practical

Tips and information for effective public relations - Winter 2014 

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Name Dropping

Here's a sampling of what's going on with our clients and staff:

L&F is proud to be working with Parelli Education Institute, an international nonprofit organization focused on education, therapeutic horsemanship and equine welfare. PEI's corporate office is in Arizona, with a campus in Colorado.

Welcome to the NEW Zoo and Adventure Park! Great things are happening at the NEW Zoo in 2014, including the addition of an Adventure Park. L&F is excited to be working with the organization to help plan and promote the new addition!

is back at it again and planning for the 2nd
annual Scholarship Gala is underway. The gala will take place on

March 14, 2014 at the Menominee Indian Hotel & Casino.

Like last year, the purpose of the event is to raise money for scholarships for MISD students. All proceeds from the gala will go to the District's scholarship fund.

In just a few short days, The Salvation Army of Brown County made the holidays a lot brighter for many in the community. More than 2,075 families (with 5,360 children) received toys, books, stocking suffers and food baskets at the annual Christmas Distribution. In addition: 471 families were helped through Adopt-A-Family, Food baskets were delivered to 330 elderly and disabled residents, 222 elderly and disabled residents received gifts through the Silver Bell program, and
147 children received clothing and pajamas through the Angel Tree program.

 

L&F is excited to be working with Smart Relationships on The Empathy Project: I Know How You Feel, a program that teaches children how to recognize the feelings of others. I Know How You Feel will be taking place in many Green Bay schools during the month of January as a way to celebrate Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. day. 

 

Reconstruction of the WIS 11 (Racine Street) interchange in Janesville was completed in November. The new interchange incorporates two, multi lane roundabouts at the ramp terminals and is part of WisDOT's project to reconstruct and expand approximately 45 miles of I-39/90 from the Wisconsin/Illinois border north to the US 12/18 interchange near Madison.


You Are What You Tweet

By now you've undoubtedly heard about the U.K. PR exec that Tweeted a racist statement about AIDS as she was about to board a plane for her home country of South Africa and, as a result, lost her job before the plane even landed. What's surprising about this is not that she lost her job; it's that she posted the Tweet in the first place. Of course, as a PR exec, she should have known better.  

 

But, there's a bigger message in it for the rest of us, and it's pretty simple:  THINK before you post anything on social media.We warn children and teens about being careful with their social media posts, but we seldom give the same advice to adults. Like it or not, the line between your personal and professional life is pretty much nonexistent, so you have to consider that every single thing you post on social media (even if it's a protected account) has the potential to be seen/read/heard by a larger audience. Sure, you have the right to say whatever you want; but that doesn't mean you should. As the old saying goes, with rights comes responsibility and that's especially true when you're expressing yourself on social media. These days, you are what you Tweet; so Tweet and use social media carefully or you may not like the results.  

Managing Your Social Media

Social media can be a valuable part of an overall communications plan. However, it can be tricky to manage. There are so many platforms available and it can be overwhelming to figure out the best ones to use and how to manage your time using them. Here are a few simple things to keep in mind:

  • Have a plan in place.
    Before you set up even one social media account, you should develop a strategy of how you plan to use the account. The plan should include what you will post (tone, creating content, where information is coming from), who will post and how often. Be sure you have someone who can monitor regularly and measure your success.
  • Take it one step at a time.
    Don't feel like you need to be on all social media networks at once just because they are popular. Start by building a presence on one platform before tackling the next one. Also, don't assume you need to be on every platform currently available. Maybe Facebook will reach your audience better than Twitter or Instagram. Do your research so you know which tool will help you meet your goals the best.  
After you have a plan in place and have determined the best tools to use, consider using a management tool like Hootsuite. Hootsuite is a social media management platform that allows you to view all of your social media accounts at one time. Users can customize how they view each account by setting up columns (customers, media outlets, competitors, for example) which can save time when reviewing feeds. Hootsuite also allows you to post to several accounts at one time and even schedule posts to run at a later date. 

 

One word of caution when using a social media management tool. Don't let it be a substitute for engagement. Scheduling a month's worth of posts can be a timesaver, but be sure to check your feeds often to listen and respond to audience comments. If all you do is post, you are only taking advantage of a small portion of what social media can offer your business.  

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Quick Quote

  "Always do your best. What you plant now, you will harvest later."

-Og Mandino