Communicating in PR: Press Releases and Social Media

In order to inform the public of the message you're trying to promote in Public Relations, you need to be able to communicate with the media. There's two common forms to do so - press releases and through social media.

Press releases are the most typical form of communicating with the public. I have provided a video below from Howcast that explains what a press release is, arrangement of a press release, and the overall importance of a press release.

Key Points: 

What is a Press Release: 
A piece of information distributed to the media in hopes the message you're promoting will get written about.

Arrangement of Press Release: 

• Contact info at the top of press release
• Attention grabbing headline
• Tagline following headline - explains the headline
• Body of press release - gets across the who, what, where, when and why 
• Boiler plate - short description about company you're writing press release about

Writing Press Releases Requirements: 

Being creative! Just because you write a press release doesn't mean your story is going to be written about. You have to think of new strategies and ways to grab the media's attention.

The other form, social media, is a rather new form of communication in PR. Below you will see a video from Howcast regarding how social media intertwines with Public Relations in regards to communication, and how branding, accessing, and grabbing attention is easier!

Key Points

Brands: It's easier to brand! For celebrity endorsements, you simply send the celebrity a product and they'll tweet about it if they like it. It's an easy stamp of approval from a force that will send the message out quickly.

Access: It's easy access! Social media is always a click of a button away and people tend to find information easier due to our reliability on social media today. 

Gets more attention: People answer social media more than phone calls and emails - it's the quickest way to grab the attention of the media. Plus, the message is spread to a wider audience because so many people are on social media compared to reading press releases. Double win!

I hope this taught you a little bit about how PR professionals spread their messages to the media. Come back next week for the final post regarding the way our group has learned the importance of communication in each of our fields!
-Grace

Prompt #6: Evaluating Sources

While researching more about the business field, I came across a scholarly article published by Embo Reports. The author of the article argues that testing products on animals should not be banned for businesses. The author argues that animal research has had a vital role in many scientific and medical advances over the past few decades (Festing, para. 1). The author also states that some consumers are more confident buying a product that has  been tested on animals because they feel safer using the product. Although many people believe animal experimentation is cruel regardless of its purpose, the author of this article believes that the testing helps sales more than it hurts sales for businesses.

Photo Credit: care2.com

After learning about the business field, I understand the author's argument, but I disagree. I think that animal testing is cruel. As a consumer, I think that I would prefer to purchase products from a business with good ethics than one that acts cruel toward animals. Hopefully, more and more people will see results on animals from animal testing and choose to support companies that do not test on animals in order to benefit businesses that choose not to test products on animals.
-Brianna
                                                              

Can Trump Win the Election with His PR Strategies?

Since the election is tomorrow, it only felt right to write a post about it. Whether you're voting for Trump or for Hilary, Fraser Seitel from Forbes argues there is no debate that Donald Trump knows what he is doing.... that is PR wise.

First, Trump is a celebrity. 

Everyone knows Trump. He's been a TV star, a topic of gossip, and popularly known big-mouth for the past several decades. He wasn't just coming to light with his presidential election campaigning; the man has struck American culture for years. 

Now many may argue, what does being a celebrity have to do with becoming the president? Being a celebrity is free publicity simply put. Trump doesn't have to spend any money advertising; his name has been thrown around in media for years due to his celebrity title. Better yet, his presidency is doing nothing but further promoting that title-sounds like a typical job for PR firms, doesn't it?

Second, he's a man of the people.

Source: redstate.com

Trump will tell the people directly how it is. He doesn't talk politics; he talks a language people can understand. That's not to say everyone agrees with him, but people get what he is saying regardless of their political knowledge. For example, his views on building a wall were pretty straight forward. The man is brutally honest. 

Third, Trump is his own critic. 

Most PR practitioners promote taking the high road and avoiding negative comments of the competition. However, Trump speaks his mind and he speaks it firmly. 

Take a look at the time back in May when Trump claimed the nomination was rigged for "Crooked Hilary." As soon as he secured his spot in the nomination, he claimed he didn't care a single bit.  The man couldn't careless what others are saying; he's only listening to himself anyways. 

Trump may be handling the campaigning differently than prior campaigners, but he is making a name for himself and he's doing it by himself. It may not be the most professional or most typical form of PR, but what he's doing is working and he is a favorable public image to countless Americans regardless. 

Join back next week where I'll be discussing more PR and where PR expert Trump may be the president of this country.. scary or not? 
-Grace 

Media Accelerates Sports Industry & Marketing Growth

Media rights and sponsorships in the sports industry are rolling toward record numbers. That is how analysts at Pricewaterhouse Corps see the next five years in the sports industry. PwC projects a 4.8% annual growth in the next five years from $53.6 billion in 2012, to $67.7 billion in 2017. Over they years, sports industries held an annual growth of 3%. Total at-the-gate revenue of professional sports was $19.1 billion in 2012.  PwC also forecasts a small 1.7% annual growth rate for merchandise through 2017. It's important for industries to stay a step ahead of the game by receiving sponsorships from larger brands to increase their income. Media can help them do that.

Source: shopmailnmore.com

Over the next five years, big growth will come from one major thing; media rights. Media is the safe haven for advertisers where cost fees have exploded over the past years. More content is brought on the internet. Ratings could be enhanced by possible professional and college conference realignment or other factors that could affect media rights. PwC predicts that media rights fees will grow by 7.7% next year to over $17 billion.

Credit the growth of media, which sponsorships can piggy back on as more advertising and marketing capacity opens up on more networks. And don’t forget  the venues, which continue to open more space to sponsors in the quest to capture more dollars around slower-spending fans.

Global Supply Chain Management Industry Report

According to RNR Market Research, The Global Supply Chain Management Software Industry Report 2016 is an in-depth study on the current state of the Supply Chain Management Software Industry done by professionals. It includes overviews on Supply Chain Management’s definitions, classifications, applications, and chain structures. It also provides information on developmental trends, and the development status of key regions throughout the world.  This year’s report was recently released by a top research firm. Now, people have the opportunity to learn about development policies and plans, manufacturing processes, and cost structures.

Photo Credit: www.whatech.com

It is important for people involved in the Supply Chain Management field to review important information about the field each year. By staying up to date with the evolution of the field, Supply Chain Managers can continue to improve their skills, strategies, and structures, to be the best Supply Chain Managers that they can be in order to be beneficial toward their business or company. For more information on how to view The Global Supply Chain Management Software Industry Report 2016, visit www.deepresearchreports.com.

-Brianna                                          

Prompt #3: Interviewing a Professional

Hey everyone! For this week, I have constructed an interview with a PR professional to gain more knowledge about the field. Her name is Nicole Daniel, and she is a corporate communications intern for the Detroit Lions. Here's what she had to say about her career:

What degree did it take to get this job?

I have a bachelor of arts in advertising, a minor in public relations and a concentration in media management. This job specifically focuses on my public relations minor.

What skills do you need for this job?

Strong writing abilities, media relations, interpersonal communications skills, detail-orientation, strategic thinking and the ability to control the message.

What’s the work environment like? Do you work collaboratively or more independently?

I work very closely with my supervisor on most projects, since I am an intern. I do prefer collaborative environment though. More can be accomplished working within a team, bouncing ideas off one another and constant brainstorming of new ideas. The corporate communications department frequently meets to discuss our strategy for upcoming events. We also meet with the executives to ensure the brand is being represented properly.

What is a day on the job like?

It is always different. Our department handles all business inquires with the Detroit Lions including partnership deals and stadium enhancements, stadium concerts and events, and the Detroit Lions community story. No day is ever the same, but we do work on press kits, media events and community events consistently.

What’s an example of a project you would typically do?

One example would be drafting media materials: such as press releases, news advisories and talking points. I also am an assistant to Ford Field’s social media accounts. We plan the media strategy for the accounts.

What are the biggest challenges you face on the job?

Working in the NFL things are always moving fast and changing even faster, you have to be on top of everything and strategic with what is being communicated. The Detroit Lions are a consumer brand so people are always looking for more information, sometimes more than you are willing to give.

What do you write and how do you write it?

I write press releases to advise the media of future events, initiatives and brand-supporting stories. I also write copy for social media posts, draft talking point for executives and recaps of media coverage. I write those pieces with clear and concise verbiage. In public relations, the goal is to write at a level for middle school students to comprehend; this is not because your reader is uneducated but to ensure that your message is interpreted exactly how it was intended. 

What are common misconceptions of your field and how do you use communication--specifically writing- to address these misconceptions?

Working in sports is glamourous. The sports industry is truly the grind, you are working crazy hours, weekends and holidays. You are not watching the games or hanging out with players like people tend to believe. However, a misconception of writing for a sports team is that the media coverage comes by default. For my department we do not cover football operations, so to engage the media we have to ensure the message is clearly depicted and interesting for their audience. We also work to create relationships with the reporters to get an understanding of what they write about and how to present the information to them. 

What are the uses of communication in your field?

Everything is communication. My job entails communicating with the media, the Detroit Lions organization, my co-workers and the public, both fans and critics. We are constantly working to improve the perception of our brand through strategic communications.

I hope this interview gave you as much knowledge as it gave me. Tune back in next week!

-Grace 

Supply Chain Management Projected Growth

Supply Chain Management careers are growing over the next few years. According to Linkedin, between now and 2020, research analysts predict that the global supply chain management market will grow at a steady compound annual growth rate of approximately 11%. The growth of the supply chain management market is driven by people wanting better transparency of orders, inventory, and shipment information. Another driving force responsible for the growth are small and medium enterprises because they need supply chain managers in order to reduce operating costs while keeping high quality goods. Also, many small and medium enterprises are working to expand business operations. 

Photo Credit: leebotti.com

In addition to the supply chain management field growing as a whole, the number of women entering the field is also growing according to www.scmr.com. Supply chain management in the past has been considered a male-dominated industry; however more and more women are entering the field. Salaries for women beginning in 2017 are expected to increase by 2.9%. In addition, the supply chain management industry is working to bring more women into leadership roles.
-Brianna