Workin’ it

Many people in the PR profession constantly tell me that there will always be networking opportunities anywhere you go. I have heard people say that there are even opportunities to exchange business cards at the grocery store and today, I experienced something similar to that.

I recently realized my strong interest in beauty products. I originally considered pursuing a career in public relations to work in sports but realized I enjoy testing out new beauty products that working in beauty public relations would also be a fitting industry for me. With that being said, I have been experimenting with my makeup lately: mastering the art of cat-eye eyeliner, adding a pop of color into my natural-looking daily makeup look and perfecting my eyeshadow-blending skills…and people have been noticing my artistic flair.

I like to think of makeup as art. I took several art classes as I was growing up and must say I have thoroughly enjoyed each one. Being a public relations student, I haven’t had much time to devote countless hours to acrylic painting. Since I have not had time to spend blending colors on a palette, I have decided to utilize my artistic talents elsewhere and spend time blending colors on my eyelids instead.

I was seating a customer and her significant other at work today (I am a hostess at a restaurant) and as I complimented her mint green dress, she praised my makeup. We shared a quick laugh, I told them the name of their server and walked back to the host stand. After the couple finished their meal and proceeded to walk towards the door, the woman suddenly came up to me, handed me her Mary Kay business card and suggested that I contact her in case I was interested in some of the business’ products. Unfortunately I do not have my own personal business cards yet, but I highly appreciated the gesture and intend to contact the woman sometime soon.

Not only did the woman’s compliment make me feel good about my makeup, the fact that she gave me her business card while I was performing my routine hostly duties at work proved that there are networking opportunities everywhere and that these opportunities can happen when you least expect it.

This also leads me to some closing advice: Always look presentable when out in public and remember to smile and be friendly to everyone. As Disney’s social media manager Matt Prince says, “Live everyday like you are on a first date.” You never know who you might meet and who that person might be to you five years down the road.

Los Angeles Dodgers: A work in PRogress

The beginning of every major league baseball season is exciting. Players are looking forward to showing off their hard work in the off-season. Coaches, general managers and owners of teams are anxious to get the season underway to get closer to the post-season. Last but not least, fans are excited to spend a relaxing day at the ballpark and cheer on their team to victory (and hopefully a winning season).

I’ve noticed that while some teams make a strong comeback in regards to their performance on the field, other teams make a strong statement unrelated to their on-field performance. I’m talking about the Los Angeles Dodgers. Whether your a fan of the Southern California team or not, you’ve most likely been aware of some of the sticky situations the baseball team has gotten into at the start of the past couple seasons.

The Dodgers found themselves exchanging more than just a few words with players from the San Diego Padres during the middle of their first match-up for the 2013 season. Pitcher Zack Greinke, a new addition to the Dodger’s roster, hit Padres outfielder Carlos Quentin with a pitch in the bottom of the sixth inning, which caused a bench-clearing brawl between the two teams. Several ejections and game suspensions were issued as punishment as well as a fractured collar bone for Greinke.

The 2011 home opener for the Dodgers resembled what happened between them and the Padres. Two Dodger fans reportedly beat a Giants fan after the game in Los Angeles, sending the Giants fan to the hospital in critical but stable condition.

And how could we forget the messy divorce between the Dodger’s former owner, Frank McCourt and his now ex-wife, Jamie? The organization has a past of receiving negative attention from both the media and the public.

Despite the downfalls the organization has faced in the previous few years, those who work in public relations for the Dodgers have done a great job in helping the team make a strong comeback. Based on personal observation, I’ve seen and heard many negative things about the organization in the past few years. Seemingly loyal fans were questioning if they could support the Dodgers like they used to. However, I’ve kept an eye on the organization and its stakeholders lately and noticed that the Dodgers have a more favorable appearance than what it used to be. Also, the addition of several valuable players to the Dodger’s roster has contributed to a winning start to the 2013 season, which re-established the support for the organization.

Many organizations will face crises, big or small, at some point in their existence. Good public relations professionals assess crisis communication to prepare for an actual crisis. Dodgers’ public relations have had their hands full in the past few years, but seem to be managing the situations well. Hopefully, for the sake of the Los Angeles Dodgers, their fans and their public relations professionals, they’ve met their quota in crises for a while. It’s time for the organization to rebuild itself and establish a more positive image among the media and the public. It will be interesting to see how the remainder of the 2013 major league baseball season pans out.

#PRprobs

On a scale from one to 10, how badly do grammatical errors bother you? How many cups of Starbucks’ coffee do you consume each day? How many times a day do you check your email, social media accounts…

If you’re in public relations, chances are you are all too familiar with these activities. While everyday is different in the world of public relations, you may catch yourself doing some things both routinely and habitually.

I often find myself tweeting using the hashtag “#PRprobs” because I notice that what may be a tedious problem to me, as well as others in public relations, may be minimal to people outside of the profession. I have compiled a short list of common “#PRprobs” that I think you may relate to (and if you haven’t, you may still be in the denial phase and haven’t recognized your problem yet):

1. You constantly check your email. Thanks to smartphones, we are capable of staying logged in to our email accounts and have easy access to it with a push of a button. Having an iPhone has allowed me to respond immediately to important emails. In public relations, we understand the importance of responding in a timely manner as well as the urgency of some of our emails. I’m often frustrated when people don’t respond to my email as quickly as I would like, but then remember that effective and timely communication is imperative in public relations and may not be as important in other professions.
2. You constantly check your social media accounts. I recently looked at an infographic from Media Bistro that demonstrated the 12 different types of social media users. One type of user, “The Ultras,” were described as those who constantly check the news feeds on their social media accounts and happily admit to their obsession. I think it’s safe to say that people in public relations would be classified as an “Ultra” and would have no problem owning the title, either. Environmental scanning is important in public relations because we must be aware of emerging trends and what people are saying about the client or organization we represent. Social media is also my number one source for receiving news because it happens in real time. Where else can you get news as quick as you can on Twitter or Facebook? Some people may view our love for social media as an addiction; I view it as part of my job.
3. Your smartphone (a.k.a your trusty sidekick) is charged and with you at all times. Notice I didn’t say FULLY charged, I was just implying that our smartphones have some battery life, if minimal, at all times. This is because we need to be easily accessible to people at all times, especially our clients. My public relations professor constantly said, “If you’re one of those people who like to sleep and don’t like to be bothered in the middle of the night, then public relations is not for you. You have to be on call 24/7.” While I do cherish my sleep, I understand the importance of having my cell phone turned on and with me at all times because I want to reduce the chances of missing important phone calls and I feel the need to be able to check my email and social media accounts at any given moment.
4. Grammatical errors place more of a burden on you than they should. Now, I’m not one to eliminate a potential boyfriend based on his grammatical errors in his texts messages (though I have heard from PR girls who have this problem), but one thing that does bother me is when I see grammatical errors on social networks, especially Twitter. I use my Twitter account for both professional and social reasons and often come across tweets that I find amusing and want to share with my followers. The only problem: I found a grammatical error! I’m apprehensive to retweet a tweet with such errors, large or small, because I’m afraid they will reflect poorly on my grammar skills. I know this isn’t necessarily true, however it has stopped me from retweeting plenty of tweets in the past. After all, I have an online image to uphold, don’t I?
5. Starbucks is your second home. In public relations, we work long, busy, stressful hours every day with often very little sleep. How do we do it? Thanks to Starbucks and its 24-hour drive-thru service, caffeinated substances are available at any time of the day, ready to give us that needed boost of energy to tackle our tasks. I will admit: Just today I bought a frappuchino at 10 p.m. to stay awake a few extra hours to study for a final. Maybe I’ll regret it in the morning when I have to wake up early for my test. Or maybe I’ll buy another frappuchino to make it through the day…
6. You send news articles to your close friends, family and significant other on a regular basis, eager to discuss what you read. I constantly find myself sending my significant other a link to a news article I just read so he can read and discuss it with me. Now, I don’t torture him by sending him articles about “5 ways to lose a PR pitch” from PR Daily or anything else he may not be interested in; I try to send him articles that I think he may find worth his time reading. After all, I want those closest to me to remain intrigued by what I’m passionate about, but also reduce the chance of them getting bored with industry jargon.

What are your thoughts about this list of #PRprobs? Do you have any of your own you’d like to add to the list?