December 14, 2011
Call for Presentations - Midwest District Conference
November 29, 2011
Invitation from Women in Communications
Invitation from Women in Communications:
Unravel the secrets of extracting creative thought from the right side of the brain. Dr. Jo Van Arkel, author and professor at Drury University, will guide us through time-proven exercises and techniques that will put more punch and color into everyday writing. Bring an open mind and a blank piece of paper!
Join the Association for Women in Communications on Tuesday, December 6 for this fun program. Networking at 11:30 am; program at noon. $15 for first time guests, $18 for returning guests, $14 for AWC student members and full-time degree-seeking students. Lunch catered by Olive Garden. Meeting location is Associated Electric Cooperative, 2814 S. Golden Ave., Springfield. RSVP to Ashley at awood@aeci.org by December 2 at 12 pm.
November 28, 2011
How to produce a social media news release
How to produce a social media news release
A webinar featuring Shel Holtz and Cassie Péan
November 18, 2011
Congrats to last night's award recipients
I especially want to congratulate the award recipients, all of whom were very deserving.
Dr. Regina Waters, associate professor and chair of the department of communication at Drury University, received the Outstanding Faculty Award. This award recognizes a public relations faculty member from a college or university within the Southwest Missouri PRSA service area for efforts supporting the education of future public relations professionals.
Andrea Harp, social media and marketing coordinator at Ozarks Community Hospital, received the Rising Star Award, which recognizes a professional with less than three years experience who shows dedication to the ethical and professional practice of public relations and engagement in the Southwest Missouri PRSA Chapter.
Lisa Cox, media relations specialist at St. John’s Health System, received the Legacy Award. This award recognizes a Southwest Missouri PRSA Chapter member’s contributions to the chapter through service on the Board of Directors or a committee.
The Booster Award was given to the Springfield Area Chamber of Commerce for its support of the public relations profession and chapter. The Chamber has promoted events to its membership, hosted conferences and offered other support.
The Intrepid Award was given to Melinda Arnold, public relations and marketing manager for Dickerson Park Zoo/Friends of the Zoo. The Intrepid Award recognizes a senior practitioner with at least 10 years of experience who shows dedication to the ethical and professional practice of public relations and engagement in the Southwest Missouri PRSA Chapter.
October 25, 2011
How to engage employees
Interestingly, Gallup research indicates that more than 70 percent of employees in the typical company are "not engaged" or "actively disengaged."
October 18, 2011
Maximizing Online News Releases
We all know about SEO. And I know that Monday and Friday are not the best days to put a release out. But according to the presenters and their case study, Thursday is far and away the best day. Next best? Wednesday.
We also know about Google analytics. What I did not know is there is a free URL builder that allows you to track and measure clicks on links. And of course, those links should be call to action links that result in a purchase, registration or other activity that can be measured as a dollar value to your organization. Impressions, of course, doesn't mean much to anyone.
This has given me a few ideas about formatting the structure of our releases, or at least verified some of the thoughts I had prior to attending.
Imagineering
Theme park takes on new meaning when you think about it like you did in lit class. In fact, according to Joe, much of the planning, or imagineering, that is done is very much framed around those literary notions of theme, character, setting and so forth. Again, if there is a thread to this conference, it is storytelling and the primal effect it has on people.
We use narrative to see, imagine, experience emotion and reactions. Developing themes expands opportunities, some of which can't be envisioned until the creative process unfolds. The melding of creativity and practical goals is an ongoing challenge at Disney. For example, how do you incorporate a thrill ride into Animal Kingdom, which theme is the intrinsic value of nature? Though usually a disconnect at first glance, they managed to do this in a way that did not detract from the original concept. His presentation was well recived.
October 17, 2011
Tried and True
He did a couple of exercises with interesting results. One was to ask people to tweet "Free prize for first 2 people to shout out "PR Rocks" in our meeting room. No one did. The time-delay aspect of social media has consequences in all aspects of communications, but is particularly relevant in crisis communications messaging. Thea other I won't mention because I might want to use it myself someday.
In discussing the Domino's Pizza You Tube fiasco, he made the point that issues like that should be addressed using the medium in which they are raised and using the same In responding, you should not wait until the issue becomes a media story, or hope the silly video plays out.
Visit his website for more background. He is a New Orleans guy and mentioned Joe Trahan, who presented at our seminar last fall.
Volunteers, Planners Needed
PRSA International conference so far
One of the more notable presentations this morning was from Chris Brogan. I would characterize his style as irreverent, but insightful as well. His key message was to cultivate, leverage and develop a sense of belonging. To cultivate visibility for clients/organizations and to make your customer the hero of the stories you tell are key aspects of his approach. He
defined PRSA as "passionate relationship-minded storytelling association." Interesting.
Storytelling is the common theme of many of the keynotes and presenters so far, and I even overheard another attendee make the same observation. I did not follow Chris before; but I made that correction after hearing him speak.
Another point he made was that your web page is your home -- social media is the outpost and you should not live there. Not everyone you interact with on the outpost are stakeholders in your town, so to speak.
He also recommended two books: "The Referral Engine" and "Trust Agents." Like just about everyone here, he has written a book. I better get started.
October 14, 2011
Proposed 2012 Officers
- President: Tom Ellis
- President-Elect: Lori Marble
- Immediate Past President: Don Hendricks
- Secretary: Becky Lucas
- Treasurer: Tamera Heitz-Peek
- Chapter Liaison Director-at-Large: Regina Waters
- Membership Director-at-Large: Paula Ringer
- Communications Director-at-Large: Jill Finney
- Assembly Delegate: Andrea Mostyn
October meeting.