In This Issue President’s letter

Social Media Update

Fundraising Update

Community Service Update

PRowl Update

Mentorship Update

Programming Update

TU Invitational Recap

Three Need-To-Knows for Event

Planning

Voice and Tone on Social Media

Social Media Dos and Don’ts for

Students

Meeting Recaps

3 Tips to Avoid Social Media

Mistakes

From Traditional to Digital PR

Shaking Off Spotify

By Summersleek (Own work) [CC BY-SA 3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0)], via Wiki-media Commons

Temple PRSSA Newsletter Spring 2016

PRESIDENT’S LETTER

To the best chapter,

I cannot believe my year with Temple PRSSA has already come to an end…time has seriously

flown by! I have loved serving as chapter president not only because it was an amazing experience,

but because I was able to watch each one of you grow professionally, while personally getting to

know you better.

When I began my term as president, my goals were to create a welcoming atmosphere that

encouraged members to build friendships with one other, create educational opportunities for mem-

bers to learn more about the field of public relations and help members obtain opportunities by ex-

panding their network in Philadelphia. As a constantly growing chapter, I am happy to say we con-

tinue our legacy as one of the oldest in the country and largest chapters in the region. We have had

yet another successful year.

I began my journey with Temple PRSSA three years ago as an eager member who wanted to get more involved. I never imagined

leading this wonderful organization, but I am so happy I had the opportunity. Over the course of the year, we have brought in countless

professional speakers, held our annual media relations panel, celebrated our very own “PRSSA Week” and hosted our third annual TU

Invitational Conference. This year we had a lot of “firsts” including our first “PR by the Generation” panel , our first “free membership”

social media contest, our first PRSSA chapter mixer with Drexel and LaSalle, and our first PRSSA and PRowl team at Temple’s “Relay

for Life” event. We also had our first event with Temple’s American Marketing Association—a panel discussion of three professionals

who worked on the 2015 Philadelphia World Meeting of Families. The speakers for this panel discussion were full of energy, and the

event was a major highlight during our first official “PRSSA Week.”

I can’t begin to thank all of you for your dedication to Temple PRSSA. I am proud to have represented a chapter of members who

were always excited to get involved with Temple’s PRSSA chapter and PRSSA National’s initiatives. I wish you all the best in your fu-

ture endeavors, and hope to stay in touch. This newsletter provides a glimpse of how incredible our chapter is and I hope you enjoy

reading it!

Sincerely,

Alissa Steele

PR In the Modern Age

THE OWL PRACTITIONER

The PRSSA Fundraising Committee has been very

busy this semester. We have worked really hard to sell

the remaining 45 PRSSA t-shirts and we reached our

goal. We also spread the word at the end of the semester

to sell PRSSA graduation stoles to our members who are

seniors. We wanted them to take a piece of PRSSA with

them to graduation and after. Valentine’s Day was on our

radar in February and our committee was excited to help

spread the love around campus by hosting a Valentine's

Day bake sale. PRSSA members brought a lot of different

baked goods and some also took the time to help with the

table. We were very proud of the success. The PRSSA

Fundraising Committee was mostly proud of our Masters

Restaurant Brunch Fundraiser that is being held at the end

of April. The Fundraising Committee has been promoting

the event throughout March and April with social media,

posters and simply word of mouth. 60 people have

RSVP’d to attend the brunch. We anticipate a morning and

afternoon filled with great food, music and just an overall

great time.

This semester has been an exciting one for Temple PRS-

SA’s social media! When the membership returned in January,

we started our second #TUPRSSAfree campaign aimed at in-

creasing attention and membership for our chapter. Our winner,

Joei DeCarlo, with 90 plus likes on her Facebook post, won a

free membership. Our runner ups, Joshua Ortiz and Marissa

Piffer, both with more than 70 likes on their Instagram posts

were honored with Wawa gift cards.

Next, we launched our #MentorshipMeans social campaign.

Through collaboration with the Director of Mentorship, Su Rei

Khoo, we collected quotes from mentor/mentee pairs on what

their relationship has meant to them and how it has helped

them grow. The Instagram-focused campaign gained a lot of

attention and helped Temple PRSSA attract new members to

the mentorship program. During the #MentorshipMeans cam-

paign, there was a Twitter Chat about the program and a men-

torship game night for mentorship pairs to engage in a fun envi-

ronment.

Upon our return from spring break, Temple PRSSA dived

head first into a campaign surrounding a week of celebrating

PRSSA with our chapter. Events throughout the week utilized

hashtags, photos, and quotes specific to each event. The week

ended with our chapter’s third annual TU Invitational. Our social

media had the most engagement this year during our invitation-

al and PRSSA National even wrote about the conference on

their website!

To finish 2016, we created a

#PRofessionalDevelopmentMonth campaign for April for mem-

bers to learn more about and discuss landing their dream job or

internship. The campaign was a great success with a Twitter

Chat and blog posts by executive board members on different

topics surrounding professional development. Events including

SMC’s Career Fair and Temple PRSSA’s mixer with other local

chapters gave members opportunities to apply what they

learned throughout the month of April. Temple PRSSA social

media had an active semester and we intend to keep it up with

semesters to come!

Social Media Update by Michelle Davies

Fundraising Update by Kaitlin Milano

Jeremy Rives, Kaitlin Milano, Erin Moskowitz

The Temple PRSSA community service committee has

continued its commitment to serving the Temple and Phila-

delphia community. We kicked this semester off with a food

drive for Feed Homeless Philly that ran all semester long.

Members brought in as much canned food as they could be-

fore the semester ended and all food was given to homeless

citizens in Philadelphia. Other community service events

included getting more involved with the American Heart As-

sociation (AHA). AHA hosted their annual Heart Ball and

members were responsible for the Philadelphia AHA Twitter

and Instagram accounts. The Philadelphia Red Dress Collec-

tion Stream, an event also hosted by the AHA, had members

in charge of social media and escorting sponsors around the

event.

As the last big event of the semester, members paired up

with PRowl PR to create a team for Relay For Life at Temple

University. Members recruited friends and family to come out

for a fun night created to help communities across the globe

fight back against cancer. Relay For Life took place on Tem-

ple University’s campus on April 8 and raised $500.

This semester has been exciting for the community ser-

vice committee. Members are getting involved in the events

and are always eager for more. We are looking forward to the

fall semester!

PRowl Public Relations has completed the spring semes-

ter with much success. While the Fall semester inspires

PRowlers to create new campaigns and perform both quanti-

tative and qualitative research, it’s during the Spring semes-

ter PRowl executes its campaigns. The firm currently man-

ages six accounts: The Liacouras Center, The Department of

Strategic Communication (STRC), Temple University Strate-

gic Marketing & Communications (SM+C), Temple University

Television (TUTV), the Ed Trayes Photography Archives and

PRowl Internal.

The Liacouras Center team promoted events at The

Liacouras Center this Spring, including Sesame Street! Live

and Cirque de Soleil by pitching local reporters and organiza-

tions information about discount sales and opportunities to

partner with the Liacouras Center. The STRC account contin-

ues to maintain a strong social media presence for the de-

partment on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram. Every semes-

ter, engagement with the accounts increases. PRowlers who

work with SM+C spent the semester brainstorming and plan-

ning initiatives for Temple’s Snapchat strategy, and they sub-

mitted formal proposals to the client at the end of the semes-

ter. Additionally, team members marketed Temple’s new

shuttle system, FLIGHT. Our TUTV team members orga-

nized a contest for an upcoming program on TUTV, Food

Truck Wars. PRowlers created a social media campaign and

event plans for students to vote for their favorite food trucks

on Main Campus. The Ed Trayes account team revamped

the client’s Instagram account and created a formal timeline

and plan for social media. Lastly, PRowl Internal researched

and developed a branding guide so PRowl’s brand and

graphic identity would be concrete and consistent. Further-

more, PRowl Internal members planned two Twitter chats,

staffed a professional development table in Annenberg Hall

and designed the firm’s business cards.

In April, PRowl and PRS-

SA members applied and

interviewed to become the

next generation of PRowl

leaders, either as Account

Executives or on the firm’s

executive board. PRowl

continues to be a source

of encouragement and

opportunity for Temple

University students to

grow as PR professionals.

For the upcoming year, PRowl PR is happy to announce

that Maggie Wurst will be taking over as Firm Director with a

brand new e-board of passionate students. Congrats, PRowl-

ers!

Community Service Update by Kaitlin Osborn

PRowl Public Relations Update by Alyssa Guckin

Erin Quiles, Marissa Pifer, Alissa Steele, Kaitlin

Osborn, Mikyla Abdul-Azim

After the success of the fall semester’s Mentorship Pro-

gram, we wanted to encourage more members to get in-

volved. We held a Twitter Chat early in the semester about

frequently asked questions (FAQs) in regards to the program

with committee members, including myself, responding to

them. Using the hashtag #MentorshipMeans, interested

members also participated with queries of their own to get a

better understanding of the program.

As one of the initiatives to garner greater enthusiasm for

the program, we implemented the first-ever Temple PRSSA

mentorship social media campaign, “Mentorship Means.”

Mentor-mentee pairs from the previous semester submitted

a photo of themselves together while each stated what men-

torship meant to them. These photos were posted on our

chapter’s social media platforms.

Last semester’s pair who won the “Best Mentor-Mentee

Award,” Kaitlin Milano and Jeremy Rives, were the first pair

featured in the campaign.

Accompanying their beaming photo, Kaitlin said,

“#MentorshipMeans learning wisdom and having a support

system!” Valuing the friendship that develops from the pro-

gram, her mentee, Jeremy said, “#MentorshipMeans gaining

a new friend and being role models for each other!”

We had 16 people matched up this semester, each

paired according to similar areas of study, interests and per-

sonalities. We held a mentorship event at the Game Room

inviting new pairs to meet each other for the first time. Mem-

bers had a fun time getting to know one another over food

and games. The Mentorship Program has received nothing

but positive feedback and we hope friendships will continue

to blossom as we strive to build a stronger community within

the organization!

The spring semester is always a little quieter than the fall,

but PRSSA members still remained enthusiastic about our

chapter’s initiatives. This semester, we implemented a brand

new panel, “PR by the Generation.” This panel included four

different professionals from the city. Bonnie Grant, Executive

Director of the Greater Philadelphia Life Sciences Congress,

and Gregg Feistman, Associate Professor of Instruction and

Public Relations Sequence Head at Temple University, were

two of the panelists. They were accompanied by Jennifer

Schwarz, Marketing Associate at Quintiq, and Greg Smore,

Senior Communications Specialist at PECO.

All four professionals were at different points in their ca-

reer with a variety of different experiences. Each spoke to

ways the industry has changed, what has remained the

same and where it is heading in the future. One of the key

points each panelist expressed was the importance of writing

and building lasting relationships. These responses were

extremely beneficial in getting a diverse outlook on the public

relations field. A perk of this event was free gifts from panel-

ist Bonnie Grant. She brought our chapter pens and mini-

portfolios.

Another big event for Temple PRSSA this spring was the

World Meeting of Families (WMOF) Papal Visit panel dis-

cussion. Our chapter teamed up with the American Market-

ing Association to organize a panel for the communications

experts involved with the monumental event to explain how

they did it. Panelists included: Ken Gavin, Communications

Director of the Archdiocese of Philadelphia; Lizanne Pando,

Director of Marketing and Communications for the WMOF

2015; Meg Kane, Senior Vice President at Brian Communi-

cations. Our members got a lot out of this informative event.

Being able to assist in leading Philadelphia’s largest

PRSSA chapter has been an incredible experience. PRSSA

has given me so many personal and professional opportuni-

ties and it has been nothing but a blast. To the next Vice

President of Temple’s PRSSA chapter – enjoy it and don’t

ever hesitate to reach out to any of the alumni!

Mentorship Update by Su Rei Khoo

Programming Update by Gabrielle Lacherza

Lizanne Pando, Ken Gavin, Meg Kane

Jeremy Rives, Kaitlin Milano

For the third consecutive year, Temple’s PRSSA chapter

hosted its annual TU Invitational on March 12. This year’s

theme revolved around the art of storytelling and was titled,

“Telling Your Tale: Storytelling for the Modern-Day Profes-

sional.”

Four professionals from different areas of PR and mar-

keting were invited to be guest speakers. Brian Hart, founder

and CEO of Flackable financial public relations agency,

served as the conference’s keynote speaker. Hart focused

on storytelling in the new digital age in his session titled

“Let’s Get Digital: The Importance of Getting Connected.”

Following the keynote address, attendees were given the

option to chose between two speakers during the breakout

session: Kaja Rasmussen, Marketing Manager at the

Liacouras Center or Nya Sturrup, Assistant Marketing Direc-

tor at the Independence Seaport Museum. Rasmussen fo-

cused on storytelling for events and entertainment, while

Sturrup’s session concentrated on storytelling for non-profits.

The final speaker was PR professional, Jessica Lawlor, who

delivered a presentation about personal storytelling and how

she promotes herself and her business.

The conference ended with a networking session with the

attendees, Temple alumni, and professionals in the field. Our

attendance included ambitious high school students and their

parents, students from four universities in the region, and our

very own Temple Owls. As conference coordinator, I am

happy with the success of our third annual TU Invitational,

and I would like to thank everyone who participated for all of

the support.

TU Invitational Recap 2016 by Kimberly Leung

As technology has evolved, so has the planning of events.

Networking no longer has to happen face-to-face, but can hap-

pen online via LinkedIn or Twitterchats. Press events no longer

only involve members of the traditional press, but also online

writers, bloggers and social media stars. To make events ap-

peal to your audiences, check out some of these tips.

Quality, not quantity!

When creating your invite list, remember that it’s not always

about how many people attend. In today’s day and age, there

are dozens of blogs for every interest and industry. Reaching

out to 10 influencers for a small-scale event can reach far

more people than a large event of 100 individuals. Make sure

you’re promoting your event to the right audience, and give

bloggers a chance to get an inside look at your brand.

Go digital!

Use technology to your advantage. Temple University’s PRS-

SA chapter uses EventBrite for ticket sales to streamline the

sales process and add ease for attendees who choose to pay

by credit card. Facebook event pages let you track who is at-

tending and who is interested in the event. There are dozens

of apps that assist in the nitty gritty event planning tasks as

well—keep those in mind when you need to get more orga-

nized.

Can you do more for the community?

Our chapter takes pride in its community service efforts. We’ve

participated in Relay for Life, the American Heart Association’s

walk and collected canned foods for a food drive. When plan-

ning your event, try and find a way to give back to the commu-

nity. Talk with your client and see if there is a charity or current

event that resonates with their brand. You can ask attendees

for suggested donations with their ticket purchases, or give

them an opportunity to donate at the event. By doing this, you

can both host a successful event and give back to a communi-

ty in need.

Three Need-To-Knows for Event Planning by Helena Wilcox

If you ask the aver-

age millennial why he or

she has social media,

they probably will not

respond with, “To con-

nect and network with

other professionals in

order to increase my

personal brand.” Millen-

nials tend to view social media as a way to interact with friends,

post about daily occurrences or as a source for entertainment.

However, these common uses can lead to a slew of negative

consequences, including damaging your image. In the digital

era, employers are beginning to look at prospective applicants’

online presence to help assess if the candidate is a good

match. Therefore, social media can either help you land the

coveted job position you want or dismiss your chances all to-

gether. I suggest the following tips to help define your personal

brand on social media platforms.

Do follow and interact with experts in your desired field.

This is the easiest way to build relationships with people who

may become your mentor, thus helping you navigate the indus-

try and teaching you the inside of the business. They are ex-

perts in their respective fields and their profiles may contain

pertinent information that can help you stay up to date on rele-

vant news.

Do post pictures of yourself doing activities that showcase

your personality.

Showing your character while attending a cool event or fun

activity displays your passions outside of the workplace. The

employer gets to know the real you.

Do not post pictures of you and your friends’ “wild” night.

No explanation needed for this one. So the next time you go to

make a status, upload a picture or update your connections,

maybe think twice about posting the video of you dancing at

3am to “Call Me Maybe.”

Do voice opinions on topics that are important to you, in

an appropriate manner.

The first amendment! You are allowed to speak your mind but

always remember to do so in a respectful manner, and stick to

appropriate topics.

Do not express views on controversial topics that may

land you in hot water.

Ranting about heated debates do not tend to go well whether in

person or online. People have different views and prospective

employers might not share the same opinions as you on partic-

ular subjects. It is best to avoid the issues prone to spark a

controversy.

Social Media Dos and Don’ts for Students by Aaron Keeports

There are many potential benefits of using social media, but

there are also some risks. One of the biggest risks many compa-

nies encounter when using social media is not matching their

voice and tone to their brand. In order to avoid those risks, some-

times it’s best to look at examples of what should not be done.

According to BufferSocial’s blog, voice is the style and person-

ality of the social content while tone is the mood and attitude used

that is based around the target audience and the channel.

When it comes to really nailing a social media voice and tone

that is consistent with your brand, one of the most important

things to consider is your audience. Members of your audience

decide whether your content is appropriate according to how they

relate to the company. This article will examine two leading

brands, one who used voice and tone properly and one who mis-

used it.

Skittles has one of the most strange Twitter accounts around,

tweeting some of the most random things you can imagine. For

example, “I travel everywhere by hot air balloon and I’ve never

been in a single traffic jam. Who looks silly now?” The voice and

tone that Skittles uses here is silly and playful which is consistent

with and appropriate for their brand. While this voice and tone

works for them, it will not work for everyone.

In October 2015, IHOP posted two tweets, both with pictures

of stacks of pancakes. One tweet read, “Flat but has a great per-

sonality,” and the other

read, “The butter face

we all know and love.”

Because of the per-

ceived sexual nature of

the tweets, IHOP’s au-

dience was quite of-

fended. While trying to

appeal to a new audi-

ence, they did not con-

sider how this voice and tone would affect their existing audienc-

es. Though tweets like the aforementioned may work for compa-

nies with younger target audiences, it backfired horribly on IHOP.

The reason it failed is simple; the social media voice and tone was

not consistent with the brand.

Judging by the previous examples, it’s easy to see that having

a solid understanding of a company’s voice and tone is crucial

when it comes to communicating on social media. There are vast

benefits to engaging audiences through social media, but one

small miscalculation can result in failure if it’s not done well.

Voice and Tone on Social Media by Hannah Litchfield

“It’s A Dog-Eat-Dog World” by Brittney McFarland

Philadelphia Flyers Team Publicist Sarah Fergus, is one profes-

sional who keeps her skills sharp in today’s PR world. Fergus shared

with PRSSA on January 26, 2016 both her and her colleagues’

thoughts on how to perform the best as an intern.

Fergus shared that the best

interns always dress appropri-

ately. They make an effort to

know as many full-time employ-

ees as possible. They make sure

to learn about the company and

the people. On top of that, they

always proofread their work and

are helpful to everyone. The best

interns come in to work with en-

ergy and creativity. They don’t

just sit around and wait to be told

to do work. The best interns also

need to know the importance of time so they do not waste anyone

else’s. They are also careful with their social media. In every task

they’re given, they commit themselves to it one hundred percent.

Lastly, the best interns have a “boss” mentality. This means they

know how to act and formulate their thoughts maturely.

For those looking for an entry-level position in sports PR, Fergus

said it is key to be “excited, energetic and careful with how to carry

oneself” because sports is extremely competitive and there is a lot of

money on the line.

Crisis Communication in

a Modern PR World by Erin Moskowitz

With the increase in media reliance over the past few decades,

controlling a situation that may stain the reputation of a person,

company or organization must be professionally and properly done

to ensure the name being represented is upheld. To give members

the opportunity to handle crises on a smaller scale, our chapter con-

ducted a crisis communication workshop.

In the workshop, members were split into six teams and given

scenarios in which they were asked to come up with ways to re-

spond to the crisis. Among these scenarios were real-life situations

such as the Flint, Michigan water crisis, the Chipotle e-coli outbreak

and the Susan G. Komen Fight for the Cure money scandal. As

students were brainstorming in their teams, it was important for

each team to identify the stakeholders, action steps and desired

outcomes when deciding how to respond accordingly.

Each team took a few minutes to discuss possible solutions for

the scenarios with their group before sharing with the rest of the

members. At the end, the actual solutions to these real-life scenari-

os were discussed. In the last crisis scenario, students were given a

hypothetical situation of a viral online post addressing a rumor

about the company being represented. To many students’ surprise,

it was explained that a company is not obligated to respond to a

rumor, even if it is false. At the end of the workshop, students left

equipped with information on the course of actions and rationale

behind them during a crisis, thus helping them better prepare for

recovery plans in the future.

The Agency Route by Jameeda Rucker

On February 23, Temple PRSSA students sat down with a

panel of four public relations professionals in various stages of

their careers. Jennifer Schwarz of Quintiq, Greg Smore of PECO,

Bonnie Grant of the Greater Philadelphia Life Sciences Congress

and Gregg Feistman, Associate Professor of Instruction and Pub-

lic Relations Sequence Head at Temple University, participated

in the panel to share multi-generational perspectives on PR.

The panel started with introductions by each panelist and

then PRSSA Vice President, Gabrielle Lacherza, began asking a

series of questions. The questions ranged from insider tips and

trends in the industry to things that have changed or become

completely outdated since they entered the field. Each panelist

gave very insightful answers that all of our members greatly ap-

preciated. One of the biggest talking points? Relationships. For

any public relations student looking to enter the field, relation-

ships are everything; not just starting them but maintaining them

as well.

After that the panelists opened up the floor for questions and,

of course, our members were full of questions. Resumes and

social media were the main topics of the members’ questions and

each panelist gave helpful, in-depth answers. It was informational

and interesting to see how the industry has changed throughout

the years and everyone at PRSSA is excited to see where it goes

in the future.

Temple PRSSA was lucky to have

Nichelle Pace, Social Media Supervi-

sor at Slice Communications, speak

about life at an agency and important

public relations and social media skills.

Nichelle explained that boutique agen-

cies allow employees to be involved

with work at all levels of the agency

and even lower-level employees get

experience with things that are re-

served for veterans at larger agencies.

However, all of that responsibility can become overwhelming and it

may be too fast-paced for some people. On the other hand, larger

PR agencies have offices around the world which creates more

possibilities for employees to travel and switching gears throughout

the day is more manageable because you tend to focus on less

accounts.

Nichelle also shared great advice about the skills and mindset

we’ll need to work in public relations and social media. It is im-

portant for practitioners in our field to understand technology and

analytics to be able to demonstrate our value to clients. Nichelle

also reminded us to be responsible practitioners and that we don’t

have to have everything figured out already—we simply must gain

from every experience that we do have.

PR by the Generation Panel by Hannah Litchfield

Alissa Steele, Sarah Fergus

Public relations used to be a profession confined within the

walls of mass press releases, drawn-out email pitches and end-

less follow-up calls. In the last decade, the evolution of the inter-

net has broken down these walls and birthed a new age of PR.

Now, on top of excellent writing and media relations skills, there

is a new layer of digital skills, knowledge and tools every practi-

tioner needs to master. Here’s a breakdown of the key shifts

within the industry.

Channel

Gone are the days where traditional media ruled over the fodder

of information for the public. According to the 2016 Edelman

Trust Barometer, two of the top three most-used sources of

news and information are peer-influenced media – search en-

gines and social. This generation now feeds off information from

online channels such as social media, blogs and websites.

These new online channels are within everybody’s reach, mak-

ing PR no longer a one-way downstream communication, but a

two-way conversation.

Audience

Journalists from an approximate 500-contact database used to

be the bread and butter of PR. Today, with the help of the World

Wide Web, everyone can now become a journalist. From blog-

gers, to Twitter users, to online experts, any influencer with a

segmented audience who matches the brand’s target audience

has to be accounted for when putting forth a message.

Skills

If media channels are the

vehicles that drive effective

PR, then writing is the fuel

that ignites the engine. No

doubt writing will be a time-

less skill necessary in the

field, but increasingly more

employers are making digital

skills a requirement in the

hiring process. PR pros are

called to be jack-of-all-trades in the digital realm, having skill-

sets that enable them to work Photoshop, edit videos, code and

be a Search Engine Optimization (SEO) wizard.

Tools

PR pros used to be overwhelmed with databases containing

massive Excel spreadsheets. Finding information easily was

nearly impossible. Luckily, now PR pros have access to Cus-

tomer Relationship Management (CRM) tools that offer easy

account management and the ability to understand all of the

company’s communications activity in one glance. PR is con-

stantly evolving and practitioners have to stay on top of emerg-

ing trends in order to survive in the industry. Hence, next time

you see a PR pro strumming away at their smartphones and

tweeting during a press conference, you know they’re the ones

who understand the PR business.

Social media

is one of the top

tools used by

public relations

practitioners to-

day. Maintaining

an active social

media account is

a major compo-

nent in building a company’s brand. Despite the ease of building

that presence, it’s hard to maintain it. The tone, word choice and

subjects must be consistent with your brand image and reputation

when writing for social media. If any of those details are not con-

sidered, it can lead to a big social media faux pas. Consider the

following instances on social media to learn tips for avoiding online

mistakes.

Don’t just think about your target audience.

Public relations materials should always be written with your target

audiences in mind. However, social media reaches people outside

of a company’s target audience, so you can’t forget to write with all

potential audiences in mind when developing social media content.

Consider Sea World’s #AskSeaWorld campaign, a social media

campaign where Sea World would answer questions concerning

the park and the animals on display. What started as an innocent

campaign turned into a rerun of Blackfish because Sea World did-

n’t take into account animal rights activists would capitalize on the

open-ended discussion. When creating a social media campaign

encouraging discussion, consider both how the target audience will

respond and how people outside of the intended audience may

react.

Think of the connotations of your brand.

Sometimes miscommunications and social media fails have noth-

ing to do with your audience, but everything to do with your brand.

Considering the connotations of your company/product can save

you from a very bad social media campaign. Bud Light’s

#UpForWhatever campaign is a good example of how a brand’s

negative connotations can work against it. In this campaign, Bud

Light insisted people take “no” out of their vocabulary in the hopes

the brand would be seen as something more fun-loving and daring.

However, the company did not contemplate how the idea of inebri-

ation would play into the new slogan, which resulted in some peo-

ple accusing the brand of condoning sexual assault. By not consid-

ering the drawbacks of their brand, such as inebriation or the sug-

gestive nature of their new slogan, Bud Light’s brand was set up

for failure.

Feel free to make a joke – but only in good taste.

Public relations professionals will use many tactics to get traction

on social media – including humor. However, public relations pro-

fessionals must be sure to make sure those jokes will not offend;

otherwise, the jest will backfire on them. Take a look at IHOP’s

“when she has a butter-face” tweets, which essentially (whether

intentional or not) compared their pancakes to a women’s chest.

People on social media responded to this set of tweets negatively,

saying the comparison was offensive. When considering the idea

of adding a little humor to a social media post, consider how peo-

ple will take the joke and the appropriateness of it before posting it

online.

If you consider how the content you plan to post may be re-

ceived by users, you can avoid some of these major social media

fails.

3 Tips to Avoid Social Media Mistakes by Kelly Armstrong

From Traditional to Digital PR by Su Rei Khoo