ExPRessions

I wrote an article for the FORUM for the Fall issue. Somehow it was published saying I was a student at Boston University. The Flint Journal published a news release about me, and got the context completely wrong.

At my various PR jobs, I’ve seen newsletters go out with a completely wrong Web address, misspelled words on materials, and promotions for events on the wrong dates.  Every time we realize mistakes like these get past us, we wince.

Ugh. We know better. We really do. But sometimes you’re in a hurry, are pressured to get it done or maybe you just don’t notice.

Then it happens and you say, “I’ll know better next time. I’ll proofread it.”

Here are tips on how to make sure those mistakes don’t make it past your desk.

1. Print it out. The simplest way to catch your mistakes is to read a paper copy of your writing. Often, you breeze over mistakes on the computer screen.
2. Read it out loud. At work, I avoid doing this by moving my lips as I am reading, so it is similar to reading out loud. But, the way you read and the way you hear are two different things.
3. Check the subheads. Are you initial-capping  one and not the others? Are they all in bold? Do you have a colon following one of them, but not the others?
4. Check facts, numbers and addresses. It’s easy to switch 830 with 803, and it makes a huge difference if it’s part of a phone number.
5. Take a break. Come back and read it later. It will help give you a fresh perspective.
6. Keep a list of mistakes you commonly make. I keep post-it notes of AP Style mistakes I commonly make. Before proofreading, I look at my list so I remember which ones to look out for.
7. Check Web site links. If the link isn’t correct, you won’t be driving your audience to the right place.
8. Proof for different things. After an initial read-through, go through it for specific things, such as spelling, grammar, punctuation, AP Style, etc. It will make your proofreading job more thorough.
9. Remove words with little value. One word we commonly use is “that.” Often you can reword the sentence and remove it. For example, “The new system that enables people to create widgets will be released in March,” can be changed to, “The new system enabling….”
10. Check the headline. Sometimes I forget to even write the headline in my first draft. Be sure you’ve written a headline, and make sure the headline makes sense still.
    

What tips do you have for proofreading?

Last month I read The Go-Getter Girl’s Guide by Debra Shigley. If you haven’t read this book yet, buy it or borrow it. Now. Even if you’re not in PR (it applies to everyone!)

I actually checked this book out from CMU’s library and now I plan to purchase it because Debra’s advice is something I could read over and over again. (Thanks @Mikinzie and @JessLaw for recommending it to me).

Here are a few things that really resonated with me:

• “…in the business world, not everyone has your best interest in mind.” (p. 21)
• The way you dress matters…there is an entire chapter called “Wardrobe Building 101.”
• Being well-groomed is important…the GGG has tips and tricks, as well as the “must-haves” for your beauty regimen.
• Self-education is key. Be resourceful and keep up your radar on what’s important in your workplace. There are infinite resources available to you to help you learn (Hello, Google!).
• Have a variety of mentors. Some mentors are meant to help you with the “big picture” problems and others can help you daily in the workplace. There is a difference, so be sure that you are appropriately using these mentors.
• Negotiate your  new job (which is scary as a young professional!). And you don’t just need to negotiate your salary. There are things like flexible hours, vacation, technology and your title. The book has an entire list of things you can consider negotiating.
• Quitting a job is tough, but the book includes several situations when you should quit…like if you’re not challenged. But, there also are many reasons why you shouldn’t quit.
• Embrace who you are and what you love.

I want to talk about my favorite part, Chapter 11, last. “Find Allies and Advocates” has such great advice and it’s something they don’t teach you in college. If you don’t have anyone at your job rooting for you, then you probably won’t make it far. These people are the ones who might make a case for you for that promotion. Or, maybe they are the ones who can say you’re the perfect person for an upcoming project you want to take on. They support and trust you. Not sold on needing allies. Here’s what sold me on it:

“…karma is a funny thing, so keep in mind that each of these people can potentially help make you – or break you. An intern today can be your boss three years from now.” (p. 169)

If you’re an ambitious woman who wants to move your career forward, you need to read this book.

This is a guest post by Kristina Allen (@allenkristina)

In the short time since I graduated with my BA in public communication, I’ve been lucky enough to have worked in three very different social media environments.

Local, Niche Market

My first position, post-graduation in May of 2009, was with Comcast Cable, Inc., heading up the south Florida Local On Demand online promotions.  We were a test market for “Get Local” programming, and my job was to build awareness from the ground-up in the Broward and Miami-Dade counties. (I left Comcast in January of this year).

Challenges:

• Building awareness out of nothing
• Having a hyper-targeted market to work with (only people in Broward and Miami-Dade counties and only those who have a Comcast digital package)
• Getting the producers to understand the importance of keeping me in the loop so I could keep our fans in the loop

Fun Successes:

• Seeing immediate results
• Running ticket giveaways for promotional events and meeting fans in person
• Working on a project with no precedence for a large corporation

Start-up, Online Market

In August of 2009 I was lucky enough to join the Come Recommended team as a post-graduate, public affairs intern. After the completion of my internship, I assumed my new role in external affairs for GoodieRecruit (a brand new service of Come Recommended).

Although I don’t engage in the day-to-day social media initiatives of GoodieRecruit (credit there goes to @GregBarrette), I have overseen the growth of our online networks from bottom-up.

Challenges:

• Building awareness out of nothing
• Positioning the start-up brand as an expert source
• Making sure our branding is always cohesive with our parent company, Come Recommended

Fun Successes

• Watching the GoodieRecruit twitter account quickly amass a following well over 700
• Speaking with entry-level job candidates excited about the project
• Speaking with non-profits and businesses who found us through our online networks, and are excited to work with us

Established Corporate Brand

In January 2010, I left Comcast to pursue new opportunities with ion interactive. At ion I work with our online marketing manager to maintain and grow ion’s already established presence in the social media sphere.

Challenges:

• Learning the dynamics of already established online relationships
• Finding ways to grow the already successful online presence
• Finding time to keep up with the many interactions along with my other PR duties

Fun Successes:

• Always having people to engage in conversations with
• Starting a Twitter chat (#CROchat – Thursdays, 1-2pm EST – focused on Conversion Rate Optimization and online marketing measurement. First chat is scheduled for March 4^th.)
• Being an important contributor to the online marketing discussion
  • On a personal note:  observing what marketers find important to measure versus what PR people find important

I’m sure I could come up with 10 more challenges and successes for each of the above environments, but hope what I’ve offered will help other young PR pros know what to expect when entering the digital workforce.

Every company, no matter the size or level of awareness, will run their social media efforts differently.  The important thing is to jump in and positively engage users as fast as possible. You know what they say: whether you join the conversation or not, people will be talking.

About the author: Kristina Allen is 23 years old, and a new public relations professional. She blogs at http://www.kristinaallenpr.com about the relationship between Gen Y journalists and PR pros, and tweets all day long at @allenkristina.

Heather Huhman and I have been working together on a few projects recently and she sent me a copy of #ENTRYLEVELtweet , an paperback book. This is my review of it.

How many of us have the time (or attention span) to read one of those long books on how to find a job? Probably not one person who is reading this actually does.

The great advice Heather offers in this book is in bite-sized pieces for those who don’t have time to mess around. There are 140 pieces of advice, written concisely like a tweet.

The great thing is that each tweet of advice is something you can do…right now.

Check out her books here.

Many of you who read this blog are bright, ambitious young PR professionals…who are starting their career in an economy that clearly sucks (especially here in Michigan). I know countless recent grads who are still job searching and working in jobs that are completely unrelated to their fields. They have to. Those student loans won’t pay themselves.

I’d like to encourage everyone who is seeking a job, or or is stressing about finding one after graduation, to participate in HAPPO, an initiative founded by Arik Hanson and Valerie Simon.

o Indianapolis: Adrienne BailOn Friday,February 19, from 10 a.m. – 2 p.m. CT PR bloggers, agency leaders and PR

On Friday, Feb. 19, from 10 a.m. – 2 p.m. CT, PR bloggers, agency leaders and PR professionals from across the country will donate their time and talents to help fellow PR pros connect with employers as part of the first-ever “Help a PR Pro Out” (HAPPO) Day (find them on Facebook too).

For those in Michigan, be sure to talk to Nikki Stephan (@EstrellaBella10). Check here for an updated list of HAPPO Champions across the nation.

I love working in PR. From research to writing to pitching to clients, I find my work exciting.

But, PR has a lot of sterotypes. From Samantha on Sex and the City to Kell on Earth, the profession isn’t always portrayed accurately.

Sure, you’re crazy busy, but I don’t think my job of writing copy for marketing materials and pitching social media to clients is really reality-TV material. And those things that might be good for TV can’t be shown because the client needs us to keep it confidential.

This morning I heard that Kim Kardashian is producing a PR Documentary called “‘The Spindustry.”

Ummmm, no. Real PR professionals aren’t focused on spin. They are professional communicators who help clients get messages to their audiences. I really don’t want my profession tied to Kardashian, spin or any of the other negative stereotypes.

This show is going to give so many people the wrong idea about PR. What do you think?

Warning: This is not a very serious post. Usually I’m a pretty serious person, but I wanted to write something a little off the wall. I know a lot of girls (and reluctant guys) who watch Grey’s Anatomy each week. I’ll admit. I’m a fan of the show. So….

Recently, I wondered what the characters might be like if they worked in PR. As a PR pro, what Grey’s character are you?

Meredith: Sometimes you get involved in questionable relationships. Maybe it’s not with your boss. Maybe you’re accepting free stuff and not disclosing that when you post the reviews on your blog.

Cristina: You are the hardcore PR professional. You live for PR. It’s your dream to work at a global PR agency and handle a huge crisis for a big-name client. You’re very competitive and a perfectionist.

George: You are the professional who is taken for granted. You might not be the greatest writer or planner, but the clients love you.

Izzie: You are the rule breaker. Social media policies? Sometimes they have to be broken to get things done.

Dr. Bailey: You’re the boss. You’re a tough mentor, but young professionals can learn a lot from you.

So if you prefer my more serious side, don’t worry. It’ll be back with my next post.

My friend Nikki Stephan (@estrellabella10) sent me some great information about an upcoming conference several weeks ago. I promised to write a blog post because I was so excited about the conference (I plan to attend). She connected me with David Murray (@DaveMurr), gave me many great points about why you should attend. Read on…

The 5 W’s:
Who: FutureMidwest – which is the fusion of two successful conferences held in Michigan in 2009 – the Module Midwest Digital Conference and TechNow
What: Will highlight how technology and social media have dramatically changed the way we do business
When: April 16 – 17, 2010
Where: Royal Oak, Mich.,  at the Royal Oak Music Theatre
Why:  There are awesome presenters, including Blagica Bottigliero from Edelman Digital,  Ken Burbar from Ernst & Young, Beth Harte from MarketingProfs, Scott Monty from Ford and many more very cool social media types.

Why You Should Go (according to David Murray)

I can’t go into last year’s Module Midwest Digital Conference without mentioning Adrian Pittman. If it wasn’t for a chance meeting, I wouldn’t have even heard of Module, let alone be part of this year’s FutureMidwest conference.

Like most of the connections I had made, Adrian initially met through Twitter.  After talking with Adrian for a few minutes, I immediately realized that this guy was on to something. He had big ideas, and unlike most people, he carried through to see them become reality. So when he started speaking about his conference called Module, I was immediately intrigued. I mean who wouldn’t. He was touting names like Chris Brogan, Amber Naslund, and Shannon Paul. Those are names attached to events that you want to be a part of.

There was energy after Module. Things began to happen. People, who didn’t know each other began to build bridges, connect, share, and learn from each other. Despite the recession people moved forward with ambition driven by the desire to see a different outcome. And as we lead up to FutureMidwest, we are now seeing the seeds of our discussions from last year’s Module take shape and definition. This year, FutureMidwest is partnering up with another great conference, TechNow, founded by Jordan Wolfe.

So, why people should attend? Well, going by the website, you should attend FutureMidwest for the following reasons:

• To help understand how to market your business in the digital space.
• To know which tools to use that will connect you with customers and stakeholders to grow your business.
• You have questions about monitoring, analyzing and measuring online efforts to prove the social web is an investment worth making.
• You’ve heard that you need to use online tools to create dialogue and deepen relationships with customers, and provide content that makes customers want your products/services.

That’s pretty straight forward.

But if you really want my opinion, I would say attend FutureMidwest, because you won’t just be attending a conference. You’ll be taking part of the change that is happening across Michigan.  And if we’ve done our job right you will walk away with the knowledge to be part of the change. That to me is the true value of FutureMidwest.

About David

David currently serves as Director of Social Web Communications for The Bivings Group, an Internet communications firm in Washington DC. He carries extensive experience in online community management, social media, and product development. Fully immersed in social media practices and methodologies, David enjoys pushing the norm when creating communities and engaging user experiences. Living by the mantra, “leave no regrets”, David chose to return to Michigan where he founded the Social Media Club chapter of Detroit, and is one of the co-chairs for FutureMidwest, the region’s largest technology and knowledge conference taking place in Royal Oak, Michigan. Read his blog and connect with him on twitter and LinkedIn.

I’ve finally decided upon a new name for this blog. I’d been simply calling it the “Esterline Public Relations” blog, or “Navigating Your Career in Public Relations.”

But, I think ExPRessions fits this blog best. This blog contains my musings about PR, marketing, careers and more. I started this blog to express my ideas and opinions about about PR, marketing, careers and more.

I’m also a fan of the design. It’s brighter and I believe the text is easier to read.

What do you think? Any changes you think I should make?

I remember reading about symbiotic relationships in junior high. On the BioTech FYI Center, symbiotic is defined as “the close association of two different kinds of living organisms where there is benefit to both or where both receive an advantage from the association.”

But, I think you can apply the theory to your career in a much better (and less weird) way.

Here’s an example:

I’m in a “symbiotic” relationship with Heather Huhman. After spending a few months working for her company, Come Recommended, I accepted an internship at a marketing communications firm (which is where my passion is).

But, Heather and I have stayed good friends and often chat online. Since I also am a freelance writer, she gives me great ideas to pitch to editors. She has written several great e-books lately, which relate to several of the stories I have pitched to magazines.

Heather is always willing to share knowledge, whether it’s resume advice for myself or comments for a story I am working on. Her great quotes always help make my soon-to-be published stories even better.

In turn, her generosity of ideas and knowledge can result in good publicity for her company.

What about you? What kind of symbiotic relationships do you have? How have you made them work?