Our client, Youth Outreach Services, asked us to create a campaign to recruit mentors for their new youth mentoring program in the Austin neighborhood of Chicago. Because YOS is a nonprofit, our campaigns were to be created with a very small budget; thus we had to be creative in our strategies. Aside from several creative tactics, my group believed that building relationships with the right groups of people would be the best way to gain support of the organization and the program.

This project (which I believe we did a great job on!) really reiterated the importance of building relationships, no matter what type of campaign you are working on. If you can build and maintain relationships with the right group of people, you gain valuable resources and connections that money certainly cannot buy. These relationships, in order to be most effective, must be sincere and meaningful for both parties involved.

The importance of building relationships has been repeatedly emphasized to me as one of the fundamentals of the PR industry. But there isn’t a how-to guide on effective relationship building. (I mean, I’m sure there is…but who gets to claim expertise on such a topic?) Or maybe I’m wrong. Is there?

According to the 2009 Waggener/Eggstrom RT Strategies Poll, “Consumers note that upon first impression, they are typically skeptical of business efforts to address social issues, with 31 percent feeling the efforts are a marketing ploy, and 16 percent feeling it takes a company away from its primary mission.”

Communication is key. How does an organization create an authentic communications message around corporate responsibility commitments?

I’ve done a lot of  research in this area that has lead me to a surprising misstep many companies are taking. Oftentimes, employees are unaware of or disengaged from CSR practices within their own organization. How can a company expect the public to buy into its claims if many of its own internal stakeholders are ignored?

I think there is an opportunity for internal communications team to lead the organization in employee CSR engagement and education. They could serve as liason between upper-level managerial decisions and all other departments that may be left in the dark about CSR initiatives. After all, employees are an organizations best brand ambassadors. If they don’t know what’s going on, how will the external audiences? What do you think?

That’s ok!

Fleet gives three reasons why it’s a good thing to be wrong once-in-a-while.

• Admitting you’re wrong is, in its own way, a powerful way to connect with people. It brings you down from your pedestal.
• You can learn from the comments you’ll receive from your readers.
• No-one is perfect. If you’re never wrong, it likely means you’re not breaking out into new territory. That gets boring pretty quickly. Few people really want to be boring.

I sometimes feel that as a public relations student I have no credibility or am in little position to blog about an industry I am just beginning to understand. Fleet’s blog post made me feel better; by throwing ideas and thoughts out on my blog I’m learning. I’m reading more established practitioners’ blogs and gaining new insights and ideas and relating them to my own experiences and knowledge to the best of my ability.

So yes, I think it is okay to be wrong. I also think it is okay that I’m a PR student with a PR blog. Because one day I am going to look back and see where I started, and be proud that I put myself out into the social space this early in my career.

But a personal Facebook page and a Twitter account doesn’t make us experts in the business world.

What’s important is gaining the knowledge and skills to effectively build social media business plans, larger integrated communications and marketing plans and combine that with the natural ease of using the technologies.

On her blog, Sally Falkow explains, “Business and Communication schools need to prepare their students so that not only can they deliver  their personal knowledge of the digital world, but actually integrate that knowledge into a communication strategy.”

Sally Falkow quotes Dr. Elaine Young from a Businessweek article

“Why is all this important? Because the businesses that don’t know how to respond to and use social media are filling knowledge gaps in staff by hiring students with these skills fresh from college. In the lean organizations of 2009, students will not simply learn on the job; they will be asked to implement these tools strategically – because no one else knows how.”

Because using the tools is one thing. Using them effectively as part of a strategic business plan for your company is what matters.

Many of my courses have given me the basic tools and skills for integrating the technologies with the business strategy. But I’m ready for the challenge of a real-world setting, where I can take what I’ve learned in the classroom and really make a difference for an organization.

But let’s face it. Facebook isn’t what it was when I first started using it. My future boss probably has a Facebook. Co-workers and professors have Facebook. So the looming question is…do I keep Facebook as my personal social network and be very careful who I let in to see my page?

I’ve had several jobs and internships where I have let co-workers and even my boss become my friends. I was hesitant to deny the request, so instead, I put them on “Limited Profile,” so they could only see the information that I allowed them to see. Needless to say, I choose not to allow them access to my photos and in some cases, didn’t even allow access to see my wall posts. Thus, it was pretty pointless that we were even friends in the first place, considering all they could see was my profile picture, name and basic information.

My generation is getting consistent reminders and warnings about keeping “bad” pictures off the internet and making sure we maintain a professional image online. All completely understandable.

But we’re human. We’re social creatures. Does a picture of me and a few friends out at a bar make me a bad prospective employee?

And when we do accept requests from people in our professional world and block things like photos and wall posts, does that send even more of a negative image of ourselves? As if we are hiding things?

I’m torn. What do you think?

Dave Fleet wrote about this on his blog. “

If the website for this movie didn’t make it onto the top few pages of search results, through either organic or paid search. The movie would be in trouble, as the URL isn’t obvious either (whowillsurvive2012.com).

The movie, however, does reach several of the first links in organic search. Fleet explains that there is no sign of paid search. This is a pretty big risk to rely solely on your SEO.

Personally, I think this was a great marketing strategy. Even if the movie pages did not make the top of the search results, the ads got their audience to take action. If someone does find the ads intriguing (how could you not? I’ll admit, I was curious) and takes the time to search, I’m thinking they will take a little more effort to find what they are looking for.  In this case, “Will I survive 2012?”

I think the ads break through the clutter of movie ads. They spark curiosity and engage the audience. “Search 2012″ is more than a suggestion; it’s a bold demand.

What do you think of the ads?

Every other person is on their iPhone, Blackberry or iPod. Sure, they are being “social” with some figure on the other end of that technology. But have we lost the true meaning of social interaction? When is the last time you walked down the street and said hi to someone walking by? If someone has greeted you in passing, what was your reaction?

I’ll be honest in that when it does happen to me, it often catches me off-guard. It’s like saying hello or good morning to someone you don’t know is bizarre or has a hidden agenda behind it. I feel that people fear rejection or a strange look; I know sometimes I do. But really, is it a big deal? Usually, the only outcome of reaching out to a stranger is bringing a little bit of light to that person’s day.

Have we lost the sincerity and ease of human interaction and communication because of our addiction to our mobile devices?

Alright…easy enough, I say to myself.

After a few minutes of struggling to single out one passion of mine, I came up with the idea to talk about my experience studying abroad.

I learned a few things from this assignment. I ended up writing my one page in record time. Literally, I’m talking about ten minutes. I read it over a few times to proofread, then did a read-through out loud. Probably because if its truly a passion the words and ideas just flow.

My first reaction was that I was sounding too formal. My wording was stiff and it sounded like I was trying to sound like a travel brochure for the Loyola Rome Center. I wanted it to sound sincere and personal while still allowing room for my audience to relate, whether or not they studied abroad themselves.

I found it really helpful to “read” my speech out loud but allow myself any verbal corrections or changes as I spoke. By the fourth reading I felt my words were more engaging and personal.

So why does any of this matter? Speech writing is crucial in the world of public relations. Many of us will end up writing speeches as a part of our daily work, mostly for others. It is so important to write with the right voice. Speeches are most effective when the person reading it isn’t exactly reading it all all. When writing speeches, especially for someone other than yourself, don’t jump right in. You must understand who it is you are writing for, and even do some research into their past speeches and writing style to best capture that person’s voice.

Oh, and when giving a speech, don’t forget to have good posture and careful not to move around too much. I’ll have to keep that in mind for next time, too…

I think that this law is well overdue. Bloggers are individuals who write in their own unique voice and opinions and hence have maintained a steady trust with their audiences for that very reason. To find out that the only reason your favorite auto blogger likes the newest Jetta was because he was given one is simply irritating and scheming. It’s false advertising.

Whether or not the blogger’s opinion is honest or not, they must now always reveal if any connections led them to the usage of that particular product.

And though most are happy about the new law, others object, stating that the ruling is too vague and their are far too many exceptions. People have plenty of questions.

Check out mediabistro.com’s list of questions and concerns and tell me what you think about the new law. Good, bad, not sure?

What does Google describe wave as? Google Wave is an online tool for real-time communication and collaboration. A wave can be both a conversation and a document where people can discuss and work together using richly formatted text, photos, videos, maps, and more.

To the non-tech savvy, Wave sounds just like the rest of ‘em. But Wave, unlike Facebook, does not have a unique URL. On his blog, Web Strategy by Jeramiah, Jeramiah Owyang explains, “Instead, it is creating elements that envelope the web, by enabling every online (and mobile) activity to possibly be social one –then running it all on their own centralized platform.”

So is Google trying to compete with Facebook? Yes and no. Jeramiah claims that, “Google isn’t going after a frontal, brute force assault on Facebook and the other social networks — it simply can’t win at that game on a global basis. Instead Google is pursuing a softer approach, a zen-like attach much like water flowing around a rock. It is using its strengths — ubiquity and open platforms — to put “social” into every corner of the Web.

Right now Wave is by invitation only. (Remember when Gmail was the same way?) If you weren’t one of the lucky to recieve an exclusive invite from Google, you can request an invitation here. Or you can wait it out, because soon Wave will be available for everyone. Excited? I’m not sure I’m sold. I guess I’ll have to wait and see.