Blogging Tips

I still consider myself a neophyte when it comes to blogging, however I would still like to offer some bits of advice to those who are just joining the wonderful world of blogging.

#1 - Always blog about something you like.  I have had blogs for my classes before and they were about topics I was not interested in and let me tell you, those blogs lasted as long as required then were lost in cyber space.  When you don't like something writing about it is just plain boring.

#2 - Don't worry about length, just make sure your blogs mean something and are not just words on a page.  People won't read something about nothing.  Your blog can be 5 pages or 5 words long, just make sure it is interesting.

#3 - Use correct spelling.  No one wants to read something with misspellings, and it makes you look less intelligent.

#4 - Incorporate elements other than just text.  People get board with reading only text give them some pictures or videos to look at as well.

#5 - Make sure you write in chunks.  Your blog will read so much better if it broken down into chuck and be much more visually appealing.

Happy Blogging!

Learn All About Me

In my PR media class this year we learned all about InDesign.  For a final project I created a magazine all about me.  It gives you a look into my personal and professional life.
So, take a look and see what I am all about.

All About Kasey

Let's Follow

Throughout my blogging experience I have learned that blogging requires not only good information, but also pictures and a variety of topics.  One blog that recommend everyone at follow, especially those people in Stillwater, Okla is: Friends of the Humane Society. They do a wonderful job of telling all about the pets that need homes in the city of Stillwater.  They also share the great things that this community does for the shelter.  For example on Nov. 6 we learned all about how OSU helped revamp the kitty play room.  If you are looking for a new family member or just love to play with animals this is a great place to start looking.

Rocket's Ball Skills

My dog Rocket is completely obsessed with his ball, and he loves to show off his skills to people.  We decided to make a vlog to show everyone just how good his skills are.

Enjoy!

Reaching out with Vlogs

The Central Oklahoma Humane Society held an event called Midnight Woofness.  They wanted to get a record number of adoption in a 48 hour period.

Ellen DeGeneres is huge advocate of the humane treatment of animals so the humane society decided to reach out to her for help at the event.  During event they vlogged at different times of the day to show what type of progress they were making.

Doing this vlog showed people how they event was doing as it progressed rather than just telling everyone after it was over.  The humane society broke a national record of 350 and adopted over 370 pets at Midnight Woofness.

Making of the OKState Flashmob - Extra Credit

Oklahoma State University's school of Media and Strategic Communications planned and executed a Flashmob on OSU's campus on Sept. 30 prior to the OSU v. Alabama football game.  Dr. Nichols Advanced PR Media class planned the flashmob. 

The flashmob was a great way for me to learn how to execute a real PR event, see the outcomes of the event and work with the media.

We were able to contact KTUL out of Tulsa, Okla. to come and video our flashmob.  Overall participating in this flashmob gave me great PR experience and was a lot of fun.

The video above is a 'making of' video that my group created in class.  (If you really like my video you can go to our Facebook page and 'like' the video to get my group extra credit.)

Dr. Nichols also got some great shots of the flashmob and its rehursals:

Job Hunting: Social Media Style

Podcast

Job Hunting, Social Media Style

 http://okstateflashmob.podbean.com/#
 

Dance Group – Kasey Parker, Rachel Martin, Lisa Watkins and Kimbra Craddock

Intro – We are Public Relations seniors at Oklahoma State University.  Today we are talking about how we use/used social media during job hunting.

Facebook –

·    According to a new study conducted by CareerBuilder.com, 45 percent of employers questioned are using social networks to screen job candidates — more than double from a year earlier.

·    The study, which questioned 2,667 managers and human resource workers, found that 35 percent of employers decided not to offer a job to a candidate based on the content uncovered on a social networking site.

·    The report showed that Facebook was the most popular online destination for employers to do their online investigating, followed by LinkedIn and MySpace. In addition, 7 percent followed job candidates on Twitter.

·    More than half of the employers who participated in the survey said that provocative photos were the biggest factor contributing to a decision not to hire a potential employee, while 44 percent of employers pinpointed references to drinking and drug use as red flags. Other warning signs included bad-mouthing of previous employers and colleagues and poor online communication skills.

·     You absolutely can use Facebook to leverage yourself in the company.  Go ahead and  “friend” your boss and many coworkers, and intentionally post things that will make them think highly of you. You can post industry related material with great commentaries or very positive things (“Great day today!  Big project at work is going along well and I cannot wait to see the results of it!”).   Use it to your advantage!

Twitter –

·    55 million tweets per day – O’Reilly Radar by Ben Lorica

·    600 million searched topics per day – O’Reilly Radar by Ben Lorica

·    The “Value of Social Media Report” that was released by Econsultancy and the Online Marketing Summit, found that 69% of companies focus on twitter as their main form of social media.

·    5 tips to getting a job through twitter – go to tweetups, provide advice for free, connect with connectors, make it known you are looking for work and offer to help – Twitip – Jade Craven

Blogs –

·    Blogging is a great way to create your online presence; they allow you to speak honestly and openly with your readers.

·    Blogging, whether it’s about your personal life, to share interests and hobbies or about their businesses, is a great way to enhance communication and culture in a corporation.

·    The actual creation of a blog involves specific, marketable skills that look very impressive to potential employers. They offer real world training in Web-development language, graphic design and a digital display of your writing talent.

·    Blogs can also help you manage your online reputation but you must be careful because your online presence is something you want to keep nice and neat.

·    If your new to blogging, blogger and word press are really easy blog hosts for new users and guess what they are free.

LinkedIn –

•     LinkedIn in a very important tool that you can use in your job search.
•     Linkedin is a popular social networking website that is designed for users to build business contacts to benefit their business or for people seeking employment to find the right job for them. It is free to join and easy to use.
•     You can upload your resume, write and receive recommendations from teachers, classmates and employers, send direct messages to professionals and research companies that you may be interested in working at.
•     Many professionals in the communications industries are on LinkedIn, as well as almost every other industry type.  I have been able to connect with pros that I met at student conferences, career fairs and on club field trips.
•     LinkedIn is just another way to get your name and resume out to professionals to start building relationships with them.

Outro – The 10 commandments of social media usage

1 –Add value first, and sell LAST

2 –listen twice as much as you talk

3 – Do not spam all your contacts

4 – Do not act like a stuck up jerk

5 – Do not steal all your friends contacts

6 – Do personalize every invitation you make to join any network

7 – Do remember that 10 can be more powerful than 10000

8 – Do not beg (for anything)

9 – Do be authentic and transparent in all you do

10 – Do not forget the power of face to face conversation