PRSSA Presentation

Editor's Notes

• #2: Included my twitter handle and hashtag – feel free to use throughout the presentation
• #6: Does anyone know what web hosting is? For the sake of keeping this presentation interesting and fun, I’m going to give you the very broad definition of what web hosting is.
• #7: Now, the rest of the presentation is in a round about way, going to have to deal with this term. Does anyone know what SEO stands for? And if you do, do you know what it means?
• #8: How many people have ever Googled something? A product, where to eat, a question? Have you ever wondered what determines the order and why those specific results are on the first page?Keywords – explain about adwords, and have some keywords are more competitive and harder to rank for than others
• #9: So, now that we know what SEO is. Has anyone here ever Googled themselves? What did you find? Did any results come up for your name that actually belonged to you? Were they positive or negative?
• #10: Before I started at Brain Host, nothing showed up in the search results for my name. After one year and optimizing my name and properties, I own 7/10 results on the first page…and photos. If you could do that prior to graduating, you’d be set. And you can control exactly what is being found when a recruiter Googles you.
• #11: Domains having the highest authority when it comes to ranking. (Click for most expensive domains example). Talk about competitive keywords too. More traffic = more money. Every single company you will apply to has a website – and if you are in the communication department, you will be a more attractive candidate with website/blogging skills.Upload a downloadable version of your resume, create an about me page, have links to your stories online, start a blog to showcase industry knowledge – it’s going above and beyond and impresses.Looks professional – and recruiters immediately notice an email address and judge off that (for example, you’ve learned that you can’t you your “[email protected]) That way, they know you have a website too, and without even opening your email they could go to your site and find out everything and more.
• #12: Alright, here are the stats. Now, most people assume that their incriminating party photos is what this stat refers to. It’s not. While you probably shouldn’t have any photos online of you blatantly blacked out and crazy at a party, having a photo of you with a drink isn’t what recruiters are penalizing candidates for. Outside of college, people still drink and have fun. The only difference is we can afford top shelf liquor instead of getting well drinks. What matters the most is gossip, bad mouthing others and oversharing of personal information. If you are talking poorly about your manager at Ruby Tuesday or wherever you work or complaining about your job, what are they to think that you would do when you had a bad day with them? Also, no one wants to see you updating your Facebook status every hour based on your mood. Profanity is another red flag. It’s unattractive. Just don’t do it. Last, poor grammar and misspellings were also cited as reasons to not hire. While you don’t need to comb over every tweet or post with a fine-tooth comb, make sure there aren’t any glaring mistakes.
• #13: http://www.pbs.org/mediashift/2009/08/journalism-students-need-to-develop-their-personal-brand231.html
• #14: These sites are great, but are hard to rank for your name. These are great filler sites where you can control what content goes on them.Interlinking – talk about importance of interlinking all of your sites and social profiles. Creating a stronger web.
• #15: To close out this first part of the presentation, I wanted to include a quote I found that I loved. You are doing so many amazing things at Scripps and in internships. Share those experiences and case studies. I’ve been interviewing students the past couple of weeks and their requirements are no where near Scripps as far as internship experience. You can become an authority before you even get a job by sharing what you know. Especially with case studies from projects. It is information that no one else knows. You’re the expert.
• #17: WordPress is the most widely used content management system and that’s because it is simple and has the largest community of users and developers.
• #18: Add a sample page; add a sample post; how to add a theme; what is a plugin; what
• #19: Add a sample page; add a sample post; how to add a theme; what is a plugin; what
• #20: When I was at PubCon, a SEO and social media conference, this was one of my favorite quotes from a session I went to on online reputation management. No matter who you work for, whether you are doing PR in house or for an agency, a crisis is always going to come up. It is only a matter of time. And when a crisis strikes, you need to know how to be prepared for it online. Professor Cambridge asked me to discuss how Scripps prepared me for my job, but I also want to discuss what I didn’t learn and how online marketing, specifically SEO, should be a part of every single PR plan.
• #21: I’m not suggesting that everyone should know everything there is to know about SEO. I am only saying that understanding what SEO is and how it can fit into a specific PR plan or campaign is. Clients hire SEO agencies or consultants to get ride of negative results. Lawyer in Columbus who go a DUI – Mike Halverson Tim Misny in Cleveland wanting to rank for local terms.Tony wanting to rank for “Josh Cribbstshirt”
• #22: I remember when I was a student, I remember working on different case studies and coming up with a PR plan, which I think is what you guys are doing now. Since this is timely, I wanted to use the American Apparel fiasco to run through the repercussions of a crisis online.
• #23: This is what happened: a PR professional’s nightmare. Once the email was sent, Twitter was filled with angry customers tweeting about the email they received, which led to major news sources writing a story.
• #24: Not personalized – nearly 2 million global monthly searches are conducted for this keyword.
• #25: Personalized – A lot of people who have Google accounts receive personalized search results based on a number of different factors. For example, two of the results include articles shared on Google+ by people I follow.
• #26: Searching on Twitter: makes top news and you can see every tweet
• #27: The point: Public relations professionals need to be familiar with SEO. That is one thing that Scripps did not teach me that is vital to any reputation management plan. While you might not be able to remove damaging content from the Internet, you can minimize its impact with SEO.If you have time: http://www.searchenginepeople.com/blog/bp-oil-spill-seo-reputation-management-the-arm-response.html
• #28: I joke and say working full time is like pulling an all nighter with your friends in the library – except during the day, 9-5, 5 times a week. This is good and bad.
• #29: Be proactive: Example: Me and Social Media Coordinator position at the InterActivist and Colleen and Jim TresselNever think you know less: The Internet is in its infancy. What you think “common knowledge” those older than think is an asset.Work on your personal presentation: You have complete control over how you want to be presented online. Many first impressions now made online whether it be Googling someone or stalking them on Facebook or Twitter.You can’t get fired from college: College is a very expensive test bed. You can try anything here. Get your money’s worth and experiment with everything. It was my biggest regret staying in my comfort zone – when I should have been working on my speaking skills and doing things I was too nervous to do. (Presentation at Pirate’s Cove)Go to everything: Always be expanding your network. It truly does matter who you know, cliché or not. So next time you are at the bar or a party, try to meet someone new. They might end up working for the company you want to be at. The bobcat bond is so strong. Bobcats stick together and do anything for each other down the road. Every time I meet a fellow alum, there is an instantaneous friendship.Hiring for personality: Employers care first and foremost care about your experience, but they also are looking for personality and eagerness to learn. They will, after all, be spending 40+ hours with you and become a part of their “work family.” Usually you will have more than 1 interview. The first will determine if you are qualified (which you will be, you’re a scripps students) The second usually is to determine if you are the right “fit” (aka personality) and if you mesh well with their company culture. Eagerness to learn trumps experience – talk about being the right fit “asking the where do you see yourself in 5 years” training takes a lot of times, I want to invest in someone’s future, not just be a bullet point on their resume Be prepared for anything: Pirate’s cove presentation
• #30: Pass out questionnaire
• #31: Christmas break is coming up – when you have downtime to start working on a site. Even if you don’t want a site yet or don’t have time, claim your domain name for your first and last name. That is valuable real estate online. The coupon will last until new years.