Blogger Relations= Personalization

Last week I posted my presentation on media relations. It is so important as a PR practitioner to maintain good relationships as you work with various media, editors, and journalists because they are your source of a news outlet. However, getting more specific, how can we use social media in conjunction with media relations? Blogging is one of the best ways to do so. Not only can news media and other PR professionals follow you on your blog, but you can learn a lot by communicating with them through their blogs.
I recently found an article on Twitter that outlined the main factors of maintaining good blogger relations in order to propel your PR career.
The main element to focus on is personalization- knowing the content of the blogs that you follow and getting to know more about the author can help you develop a good relationship with them. Say you read a blog post that particularly interests you and you want to contact the author for some reason. Knowing their style or "theme" of their blog and acknowledging it in your opening sentence of your email will let them know you recognize their personalization and style, and that you connect with that. Also, be personable with them and refer to them by name in the email. Sharing this common ground with the author will help you develop a better connection.
Use this relationship you've developed and any previous research you may have done on the blog to aid you in a pitch. Being on the same page as the person you are pitching to will help you be successful, and learning how to use personalization through blogging is the first step in the process!

Media Relations

Last week, I presented a case study on media relations and World Vision's response to the 2004 tsunami in Asia. My presentation is available on scribd.com and has lots of good tidbits of information on media relations! Click on the title of this post to get to the site.

It's a Mystery....

What's the biggest mystery this fall at Georgia College?

This semester's Mystery Midterm event, sponsored by WGUR 88.9 FM of course!

I can't tell you what the event will be, obviously, but I can tell you that my PR team and all of WGUR is working very hard to make this an exciting event for students.

Here's a hint- it goes along with our theme of Health and Wellness for this year. And it involves a competition of sorts. Oh and did I mention some AWESOME prizes?

Keep the guesses coming and mark your calendars for October 4. You'll be glad you did when you see what we have to offer to our winners! We will have registration for the event on Wed. Sept. 29 at a table by the fountain. Stop by and sign up so you can take part in one of our biggest events of the semester!

WGUR upcoming events

For those of you who don't know, I am working as the Public Relations manager for WGUR 88.9 FM this year. We have a couple of events coming up in the next couple weeks that we want to make sure have a great turn out!
First, Toms Campus Club is hosting "Style Your Sole" this Thursday, Sept. 9. The event will be held in between the dorms on campus at 7 p.m. and will feature a live remote from our radio station, a film screening, and shoe decorating. The art department will be there to assist with the shoe decorating. The second part of the night is a concert downtown at Buffingtons from 10 p.m. til 1 a.m. featuring The Less, Elevation, and Jessica Long. Tickets are $5 and go to a great cause, providing shoes for children who need a pair. WGUR is excited to be a part of this event and help those less fortunate.
Second, WGUR will be helping the Sigma Nu chapter of Lamda Pi Eta as we host "What Bursts Your Bubble? A Redress of Grievances" on Sept. 16, at 12:30 in the free speech zone on front campus (the Bobcat head). We will have a large target available for you to write your biggest grievances (parking, cops, registration, etc.) and then throw a water balloon at the target to relieve some stress! Our Lamda Pi Eta members will then tally up the grievances on the target and address the most common one with whoever may be in charge of the issue. We hope students will take the opportunity to use freedom of speech to help us make changes on campus. WGUR will be doing a live remote from this event as well.
If you're available for these events, come on out, have a great time, and see how WGUR is getting involved with some great causes!

The Role of a Wedding Planner

If you're looking for a good blog to follow that guides you through the process of being a wedding planner, check out http://southerncharmevents.blogspot.com. This is my Aunt Tanya who is a wedding coordinator in Jacksonville FL.
I called her last year when I was thinking about my career to talk to her about being in the event industry. She gave me some really good tips and advice, a lot of which she has blogged about and I find very useful as I'm looking towards graduation and getting a job soon. I just wanted to share something she wrote on her blog a few days ago which is so very true, and something I have realized since working with brides:

Tanya's blog:
"The African Wedding Guide says: "...the role of the wedding consultant is that of a

• facilitator,
• mediator,
• money manager,
• artisan and
• constructor of dreams."

In addition to these things, if you've ever been a involved with a wedding, you also know the kind of stress involved with planning a wedding. Add to the above description,

• therapist,

• sounding board and
• even punching bag, figuratively of course,
when frazzled nerves come into play."

What a perfect way to sum it up. So, when people ask me why I'm so interested in being a wedding coordinator?
Well because I want to be a constructor of dreams, of course!