PR Tactics 2 Speaker- Trish Skram

On October 4, 2011 Trish Skram, the new media and Public Relations manager for Mercy Medical, came to speak to Ann Knabe’s PR Tactics 2 class. Trish is from Madison and told the class that she came to Whitewater because of the small class sizes. Trish graduated in 2006 and double majored in Speech with an emphasis in Public Relations and in Marketing. Trish is also the owner and brand visionary of PR Gal and a professional blogger for the Gazette. For the jobs that she has, Trish blogs about current events, tips and tricks on certain subjects, conducts interviews, writes about her opinion on certain issues, and manages different twitter accounts.

While attending UW-Whitewater, Trish had a job at the aquatic center as a lifeguard. Through that job, Trish learned of an internship through Mercy Medical. With the connections that she had at the aquatic center, she was able to get an interview which lead to her receiving the internship. She only had this one internship while at UW-Whitewater and has stuck with Mercy Medical since then.

Trough her job, Trish realized that she needed to start blogging, not only for work, but for the personal experience. Trish set up her own blog and has her own website. Through blogging, she was able to attract the attention of employees at the Janesville Gazette who ended up asking her if she would write for them. Trish also created a personal blog strategy. If it doesn’t grow her network, help to better the PR/communications industry, or let her talk about what she knows and loves, she doesn’t blog about it. Through her experience, Trish has also found what some hot topics are when it comes to blogging. Trish stated 8 main ones that have helped her generate conversation on her page.

The 8 are:
   10 Best/Worst Tips and Tricks
   How To
   Lists 
   Interviews (video or blog style)
   Economy 
   Technology/Innovation  
   Local and Regional News
   Opinions

Trish uses blogging and twitter in her jobs to promote and to gain a trusting relationship with readers through her posts relating to the field. Trish also uses twitter and blogging to answer any questions that the reader might have in hopes that it will generate positive feedback and recognition of herself, Mercy Medical and the Gazette. Trish also said that using such social media sites is all about branding. Facebook, twitter, and blogging help you put yourself out there to your readers and hopefully they will gain a positive image of you and your organization. Trish also said that she used blogging in the work place as a way to help generate SEO results when people are searching for specifics on Google. In her personal life, Trish also uses blogging and twitter as self promotion, branding, and a way to write about what she is passionate about and gain insights and knowledge from others.

Most of Trish’s speech dealt with advice and tips on blogging that can be applied in a PR student’s life.  Trish started off her speech by giving us some statistics on blogs. She said that 55% of corporations use social media to seek job applicants and that 77% of internet users read blogs. This is definitely important to students when we are looking for jobs. Having a blog on our resume and frequently posting will help us stand out from other applicants. Trish also gave students 8 tips to building a brand (whether it be personal or for a company) with a blog.
-What do you want to get out of your blog?
-Know your competency
-Listen and learn about your audience
-Add a personal touch (photo, humor, tasteful jargon)
-Be positive
-Encourage Engagement
-Research Keywords
-Be Consistent

In the end, I feel that Trish’s main points when it comes to having a blog were that it will only help you in the long run if you keep it updated, stay positive and are yourself. It’s extremely important to be able to talk about what you’re interested in and leave room for people to generate feedback. 

PRSSA Speaker- Karin Conway

On October 3, 2011 Karin Conway from PRO Alliance Resources LLC came to speak to PRSSA and other Public Relations students at UW-Whitewater. The main focus of Karin’s speech was networking. Subtopics of networking included why people should network, effective places to meet people, networking tips before you attend an event, and more.

            One of the first points that Karin talked about was why people should network. Karen said that it can be a pain filling out job application after job application and getting rejected over and over again. Networking helps lower your rejection rate. Karin said that “people hire people they know or those who are referred by someone they trust.” Another piece of advice that Karin gave about networking was to “build your valuable network before you need it, whether you are an employee or business owner.”

            The next topic that Karin covered was effective places to meet people. Karin’s list included Chambers of commerce, business mixers, networking groups, open houses, gallery night, church functions, school functions, social groups, personal development sessions, and online (LinkedIn, Facebook, MeetUp).

            Another topic that Karin talked about was general networking tips before attending an event. One tip was to create a plan. This involved thinking about who you are going to meet and how many people you will have time to follow up with. Karin also brought up a good point when she stated that if you are not in the right frame of mind before an event, you should try to snap out of it. If you cannot snap out of it, it is best that you do not go to the event. Karen stated that your bad attitude will show and you do not want your future business connections to have a terrible first impression of you. Karin also pointed out that it is important to wear the proper clothing when attending a networking event. Something that Karin said that she did was hiring an image consultant. She said that the image consultant cost her money, but ended up saving her money in the end because she knows what kind of clothes fit her well, what is in style, and what she should buy that is business appropriate for the events that she attends. While listening to Karin speak, I noticed that she was wearing her nametag. Karen said that at any business event, it is important to get a real name tag printed, not one that’s on paper.

            Karin also had some networking tips for while at an event. One tip that I learned was “introduce people who can help one another because then you will be seen as a connector.” Karin also talked about the “elevator pitch” that Matt Scherer mentioned in his LinkedIn speech last week. Karin added that people should try to have a creative elevator speech (maybe more than one) and to practice it with friends. Karin said that she knows of people who have made a rhyming elevator pitch and put their own spin on it in many other ways. Another item that Karin mentioned was time management. She said that sometimes she has problems at networking events where she meets one person who tries to grab her attention and carry on a conversation with her for too long. She states that at networking events you’re there to meet people and mingle, not chat with just one person the whole time. A method that she uses is having a wingman to help get her out of those situations. It’s important not to stick with a clique because you could miss the chance to meet new people. “You’re there to make connections” One of the biggest points that Karin made was to use business cards, which is also something that we have talked about in class. Karin also mentioned that Vista Print was a great site to go and get business cards.

            Overall, Karin had a lot of helpful insights when it came to how to prepare and handle yourself at a networking event.