Integrating Social Media in your Marketing

The Association for Women in Communications presents: "Integrating Social Media in your Marketing"

Learn to use social media strategically to advance your business while keeping it from eating your life! Dana R. Fowler, founder and President of Media Flashpoint in St. Louis, will be in Springfield on Tuesday, February 7 to answer your most troubling questions. The extended lunch will be from 11:30 am to 1:30 pm.

Ms. Fowler has 20 years of experience in broadcast journalism and marketing, specializing in video and interactive production and development. She started Media Flashpoint in 1994 (formerly called DRF Productions). As President and CEO, her responsibilities include hands-on project management as well as vendor and client relations.

Previously, Dana served as Executive Producer of Interactive Marketing for Busch Creative Services, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Anheuser-Busch and Director of Interactive Marketing for Adamson Advertising in St. Louis, MO. She has also served as Executive Producer of television news for an NBC affiliate in Oklahoma City, OK where she produced a nationally award winning documentary in the former Soviet Union.

Join us at 425 Downtown, which is located at 425 W. Walnut, Springfield 65806. Parking is available across the street in the lot marked 425 Downtown, as well as in the garage on Campbell Avenue.

The cost for the luncheon is $15 for members and first time guests, $18 for returning guests and $14 for AWC student members and full-time degree-seeking students. RSVP to ecoulter@pension-consultants.com.

The Association for Women in Communications is a professional organization that champions the advancement of women across all communications fields by recognizing excellence, promoting leadership and positioning its members at the forefront of the evolving communications era. New members are welcome!

New year, new officers and new goals

The new year is here, and the new board is already planning another spectacular year.The following members have been selected for the 2012 board of the Southwest Missouri Chapter of PRSA.

• 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

These new board members met on Jan. 12 and began making plans for the year.
Chapter goals for 2012:

• Offer PRSA webinars to the community as a membership recruitment tool and to create the potential to generate new revenue
• End the year with at least 50 members (we are currently at 46).
• Create a Speaker’s Bureau to share chapter members’expertise with the community.
• Strengthen student chapter relations.

Social: IRL Events in KC and Wichita

New from Social: IRL - Top social media links and resources, upcoming events in Wichita and Kansas City.

Exclusive discount code for our Kansas City workshop - IRLNEWS for $95 full day registration.
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Coming Events
No BS Social Media Marketing with Jason Falls
Wichita, KS, January 31
Limited registrations at just $35
Details and Registration  |  View Current Attendee List
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Rethinking Business in the age of the Social Consumer with "Conversation Agent" Valeria Maltoni
Kansas City, February 9
Regular registration $145, limited $95 registrations using discount code IRLNEWS
Details and Registration   |  View Current Attendee List

Call for Presentations - Midwest District Conference

The Midwest District Conference Planning committee has opened the call for presentations for the 2012 PRSA Midwest District Conference, which will be held July 19-20, in Chicago, Ill.

The theme for the this year’s conference will be Reestablishing the Value Proposition: Trust and Transparency in PR.

Click the link to visit the district’s conference web page where there is a link to begin the process of suggesting a presenter: http://www.prsa.org/Conferences/MidwestDistrict/

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.

How to produce a social media news release

PR Daily Webinar
How to produce a social media news release
A webinar featuring Shel Holtz and Cassie Péan

Thursday, Dec. 8 • 2-3:45 p.m.

At the Springfield Area Chamber of Commerce

Melinda Arnold, Friends of the Zoo, and Claire Faucett, Springfield Area Chamber of Commerce, are hosting this webinar for southwest Missouri public relations professionals and students. Cost* is $10/person for professionals and $5/person for university students. (The actual cost of the webinar is $139 – so $10 is a BARGAIN!)

Are you producing social media news releases?

Did you know they get picked up more frequently than traditional releases?

Want a practical, introductory course on how to produce a social media news release?

Join us for this NEW PR Daily webinar airing on Thursday, December 8 at 2:00 p.m. Central with online communications expert Shel Holtz and PR Manager for Vocus, Cassie Péan.

This session is filled with step-by-step instructions to write an SMNR, tag content, add important files, distribute releases to social media outlets and more.

PR pros should use social media news releases far more than they do. Research from Realwire shows that reporters and editors like them and that they get picked up more frequently than traditional releases do.

Veteran communications consultant Shel Holtz and PR practitioner Cassie Péan explain the components of the SMNR and offer tips on how to get online reporters and bloggers to read and watch these releases.

For more details on the sessions with Shel and Cassie, please visit the webinar description online.

To attend the webinar, please email your RSPV to Melinda Arnold by noon, Wednesday, Dec. 7.

Attendance is not limited to SWMO PRSA members. Please forward this to coworkers, colleagues and friends who might be interested in attending.

* The per-person cost will reimburse Friends of the Zoo for the webinar registration. Any amount exceeding the registration price will be given to SWMO PRSA.

Congrats to last night's award recipients

I really enjoyed the inaugural Evening of Stars event last night and appreciate all the positive feedback from members.

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.

How to engage employees

David Grossman, who recently spoke at our Professional Development Seminar, shared this piece via Twitter in the Harvard Business Review about employee engagement. Nice fit with the webinar offered this afternoon.

Interestingly, Gallup research indicates that more than 70 percent of employees in the typical company are "not engaged" or "actively disengaged."

Maximizing Online News Releases

We all know that news releases are increasingly irrelevant, so why is this room packed?

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

This is Orlando, so it's all about Disney. And they are a major conference sponsor. So not surprising that one of the keynotes works there. But Joe Rohde is not what you would normally expect. The long, dangling earring made up of trinkets given to him from his travels is one thing. His experience developing the Animal Kingdom theme park and the Hawaiian resort, Aulani, is another.

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.