Communication – Sam's Blog Spot

Components of PR: Creating the Big Picture

Posted on December 9, 2019May 6, 2020 by samasoklis

In looking back over the course of the semester, CAP 220 (Fundamentals of Public Relations) has taught me a slew of information that I had little knowledge on prior to joining this course. Reflecting on different thoughts I had about Public Relations, I had gained some information from one hundred level courses during my freshman year at Grand Valley. These courses gave me a touch of what the field would entail, but there will still a lot of unanswered questions that I hoped to gain when entering this course. Defining PR now, I would still use a similar definition that was asked of us in the beginning of the semester. The difference now is knowing the background and all the smaller details that are behind the actual process. As it was a lot more complex than expected, all these pieces throughout the semester helped to build a strong understanding.

In reference to my first blog post of the semester, “this allows for intensive research to piece together a puzzle that you work to solve” (Asoklis, 2019, para 1). This statement consists of so much more than what I expected despite my thoughts of research. As research is a key component in PR, there are so many more pieces in addition to just research. Understanding your client and creating different solutions for them that is feasible, along with guiding them for the best success in their business is a huge part as well. Learning how to create strategic solutions that have evidence and background to support them will set the client up for success. PR professionals strive daily to get the best outcome for their client, but understanding and measuring the success is another key factor.

The evaluation process of PR sets the client up to implement all the different pieces of the plan from research and measure the objectives to determine the success. This semester I gained a strong understanding that not all of your outcomes need to be 100% to determine success. Success can be found from follow up in the evaluation, but knowing what was gained and how future studies can improve is a key component. As all professionals strive to give their client the best possible plan, knowing how to interpret and measure is a crucial piece. Understanding that measuring success is not just by the numbers, but the gain in development throughout the business and with their partners is important.

Overall, the different pieces taught in this course has changed my perspective on the overall view of PR. As one striving to be in the industry in the future, using the tools provided in the course will help guide me in the rest of my college career and my potential career. Using these tools provided to create conduct intense research, create first hand statistics, budgets, and plans for execution will help me thrive as individuals in the field. As so much more is part of the process than I expected from the beginning, this class was able to immerse me in a whole new world of knowledge. I have gained strong appreciation for the field, as it has allowed me to understand how PR professionals think as one aims to create the best outcome for the client.

Ad & PR

Utilizing Social Media within Public Relations

Posted on October 23, 2019May 5, 2020 by samasoklis

Social Media within the world of PR has changed the way in which one reaches and interacts with an audience. Using the technology given to us today, we can use numerous different tools that impact the way in which a PR professional does their job. From social media, one can obtain information based on consumer response, connection, and strategy. By using these tools one can measure and create a desired platform to reach all audience in the desired target. This allows for PR professionals to use these new tools to create the atmosphere on the media they strive to have for their company or business.

The specific use of social media to create “buzz” for ones audience allows a ton of new opportunities that the world of PR did not offer before. A Forbes council member states in an article “Social media makes it possible for the average person to create their own platform and cultivate their own audience in a way that has never been possible before” (Mekky, 2019, para. 5). The statement above shows us the power given to a PR professional to create the best platform to reach the media in the world of social media. The attraction media has today – from announcements and news cultivated by PR professionals – in ones business has created a source of reliability for consumers. When a crisis or downfall occurs in one’s business, social media has also allowed some professionals to create a bounce back or a response to help their brand.

Social Media has also allowed PR professionals to share company information quickly and effectively to an audience. Besides creating a “buzz”, this also creates a way for social sharing to transfer across all platforms for everyone to see. Whether its a press release, to a new article, information can easily be transferred from source to socure to reach all audiences. A noteworthy PR professional named Ronn Torossian stated “This ensures that when a follower reads a release online, they can easily click on a button to share it with their friends and family, and thus expand brand reach for a client” (Torossiain, 2018, para. 7). This statement speaks volumes as sharing and connecting with ones near to you happens on a daily basis! The number of times I have personally connected with my peers over new press releases is uncountable. The content that trends in media everyday are talking points that one another discuss on a daily as it plays much importance to them. Whether it’s a brand they love, or a company that took a hit, people always love to read and voice their opinion.

Interactions within your social media channel also helps to create credibility and recognition within one’s business. From replying to a customer, to direct messaging them with a problem, the more responsive a company is to these interactions, the more respect a consumer will have for them. In a journal by two university professors, they explain “Organizations can also harness the potential of social media to engage in social conversations” (Tam & Kim, 2019, p. 31). This potential is created through connecting and interacting with your consumers on social media. This allows for deep trust and consideration when one is dealing with a company over social media.

When looking back on the points discussed, many can conclude that the use of social media within the PR industry has changed the way in which one does their job. Incorporating social media and creating the hype, branching out news on multiple platforms, and creating strong interactions with consumers helps to build a brand’s reputation. Using these tools will help one to be as successful as possible when incorporating the new ways in which the industry works. Social media will only continue to grow as technology advances, so it is up to us to continue to adapt with social media and what it offers us.

Tam, Lisa & Kim, Jeong-Nam. (2019). Using social media analytics in public relations: How they support company public relations. Journal of Business Strategy. 40. 28-34. 10.1108/JBS-06-2017-0078.

Ad & PR

Viewing Public Realtions From a Personal Perspective

Posted on September 9, 2019May 5, 2020 by samasoklis

As I walked into my first lecture of my Public Relations class, I began to reflect on what my major is and how it will work into what my life career is. As an Ad & PR major – with an emphasis on PR – I strive to fully understand and recognize what my degree has in store. Not only do I have a lot of growing to do in the field, but a great knowledge of comprehension and understanding is something I aim to achieve over current and future courses that I will take. As I am very excited to learn and grow in the field, I aim to correct some prior thinking and indulge in what really brings me to this classroom today.

Reflecting on what I know thus far, I drew my own definition of what P.R. meant to me and how it takes role in ones everyday life. As this field works on maintaining relationships, I talked about how PR builds connections with others to help gain credibility and create an “image” for ones brand. Whether this “image” is positive or negative, I believe that a strong relationship will help to guide one’s thoughts when a situation occurs. When thinking about what makes this makes this major so appealing to me, I connect it to teamwork and critical thinking that helps to work out an issue. In doing so, this allows for intensive research to piece together a puzzle that you work to solve.

As I have been working to understand the true concepts that make up this major, I came across an example that helped me understand some of the confusion in the field. Smith highlights in the opening of a reference to an elephant and six blind men. As this goes on, it tells us in the end that the six blind men had different conceptions of what the elephant was. The author then stated “the story points out the pitfall of looking only at the parts and not perceiving the whole” (Smith, 2013, p.19). This allowed me to realize that there are so many small pieces in working towards a goal or focus in order to achieve what you are trying to solve.

As I go through this course and many others, I hope to understand what the pieces are that bring this career into one. When coming across an article I found about the field, I was able to hear what one entrepreneur thinks when breaking this major down into components. Mr. Wynne explains his categories of the field consist of “persuasion, information, communication, third-party validation, public opinion, public policy, and promotions to driven sales, revenues or donations” (Wynne, 2013, para. 4). As I don’t have a clear understanding of what these roles will play out to be, it was nice to understand a viewpoint to clear the fog I have with the field.

Photo by Austin Distel on Unsplash

In moving forward through the program, it will be with great hope that I will have a strong knowledge and enjoy what it has to offer to me individually. In addition, I look forward to determining the real differences between this field and the many others that intertwine and work together. In researching how the various fields work together, Mr. Comcowich explains “Coordination helps them do together what they cannot do separately and improve the bottom line for the entire organization” (Comcowich, 2019, para. 1). Hearing this from a P.R. professional along with many professors previously, I look forward to gaining understanding behind all the different professional careers. As I continue to grow in this field, I’m genuinely excited to mold with those around me to make the future of Public Relations.

References:

Comcowich, W. C. W. J. (2019, January 8). How PR & Marketing Work Better Together.

Smith, R. (2013). Public relations : The basics.

Wynne, R. (2013, September 4). Public Relations, Explained.

Ad & PR

The Evolution of Collaboration

Posted on March 2, 2019May 5, 2020 by samasoklis

Collaboration within a workplace is very important for a company to have a successful business. It has been something that has taken place since businesses where first beginning. Whether it be with your co-workers, your boss, or even you peers, working together within a career is something that should be cherished and used to the best of its ability. Over the last decade, our changing society has altered the way in which collaboration works within the workplace. This is something that come with many pros and cons that help make up what we are facing right now in our current world.

In previous decades, collaboration within the workplace was very different. When working with others, many people just used the old fashion face to face communication to help create a plan and address how all the team members will work together. This usually entailed assigning different tasks to the members throughout the group. This way was very effective and is usually the easiest way to get something done even in todays world. Face to face communication has been proven to be the strongest form in which we interact with one another.

In todays society, working together with one another can come in many different forms. Through technology, it has allowed us to create many different channels that allows for one to work as a whole. Platforms such as GroupMe, WhatsApp, and many other group commuictaion networks have allowed us to work as a team within a workplace without actually having an in person conversation to get the job done. This has become easily accessible to coworkers, as many have their own smartphone for communication. From this advancement, different businesses and companies can work towards a task or goal though this platforms to work with each other and create ideas in which they will accomplish the assigned task.

With new forms of collaboration, it brings many challenges that workplace’s have to face on a day to day basis. From lack of communication, to misinterpretations it has become challenging for some who use todays advanced technology. The classic use of face-to-face interactions has alway been the clearest route that allows one to get the job done with others. With that, most businesses use modern day technology to make this process a bit easier. The personal interactions with others allow for straight connection and understanding with a business. It becomes tricky when using todays technology, allowing for miscommunication that sometime can hurt the team as a whole. It is important when using modern technology to make sure that the points are clear the tasks are done properly as these issues can occur.

Overall, collaboration has always played a main role in companies and how they execute tasks within the workplace. With using todays modern technology, it is important to be aware of the issues that may arise from it. It is up to us as people, working in an ever-changing society, to make sure we stay on top of issues that may cause a stigma in communication. Communication is a main force that can make or break a business if it’s not used properly, for it will hurt those companies/businesses working together to collaborate many different vital tasks to be successful.

Ad & PR

Social Media’s Impact on YOU and Society

Posted on February 4, 2019May 5, 2020 by samasoklis

When you think of what social media is, many people come to think of Snapchat, Facebook, and all the other platforms that we interact with on a day to day basis. This access to easy communication has allowed for many individuals to build themselves and their business on different platforms. Many of us have came accustomed to the everyday usage of these social media sites allowing us to find out new information, post our feelings, and hear about others. With all of this on the rise, it has became a vital part to todays society and how it is used to benefit us as a community.

When using social media personally, I know that I tend to indulge more than I should. It has became such a regular part of my daily routine allowing for easy access to almost anything that I am interested in seeing, This has made a major impact on how I communicate in person versus through a platform of social media that we have. Social media in many peoples lives have created a channel in which allows communication that is nonverbal. This nonverbal communication is very beneficial, but sometimes not in the best interest of all. The verbal communication that is lacking has became less and less through advancements with social media.

Within large businesses and corporations, social media has became a necessity in today society. This has allowed for companies to reach out to consumers and make them feel as if they are connecting to them. This personal connection that is made with pages like these increases the social media presence and how popular they become. When a business has an upbeat and engaging profile, it typically allows for communication within the business to be much more enjoyable as they have a strong media presence. Personally, I have had a company reply to me about a tweet that I was posted on disappointment in their company. Immediately after that, I felt satisfied with company as they made an effort to reach out and make things better. This kind of presence allows for consumer reliability to a company and its product.

Over the years, the platforms that are considered to be social media have made major rise and falls in the industry. At one point in time, the most prominent application was MySpace in which many of todays society don’t even know about. Many of these phases have allowed platforms to have their fame. The struggle of this is trying to keep their users happy and entertained with what they’re using. In the past few years, it has became a competition to many sites that have been on the rise. With todays media, competitors like Snapchat, Facebook, and Instagram have been pushing to make their company the “best”. With these companies pushing to make the top, Snapchat has made significant gain in todays society. Having a profile and showing others what you are up to has been very prominent in recent times. Over the next few years, it will be hard to determine which platforms will stay in the game and which won’t. But overall, there will always be new companies that are trying to make their way in the industry.

Social Media has shaped the way in which we live our lives and in future, it will only continue to grow. As it progresses, it is up to us a society to use it to the best of its ability to help us advance as humans. Using these platforms to grow as an individual and as a company, will help to shape the way in which our society grows for the future. Despite the struggles we may experience as we adapt to these changes, it is crucial to make them the best they can be!