Why Small and Medium Enterprises Should Leverage Digital Marketing

With the change and evolution of modern technologies, the marketplace has become more digital. Small and medium businesses are doing everything they can to keep up, and stay ahead of their competitors. To achieve this, it’s vital to have a comprehensive online marketing plan in place – a strategy that makes   good use of social media, SEO, blogging, email marketing, pay per click and other digital marketing tools out there.

 More people are buying products online and that is why the benefits of digital marketing are becoming more predominant. The following are reasons why you should prioritize digital marketing over traditional marketing.

1. Digital Marketing Levels the Online Playing Field

Today, business owners clearly understand that digital marketing is not only for conglomerates and large corporations that have the adequate resources required to run an online marketing campaign.  Technology opens up opportunities regardless of the business size, it actually levels the playing field, providing small and medium enterprises the chance to compete against big companies and attract their share of targeted traffic.

2. Digital marketing is cost-effective

 We can all agree that television and radio ads or mounting a billboard can be a bit expensive for small enterprises with limited marketing resources but with digital marketing, small companies now have the opportunity to perform sales and marketing processes that were previously available only to large corporations. Digital marketing is less expensive than traditional advertising.  Some of the digital alternatives to traditional advertising are free, and all can be much cheaper than their traditional counterparts

3. Global reach

 Businesses want to reach as many people as possible and the internet provides a wide range of prospective customers for businesses at a low cost.  Through a stylish and informative website and a creative digital marketing strategy, small businesses can now reach an international audience

 4. Digital marketing is measurable

 While it can be difficult to track the success of a traditional marketing campaign like a radio or TV advertisement every digital marketing tactic that you use is measurable. With web analytics such as Google Analytics, you can eliminate guesswork and make it easier to establish how effective your digital campaign has been. By measuring your digital marketing campaigns in real-time, you can see which tactics are working and which are not. Then, you can adjust your campaigns accordingly.

5.  It allows you to target your ideal buyers.

When you place an ad in a local newspaper, you’re taking a shot in the dark that your message will reach its intended audience. With digital marketing, you can easily identify the platform that suits you best. SEO allows you to reach those consumers who are searching the web for content and topics that are relevant to your business. While pay-per-click, display, and social media advertising enables you to target those who are most likely to be interested in your products or services based on demographic information and general characteristics.

6. Digital Marketing Facilitates Interaction with Customers

Customer relationship drive businesses and digital marketing provides an avenue for brands to interact with targeted audiences in real time thus enhancing customer relationship. This also helps businesses understand their customers better.

Want to be a successful leader? Communicate effectively

Being a leader means having things done through other people. Effective communication and effective leadership, are closely intertwined hence communication is an essential leadership skill and the first step to becoming a great leader. As a leader, you need to communicate flawlessly to your team members and the people outside your circle so that they can clearly understand what is expected of them. Good communicators are authentic, engaging, good listeners and they stand out from the crowd.  

Looking back in history, it’s evident that great leaders are always great communicators. We know of great people such as Bill Clinton, Winston Churchill, Martin Luther King and Franklin Roosevelt who led great nations by the powers of their words and presentation. On the other hand, when we look at the fall of some leaders, we can attribute it to the wrong choice of words when speaking and generally the inability to communicate effectively.

The following are the key principles of effective leadership communication that fuel collaboration and success

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1.     Listening

Communication is two-way and good communicators are also good listeners. When you listen well, you understand other peoples’ viewpoints. Listening also nurtures trust, respect, and openness. Effective listening helps you build good relationships, solve problems and improve accuracy. Taking a moment to listen to other people goes a long way in making you more productive.  Leaders with poor listening skills will often be met with resistance as they are seen as dictators and this cuts people’s loyalty

2.     Authenticity.

Authentic leaders are positive people who promote openness, are genuine, self-aware and sincere. Find your own voice and learn to display who you really are as a person. Let who you are, where you come from, and what you value most come through in your communication. Forget about being eloquent and worry about being real because people want and respect real. Also, people are more apt to trust you when your actions match your words. Even better, lead by example.

3.Visibility

Thanks to technology, there are various means of communicating but face to face communication with people is still the best. Human connection is a matter of proximity. If you want to build a lasting connection with people don’t be out of sight. Don’t be known only by your emails and phone calls. Show up in person as often as possible. People need to see and feel who you are to get connected.  Leaders who came to power as poor communicators and they can’t communicate directly to people, feel the danger within no time and they end up getting people to communicate on their behalf, while they are somehow invisible.

4. Trust.

Stephen M.R. Covey once said that the first job that a leader has is to inspire trust and to bring out the best in people by entrusting them with meaningful stewardships and to create an environment in which high-trust interaction inspires creativity and possibility. Also, people should be able to trust you as a leader, as it increases commitment and boosts the flow of ideas thus increasing creativity and productivity.

In conclusion, words are known to win hearts and minds. Good relationships are dependent on good communication if you cannot communicate effectively as a leader then you are probably going to fail. People in leadership positions are challenged to polish their communication skills through training and practice.

Tips For Successful Influencer Marketing.

Influencer marketing has become so common in today’s digital marketing world and it is a great tool for driving brand awareness. To get the best results from this strategy, you need to put some effort and optimize your campaign. So how do you do this? Read on to find out...

1.       Determine your goals

Do not start influencer marketing without knowing what exactly you want to achieve, have a clear idea of your goals from the outset. This will go a long way in ensuring that you plan your campaign more effectively. You may have various goals for your brand e.g. increasing brand awareness, getting more revenue, or even generating leads.

2.       Define Your Target Audience

This is one of the most basic yet so important influencer marketing tips. Based on your target audience you will be able to strategize your campaign. You may need to consider many factors when identifying your target audience. This may include their age, gender, interests, location, etc. Defining your target audience will help you when choosing your influencers and ensuring that your campaign reaches the right people.

3.       Find the right influencers

After you have identified your target audience you now need to choose the influencers to partner with. You are supposed to perform thorough background research about them and their social media profiles. Here you look at the following

         i.            Engagement rate- this will give you an indication of how engaged their followers are. To calculate this, select a recent post and take the number of likes/comments divided by the number of followers.

       ii.            The range of topics they cover- this will help you to determine whether your brand falls on their niche.

      iii.            Look at the important metrics - A large number of followers doesn’t necessarily mean everyone is paying attention. An influencer with a lower number of followers may have a more active group that has a higher engagement rate compared to a person with a big number of followers. A good way to evaluate engagement is to measure click-throughs to know how many people bother to click on links on posts.

4.       Define your budget

Creating a realistic influencer marketing campaign budget is so vital. You need to define the total influencer budget ahead of time in order to reach your targets. You may also consider giving product freebies to influencers or even inviting them for an industry event as your guest as a way of enhancing your relationship with them. You will also find that micro influencers are more expensive than macro influencers. If you are working on a small budget you might find it more compelling to work with several macro influencers who charge a lower fee, rather than spending your budget on one micro influencer.

5.       Give influencers creative freedom

Influencer marketing is so different from traditional marketing,  while in  traditional advertising  you take total control over all aspects of the campaign,  influencer marketing requires you to leave the content creation bit to the influencer. They are creatives and they resonate with their audience and it would be good to let them fly free. All you need to do is to optimize the content to ensure the message is clear and all the facts are included.

6.       Measure results

You must track your metrics so that you can change or adjust your strategy accordingly. Based on your goals, you can plan which metrics you’ll use to gauge your performance. For example, if you’re goal was to increase brand awareness, then you might look at the number of people reached, and the rate of engagement. You can use different automated softwares such as Google Analytics to know where you’re getting most traffic from. If your goal is to generate revenue, you can create custom affiliate links for each influencer so that you can easily keep track of purchases made using their links. This can help you calculate the ROI of your campaign.

Do you have other tips to share?  Well, we’d love to hear them in the comment section below.

How to Overcome Writers Block

As a PR pro, you will come across tasks that require you to write, whether it is press release, emails to clients or journalists, social media content, infographics, blog posts, the list is extensive. Writing is a crucial and valuable skill in the field of PR you will need to be creative so that you can so express your thoughts and tell your story in an easily understood and acceptable way. But many times, we find ourselves in a creative slowdown and we are unable produce any new work and not because we lack the skill or the passion.

You may find yourself staring at that blank page, you brain is cluttered and thinking becomes hard. When that happens we say we’ve got a writer’s block,

 I wouldn’t be wrong to say that there’s nothing like writers block it is just an excuse. It is a condition that only exists in your head, you think you are blocked; you become blocked, it becomes real. But you can easily overcome this and get back to your writing groove, read on and know how.

1.       Know the cause. Writer’s block is brought about by so many things including, fear, exhaustion etc. Once you have known what is causing the block then you can go ahead and try these other

tips.

2.       Mind mapping- Go get a piece of paper and put down what comes to your head about the topic. Write your main topic in the center of the paper, and then connect it to subtopics that branch out from the center. Continue adding subtopics that branch out like a tree.

3.       Do your research. You may experience a block if you don’t have enough information on what you are writing about. People sometimes write before they’ve gathered the raw materials.  Do enough research to answer the as many questions on the topic. At the same time, beware of paralysis by analysis – that is, continuing to conduct research when you already have enough information. Start with what you have and fill in details later.

4.       Use a different writing tool: You can try switching from Microsoft Word to Google Docs or from a serif to a non-serif font. Or try a script font and change your font color to blue. It seems trivial, but it’s amazing how those small changes can cure writer’s block and make writing interesting again. Also you can just shut down your computer. Get a pen and paper and free write. When you do this, you get the feeling that you’re making something. It will inspire you.

5.       Take a break. Take a walk and get some fresh air, read a few pages of a book, get some coffee or try some stretching exercises. Research has it that breaks, especially those that are regularly scheduled, have been proven to increase productivity and focus.

6.       Try writing at a different time. Sometimes, it’s simply not the right time to write. Your ideas may need to brew a little longer before you can put them down them down. You can try writing at an odd hour. It works.

Bottom line; You overcome writes block by writing so the  next time you feel blocked, don’t go and watch tv, or sleep or procrastinating or read articles on how to overcome writer’s block ( huh, yeah). Follow the above tips and voila! Your creative juices will be flowing again.

5 Face-to-Face Networking Tips for Newbies

Starting a career right after campus or college can be a tad bit frustrating and daunting.  Many people fear rejection and freeze at the idea of putting themselves out there. It is important to remember that what you know and who you know in the industry are the two key elements that will come in handy when you are starting out.  Here we are looking at the latter. At first, you may not know many people in the sector and therefore you will need to start networking.  Networking results to opportunities. If you have a strong and vast network you will be able to get insights into trends as well as insider information on job openings and movement within different organizations if you are offering certain services or selling some products, you may get many referrals as a result of networking. Here are 5 face-to face networking tips that may help newbies create strong networks in the communication world.
Have a purpose
 When it comes to face-to-face networking you should know what you want to achieve whether it is getting a job or a referral to someone else or maybe you want to learn more about the trends in the communication industry.  Simply stated networking goals will help you make the best use of your time and it will also help the people you network with know how they will help you. When networking you should have meaningful questions that will help you achieve your goals. For instance, if one of your goals is to get introductions ask those you interact with whether they know a person who does what you are interested in. If  every person you talk to introduces you to another person then you will have accomplished your purpose and this will have a great impact on your career path.
Do your Homework.
Before you meet the people you are networking with or before going to any networking event, do your research about the people you are going to interact with and understand as much as you can about them. You may review their LinkedIn profile, read articles they have written before, or ask  someone else who knows them.
Learn to listen then talk
 Face-to- face networking is public speaking in a one on one form so etiquette matters. When you meet someone, start with a safe question, ask about themselves and what they do and let them explain to you then gradually the conversation will turn to you.
Find common ground.
Most people are charmed by people they share interests. Finding common ground with the people you interact with is so important. For instance, if you are good at event planning you may find it more personable and memorable to interact with someone who does events planning. After finding a common ground you can work out how you can help each other. That is when the magic starts to happen.
Keep in touch
In the first meeting you may ask the people you have interacted with if you can stay in touch and ask for their contacts or business cards.  There are many ways through which you can keep in touch apart from making calls; you can send them content that you think will intrigue them, or you can schedule a meeting. If you do not get a reply, stay pleasantly persistent and you will stay top-of-mind. If you are making phone calls be sure to remind them who you are and where you met.

Social Media Influencers vs celebrity Endorsement: Who Wins?

  Understanding the difference between celebrity endorsement and influencer marketing is very important when developing a PR or social media campaign. You may tend to think that the two are the same since they are all supposed to trigger people’s intent to buy a product but that’s not it, the two are very different options for marketers. Understanding the difference is pretty simple, think of the famous people as celebrities and the others who command a huge social media following as influencers.  Celebrities use their fame to get people thrilled about a brand while social media influencers   create  buzz around a product on social media by using the product or just displaying it casually in their content. Most marketers have over the years used celebrity endorsement to generate public interest in a product or service but as the marketing environment is changing, staying true to one marketing strategy is getting hard.  Here are reasons why most marketers are abandoning traditional celebrity endorsement for influencers

Audience Relationships

Most celebrities do not have much of a relationship with their fans as influencers do.  You may find influencers say vloggers initiating conversations, replying to comments and answering questions from their followers on social media. Because of this kind of back-and-forth exchanges they build a credible relationship with their followers and they understand their needs and preferences. Getting feedback is also easy. 

Expertise

 A famous actor or singer doesn’t have to be an expert in dental health  to endorse a certain brand of toothpaste but top-notch influencers usually have expertise in the product they mention and they have spent a lot of energy convincing their followers of their specialization. For a startup focusing on a particular niche it would be advisable to work with an influencer in the niche. Followers see influencers  as  reliable sources of information since they perceive them as containing  a purported expert level of knowledge

Content creation

If you ask a celebrity to endorse your brand, they will entirely depend on the message you give them but influencers are generally specialists in content creation and they will come up with their own content.  You only need to give them guidelines and give them a creative leeway, This means that they may even use creative content delivery strategies that  you may not have thought of.

 Cost

A one off celebrity endorsement may be almost equal to the yearly marketing budget of a startup. But still big companies throw huge amounts of money at celebrities hoping that some of their fame will rub off on them but sometimes it back fires and the money just goes to waste. Also for small startups, the price tag of getting a celebrity to endorse your brand may be too high. Another issue with celebrity endorsement is that the message comes across as forced and unauthentic and the audience is sure that they got paid to endorse the product.

The bottom line here is; celebrity endorsement and influencer marketing should be treated differently since they entail different advantages and disadvantages and each produce different results. Since the advent of social media, many people are spending quite a lot of their time on social media and as marketer it is important to be where your prospective buyers are. This is why influencer marketing has emerged as a viable way of building a brands reputation today.

Avoiding Procrastination

"Do not put your work off till tomorrow and the day after; for a sluggish worker does not fill his barn, nor one who puts off his work: industry makes work go well, but a man who puts off work is always at hand-grips with ruin". – Perses

 At one time I found myself  making mental notes to finish up on an important  task but I  ended up postponing it because I thought there were four days left before  the deadline and it was now time to catch up on my favorite series. The next day I told myself that if I work religiously for two days I can still finish up on the project so I spent whole the day doing other trivial tasks. A day before the deadline my anxiety level was through the roof because I knew that the work needed to be done and I was running out of time.

I know you are familiar with the stress and tension that comes with leaving work to the last minute. More often than not, procrastination is a product of laziness and mostly it comes in two forms: getting distracted while working on a task (when you cannot resist the urge to do something else) and difficulty in starting something.  At first, it may not be a big deal until you find the same thing happening over and over. The next time you find yourself having difficulties starting on something or you hear a voice in your head telling you to check your social media or go get a snack in the middle of an important project, try the following hacks,

Make a well thought to-do list

This will help you keep track of the things you have to accomplish and help you in case you forget something you are supposed to do. Learn to prioritize your tasks and put the important and urgent tasks on top of the list. It is always advisable to start with the important tasks early in the morning when you still have the willpower. Also, avoid multitasking because it makes you feel like you are doing a lot at once but it hinders you from finishing tasks fast and effectively.

Break your tasks into smaller chunks

Some tasks may take many hours to complete and this can be overwhelming and it can also make someone lose the motivation to even start working on them but if you try dividing your work into sets 15 minutes after which you take a break it will be a lot easier working on them.  You can use a simple phone timer to know when it’s time for a break and when to get back to work

Block out distractions

Not having to deal with the temptation of continuous distractions will not only make it less likely that you will surrender to temptation, but it will give you more energy to concentrate  on your work and avoid procrastinating. First you should pick a work space that is good for you. Also, keep away all gadgets that may cause distraction.  Having your phone close to you as you work means that you know that your social media accounts are just a click away and you may be tempted to sneak into them for a minute which turns into hours. There are soft wares such as Rescuetime, AppDetox and StayFocused that you can use to block the internet altogether.

Only do the things you are really passionate about

Sometimes procrastination is not a result of laziness you might be shelving tasks because you do not enjoy doing them. Maybe it’s time to switch careers or find another job and pursue your passion. Also,  you may try making your work fun since we cannot always shun challenging tasks. Take frequent brief breaks in between your working hours to reenergize.

Reward yourself

Once you have successfully completed your work it’s now time to watch that show you have been trying so hard to resist.  You can use that anticipation to push yourself through the pain as you work

Riting the Rite Way (Writing the Right Way)

Good writing skills are important in all professions, not just in Public Relations. That being said, as a PR professional, it is crucial that any content leaving your desk is grammatically-error free. The most important thing to do after writing any material is proofreading it. For a beginner you may still miss the typos after your third read but with practice, your work will contain no errors when your proofread it the first time. That extra attention to detail is what earns you more respect among your employers, journalists, clients and peers. 

There are a few basic rules that you should follow and they are summed up in the image below with examples. Following these tips will ensure that others view you as a credible professional in your field. No1 wil tak u seriasly if u rite lik this. 

www.edudemic.com

PR Summed-Up in Quotes

paprikacanvas.blogspot.com

The role and importance of PR in society has increased and more people, including the almighty CEOs, are seeing why it is difficult to attain success without these professionals. If some of the people you work with that are not in your industry are still skeptical about what you do, you might want to share these quotes with them. 

PR defined

“If a young man tells his date how handsome, smart and successful he is – that’s advertising. If the young man tells his date she’s intelligent, looks lovely, and is a great conversationalist, he’s saying the right things to the right person and that’s marketing. If someone else tells the young woman how handsome, smart and successful her date is – that’s PR.” – S. H. Simmons

"The history of PR is… a history of a battle for what is reality and how people will see and understand reality." – Stuart Ewen

 “Everything you do or say is public relations.” – Unknown

 The Art and Magic of PR

“Public-relations specialists make flower arrangements of the facts, placing them so the wilted and less attractive petals are hidden by sturdy blooms.” – Alan Harrington

"PR is a mix of journalism, psychology, and lawyering – it’s an ever-changing and always interesting landscape." – Ronn Torossian

PR professionals are “professional political strategists, able on behalf of their clients to manipulate the media – planting a story here, a rumour there, a tip-off somewhere else  – so that any piece of news is tailored to show them in the best possible light.” –  Michael Shea

Yes, PR upholds ethics

"PR means telling the truth and working ethically – even when all the media want is headlines and all the public wants is scapegoats. Public relations fails when there is no integrity." – Viv Segal of Sefin Marketing

“We believe PR should be practiced to serve the public interest, to develop mutual understanding between organizations and their publics.” – James E. Grunig

“Publicity is a great purifier because it sets in action the forces of public opinion, and in this country public opinion controls the courses of the nation." – Charles Evans Hughes

Imaging in PR

 “It takes 20 years to build a reputation and five minutes to ruin it. If you think about that, you'll do things differently.” – Warren Buffet

“There is only one thing in the world worse that being talked about, and that is not being talked about.”- Oscar Wilde

"It is generally much more shameful to lose a good reputation than never to have acquired it.” – Pliny the Elder

"What kills a skunk is the publicity it gives itself." – Abraham Lincoln

 “If you don't tell your story, someone else will.” – Unknown

​PR is important!

 “Without publicity there is no prosperity.” – Yakov Zel'dovich

"If I was down to the last dollar of my marketing budget I'd spend it on PR!" – Bill Gates

“Historically, PR, Marketing and Advertising budgets are the first to be cut; however, that could be one of the first mistakes a business makes in an economic crisis.” – CBSMarketwatch

“Nobody counts the number of ads you run; they just remember the impression you make.” – Bill Bernbach, advertising pioneer and founder of DDB

"Some are born great, some achieve greatness, and some hire public relations officers.” – Daniel J. Boorstin

Do You Have a PR personality?

How do you know whether you are cut out for Public Relations?

In general, a PR practitioner should have the ability to make good judgments, work well under pressure, possess strong verbal, written and negotiation skills, be a good listener and a quick learner, exude confidence and finally embrace and be sensitive to diversity.

www.pr2020.com

There are few personality traits that you should have if you want to become a PR pro. Any personality type that is considered ‘open’ is welcome in this industry. This means that the person needs to be curious, quick to grasp new ideas, creative, positive and a good listener. If you are not curious you will not ask the right questions. A good listener gets the right answers. Creative people come up with best solutions. In the dynamic landscape of PR, you need to quickly grasp digital advancements in the industry.

Another trait that most people overlook is empathy. PR practitioners get caught up in regulating the information generated by the organization and forget that communications is two-way; the audience should be able to give feedback and have their questions answered. It also takes dedication to work in public relations. A lot of research and planning goes into everything done. It is never enough to have one plan. We all know the horror of discovering a supplier has pulled out just hours before an event. Transition between plans should be seamless. If anything, your client or CEO should think of you as a miracle worker.

Patience and ability to keep calm are welcomed in any organization. It is never pleasant when a top manager or even a lower level employee looses their cool when something goes wrong as it seems to always be the case. There will always be a difficult client to deal with so a person should be able to get along with a variety of people. Tact is also a key attribute. You need to be able to advise a client on the best way forward without making their ideas seem amateur.

Before you despair, it is highly unlikely for a person to have all the attributes listed. This is why a good PR team needs to have a mixture of personalities, each with a different attributes that allows them to thrive in their distinct roles. In PR you will find big thinkers, relationship builders, planning tacticians, brand advocates, strategists, creatives, analysers, corporate experts, charity organizers and great crisis communications managers. As an individual you should know what you are best at and find a role that fits. Freelancers however need to become jacks of all trades.

There is a misconception that PR tends to attract only sociable people but what most people forget is that there is a commercial aspect in PR in sectors such as mining, energy, transport and such like economic industries. PR is a business, it is not all about pitching over long lunches with potential clients and planning product launches. If you find yourself easily discouraged by rejection or when things become a nightmare, or have the inability to problem solve, then PR is not for you. 

Facebook Friday

On our Glass House PR Facebook page we have what is called 'Facebook Friday' where we share content from other organizations that have liked our page. This gives them both publicity and a fresh audience. We would like to do the same for you. If you have anything you would like to share with us, including professional insight on an issue, ask questions to our support team, or just simply goof off (it is after all Friday) let us know! 

Also if you have any ideas you would like see adopted on either our blog or Facebook page feel free to share them and we will be sure to credit you. 

Like our Facebook page and let us know! 

For now here are a few funny PR memes that have done their rounds but really put the message (misconceptions) across. Happy Friday!

What Really is PR?

‘PR is the same as marketing!’

Nothing is harder than trying to explain this misconception about PR is especially to a person convinced they are right. This could easily turn into an essay explaining the distinction between the two but a simple Google search for anyone with this perception should convince them otherwise.

‘Public Relations is easy.’

Mem by Edelman Australia 

Now this is a conversation worth pursuing. One naturally assumes that having great writing and people skills automatically means you can do PR. This is false. It is worth noting that university degrees for this career run for 3-4 years, perhaps a strong indication that there is plenty to learn. Since PR is essentially centred on relationships, it is safe to call PR relationship experts in the industry/economic market as a whole. There are three types of relationships that need managing. The first is with persons within an organization, the second between the organization and their publics and lastly with the media.

There are a few other misconceptions that need pointing out. PR pros get news stations to run whatever story they want them to. What most forget is that news agencies are businesses that need viewership to thrive. This for them means more advertising. A journalist needs to be convinced by a pitch (which needs training and practice to write) what is in it for them. Your company came up with an amazing life changing product! So what? It takes PR pros to give a convincing answer worth reporting.

Also 'PR is defined by the number of press releases a firm/ department churn out'. There are many more functions of PR than many know of. They are publicity, public affairs, lobbying, issues management, investor relations, development and fundraising, merchandising, community relations, counselling, employee/member relations, industry relations, media relations, marketing communication, special events and public participation, research, crisis management, CRS management, sponsorship management, brand building, reputation management and finally corporate identity and image management.

The sheer volume of what Public Relations entails makes it more complex than most make it out to be. There are many other misconceptions out there but it is the hope of the PR community that a paradigm shift occurs in light of this article explaining the main misconceptions about PR.

Scoring that Entry-Level PR Job

Getting a job is the top priority for every graduate. What we forget is that we have an average of 40 years of toil ahead of us (assuming the retiring age is 60). While the West have adopted the concept of gap year and summers spent in foreign countries touring and doing charity work for leisure and personal growth, the Kenyan society leaves no room for such ‘time wasting’ activities. We are taught to hit the ground running.

In the market today it is almost impossible to get anything above an internship position in an organization without more than two years experience in your resume. That is not all; there are a few more accomplishments you should have in order to score that entry level PR job.

Internship experience

For many Communications courses, an internship is a graduation requirement. One needs to be able to gather a wealth of experience from these internships. Aim to work with large organizations with established PR departments or well known PR firms. Here you can gain adequate experience in campaign and account management, pitching and other PR functions.  In short, the employer wants to see ‘real work’ done.

Writing skills

This does not refer to your personal Facebook posts and tweets. To be hired in PR one should ideally have majored in Journalism, English, PR or any Communications course that leans heavily toward writing. For your first job interview you should be able to walk in with any (or all) of the following.

• Research reports or public relations plans
• Writing samples- articles on a variety of subjects, blog posts, press release, and part of or an entire media kit.
• New media writing samples- Facebook updates, tweets and blog posts which you posted on behalf of an organization.
• Sample articles- these could be online or print newspapers or magazine articles (especially if they were published) 

Don’t wait for the day after your graduation to find an internship or volunteer position to build your portfolio on the above requirements of an entry level public relations job. Aim to do most or all the above while you are still in campus. You could start small; helping out a family member or friend with their business or volunteering at a non-profit organization.

Social Media Experience

Though not as important, a large number of followers on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and any other social media is an indication that you are proficient in the use of these tools. Individual clients and organizations are looking for people who can manage their brand through creating a unique voice across multiple communication channels. You many also want to get acquainted with Pinterest, Tumblr or Vine. The client is not interested in how funny or interesting your posts are but your efficiently in handling these tools. Make sure that during your internship you master the use of these mediums to increase audience traffic to the organization’s online sites. An added bonus is learning how to use the analytic tools on these platforms

Multimedia Experience

This is not to make yourself feel inadequate but in the future, or even as you seek employment, multimedia experience will make you irresistible to any potential employer. Below are a few skills that stand out from top resumes:

•  Knowing about SEO and how to conduct keyword research to increase blog and  website visibility on search engines.
•  If you have a blog, knowing how to generate revenue (through ads or use of AdWords). This shows ability to set up and customize a blog.
• Knowing how to use Photoshop, Illustrator, InDesign or a similar image editing software tools. These skills are relevant in public relations and content marketing.
•  Knowing how to shoot, edit and post videos on YouTube, Vimeo etc. Carry a copy or send a link of work done.

Though you may not have all the above skills, there are a few added things you should do as you prepare for your public relations career. They include: networking, staying current on news stories, creating an online presence, joining a PR organization in school or a student newspaper and seeking out opportunities.   Employers are looking for employees who are experienced and have a wide range of skills and abilities to offer.

What do you have to offer for your entry level PR job?





Images courtesy of Google.