Assignment 16: Social Media Release

Image from: http://www.masternewmedia.org/news/2008/05/31/the_social_media_press_release.htm

What is a Social Media News Release (SMNR)?

A social media news release is a press release that is designed towards online media. Written for a wide variety of people, a social media news release differs from a regular press release. A regular press release is geared towards just the press, where as a social media news release is created for bloggers, customers, readers, journalists and many other audiences. Since it is open to the public by online media, it is meant to create sharing of the source through bookmarking, micro-blogging, and social networking.

http://www.briansolis.com/2007/05/social-media-releases-everything-you/

What are the advantages and disadvantages of a SMNR?

Some of the advantages include: easy access, gaining greater audiences through social media, optimized sharing, optimized conversation, visually more attractive. It also has an advantage of web links and RSS feeds.

Disadvantages may include if you are not very tech savvy, it may take significantly longer to make a social media news release than a regular press release. It takes longer to make a SMNR than a regular press release in itself, let alone if you are not very good with computers, it can be confusing.

http://socialtraining.wetpaint.com/page/Social+Media+News+Release

When should a PR practitioner consider using a SMNR?

A Public Relations practitioner should consider using a SMNR instead of a regular press release when they are trying to reach the masses. It is easier for multiple companies to find the release and publish it than for the PR practitioner to send it to multiple companies. If the practitioner is wanting to send the release to one company, a regular press release should be utilized. A SMNR is also more attractive than regular press releases giving it one up on why they should be created. It is visually more stimulating than a wire release which could entice a company to chose one release over another or come to that one more quickly than others. It is also beneficial to use a SMNR for sharing, blogging, and multiple other purposes. Having the SMNR online would increase awareness of the topic because through sharing, blogging and other outlets, it will be transfered and become viral. It can reach audiences fast, be updated quickly and is easy to find. Also, there’s no paper trail which cuts down on the cost of paper and is better for the environment. Social Media News Releases have significant advantages over regular press releases and I think should be used by practitioners instead of wire releases.

How to create a SMNR:

http://technorati.com/blogging/article/how-to-write-a-social-media/

http://www.inc.com/guides/2010/11/how-to-write-a-social-media-press-release.html

http://www.briansolis.com/2007/05/social-media-releases-everything-you/

Example SMNR:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/briansolis/476995838/

SMNR Created:

http://www.prxbuilder.com/link.aspx?p=1591

The purpose of this SMNR was to generate buzz about an upcoming event for Eagle Entertainment at Georgia Southern University. Being that Eagle Entertainment pays for all of the events they put on and it is free to the student population, reminding students of the event is important. It’s target audience was the student population and it’s goal was to get as many students as possible to attend.

5 Tips When Creating a SMNR:

1. Be forward and straight to the point. Unlike other press releases, a SMNR should be short, sweet and to the point, leaving out all the “fluff” in between.

2. Create lots of tags. The more tags you have the better chance your SMNR will be seen.

3. Be creative! You no longer have to stick with black and white. Create a SMNR that pops and creates a visual craze.

4. Use images. It is important to give the audience as much information as you can. You should upload pictures of interest about the topic or event.

5. Always remember the 5 W’s and H. These are important to the audience knowledge of the event or topic.

Topic of the Week 14

In many ways it is hard to believe that we are coming to the end of the semester.  This week I ask that you reflect on the semester. What were the highs and the lows? What would you want to change & why? What have you learned that you will take with you into the next semester?

This semester has been the best and the worst of my time here at Georgia Southern University. As a Senior, I can say this moment has been long awaited. I have been going to school for three years straight. I’ve had no breaks, no semesters off, more hours than necessary and let me tell you, it hasn’t been easy.

I have taken on quite a load for my last semester. The best part of this semester would have to have been the experience I received for my major and the intelligence I gained from it. These experiences have helped me single out the field I would like to work in to further my career path. The worst would be the work load I’ve had to take on due to the circumstances. I have had multiple 5 to 8 page papers due, three 12 to 15 page papers, two events, multiple group work assignments, a 90 page campaign book, presentation to Moe’s Southwest Grill Corporate, Internship searches, Graduation and more work that I’m sure I’ve put in the back of my mind to never bring up again.

Some of the things I might change would be the fact that I’m graduating in three years. Sometimes I feel as though I didn’t get the experience others did in college. I didn’t party, I didn’t attend many events, I focused on school. I think if I would’ve taken things slower, I would’ve experienced more and met more people, made more connections. Who knows?

What I will take with me is the knowledge that I have gained from hard work and accomplishment. There are so many things that I could look back on to change, but this is the path I chose. I chose it for a reason. I am a powerful, successful woman and I will push myself to reach my full potential. Even if that means sacrifice…

Assignment 13: One Week of Twitter

So, I’m not going to lie. This assignment was incredibly hard for me. I have had a Twitter account since last summer, but for some reason, I just can’t get into it. I don’t like posting updates on myself or my life or what I’ve found interesting or not. I usually just get on there to read about what’s going on with the PR Firms I follow, the celebs and some friends. Other than that, I don’t do anything.

This was also the case for this assignment. I just could not find myself getting on to post daily or four times a day. I am really upset that I could not remember to post. I guess it shows how used to not doing it that I’ve been. It was so bad that when I actually started remembering to post, one of my friends actually said to me you haven’t posted in a year what are you up to… that’s when you know it’s a problem.

I really should take more opportunity with the social media that we have. I could make more connections with people, businesses, firms and much more. I’ve just become so behind the curve that I don’t think of how much it could help me. Not only that but there are always give-a-ways on Twitter that you can take advantage of. I’m just really sad that I wasn”t able to complete this assignment because I’d become so lazy with the site.

To answer the question of whether I will continue to use Twitter… yes. However, I will not be using it as I have before. I want to increase my time on Twitter as if I was looking for a job in the classified ads. I would really like to take this site and use it to help my job searching process. I think if I actually put sufficient work into it, I could make it very useful. Again, it just sucks that I couldn’t do it now.

Comments 11

1. http://timbo23.wordpress.com/2011/04/15/becomg-wise/

jd02319 Says: Your comment is awaiting moderation.
April 15, 2011 at 2:08 pm | Reply
Hahaha I love that advice!!! That’s so cute! I think we’ve all been in those situations before and it’s so true there are other fish in the sea

2. http://tgallagher0989.wordpress.com/2011/04/15/mums-love/

jd02319 says:
Your comment is awaiting moderation.
April 15, 2011 at 2:11 pm
This is great advice. Sometimes it feels like you may be targeted because if your sex, race and other things. It’s best to just keep your head up and keep trying

Topic of the Week 11

We all have people in our lives that we trust above everyone else. When something happens, these are the people we go to when we need a shoulder to cry on, someone to talk, someone to tell us where it all went wrong. With this in mind, what is the best advice you have ever been given? Did you follow that advice?

Friends are everything. Without friends, people would be lonely and sad. The memories you make together can help you get through rough times and hard days. Knowing there’s always someone to lean on is refreshing.

The best advice I’ve ever been given is to go with your heart. It sounds simplistic, but in all rationality is quite hard to apply. To go with your heart could mean to ignore the static in the background telling you to think or act one way, but instead you go with another. It could also mean to never hold back and to take opportunities that are knocking at your door. It could mean many different things to different people.

Unfortunately, I am very stubborn and indecisive. When decisions come my way, I tend to weigh out all possible options, think on it, reevaluate, think some more and then decide. However, when my friend told me this I knew the answers to what I wanted and followed them. This has been the best advice given to date for me and my life.

Comments 10

1. jd02319 says:

04/06/2011 at 11:48 am

That is so awesome that you are from St. Louis and you and your boyfriend are still together. Long distance is hard, I know and to hear that you are successful with it is amazing! It is also great that you have good study habits that you kept from high school. I, however, have gotten a bit burnt out and have a MAJOR case of SENIORITIS!

http://terabell.wordpress.com/2011/04/06/myself-out-of-high-school/#comment-49

2. jd02319 says:

Your comment is awaiting moderation.

April 6, 2011 at 11:53 am

I love to hear about your transformation! I was basically the same way in high school. I didn’t wear makeup or dress up or anything. I met my best friends sophomore year and TRANSFORMED lol It’s great to hear I was not the only one

http://tedwar22.wordpress.com/2011/04/04/back-to-the-future/#comment-16

Topic of the Week 10

If you could go back in time and observe yourself in high school, in comparison to yourself now, what would you think? What has changed? What has stayed the same? Is there anything you’d like to say to the you then that could change where you are today?

Well, let me tell you, I sure do feel like a lot has changed. In high school I was, as they call it, a “goody two shoes”. I made straight A’s without very much effort. I had a lot of friends spread throughout the school and was very reserved when it came to anything other than school, work, community service and extra curricular activities. All of the Administrators and teachers new my name and we all got along very well.

Coming into college it was basically the same. I studied all the time because I was afraid of flunking out. I had lots of friends and did normal college things all the time. However, quickly that all changed.

I decided coming into college that I wanted to graduate in 3 years… I know, I’m completely insane, but this May I will have reached my goal. It didn’t come without some hardships. For one I took no breaks, not for one summer. I continuously went to school which wasn’t the hard part. I thought school was easy. I just have gotten so burnt out. On top of that, all of the friends I had made no longer can relate to the stresses or curriculum I have obtained, so I came into my classes as a loner. None of these things were normal for me.

So looking back, I wouldn’t change anything from high school, but instead college. I would make more connections in the time I was given to get to know people more. I wish I had more people that I could relate to that could relate to me. It just kinda sucks coming into a new environment where everyone is ahead of you and you’re trailing behind wanting to catch up, but feel like you can’t…

Comments 9

1.

jd02319

I agree with everything you’ve said. I was never one to watch MTV religiously, mostly because I was sheltered and my mom blocked it on our TV, but it actually saved me a lot of trouble. I think they should make a show where the girls find out they are pregnant and have to go to a pregnancy boot camp I think by challenging them to understand what all it entails and doing it alone would really help change their attitudes and perspectives. What do you think?

March 31, 2011 at 4:25 pm

http://jacksonmcgahee.wordpress.com/2011/03/31/t-o-w-it-aint-my-fault/#comment-33

2. jd02319 |  March 31, 2011 at 4:28 pm

I like the perspective you took on this subject. Everyone else seemed to jump at MTV and say that they are not doing their best to discourage teen pregnancy. I like that you aren’t afraid to say how you feel. A needle in a hay stack

http://kp01270.wordpress.com/2011/03/30/teenage-pregnancy/#comment-35

Topic of the Week 9

“Pregnancy in Hollywood can be seen as a coming-of-age event, which turns the characters in these films and shows into role models for young girls all over America” (Lubeck 2010, p. 1). It wasn’t that long ago that if an unwed teen became pregnant, she “disappeared” until after the child’s birth (Kosoko 2009). In another paper, Vidal (2010) states, “The media is contributing to the rising teen pregnancy rate in the United States, with its excessive portrayal of causal and risky sexual behavior, and lack of images of healthy sexual relationships and realistic consequences” (p. 1). With all that said, do you think shows like MTV’s “Teen Mom” and “Sixteen and Pregnant” are glamorizing major issues like teen pregnancy and parenthood? Are they doing more harm than good? Though these shows at times show the trials of being a teen mom, often young women may see that these young women have become “stars,” landing on the cover of magazines. In your opinion, what could be done to use these shows to show more of the unglamorous side of being a teen mom?

To become a mother is life changing in itself, but to accept responsibility of it when you are just a teenager is much harder. MTV promotes two shows that portray the struggles teen mothers go through, Teen Mom and Sixteen and Pregnant. However, they also produce shows that give the audience a better understanding of frivolous living. These shows would be Real World, Jersey Shore and Skins. What type of message are they trying to get across? The people who watch MTV most likely watch more than just one show on the station, but why?

I think that MTV and television stations as a whole have changed dramatically since they first started. When it comes to specifically understanding why they produce the shows they do, I’m not sure I can compute. I think that they should try to promote safe sex for teens and show a more “unglamorous” side of teen pregnancy by creating a new show that involves different tactics.

The idea I have would be to combine shows like Girls Boot Camp, Real World (sensored), and Survivor. When the girls find out they are pregnant, they are sent to a boot camp, but it’s not any boot camp. This boot camp is special for mothers. You learn how to take care of your baby and the special needs they will have. Each week the girls will have different challenges and whoever wins the challenges gets a reward like seeing their family or something of that nature.

I believe this idea may have just the right touch to portray the things these new mothers will be going through and just how tough it is alone. Maybe this idea is too harsh or demanding, but if teens don’t see what it’s really like, what’s the point to begin with?

Comments 8

1.

jd02319 says:

March 25, 2011 at 2:07 pm

I completely agree! I think people wouldn’t survive without social media. Marketing and advertising would definitely have to increase to create networking.

http://lahartley.wordpress.com/2011/03/25/social-media-shutdown/

2.

jd02319 Says: Your comment is awaiting moderation.
March 25, 2011 at 2:12 pm

I wish that I was more connected to social media than I am. I have profiles, but I don’t post and tweet as much as I should. I think if social media were to disappear I wouldn’t be that affected by it

http://candace16.wordpress.com/2011/03/25/social-media/#comment-9