations professionals can quickly identify and communicate with targeted groups at the start of a major campaign. What’s better? Before even conceptualizing a campaign, professionals can read about nearly any subject of interest to the campaign from the viewpoint of the consumer, as there are likely already groups online talking about it.

Perhaps even more significant is how the public can essentially create the campaign for the public relations specialist. Alongside the occasional critic are brand enthusiasts who are motivated to share their excellent customer service experience or product satisfaction with a large web-based audience. Not only is this helpful from a promotional aspect, but also in gaining consumer trust.   

It is no secret that public relations professions are known to put ‘spin’ on things. Of course, professionals are trained to present and position clients in the best possible light, but that comes with a price. Even mildly-educated consumers know, for example, that the quotes used in press releases are often crafted by public relations specialists and are not uttered by the individual at all. The consumer often becomes skeptical of promotional efforts, or even comes to resent public relations campaigns.

Enter social media, and suddenly, the communication and recommendations are being shared consumer-to-consumer. Even if a public relations department is able to publish a feature article in a local daily newspaper, for example, readers will ponder what public relations firm was able position such a piece. On the other hand, hearing information from friends, family and trusted individuals with no stake in product sales whatsoever produces results. Third party credibility only increases transparency and authenticity. Online word-of-mouth also saves the company time, money and promotional effort.

In increasingly difficult economic times, return on investment has become even more important for public relations professionals to communicate back to the company. Luckily, when utilizing social media, there are tools available to make ROI easy. Search engine optimization alone has shown huge ROI for companies. Marketing segmentation of consumers online also helps companies to target a relevant consumer population, rather than wasting money on promoting a product to an irrelevant public. At the most basic level, however, is the fact that consumers are on social media. If a company isn’t, it is missing out.

As Jim Tobin so candidly says, “The party goes on with or without you.” The fact is, if a company is not utilizing social media, it is still being talked about at thousands of online cocktail parties. The problem is, the company is not hearing the conversations, nor is it apart of the public dialogue at all.

A common misconception that exists yet today is that the segmented population using social media consists mostly of teenagers and young adults, who perhaps do not have the purchasing power of older adults. The fact is, nearly half of Facebook users are over the age of 35 and the median age for LinkedIn users is 36. Older consumers are certainly already at the cocktail party.

Finally, many have predicted that social media is a fad that will die hard, as trends typically do. Many companies are still skeptical to develop departments, expand budgets or increase resources around what appears to be a communication trend. This will prove to be a costly mistake. A good public relations firm will advise its clients to integrate traditional promotional approaches with social media, even if the company is reluctant to do so.

Social media has become an important part of consumers’ lifestyles and daily routines; once integrated as a preferred communication tool, consumers will be very reluctant to let go. This makes sense. Once guests are able to engage in meaningful conversation at the cocktail party, why on earth would they want to leave?    

Brittany Rustad   
University of Minnesota
Jour 3279
Blog Assignment

Customer Service and my Social Media experience

It is said that a happy customer will tell three people about their experience, and an unhappy customer will tell ten. Now this statement is not exactly true, due to the introduction and acceptance of social media a happy or unhappy customer can tell thousands of people with just one click of their mouse.

For example, I purchased a pair of designer boots last winter. They were beautiful, comfortable and quite expensive. Since they were designer boots I was expecting for them to make it through a few winters for me. After one week of wearing them, the sole began to detach it’s self from the shoe and the hard part of the heel fell off making my boots uneven and awkward to walk in. Being that I had always been satisfied with this brand it was quite upsetting to have my new boots fall apart so soon. So, I did what any unsatisfied customer would do, I wrote a review for the world to see.

Using social media is one of the fastest and newest ways to connect with customers. Utilizing it could turn into major profits and loyal customers. However companies are not the only ones who know how to use social media. All sorts of customers now have the opportunity to share with the world their feelings about any brand or company, on many different sites. Now that conversations and feelings can be made public so quickly, organizations can no longer ignore their customer complaints. It can be a scary thing knowing that in opening your company up to the world of social media that there can and will be criticism. The trick is to listen and embrace it, and then formulate a plan for how to respond appropriately.

The shoe and boots company noticed my complaint and realized they needed to react, but first they needed to understand why I was upset in the first place and how they should respond.

Listening is completely different from monitoring. While some organizations will use the 2 words interchangeably, understanding the difference between the two will help you to understand your customer’s wants and needs more clearly. According to “Likable Social Media” by Dave Kerpen, monitoring has an impersonal feel to it and can bring up images similar to the FBI, or surveillance cameras. Listening on the other hand, involves actually thinking, processing and trying to understand about the comments that are being made about your organization.

Finding comments that are being made is easy, some may be made directly on your organization facebook wall, your organization may have been tagged in a comment, or you can use the search tool to find certain phrases or key words that relate to your organization. Searching for comments and feedback on your competitors can also keep you up to date on how you compare. It is always good to have a competitive edge and know why consumers should choose your product over another.

After listening to my comment the company needed to respond. Ignoring or deleting my comments would have continued in my dissatisfaction with the product, and likely I would have told more people.
Dave Kerpen in “Likeable Social Media” explains the Do Not Delete (DND) rule. This rule states that, “unless a comment is obscene, profane, bigoted, or contains someone’s personal and private information, never delete it from a social network”. Being deleted can be seen as the ultimate slap in the face. It sends an “I don’t care,” kind of message. It is also likely to upset a customer more, like adding insult to injury.
Additionally choosing to ignore the negative comment and hope that not many people will read it is also not an effective strategy. Not responding is a response. This will make the customer feel like the company doesn’t care about their personal business, and will likely drive them to a competitor company.

Instead the company chose to send me an empathetic e-mail apologizing for my experience and asking me to chat with a customer service representative. They also choose to respond with a similar message on the product review I wrote.

This quick public and private response is the perfect way to try and patch things up with the disgruntled customer and to show the world that this is the kind of company the cares, and wants to help. Sending a personal message and addressing the customer by name will show them that the company wants to help and understand the problem. Asking them to chat with a customer service representative shows that they also do not just want to try to “buy” the customers approval with a coupon or special offer. Offering a coupon or gift can help to heal the hurt after a customer feels as if their issue has been listened too. Listening to their comments and concerns first is key.

After receiving the e-mail I decided to online chat with the representative. She listened to my story and apologized for me having had such a disappointing experience. She also explained to me I that I could send in the boots and get a full refund even for the fee to ship them back. After sending in my boots and getting my refund, I purchased a new pair of boots from the same company. Due to the customer service representative’s ability to understand me, this company was able to turn my complaint around and make me into supporter again. Since these ones have given me no problems I decided it was worth it to write a new review and praise them for their help. I now also rave about my boots and how much I love them!

This is a perfect example of utilizing a negative social media comment and turning the disgruntled customer’s feelings around to make them a believer again. Their ability to listen to the complaint means that they can understand the customer and show that they really do care. Responding effectively and immediately in the public and private show’s their concern for the customer. Ultimately knowing how to fix the problem kept a loyal customer. While social media can result in some ugly encounters, knowing how to utilize these comments and respond appropriately can ultimately pay off.

Rachel Geertsema
University of Minnesota
Jour 3279
Blog Assignment

Six Pixels of Separation: Book Review

The title of Mitch Joel’s book, Six Pixels of Separation, is adapted from the idea of “six degrees of separation,” referring to the idea that everyone is on average approximately six steps away, by way of introduction, from any other person on Earth. With the continuous development of social media and technology, “by way of introduction” is no longer necessary.  Joel explains, “We are all intrinsically connected through technology, the Internet, and our mobile devices [so that we] all now live in a world where we can know everyone-and everyone can know us.”

                                                                                     

Published in 2009, Mitch Joel’s book on business strategy in the age of social media is a laudable effort to tie in the disparate threads of the online world for those keen to experiment in this space.  Covering a broad expanse of concepts and ideas, from crowd sourcing, community building, content creation, to platform specific strategies, the book provides a good introduction to the world of social media and digital engagement.

Six Pixels of Separation is a book with practical advice about the Internet, online social networks and new media.  It is also a helpful and easy-to-read resource about branding, entrepreneurship and digital marketing communications. By using actual case studies and his personal experiences, Joel offers a readable, entertaining guide to the often over-whelming and constantly changing world of digital communications.

He talks in detail about the many ways that companies can create “new business models” by using online channels.  He discusses ways to, in his words, “harness the power that lies in online communities” and stresses the importance of clearly defining your business brand and strategy before getting involved in online communities.  Visible through interviews posted on YouTube, Joel enthusiastically encourages business owners to “embrace your digital footprint.” The book’s writing style is approachable and non-technical by breaking down concepts into an understandable language for all readers.

Joel quotes liberally from new age thinkers like best selling author Seth Godin, author of Wisdom of Crowds, James Surowiecki, staff writer for The New Yorker magazine, Malcolm Gladwell and editor-in-chief of Wired, Chris Anderson, while he offers advice and insights on topics such as starting a blog, developing a community, and extending one’s business in the age of “Participation 2.0” (Mitch 110).  Regular followers of social media gurus will probably be familiar with many of the strategies proposed.

The building of social networks through either major platforms like Facebook or Twitter cam across as a “must do” strategy in the book.  Businesses can ill afford to depend on the power of mass media and the old broadcasting based model to get their messages out there.  According to Joel, they should cultivate their followings on a variety of platforms and work through consumer advocates and their connections to spread the word.  Here, readers are given a short introduction to each of these platforms including Wikipedia, LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, MySpace, Ning and so on.  Readers are given a better understanding of the capabilities of social network sources and how they can effectively work for them.

A key part of the book discusses the growth of user-generated content, and the shift from mass media to mass content.  In the age of social media, users are putting up more avenues and sources of information online-text, audio, images, videos- on a variety of channels. According to Joel, with the empowerment of the democratization of media (the concept of Web 2.0), companies ought to work with their communities to engage rather than advertise and push products and services.

The rise of personal brands and tribes are the other heavily cited concepts.  “The age of ‘Me’ Media has resulted in individuals- employees and consumers alike- becoming more and more empowered,” explains Joel.  Through blogging, Twittering, Facebooking, and Youtubing, these digital denizens could carve out niches and brand names for themselves.

I particularly liked the section on the mobile web (Digital Nomad).  Here, Joel suggested that building a huge feature-rich website with all its bells and whistles may not necessarily work.  Instead, business venturing into this space should provide utility and simple solutions to consumers navigating a tiny 4 by 6 inch screen.  Quoting from Andy Nulman, Joel cited that Mobile Marketing (not advertising) is about the acronym N.O.W. The “N” is for nearby meaning customers need to be in your radius, close and local. “O” is for only, in which he says there has to be a limit to any offer (e.g. “Only 29 left” or “The offer is only valid for the next two hours.”). Last, “W” stands for wow, meaning make a compelling offer for consumers to attract attention.

Unfortunately, certain concepts may have changed from the time the book was published to the present. Some of the ideas suggested, such as podcasting, may be difficult to implement unless one has the wherewithal to provide stimulating audio content.  While the platforms are mostly free in the digital domain, the production of interesting quality content is not and therein becomes a challenge. I hesitate to say this book is a textbook for new media, but Mitch Joel has a plethora of updated sources including his blog (http://www.twistimage.com/blog/), interviews posted on YouTube and frequent podcasts uploaded on iTunes.

The mass adoption of social media channels also means that companies and business’ venturing into this space now will find competition much steeper.  While the concept of finding your own micro-niche and loyal following is a nice novel idea, making it work profitably could be a challenge in volume-oriented businesses.

With the subhead “Everyone is Connected, Connect Your Business to Everyone,” Six Pixels of Separation provides an easily readable introduction to the world of social media marketing.  Those who are new to the world of social media and mobile marketing would find it a useful source that is understandable and easy to follow.  The book was jam-packed full of stories and examples on how people and business’ have succeeded in the online world.

For more information or questions, please contact Krystle Cruz at cruzx093@umn.edu.

Push-up bras for kids plus “no comment” equals disaster for Abercrombie

Despite the old adage “no press is bad press,” this philosophy definitely didn’t apply to Abercrombie & Fitch after CNN ran a story March 26 about the controversy surrounding the retailer’s new line of wildly inappropriate “Ashley” push-up bikini tops for young girls. And based on A&F’s pitiable response (or lack thereof), this company is in serious need of some public relations guidance.

As to be expected, parents and other critics were outraged when the kiddy bust-enhancing bikinis were posted to the Abercrombie Kids website earlier in the week, according to CNN. So how did A&F’s react to the controversy? They simply changed the bikini’s online description from “push-up triangle” to “striped triangle” in addition to the big, fat “NO COMMENT” they gave CNN.

Is that really the best this national retailer could come up with? Most of us know the dangers of declining to comment to any media inquiry, especially during a crisis. According to PR professional and blogger Brad Domitrovich, ignoring the media in a crisis situation always makes things worse. “If we provided no comment, we would have lost our greatest opportunity to control the crisis,” Domitrovich said in his blog. This is a concept that A&F clearly does not seem to understand.

Regardless of the fact that this whole mess could have been avoided with some careful market research before the product’s release, the company could have reduced the negative impact of this story with a planned and thoughtful media response.

In their response, A&F should have:

1. Apologized. No matter who is to blame, a spokesperson should always at least say “we’re sorry this happened.”
2. Described the situation from their point of view.
3. Explained what is being done by the company to better the situation.
4. Taken responsibility for the situation.

See the full story at http://tiny.cc/me5ch.

Stacey Battenberg

University of Minnesota
Jour 3279
Blog Assignment

The information conduit is changing...Get used to it.

The information conduit is changing. Get used to it. The old model of interrupting consumers via an advertisement embedded in content is having to adapt to a new environment. Moving forward, organizations will need to understand the lives of consumers even better and build things that actually integrate rather than interrupt.

Take the Nike and Apple partnership for example. Nike developed an in-shoe pedometer that syncs with an iPod. A website and software were also build to track, share, and measure progress of exercise routines. This break through innovation increased shoe sales and differentiated Nike from its competitors. Moreover the product connected music, running, and measurement to a social network. Integrating and creating lifestyles, rather than distracting from them.

Bob Greenberg founder of R/GA, a media development company in Manhattan, worked on the Apple/Nike integration and campaign. He talks about the power of a simple story to solve complicated problems in a New York Times piece and shares:

"I think things are going to get infinitely more complex, and the challenge is about taking things that are infinitely complex and making them simpler and more understandable."

Greenburg, is a believer in utility and function creating the platform for interaction, even if a loss will be taken at first. Think Facebook and Twitter. More than adding value, products and services must enable us to better sense and belong to the world around us. The product is secondary to the exchange.

Attempts to master the moving target of social exchange will dissolve in to thin air. Building the future must be a reaction to and with it (and preferably one with your products in it). Crowd are fickle and can tell when a commodity agenda is the function of the space. The product then must serve to enable organic interaction within user base.

An organization's communication strategy should act more as a conduit between users than top down messaging. How the user got here should fade into the common and be taken for granted. In other words, you took your Audi TT sports car to the Twins game and had an Oscar Myers hot dog all you remember is the great time with your child/spouse/whatever.

Steps to implement an integrative model:

• Get out of the way of the authentic interactions of your users.
• Fade to a position of seamless support or infrastructure.
• Abandon attempts to maintain the notion of your product as the primary reason to be. 

Ezra Firkins
University of Minnesota
Jour 3279
Blog Assignment 

What Social Media Is and What It Is Not

Social Media is not a tactic and therefore it cannot be assigned to a specific department such as public relations, it is a tool that allows one to talk to and hear from its consumers. Social Media is so many things- it’s one-part public relations, one part SEO, one part usability design, one part customer service, and one-part sociology. Because of its dynamic make-up it doesn’t make since that people of public relations would be qualified to tackle all of the aspects of social media.

Social Media is beyond that of “typical” advertising and public relations it’s far past advertisements, news releases, and media pitches. For social media to be used successfully it needs to be in an agency of its own. Ignite is a social media agency that pulls specialists from all different aspects from marketing to PR to advertising to tech specialists to work as a team in running social media for a variety of different companies. To find out more about what Ignite does and how they do it visit their website at http://www.ignitesocialmedia.com/.

Another reason that social media cannot be treated as advertising and public relations is because of their very different roles in media. Traditional media pushes, whereas social media pulls. For instance sending advertisements, media pitches, and news releases to media outlets is designed to push someone to action. On the contrary, social media leads one to content that is interesting allowing them to pull themselves in if they choose so. Some would argue that pull media is way more efficient than the typically push media, but I’ll leave that up to you to decide.

Lastly, social media is not a waste of time. Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, YouTube, blogs etc. are all different forms of social media and if these outlets are used properly they can be very effective for a brand of a company. Many people spend time sending e-mails, surfing the web, and using social media outlets such as Facebook and Twitter, so communicating through social media has created an effective way for reaching key consumers.

Putting Social Media to Practice

For those of us who haven’t been living under a rock for the past 5 years, it is quite evident that social media has become colossal. There is a debate of whether or not social media belongs in Public relations and other facets of a company’s communication plan, but regardless social media is here to stay.

Journalism schools know social media is becoming a vital asset their students need to acquire. On top of students using social media as a communication tool, many public relations courses are integrating Twitter and blogging into course curriculums. All this preparation is great, but what good does it do if you don’t put it to use? Yeah there are the internships, but there’s another way you can use your social media skills to gain valuable experience and probably earn some cash in the process. 

You do not even really have to be an expert in social media to capitalize on this opportunity, just a little ambition and entrepreneurial spirit. Social media guru Chris Brogan reported that the job growth for social media is greatest in small businesses http://www.chrisbrogan.com/social-media-jobs-outlook/. Every community has an array of small businesses, many of these owners would love to build a social media presence for the business they just don’t have the time. That’s where you come in, as a consultant. 

To start out, offer your services for free to a relative or family friend’s small business just to gain experience and build a small portfolio. Once you’ve gotten your feet wet search your community, my suggestion is to start with restaurants, their most applicable. Make a name for your company even if you’re the only employee, it will make sound a little more professional. Then you can begin to sell your services, offer to build the business a campaign on Four Square or a presence on Facebook. 

Once you have established yourself the possibilities are endless. The hardest part is going to be starting out, but once you’ve taken off it will only be a matter of time before small businesses are seeking you out.

Here are a few tips on starting your social media venture

1. Preach results- Many small business owners know what social media is, but do not know the advantages of establishing a presence in social media.
2. Only Charge a small fee, then set up a pay scale where you get paid more for achievements related to you work. Ex: Bonus for 100 fans on Facebook.
3. Try and stick to service oriented businesses, easier to track and prove results.

Christopher Herkenhoff
University of Minnesota
Jour 3279
Blog Assignment 
 

Changing Leads for a Changing Industry

Technology is changing the way that we look at the Public Relations industry, like I’m sure many have said to you before. In this constantly changing world, professionals need to know what is important in as little time as possible. Nothing screams this more than emailing. We are constantly bombarded with emails and we never have time to open all of them, which is why subject lines are so important. Whether receiving an email from a colleague or sending one out to get read by another person, subject lines of emails are what will get your email read.

Subject lines can be considered the new lead paragraphs for emails, without a good subject line your email may never get opened in the first place. In order to write a good subject line you need to think simple. Do not try to sell your product or service to the person because that will just look like SPAM and will get deleted right away. The point of the subject line is to do exactly what it says, show what the email contains. With all that being said, here are some tips to make sure your emails get opened.

The most important thing about subject lines is that they need to be clear and concise. Don’t waste people’s time with unnecessary banter. Also, keep the subject line to around 20 to 35 characters and no more than 40. This will make sure that the important information is in the subject line without dragging on too much. The more you add, the less likely the recipient will be to read the email.

One of the most obvious things to think about when writing a subject line is explaining what is inside. It sounds really simple and obvious but it is often forgotten. This also helps to keep the email from looking like an advertisement. Give a short explanation of what the recipient can expect from reading the email.

If this email is on behalf of your company or organization, put the name in the email. By showing it is from a company the recipient will not think it is SPAM or has no actual importance.

The appeal of the subject line is that last important concept to keep in mind. The subject line needs to ALWAYS be for your target audience. Without targeting the recipient, the email looks like any other general junk mail that he/she is being sent. Also, try to engage the recipient. The more engagement that you can create in the subject line, the more likely it is that your email will be read.

When it really comes down to the basics and what to always include in your subject line, it is very simple. Tell the recipient what is inside in a clear and concise way.

For more tips about subject lines and email marketing check out the Lyris website

Tim Holtz

University of Minnesota
Jour 3279
Blog Assignment 

Why Public Relations is Becoming More Important in Businesses Today

The field of public relations has evolved other the course of time as business as changed. As Harold Burson once said, he saw the meaning of public relations go from “How do you say it?” to “What do you say” and finally to “What do you do?” Public relations has moved as a behind the scenes practice to being engaged with executives directly.

With the rise of social media, public relations has become a key communicator with consumers. Instead of solely doing press releases, companies are taking advantage of social media to build relationships with their customers. Public relations has been taken a step further to ensure that they are building the brand by enhancing their reputation by direct communication.

Many businesses are still resistant to social media. While some businesses (especially financial businesses) cannot fully utilize social media because of regulations, the opportunities for those who can use it are endless. For businesses that are weary of joining the social media movement, here are some tips about each outlet and how it can be used:

Facebook: The largest social media site with over 500 million users. Businesses can create pages which consumer’s can “Like” and share with their friends. Facebook allows businesses to post pictures, have discussion boards for customer stories (if they so choose to), and allow for consumers to post in more than 140 characters.

Twitter: A social media tool that is smaller than Facebook with 190 million users. Twitter allows businesses to “follow” other similar businesses to gain information instantaneously, as well as engage with consumers directly. Twitter makes it easy for businesses to track the use of their name with hash tags (#) or a mention of keywords. Businesses can use this to see what the public is saying about their company or product. Interaction is limited to 140 characters, but businesses can use link shorteners (like bit.ly) to post links from relevant websites or their own website.

Youtube: A video social media site that has around 49 million users (this doesn’t include people who only watch videos on Youtube and don’t have an account). Youtube may not be a valuable option for every company, but it allows for companies to be more interactive with their consumers. Youtube allows consumers to put names to faces, and also to be more engaged with the company’s products or services. For example, a company like H&R Block could use Youtube to give helpful tips about taxes, and that for more information the consumer can visit their website to find a store near them.

With public relations moving to a more active role in business, it’s important to know what social media tools can be used, and how they will benefit your company. Building relationships with your consumers using social media will help your company to utilize public relations to its fullest. For more information about social media, please visit: http://mashable.com/2010/03/16/public-relations-social-media-results/

Kelly Watkins
University of Minnesota
Jour 3279
Blog Assignment