The newsletter provides updates on the activities of the Temple University PRSSA chapter, including the president's letter, fundraising, community service, PRowl public relations firm, mentorship program, programming events, and the annual TU Invitational conference. Key events included a Valentine's day bake sale fundraiser, involvement with the American Heart Association, Relay for Life, professional speaker panels, the mentorship social media campaign, and the third annual conference focused on storytelling. The chapter has been actively engaged in fundraising, community outreach, professional development, and networking opportunities.

1. In This Issue
President’s letter
Social Media Update
Fundraising Update
Community Service Update
PRowl Update
Mentorship Update
Programming Update
TU Invitational Recap
Three Need-To-Knows for Event
Planning
Voice and Tone on Social Media
Social Media Dos and Don’ts for
Students
Meeting Recaps
3 Tips to Avoid Social Media
Mistakes
From Traditional to Digital PR
Shaking Off Spotify
By Summersleek (Own work) [CC BY-SA 3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0)], via Wiki-
media Commons
Temple PRSSA Newsletter Spring 2016
PRESIDENT’S LETTER
To the best chapter,
I cannot believe my year with Temple PRSSA has already come to an end…time has seriously
flown by! I have loved serving as chapter president not only because it was an amazing experience,
but because I was able to watch each one of you grow professionally, while personally getting to
know you better.
When I began my term as president, my goals were to create a welcoming atmosphere that
encouraged members to build friendships with one other, create educational opportunities for mem-
bers to learn more about the field of public relations and help members obtain opportunities by ex-
panding their network in Philadelphia. As a constantly growing chapter, I am happy to say we con-
tinue our legacy as one of the oldest in the country and largest chapters in the region. We have had
yet another successful year.
I began my journey with Temple PRSSA three years ago as an eager member who wanted to get more involved. I never imagined
leading this wonderful organization, but I am so happy I had the opportunity. Over the course of the year, we have brought in countless
professional speakers, held our annual media relations panel, celebrated our very own “PRSSA Week” and hosted our third annual TU
Invitational Conference. This year we had a lot of “firsts” including our first “PR by the Generation” panel , our first “free membership”
social media contest, our first PRSSA chapter mixer with Drexel and LaSalle, and our first PRSSA and PRowl team at Temple’s “Relay
for Life” event. We also had our first event with Temple’s American Marketing Association—a panel discussion of three professionals
who worked on the 2015 Philadelphia World Meeting of Families. The speakers for this panel discussion were full of energy, and the
event was a major highlight during our first official “PRSSA Week.”
I can’t begin to thank all of you for your dedication to Temple PRSSA. I am proud to have represented a chapter of members who
were always excited to get involved with Temple’s PRSSA chapter and PRSSA National’s initiatives. I wish you all the best in your fu-
ture endeavors, and hope to stay in touch. This newsletter provides a glimpse of how incredible our chapter is and I hope you enjoy
reading it!
Sincerely,
Alissa Steele
PR In the Modern Age
THE OWL PRACTITIONER

2. The PRSSA Fundraising Committee has been very
busy this semester. We have worked really hard to sell
the remaining 45 PRSSA t-shirts and we reached our
goal. We also spread the word at the end of the semester
to sell PRSSA graduation stoles to our members who are
seniors. We wanted them to take a piece of PRSSA with
them to graduation and after. Valentine’s Day was on our
radar in February and our committee was excited to help
spread the love around campus by hosting a Valentine's
Day bake sale. PRSSA members brought a lot of different
baked goods and some also took the time to help with the
table. We were very proud of the success. The PRSSA
Fundraising Committee was mostly proud of our Masters
Restaurant Brunch Fundraiser that is being held at the end
of April. The Fundraising Committee has been promoting
the event throughout March and April with social media,
posters and simply word of mouth. 60 people have
RSVP’d to attend the brunch. We anticipate a morning and
afternoon filled with great food, music and just an overall
great time.
This semester has been an exciting one for Temple PRS-
SA’s social media! When the membership returned in January,
we started our second #TUPRSSAfree campaign aimed at in-
creasing attention and membership for our chapter. Our winner,
Joei DeCarlo, with 90 plus likes on her Facebook post, won a
free membership. Our runner ups, Joshua Ortiz and Marissa
Piffer, both with more than 70 likes on their Instagram posts
were honored with Wawa gift cards.
Next, we launched our #MentorshipMeans social campaign.
Through collaboration with the Director of Mentorship, Su Rei
Khoo, we collected quotes from mentor/mentee pairs on what
their relationship has meant to them and how it has helped
them grow. The Instagram-focused campaign gained a lot of
attention and helped Temple PRSSA attract new members to
the mentorship program. During the #MentorshipMeans cam-
paign, there was a Twitter Chat about the program and a men-
torship game night for mentorship pairs to engage in a fun envi-
ronment.
Upon our return from spring break, Temple PRSSA dived
head first into a campaign surrounding a week of celebrating
PRSSA with our chapter. Events throughout the week utilized
hashtags, photos, and quotes specific to each event. The week
ended with our chapter’s third annual TU Invitational. Our social
media had the most engagement this year during our invitation-
al and PRSSA National even wrote about the conference on
their website!
To finish 2016, we created a
#PRofessionalDevelopmentMonth campaign for April for mem-
bers to learn more about and discuss landing their dream job or
internship. The campaign was a great success with a Twitter
Chat and blog posts by executive board members on different
topics surrounding professional development. Events including
SMC’s Career Fair and Temple PRSSA’s mixer with other local
chapters gave members opportunities to apply what they
learned throughout the month of April. Temple PRSSA social
media had an active semester and we intend to keep it up with
semesters to come!
Social Media Update by Michelle Davies
Fundraising Update by Kaitlin Milano
Jeremy Rives, Kaitlin Milano, Erin Moskowitz

3. The Temple PRSSA community service committee has
continued its commitment to serving the Temple and Phila-
delphia community. We kicked this semester off with a food
drive for Feed Homeless Philly that ran all semester long.
Members brought in as much canned food as they could be-
fore the semester ended and all food was given to homeless
citizens in Philadelphia. Other community service events
included getting more involved with the American Heart As-
sociation (AHA). AHA hosted their annual Heart Ball and
members were responsible for the Philadelphia AHA Twitter
and Instagram accounts. The Philadelphia Red Dress Collec-
tion Stream, an event also hosted by the AHA, had members
in charge of social media and escorting sponsors around the
event.
As the last big event of the semester, members paired up
with PRowl PR to create a team for Relay For Life at Temple
University. Members recruited friends and family to come out
for a fun night created to help communities across the globe
fight back against cancer. Relay For Life took place on Tem-
ple University’s campus on April 8 and raised $500.
This semester has been exciting for the community ser-
vice committee. Members are getting involved in the events
and are always eager for more. We are looking forward to the
fall semester!
PRowl Public Relations has completed the spring semes-
ter with much success. While the Fall semester inspires
PRowlers to create new campaigns and perform both quanti-
tative and qualitative research, it’s during the Spring semes-
ter PRowl executes its campaigns. The firm currently man-
ages six accounts: The Liacouras Center, The Department of
Strategic Communication (STRC), Temple University Strate-
gic Marketing & Communications (SM+C), Temple University
Television (TUTV), the Ed Trayes Photography Archives and
PRowl Internal.
The Liacouras Center team promoted events at The
Liacouras Center this Spring, including Sesame Street! Live
and Cirque de Soleil by pitching local reporters and organiza-
tions information about discount sales and opportunities to
partner with the Liacouras Center. The STRC account contin-
ues to maintain a strong social media presence for the de-
partment on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram. Every semes-
ter, engagement with the accounts increases. PRowlers who
work with SM+C spent the semester brainstorming and plan-
ning initiatives for Temple’s Snapchat strategy, and they sub-
mitted formal proposals to the client at the end of the semes-
ter. Additionally, team members marketed Temple’s new
shuttle system, FLIGHT. Our TUTV team members orga-
nized a contest for an upcoming program on TUTV, Food
Truck Wars. PRowlers created a social media campaign and
event plans for students to vote for their favorite food trucks
on Main Campus. The Ed Trayes account team revamped
the client’s Instagram account and created a formal timeline
and plan for social media. Lastly, PRowl Internal researched
and developed a branding guide so PRowl’s brand and
graphic identity would be concrete and consistent. Further-
more, PRowl Internal members planned two Twitter chats,
staffed a professional development table in Annenberg Hall
and designed the firm’s business cards.
In April, PRowl and PRS-
SA members applied and
interviewed to become the
next generation of PRowl
leaders, either as Account
Executives or on the firm’s
executive board. PRowl
continues to be a source
of encouragement and
opportunity for Temple
University students to
grow as PR professionals.
For the upcoming year, PRowl PR is happy to announce
that Maggie Wurst will be taking over as Firm Director with a
brand new e-board of passionate students. Congrats, PRowl-
ers!
Community Service Update by Kaitlin Osborn
PRowl Public Relations Update by Alyssa Guckin
Erin Quiles, Marissa Pifer, Alissa Steele, Kaitlin
Osborn, Mikyla Abdul-Azim

4. After the success of the fall semester’s Mentorship Pro-
gram, we wanted to encourage more members to get in-
volved. We held a Twitter Chat early in the semester about
frequently asked questions (FAQs) in regards to the program
with committee members, including myself, responding to
them. Using the hashtag #MentorshipMeans, interested
members also participated with queries of their own to get a
better understanding of the program.
As one of the initiatives to garner greater enthusiasm for
the program, we implemented the first-ever Temple PRSSA
mentorship social media campaign, “Mentorship Means.”
Mentor-mentee pairs from the previous semester submitted
a photo of themselves together while each stated what men-
torship meant to them. These photos were posted on our
chapter’s social media platforms.
Last semester’s pair who won the “Best Mentor-Mentee
Award,” Kaitlin Milano and Jeremy Rives, were the first pair
featured in the campaign.
Accompanying their beaming photo, Kaitlin said,
“#MentorshipMeans learning wisdom and having a support
system!” Valuing the friendship that develops from the pro-
gram, her mentee, Jeremy said, “#MentorshipMeans gaining
a new friend and being role models for each other!”
We had 16 people matched up this semester, each
paired according to similar areas of study, interests and per-
sonalities. We held a mentorship event at the Game Room
inviting new pairs to meet each other for the first time. Mem-
bers had a fun time getting to know one another over food
and games. The Mentorship Program has received nothing
but positive feedback and we hope friendships will continue
to blossom as we strive to build a stronger community within
the organization!
The spring semester is always a little quieter than the fall,
but PRSSA members still remained enthusiastic about our
chapter’s initiatives. This semester, we implemented a brand
new panel, “PR by the Generation.” This panel included four
different professionals from the city. Bonnie Grant, Executive
Director of the Greater Philadelphia Life Sciences Congress,
and Gregg Feistman, Associate Professor of Instruction and
Public Relations Sequence Head at Temple University, were
two of the panelists. They were accompanied by Jennifer
Schwarz, Marketing Associate at Quintiq, and Greg Smore,
Senior Communications Specialist at PECO.
All four professionals were at different points in their ca-
reer with a variety of different experiences. Each spoke to
ways the industry has changed, what has remained the
same and where it is heading in the future. One of the key
points each panelist expressed was the importance of writing
and building lasting relationships. These responses were
extremely beneficial in getting a diverse outlook on the public
relations field. A perk of this event was free gifts from panel-
ist Bonnie Grant. She brought our chapter pens and mini-
portfolios.
Another big event for Temple PRSSA this spring was the
World Meeting of Families (WMOF) Papal Visit panel dis-
cussion. Our chapter teamed up with the American Market-
ing Association to organize a panel for the communications
experts involved with the monumental event to explain how
they did it. Panelists included: Ken Gavin, Communications
Director of the Archdiocese of Philadelphia; Lizanne Pando,
Director of Marketing and Communications for the WMOF
2015; Meg Kane, Senior Vice President at Brian Communi-
cations. Our members got a lot out of this informative event.
Being able to assist in leading Philadelphia’s largest
PRSSA chapter has been an incredible experience. PRSSA
has given me so many personal and professional opportuni-
ties and it has been nothing but a blast. To the next Vice
President of Temple’s PRSSA chapter – enjoy it and don’t
ever hesitate to reach out to any of the alumni!
Mentorship Update by Su Rei Khoo
Programming Update by Gabrielle Lacherza
Lizanne Pando, Ken Gavin, Meg Kane
Jeremy Rives, Kaitlin Milano

5. For the third consecutive year, Temple’s PRSSA chapter
hosted its annual TU Invitational on March 12. This year’s
theme revolved around the art of storytelling and was titled,
“Telling Your Tale: Storytelling for the Modern-Day Profes-
sional.”
Four professionals from different areas of PR and mar-
keting were invited to be guest speakers. Brian Hart, founder
and CEO of Flackable financial public relations agency,
served as the conference’s keynote speaker. Hart focused
on storytelling in the new digital age in his session titled
“Let’s Get Digital: The Importance of Getting Connected.”
Following the keynote address, attendees were given the
option to chose between two speakers during the breakout
session: Kaja Rasmussen, Marketing Manager at the
Liacouras Center or Nya Sturrup, Assistant Marketing Direc-
tor at the Independence Seaport Museum. Rasmussen fo-
cused on storytelling for events and entertainment, while
Sturrup’s session concentrated on storytelling for non-profits.
The final speaker was PR professional, Jessica Lawlor, who
delivered a presentation about personal storytelling and how
she promotes herself and her business.
The conference ended with a networking session with the
attendees, Temple alumni, and professionals in the field. Our
attendance included ambitious high school students and their
parents, students from four universities in the region, and our
very own Temple Owls. As conference coordinator, I am
happy with the success of our third annual TU Invitational,
and I would like to thank everyone who participated for all of
the support.
TU Invitational Recap 2016 by Kimberly Leung
As technology has evolved, so has the planning of events.
Networking no longer has to happen face-to-face, but can hap-
pen online via LinkedIn or Twitterchats. Press events no longer
only involve members of the traditional press, but also online
writers, bloggers and social media stars. To make events ap-
peal to your audiences, check out some of these tips.
Quality, not quantity!
When creating your invite list, remember that it’s not always
about how many people attend. In today’s day and age, there
are dozens of blogs for every interest and industry. Reaching
out to 10 influencers for a small-scale event can reach far
more people than a large event of 100 individuals. Make sure
you’re promoting your event to the right audience, and give
bloggers a chance to get an inside look at your brand.
Go digital!
Use technology to your advantage. Temple University’s PRS-
SA chapter uses EventBrite for ticket sales to streamline the
sales process and add ease for attendees who choose to pay
by credit card. Facebook event pages let you track who is at-
tending and who is interested in the event. There are dozens
of apps that assist in the nitty gritty event planning tasks as
well—keep those in mind when you need to get more orga-
nized.
Can you do more for the community?
Our chapter takes pride in its community service efforts. We’ve
participated in Relay for Life, the American Heart Association’s
walk and collected canned foods for a food drive. When plan-
ning your event, try and find a way to give back to the commu-
nity. Talk with your client and see if there is a charity or current
event that resonates with their brand. You can ask attendees
for suggested donations with their ticket purchases, or give
them an opportunity to donate at the event. By doing this, you
can both host a successful event and give back to a communi-
ty in need.
Three Need-To-Knows for Event Planning by Helena Wilcox

6. If you ask the aver-
age millennial why he or
she has social media,
they probably will not
respond with, “To con-
nect and network with
other professionals in
order to increase my
personal brand.” Millen-
nials tend to view social media as a way to interact with friends,
post about daily occurrences or as a source for entertainment.
However, these common uses can lead to a slew of negative
consequences, including damaging your image. In the digital
era, employers are beginning to look at prospective applicants’
online presence to help assess if the candidate is a good
match. Therefore, social media can either help you land the
coveted job position you want or dismiss your chances all to-
gether. I suggest the following tips to help define your personal
brand on social media platforms.
Do follow and interact with experts in your desired field.
This is the easiest way to build relationships with people who
may become your mentor, thus helping you navigate the indus-
try and teaching you the inside of the business. They are ex-
perts in their respective fields and their profiles may contain
pertinent information that can help you stay up to date on rele-
vant news.
Do post pictures of yourself doing activities that showcase
your personality.
Showing your character while attending a cool event or fun
activity displays your passions outside of the workplace. The
employer gets to know the real you.
Do not post pictures of you and your friends’ “wild” night.
No explanation needed for this one. So the next time you go to
make a status, upload a picture or update your connections,
maybe think twice about posting the video of you dancing at
3am to “Call Me Maybe.”
Do voice opinions on topics that are important to you, in
an appropriate manner.
The first amendment! You are allowed to speak your mind but
always remember to do so in a respectful manner, and stick to
appropriate topics.
Do not express views on controversial topics that may
land you in hot water.
Ranting about heated debates do not tend to go well whether in
person or online. People have different views and prospective
employers might not share the same opinions as you on partic-
ular subjects. It is best to avoid the issues prone to spark a
controversy.
Social Media Dos and Don’ts for Students by Aaron Keeports
There are many potential benefits of using social media, but
there are also some risks. One of the biggest risks many compa-
nies encounter when using social media is not matching their
voice and tone to their brand. In order to avoid those risks, some-
times it’s best to look at examples of what should not be done.
According to BufferSocial’s blog, voice is the style and person-
ality of the social content while tone is the mood and attitude used
that is based around the target audience and the channel.
When it comes to really nailing a social media voice and tone
that is consistent with your brand, one of the most important
things to consider is your audience. Members of your audience
decide whether your content is appropriate according to how they
relate to the company. This article will examine two leading
brands, one who used voice and tone properly and one who mis-
used it.
Skittles has one of the most strange Twitter accounts around,
tweeting some of the most random things you can imagine. For
example, “I travel everywhere by hot air balloon and I’ve never
been in a single traffic jam. Who looks silly now?” The voice and
tone that Skittles uses here is silly and playful which is consistent
with and appropriate for their brand. While this voice and tone
works for them, it will not work for everyone.
In October 2015, IHOP posted two tweets, both with pictures
of stacks of pancakes. One tweet read, “Flat but has a great per-
sonality,” and the other
read, “The butter face
we all know and love.”
Because of the per-
ceived sexual nature of
the tweets, IHOP’s au-
dience was quite of-
fended. While trying to
appeal to a new audi-
ence, they did not con-
sider how this voice and tone would affect their existing audienc-
es. Though tweets like the aforementioned may work for compa-
nies with younger target audiences, it backfired horribly on IHOP.
The reason it failed is simple; the social media voice and tone was
not consistent with the brand.
Judging by the previous examples, it’s easy to see that having
a solid understanding of a company’s voice and tone is crucial
when it comes to communicating on social media. There are vast
benefits to engaging audiences through social media, but one
small miscalculation can result in failure if it’s not done well.
Voice and Tone on Social Media by Hannah Litchfield

7. “It’s A Dog-Eat-Dog World”
by Brittney McFarland
Philadelphia Flyers Team Publicist Sarah Fergus, is one profes-
sional who keeps her skills sharp in today’s PR world. Fergus shared
with PRSSA on January 26, 2016 both her and her colleagues’
thoughts on how to perform the best as an intern.
Fergus shared that the best
interns always dress appropri-
ately. They make an effort to
know as many full-time employ-
ees as possible. They make sure
to learn about the company and
the people. On top of that, they
always proofread their work and
are helpful to everyone. The best
interns come in to work with en-
ergy and creativity. They don’t
just sit around and wait to be told
to do work. The best interns also
need to know the importance of time so they do not waste anyone
else’s. They are also careful with their social media. In every task
they’re given, they commit themselves to it one hundred percent.
Lastly, the best interns have a “boss” mentality. This means they
know how to act and formulate their thoughts maturely.
For those looking for an entry-level position in sports PR, Fergus
said it is key to be “excited, energetic and careful with how to carry
oneself” because sports is extremely competitive and there is a lot of
money on the line.
Crisis Communication in
a Modern PR World by Erin Moskowitz
With the increase in media reliance over the past few decades,
controlling a situation that may stain the reputation of a person,
company or organization must be professionally and properly done
to ensure the name being represented is upheld. To give members
the opportunity to handle crises on a smaller scale, our chapter con-
ducted a crisis communication workshop.
In the workshop, members were split into six teams and given
scenarios in which they were asked to come up with ways to re-
spond to the crisis. Among these scenarios were real-life situations
such as the Flint, Michigan water crisis, the Chipotle e-coli outbreak
and the Susan G. Komen Fight for the Cure money scandal. As
students were brainstorming in their teams, it was important for
each team to identify the stakeholders, action steps and desired
outcomes when deciding how to respond accordingly.
Each team took a few minutes to discuss possible solutions for
the scenarios with their group before sharing with the rest of the
members. At the end, the actual solutions to these real-life scenari-
os were discussed. In the last crisis scenario, students were given a
hypothetical situation of a viral online post addressing a rumor
about the company being represented. To many students’ surprise,
it was explained that a company is not obligated to respond to a
rumor, even if it is false. At the end of the workshop, students left
equipped with information on the course of actions and rationale
behind them during a crisis, thus helping them better prepare for
recovery plans in the future.
The Agency Route
by Jameeda Rucker
On February 23, Temple PRSSA students sat down with a
panel of four public relations professionals in various stages of
their careers. Jennifer Schwarz of Quintiq, Greg Smore of PECO,
Bonnie Grant of the Greater Philadelphia Life Sciences Congress
and Gregg Feistman, Associate Professor of Instruction and Pub-
lic Relations Sequence Head at Temple University, participated
in the panel to share multi-generational perspectives on PR.
The panel started with introductions by each panelist and
then PRSSA Vice President, Gabrielle Lacherza, began asking a
series of questions. The questions ranged from insider tips and
trends in the industry to things that have changed or become
completely outdated since they entered the field. Each panelist
gave very insightful answers that all of our members greatly ap-
preciated. One of the biggest talking points? Relationships. For
any public relations student looking to enter the field, relation-
ships are everything; not just starting them but maintaining them
as well.
After that the panelists opened up the floor for questions and,
of course, our members were full of questions. Resumes and
social media were the main topics of the members’ questions and
each panelist gave helpful, in-depth answers. It was informational
and interesting to see how the industry has changed throughout
the years and everyone at PRSSA is excited to see where it goes
in the future.
Temple PRSSA was lucky to have
Nichelle Pace, Social Media Supervi-
sor at Slice Communications, speak
about life at an agency and important
public relations and social media skills.
Nichelle explained that boutique agen-
cies allow employees to be involved
with work at all levels of the agency
and even lower-level employees get
experience with things that are re-
served for veterans at larger agencies.
However, all of that responsibility can become overwhelming and it
may be too fast-paced for some people. On the other hand, larger
PR agencies have offices around the world which creates more
possibilities for employees to travel and switching gears throughout
the day is more manageable because you tend to focus on less
accounts.
Nichelle also shared great advice about the skills and mindset
we’ll need to work in public relations and social media. It is im-
portant for practitioners in our field to understand technology and
analytics to be able to demonstrate our value to clients. Nichelle
also reminded us to be responsible practitioners and that we don’t
have to have everything figured out already—we simply must gain
from every experience that we do have.
PR by the Generation Panel
by Hannah Litchfield
Alissa Steele, Sarah Fergus

8. Public relations used to be a profession confined within the
walls of mass press releases, drawn-out email pitches and end-
less follow-up calls. In the last decade, the evolution of the inter-
net has broken down these walls and birthed a new age of PR.
Now, on top of excellent writing and media relations skills, there
is a new layer of digital skills, knowledge and tools every practi-
tioner needs to master. Here’s a breakdown of the key shifts
within the industry.
Channel
Gone are the days where traditional media ruled over the fodder
of information for the public. According to the 2016 Edelman
Trust Barometer, two of the top three most-used sources of
news and information are peer-influenced media – search en-
gines and social. This generation now feeds off information from
online channels such as social media, blogs and websites.
These new online channels are within everybody’s reach, mak-
ing PR no longer a one-way downstream communication, but a
two-way conversation.
Audience
Journalists from an approximate 500-contact database used to
be the bread and butter of PR. Today, with the help of the World
Wide Web, everyone can now become a journalist. From blog-
gers, to Twitter users, to online experts, any influencer with a
segmented audience who matches the brand’s target audience
has to be accounted for when putting forth a message.
Skills
If media channels are the
vehicles that drive effective
PR, then writing is the fuel
that ignites the engine. No
doubt writing will be a time-
less skill necessary in the
field, but increasingly more
employers are making digital
skills a requirement in the
hiring process. PR pros are
called to be jack-of-all-trades in the digital realm, having skill-
sets that enable them to work Photoshop, edit videos, code and
be a Search Engine Optimization (SEO) wizard.
Tools
PR pros used to be overwhelmed with databases containing
massive Excel spreadsheets. Finding information easily was
nearly impossible. Luckily, now PR pros have access to Cus-
tomer Relationship Management (CRM) tools that offer easy
account management and the ability to understand all of the
company’s communications activity in one glance. PR is con-
stantly evolving and practitioners have to stay on top of emerg-
ing trends in order to survive in the industry. Hence, next time
you see a PR pro strumming away at their smartphones and
tweeting during a press conference, you know they’re the ones
who understand the PR business.
Social media
is one of the top
tools used by
public relations
practitioners to-
day. Maintaining
an active social
media account is
a major compo-
nent in building a company’s brand. Despite the ease of building
that presence, it’s hard to maintain it. The tone, word choice and
subjects must be consistent with your brand image and reputation
when writing for social media. If any of those details are not con-
sidered, it can lead to a big social media faux pas. Consider the
following instances on social media to learn tips for avoiding online
mistakes.
Don’t just think about your target audience.
Public relations materials should always be written with your target
audiences in mind. However, social media reaches people outside
of a company’s target audience, so you can’t forget to write with all
potential audiences in mind when developing social media content.
Consider Sea World’s #AskSeaWorld campaign, a social media
campaign where Sea World would answer questions concerning
the park and the animals on display. What started as an innocent
campaign turned into a rerun of Blackfish because Sea World did-
n’t take into account animal rights activists would capitalize on the
open-ended discussion. When creating a social media campaign
encouraging discussion, consider both how the target audience will
respond and how people outside of the intended audience may
react.
Think of the connotations of your brand.
Sometimes miscommunications and social media fails have noth-
ing to do with your audience, but everything to do with your brand.
Considering the connotations of your company/product can save
you from a very bad social media campaign. Bud Light’s
#UpForWhatever campaign is a good example of how a brand’s
negative connotations can work against it. In this campaign, Bud
Light insisted people take “no” out of their vocabulary in the hopes
the brand would be seen as something more fun-loving and daring.
However, the company did not contemplate how the idea of inebri-
ation would play into the new slogan, which resulted in some peo-
ple accusing the brand of condoning sexual assault. By not consid-
ering the drawbacks of their brand, such as inebriation or the sug-
gestive nature of their new slogan, Bud Light’s brand was set up
for failure.
Feel free to make a joke – but only in good taste.
Public relations professionals will use many tactics to get traction
on social media – including humor. However, public relations pro-
fessionals must be sure to make sure those jokes will not offend;
otherwise, the jest will backfire on them. Take a look at IHOP’s
“when she has a butter-face” tweets, which essentially (whether
intentional or not) compared their pancakes to a women’s chest.
People on social media responded to this set of tweets negatively,
saying the comparison was offensive. When considering the idea
of adding a little humor to a social media post, consider how peo-
ple will take the joke and the appropriateness of it before posting it
online.
If you consider how the content you plan to post may be re-
ceived by users, you can avoid some of these major social media
fails.
3 Tips to Avoid Social Media Mistakes by Kelly Armstrong
From Traditional to Digital PR by Su Rei Khoo