comment - volume 2, issue 4

7/30/2019 COMMent - Volume 2, Issue 4

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Studying abroad is the experience of a lifetime and it ends up teaching you a lot about yourself

and the world around you. But what else can studying abroad teach you other than a few words indierent languages and an anity for foreign beer? Studying abroad can help students build fun-

damental skills that will help them become better professionals. Studying abroad can teach you to:

Communicate Eectively-There were cities I visited where I didnt know a single word of the language. Equipped with nothing

but our pocket language guides, my friends and I had to nd the best way to ask for directions. We

ended up nding some cool opportunities, all because we took the time to gure out how to com-

municate with people.

Public relations is about knowing the best way to reach your target publics. Studying abroad can

give you experience in learning to shape your messages and rene your body language to eec-

tively communicate. Plus, language experience on your resume is a huge bonus!

Step outside your comfort zone-Things in a foreign country will be dierent, thats half the fun of going abroad! Maybe the people

are overly friendly, or you nd out it cost 15 euro to sit and drink your coee like you do at home. At

rst, these dierences may seem nerve wracking, but adapting to the new way of life is part of the

process.

Learning to gracefully deal with change and embrace new situations early in life will put you ahead

of colleagues. It shows future employers that you are comfortable in new environments and caninteract with a diverse set of people.

Be Condent-Leaving home to live in a foreign country is a huge chance. Its going to be scary, but its also going

to be awesome. Sure, you may be terried of heights, but jumping othat cliand conquering your

fear will be epic.

Life is about choices. Learn to take a chance on yourself. Studying abroad can leave you with a con-

dence in your abilities that will impress future employers.

How Studying AbroadCan Make You a Better

CommunicationsProfessional

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Kassandra Ricci_COMMunicator


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Kathryn McTeague_COMMunicator

At this years National Conference in San Francisco, I

attended a presentation which resonated well with

both myself and the other attending PRSSA members.

"Brand You" was presented by Matt Prince, who acts as

the Social Media Manager at Disneyland Resort. The

main idea of his presentation was that you are the most

important client you will ever have in your life. Individu-

als are becoming more like companies and companies

are becoming more like individuals. Your personal

brand is your name, image, online identity, reputation,

and network.

Find Yourself.Create a road map with a mission state-

ment, objectives and goals and actually write it out.

Have a S.W.O.T. analysis and follow the map.

Make an Impression.Live everyday like you are on a

rst date because on a rst date, you are always pre-

senting the best version of yourself to others. Have a

branding tool kit consisting of an elevator pitch, per-

sonal website, blog, social media presence, a resume,

business cards, and breath mints. Mirror your version of

success. Live like you are a kid again and be that imageof what you always envisioned. You are as good as the

last results of what Google brings up of your name. Be

genuine and do not ever pressure yourself to do things.

Do Social Right.Social media is not a brand strategy:

It is a tool. It is only a small part of what you do. Four

aspects of your personality are exemplied through

dierent social media sites. On LinkedIn, you are "the

professional, on Facebook you are "the person, Twitter

represents you as "the social networker," and your blog

makes you "the expert.

Prince shared his ife ife rule of posting information on-

line, which states that if what you post is not at least

two of the following, do not post it:Interesting, funny,

educational, impressive, attering, embarrassing.

Make sure you are always picture perfect. Only have

photos posted of yourself that represent you in a posi-

tive light. If someone is to look at any one of your pic-

tures and determine that that is your personal brand,

then make sure you are okay with that. Listen, reply,

expand, leverage, and get out of the rst inner circle of

your community. Be narrow-minded, and by that he did

not mean close-minded. Being narrow-minded means

to follow the plan, follow your gut and play games.

Prince used the metaphor of playing pool and chess.

When you play pool, you plan ahead. Professionals

do not take one shot without thinking of the next steps.

When you play chess, sometimes the right move is to

go forward, other times it is to go back or to the side. Be a content creator. By controlling your messages,

you are creating that perfect vision of yourself. Content

is only king when you do it correctly. Be a storyteller.

Prince had earlier told us about a time that his orange

juice cap combusted in his car, made a loud pop and

hit him in the head leading him to believe that he was

shot. He then reected back on that and explained that

we will always remember that because it is a story.

Be remembered, keep it simple, and tell the truth

because without trust, your brand will fail.

Take it oine.Get out of the house and have conver-

sations that last longer than 140 characters. Every great

contact in the professional world was developed oine.

Even if they may have started online, they strengthen

the most with face-to-face interaction. Online is just

one-fth of our personal brand.

Remember, social media is not a brand strategy, it is

a tool. Repetition, repetition, repetition is key. It takes

people seven times to hear something before they

know what is going on. Be consistent with your brand.

Know your audience. Adapt without compromise:

Who is your audience? No two resumes should be alike.

You need to adapt your resume to the company you are

looking at. Do not forget to update your tool bag.

Most importantly, have fun and keep it up! The mo-

ment you stop having fun, you'll need a new job.

Brand You


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Elizabeth Monahan_COMMunicator

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Just after the kicko of the sec-

ond half of Super Bowl XLVII,

the Mercedes-Benz Superdome

fell into a blackout. While Ra-

vens and 49ers players tried to

stay warm during the 34-minute

intermission, Oreos social me-

dia team quickly capitalized on

this timely event. They tweeted,

Power out? No problem. show-

ing an ad reading you can still

dunk in the dark.

Its ironic that on the biggest

(and most expensive) night in

advertising, one brand was able

to create a spur of the moment

tweet for free which gained more

praise and recognition than

many of the Super Bowl 30 sec-

ond spot commercials. Genius;everyone in the Twitter sphere

took notice. Imitation is the sin-

cerest form ofattery and it was

no surprise that Oscar night was

packed with tweets from brands attempting relevancy. However, these instantaneous tweets seem

to have backred because brands were creating content just to be seen rather than serving a purpose

by adding value to the conversation online.

Smart Car was a brand that got real-time marketing right during the Oscars by using Vine, a six-second

stop-motion GIF. @smartcarusa celebrated the winners in smart sized versions of the lms. Chobani

was another favorite success among people in the PR world. For those of you entering internships or

jobs in social media, here are some key takeaways from the Oscars suggested by PR Daily:

- Fit the brand message to the event and the moment.

- In RTM, the bigger the event doesnt always mean better returns.

- Just because another brand has great success with something doesnt mean it will

work for your brand.

- Without the infrastructure in place to execute in real time, youre going to have diculty

making it work.

- Know that preparation and stang is key to real-time marketing activation.

Tweeting On Your Feet


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RWU COMMent sat down

with 2012 Roger Williams grad, Mary

Concannon, to catch up with her and ask for

advice for future PR hopefuls.

RWU COMMent: What is your current position in the working eld?

Mary Concannon: Account Coordinator in the Restaurant, Hospitality andTravel division at marlo marketing/communications.

RC: What did our PR program provided you?

MC: RWUs PR program provided me with a baseline understanding of what PR is, and built

my writing, event planning and organizational skills, and real life experience through intern-

ships, all of which have absolutely translated to my post-grad job in the eld.

RC: What did PRSSA help you with?

MC: I cant even begin to explain all that RWU PRSSA helped me with. I got an internship that led to

my current job as a result of PRSSAs annual Boston tours. I was able to meet both professionals and

like-minded students from across the country through national conferences, nation-wide competi-

tions and local events run by PRSSA. I was also able to connect with other RWU students with similar

interests to mine through PRSSA, and build relationships that I knew would last far beyond

graduation.

RC: What do you wish you knew about PR before you graduated?

MC: I wish I knew how incredibly large and diverse of a eld PR is. There are so many opportuni-

ties out there in public relations, whether its representing celebrities in LA, working in-house

for a large corporation in Rhode Island or managing media relations and event planning

for restaurants in Boston (like me!), the public relations major can really be customized

to suit a students interests and skillsets.

RC: What did your internships give you that your classes didnt?

MC: My internships helped me learn to take criticism and learn from

it, manage multiple tasks at once, and interact with a variety of

personality types in a professional team environment.

They also helped me build my writing abili-

ties in a wider range of styles.

Alumna

Q&AMary Concannon


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Tickets on sale now!

$15 for PRSSA Members

$20 for RWU students/alum

$75 for parents

$100 for outside guests

April 6, 2013

Hyatt Regency Newport

Newport, R.I.

Cocktails 5:30 p.m.

Program 6:00 p.m.

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