Welcome back!

With summer officially winding down and the days getting shorter again, it is that time for me to really refresh my blog and online presence. It has been a long summer, between getting my wisdom teeth out, the many happenings in DC, and two very quick vacations to Orlando, FL and Seattle, WA (within a week of each other). After the break, I knew I needed to crack the whip, and here is my contribution to the public relations community about thoughts on our industry.

For those of you who don't know me, welcome to the blog! I’m a Midwesterner, practically born and raised near a wheat field, turned Southerner who is now transitioning to life on the East Coast. In the midst of learning public transportation and how to live in the “big city,” I am also a public relations professional trying to figure it all out. I love what I'm learning along the way.

This blog probably needs a few disclaimers. First, I cannot pretend that I know absolutely every facet of public relations. This is a space for me to process the changes in the industry and receive feedback from those who understand better than I do. I will be wrong at times, correct at other times, and completely baffled most of the time. I do want to encourage a conversation among public relations professionals so that we can all inspire each other to think outside the box. That said; do not take any of my opinions as the ultimate truth of public relations. Pretty please, let me keep my ego in check ☺

Second, I’m in the process of transitioning most of my material to this blog as a staging area for the bigger project: online portfolio renovation. Please keep checking back over the next several months to see progress, and forgive me that the old blog is no longer functioning (I only brought the most recent entries to this section ). Trust me, I will keep you in the loop. That is what the hundreds of social media channels are good for. If you would like some more great reads, you can check out my more personal blog: http://aelizzychick.blogspot.com Also, check out my Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, and Flickr sites!

Last, but certainly not least, please comment! I firmly believe that public relations is all about encouraging conversation, engaging audiences, and forging connections among new people. I could spout out all of the jargon I learned in graduate school for building “two-way asymmetrical relationships” and “mutually beneficial partnerships,” but I feel that the best way to simply “foster goodwill among clients” is to chat about everything that is happening in our world.

Proof Digital Study - Fortune 100 Companies use of Social Media

A scholar at heart, I’ve been waiting for a study like this. I’m incredibly proud that Proof Digital Media, a sister company of Burson-Marsteller, released this unique look at social media and how companies envision it’s purpose.
They studied the Fortune 100 companies and their use of social media accounts, specifically looking at Facebook, Twitter, and company blogs. Twitter was the highest used (54%) in reaching key audiences and stakeholders with the company, mostly with news updates and announcements. To no surprise of mine, Facebook was the least used (29%) for reaching consumers – a few comments on that one later. Blogs were second most used at 32%.

While I’m not surprised that Twitter was most used, I am still unsure why companies feel the need to use Facebook Fan pages. I’ve used Facebook from its beginning (which would date me a little bit), and I never understood why it’s fan pages would be effective for companies and their products. I’m personally more eager to using fan pages for Corporate Social Responsibility projects, where consumers can engage with the brand and build trust in their efforts.

Another statistic that I thought was intriguing was that 67% of those Fortune 100 companies who used Twitter employed it as a customer service tool as well. I may be speaking for myself, but I am more apt to buy a product or invest in a service if I’ve had great customer service in a way that I can reach them. For example, take Comcast. I have referred @ComcastSteve and @ComcastBonnie to help many of my friends with their high-speed Internet problems. I think companies should make better use of Twitter in this capacity – only if they can devote a sufficient amount of time and remain transparent in their motives.

What do you think? Do these trends surprise you? Do the results translate well to the Fortune 500 market or other sectors?

Slideshow from Proof Digital Media and Burson-Marsteller:

B M Social Media Fortune 100

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Amy Martin
amylizmartin@gmail.com
amart83@lsu.edu


Education:

Master of Mass Communication, Public Relations. May 2008. Louisiana State University, Manship School of Mass Communication.

Bachelor of Arts, Psychology. May 2004. Kansas State University.

Work History and Related Experiences:
Executive Assistant to the President, International Center for Journalists, Washington, DC
June 2008 - present
• Executive assistant with concurrent projects in development and communications.
• Created an innovative photojournalism fundraising campaign using targeted online publicity, events, and a silent auction that successfully raised $30,000 and increased ICFJ’s visibility among potential donors.
• Designed quarterly newsletters for the Board of Directors and Advisory Board.
• Developed and built an Intranet portal encompassing resources for the Board of Directors, saving over $1,000 for the organization by doing the development from scratch in-house.
• Produced press kit materials and facilitated a membership drive for the Global Forum for Media Development.
• Managed administrative duties such as scheduling, orchestrating international travel,corresponding with donors, and extensively researching potential development opportunities with domestic and international funders.

Publicity Intern, EMI CMG Label Group, Nashville, TN
May - Aug. 2007
• Initiated new media publicity campaign for American Idol contestant Mandisa to launch her new album, generating over 1 million online media impressions and 30,000 unique site visits in two weeks.
• Orchestrated artist development teams as lead publicity contact on four album releases in one month.
• Designed press kits for current artists and used them to restructure the label’s press website.
• Created strategic publicity and marketing plans for four leading artists using contemporary media technology and avenues for the artists to reach new audiences.

Graduate Assistant to the Dean, Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, LA
Aug. 2006 - May 2008
• Served as a liaison for 35 graduate students and administered application processes for over 150 applicants.
• Taught three undergraduate class sessions on best practices from relevant corporate social responsibility campaigns.
• Developed advertisements and other communications pieces to recruit graduate students.
• Led an introductory graduate class for incoming students in thesis and course management.
• Initiated a student communication plan for 600 students and managed class communication via an internal website.
• Delivered multiple research presentations, most recently at the Association for Educators in Journalism and Mass Communication National Conference in August 2007.

Income Development Representative, American Cancer Society, Baton Rouge, LA
Mar. 2005 – July 2006
• Exceeded event fundraising goals for two Relay For Life events after Hurricane Katrina, with one Relay For Life as the ninth largest fundraiser in a six-state region.
• Directed the efforts of 50 volunteers to orchestrate over 6,000 participants in Relay For Life of Baton Rouge, raising over $205,000.
• Accomplished an overall fundraising goal of $575,000 while maintaining a budget of $55,000.
• Designed and implemented crisis communication plan and internal communications strategy during Hurricane Katrina.
• Networked to recruit and pitch corporate sponsorship proposals to a range of small and large corporations.
• Integrated a highly successful online fundraising component using ACS’s online database and Facebook.

Awards, Additional Skills and Qualifications:
• Outstanding Graduate Student of the Year Award, April 2008.
• Proficient in Microsoft Office (Access, Excel, Outlook/Entourage, PowerPoint, Word), Adobe Creative Suite (Acrobat, Dreamweaver, Illustrator, InDesign, Photoshop), and RaisersEdge.
• Savvy on PC and Apple platforms.
• Experienced with multiple website content management systems and various revenue and task management databases.
• Strong planning and organizational skills with the ability to manage multiple high priority tasks simultaneously.
• Highly dedicated to commitments, motivated and efficient learner, great capacity for creativity and visionary planning, optimistic outlook to difficult situations.

Professional Memberships and Additional Experience:
• PRSA Accreditation in Public Relations in progress. Anticipated Feb. 2010.
• Public Relations Society of America Member, National Chapter. May 2009 – present.
• Indego Africa, Washington DC Board of Directors, Public Relations Committee. May 2008 -
present.
• Association of Educators in Journalism and Mass Communication Member. May 2007 - present.
• Freelance Writer, Editorial and Feature Stories. Jan. 2007 – May 2008.
City Social Magazine, Baton Rouge, LA, editor Janell O’Halloran.
Radiant Magazine Online, editor Corene Israel.

References and additional contact information available upon request
Website portfolio coming soon