Butterflies About Blackberrys

By: Sam Sova

When most of us give presentations, we naturally get butterflies before we deliver to any size audience. Eventhough we have prepared and practiced and “know our stuff” we still have that natural fear – Our natural fear of speaking in from of an attentive audience – all eyes on you, right…

Well the game has changed big time with crackberrys and iPhones basically in pocket’s reach of all of your attendees. Now, presenters are going to have to keep their presentations so interesting that they keep the eyes on them…instead of one’s portable device. 

Over the last year I have been to a respectable amount of conferences, have been in numerous presentations, and have even been giving my own presentations to groups ranging from 1 to 125. The one thing that I have noticed is the number of people that are checking email during the presentation – I am even a victim of it. I was at the Online Marketing Summit last week and saw this first hand. Overall the conference was good, but there was one presenter that was just so damn boring that I had to pull out my blackberry (like everyone else!) and check my email. In a way I felt bad, but I was paying to see her speak and even more – giving up valuable work time to see it. And obviously everyone in the room felt the same!

So here is the scoop. If you are planning a presentation in the near future, it has to be interesting enough to hold your audience. Less text, more videos and photos. If you are talking about a Web site, go to it and give a quick demo. Embed some videos or have an entire slide with just a photo that your discussion will be revolved around. The old days of text-heavy presentations are done. If you are going to take the time and/or money of others to hear you speak, do it right or you will be talking to a crowd focused more on their email or the Web than with what you have to say.

We’re Back…Take a Breath and Step Back

By Sam Sova

So it has been a while since any of us have posted anything. For those of you not in Milwaukee, when summer hits things get hectic. Nights are filled with sports, grilling, beer, brats, and of course wine (for those that go to Jazz in the Park). So for those of you that were/are following this blog, I will speak for everyone and say that we are sorry. 

So anyway, in the last month off of this blog I have been through some awesome experiences at the day job around Web 2.0 and social media. I have been building a social media strategy for the organization during the last year and am amazed of the number of people that just want to “dive in” to social media…not only in our organization but what others in the industry have done. It is absolutely insane that after giving presentations I will get a plethora of emails and calls that start with “we should do a blog on… or we should start a podcast on… or even better, lets start a social network like facebook. Clearly, just impulse behaviors (unfortanately how my buying behaviors are!). But the real question is, once you do that one blog post or podcast, what is next?

Here’s the deal. If you look at companies that have tried the Web 2.0 thing and have focused JUST on the tools, they have most likely failed. They were the ones that bought into the emails and calls described above. They were the “impulse buyers” of social media that did not take a step back and look at the big picture. They did one awesome video podcast and were left saying….”great, what’s next?”

As cool as all of this new stuff is like Twitter, Friendfeed, Digg, and the basics of blogs and podcast, you have to take a step back and look at the big picture. Is your culture even ready for any of this yet? Are they ready to have to figure out how to use RSS and download podcasts to their mobile? Or are they behind in the tech wave and have difficulty watching online video? These questions (and many more) are ones that need to be taken in order to have a shot of being successful, because in a large organization (Fortune 1000) sometimes you have one shot to do it right.

Speed Networking at Bar Louie

By: Sarah Nohr

Networking events can be scary. Especially as members of Gen Y – the generation who tends to always do what our friends are doing. We’re not generally a “fly solo” group. So when we see a sign for a networking event, most of us try to find a couple friends to go with us. Then we end up huddling in the corner talking to each other while drinking the free beer and scarfing down the complimentary apps.

But PRSA Young Pros is doing you a favor. We’re putting all of your friends in one place at an organized speed networking event. We’re removing the awkward step of having to approach a new group of people, a more experienced professional or an admired colleague. It’s actually part of the process to move from chair to chair, hand out your business card and get down to the nitty-gritty right away. Because you only have 5-10 minutes to do it in.

Last year, college students, young pros and experienced professionals alike attended our first Speed Networking event at Mo’s Irish Pub. By popular demand, we’re bringing it back this year. Check out the details below:

Speed Networking With PRSA Young Pros
Thursday, May 22
5:30-7:30 pm
Bar Louie (1114 Water St. – Downtown Milwaukee)

Speed network during happy hour with PR professionals at all stages in their career. Whether you’re looking to build your network in the Milwaukee area, need career advice or love to meet new people, we’ll help you build a well-rounded network in one night. Be sure to bring a fresh supply of business cards.
Don’t fret. Of course there will be FREE appetizers and a cash bar!

I hope to see you there! For more information on our upcoming Speed Networking event, visit our Facebook Page or contact Erica Zipp at ezipp@bader-rutter.com.

Sometimes This Is Really Overlooked

Is customer service at the top of your list? If not, you better start thinking about moving it up there. I am hoping we all have learned at some point that it is much more costly to acquire a new customer compared to retaining an existing one. Think about all of the marketing efforts that your company does to get those new “hot leads.” Trade shows, advertising, sales presentations, speaking engagements, RFPs, etc. Granted some of these play into retaining existing customers, most of the effort is focused on getting the interest of a new prospect. So once you have that customer signed, doesn’t it make sense to put THEIR success at the top of your list?

Since getting into the workforce I have had some great experiences with vendors (agencies) and some really poor ones. The ones that have been really horrible with meeting my needs and not making me successful, I will never go back to. But the vendors that are working as hard as I am, and are putting in the extra time and effort I will go back to in a heartbeat.

A company-vendor relationship should be considered by both as a partnership, and if it isn’t you obviously haven’t put your customer service experience at the top of your priority list. You spend so much time and money to get new customers, now it is your duty as a vendor (agency) to keep them happy and make THEM successful in meeting their business goals.

How Will a Teen Trend Affect the PR Profession?

By: Kim Nielsen

 

I recently read a summary of a study released last week by the Pew Internet and American Life Project, examining the writing habits of teens. Among the findings in the study, there is one that I find particularly disturbing – 64% of teens admitted to using informal style and slang in school assignments. The informal elements included such electronic communication standbys as lax capitalization and punctuation, abbreviations such as “LOL” and even emoticons.

 

If students fail to realize that school assignments merit a more formal writing style than everyday communications among friends, how can we be sure that they will be properly equipped to write as PR Professionals (or other members of the business world, for that matter)?

 

As electronic communications contribute to the continued blurring of the once distinct line between personal and professional communications, what can we do to assure that our own writing doesn’t fall victim similar trends?

 

Although I don’t know how all of this will play out, my feeling is this – when in doubt, err on the side of the more professional/formal.

bizMe – A Girl’s New Best Friend

By: Sarah Nohr

If you haven’t already heard about it, please do yourself a favor and subscribe to the updates on one of the hottest new online magazines out there: bizMe.biz.

This has quickly become one of my favorite quick-reference guides that I point other young pros to when they’re looking for real-life business advice. My friend, Amanda Guralski, is the publisher and founder of this unique site that offers young professional women advice on everything from fashion to interview techniques to budgeting to keeping fit in the office world.

One of my favorite posts from the Spring issue was “Budget: No pain, plenty to gain.” As a working girl on a budget – who spends about 600 hours a week working in Excel for her clients anyway – I certainly could benefit from organizing my finances a bit!

Also: keep watch for more on bizMe and PRSA Young Pros in this year’s events calendar. We’ve got some fun stuff brewing!

Are You Graduating In May?

 

By: Sam Sova

It’s mid-April, which means that it’s time for graduation for thousands of PR professionals. If you are graduating, do you have a job already? If you do, congrats! If not, I came across this awesome blog post from The Marketing Minute that gives some really good insight on things you may overlook when sending application information to a company. Even if you are not graduating, these tips can really help the basic do’s and not to do’s when applying for a job. Enjoy!

 

 

The Best of the Best

By: Laurie Peterson

 

The Southeastern Wisconsin chapter of the Public Relations Society of America (PRSA) annually hosts an awards banquet honoring the best of the best in Milwaukee public relations.  The awards will be formally announced on May 20 during the Paragon Award Banquet . 

 

Annually our firm, along with several other Milwaukee agencies, corporations and nonprofit organizations submit entries in the hope of being recognized for their hard work and, in most cases, creativity and strategic thinking. 

 

To be honest, Paragon award recipients might not be in the company of Dave Umhoefer and other Pulitzer Prize winners, but the awards symbolize and celebrate the strength and vitality of Milwaukee’s public relations industry.

 

If you can’t make it to the banquet, be sure to check the PRSA Web site following the May 20 event for a complete list of winners, and perhaps take a moment to congratulate the winning professionals for their work. 

 

As a budding pr professional, I am proud and excited to be part of such a thriving industry.  I look at the winning campaigns and tactics each year as inspiration, as I continually search for opportunities to grow into an award-winning professional. 

PRSA Health Academy Conference

By Sarah Nohr

We work in a multigenerational workplace. Traditionals, Baby Boomers, Gen X and Gen Y. The problem? We all tend to market to ourselves. Meaning we in Gen Y tend to think that by starting a new group on Facebook will actually attract the 60-year-old woman in need of hip replacement surgery to call the hospital for more information. (Well, perhaps we’re not that stupid.) And our managers in the Baby Boomer generation still think that placing an ad in a newspaper is a foolproof way of attracting college grads to apply for a job opening.

After my return from my three-day retreat in Chicago at PRSA’s recent Health Academy conference, my head is full to the brim with new ideas on how to improve our strategic marketing efforts at my company by tailoring messages to different generations. Of course, being a low man on the totem pole, implementation of my eager efforts is not entirely likely. Why? Because I’m a Gen Y. I’m eager and driven and want instant gratification for my great ideas. I want my superiors to notice my efforts and tell me I’m brilliant. At least, that’s what the Baby Boomer presenter told me at the conference.

Here’s a rundown of some of the other things we Gen Y “kids” are supposed to attribute to ourselves. What do you think? Accurate?

Generation Y (Ages 6-28)

• We are entry and mid-level careerpeople; college and gradeschool students
• We are very motivated and competitive, but need regular reinforcement from our managers that we’re doing a good job
• In general, we like our family, our parents and our grandparents (much more than Generation X did)
• We are followers. We tend to do what everyone else is doing – like Facebook, LinkedIn, etc.
• We don’t trust others because our parents (Baby Boomers and Gen Xers) taught us that “the world is not safe”
• We like it when you ask us for our opinion at work – it makes us feel important
• We HATE face-to-face communication at the workplace but excel at group/social events and digital communication
• We value deals when you market to us (2-for-1, dollar menu, etc.)
• We don’t watch prime-time TV; if you want to reach us on TV, target us on cable
• Only less than 10 percent of us are not Web-dependent - meaning 90 percent of us would NOT survive without the Internet
• We are the leading producers of all Web-generated content
• Our brains are wired for complexity – we really can check our e-mail, listen to our iPods, text and have a conversation with you at the same time
• We like instant gratification. Mail-in warranties do not appeal to us.
• Many of us have multiple e-mail addresses and when you swamp us with too much junk mail, we’ll switch our e-mail address on you
• Males of our generation are VERY hard to reach – via phone, mail and e-mail (believe me – I know!)
• We will eliminate your company as a choice based solely on your Web site – in less than 5 seconds

Who Will Win It All?

by Sam Sova 

Today is the start of the March Madness NCAA basketball tournament. Do you have your bracket in? I heard on ESPN this morning that 27% of office workers are in an office pool and companies in the US will lose $10 billion in the span of the tournament due to lost productivity. Are you one of these people losing big money for your company? Do you feel guilty about it? 

If you have been reading the news you will also see that CBS is streaming all of the games live on the Web. This is the first accessible on-demand broadcast of an event this caliber, which has attracted over 20 sponsors. Take a look at the article.

The coolest thing about this is an application called the “boss button.” If your boss is walking by, you click the button and a spreadsheet pops up!

So people in the office now have access to all of the games and, of course, many will be watching it. Being in a marketing/communications discipline this is the opportunity to figure out how your company can embrace the biggest sports event of the year. How can you take this event and turn it into an office experience in the future. Maybe a culture builder? Yes, it may be too late this year, but it’s never too early to start for the next year. Could you have an office-wide bracket with prizes like an extra vacation day, parking spot in the executive row for a week, etc.?

With video becoming so easily accessible on the Web, it is evident that the workforce has access to a lot more distracting things. In the future, it may be an opportunity for you to make a difference in the culture of your office.