Hello all,

Mark your calendars for the next AZPRC meeting coming up on 2/16. Remember, we switched the date to the third Tuesday of every month so our group could still attend other events (AZIMA, PRSA Phx New Pros). Please join us on the 16th around 6:30pm, location TBD. We are still trying to find a venue that is large enough. Also, we have a few exciting guest speakers in the works, we will keep you posted! We will be discussing social media tactics and debating which online tools serve the best purposes, so please come with ideas!

See you all soon!

Sarah

Sarah Geiger

Just passing along another great event happening in the valley! This is a great chance to meet local professionals and learn more about the technology skills employers are seeking!

Happy Hour + Technology

Tuesday, February 2, 2010 5:30 – 7 p.m.

Many employers assume that because we are young and live most of our lives online that we are born Internet and computer savvy, which is just an over-hyped myth. Come join other New Pros, and learn how to improve your employment desirability by knowing the skills communication employers are seeking. George Couch, Phoenix PRSA Technology Co-Chair, will speak on the benefits of learning Adobe software and include some tips on the programs. (Please RSVP to Sommer Caraway atsommer.caraway@smithgroup.com; Cost: FREE for PRSA/PRSSA members, $5 for non-members – cash only)

Sarah Geiger

Are you looking for another way to grow professionally this year? If so, look into the Phoenix PRSA Mentor Program. This program aims to bring our community of professionals together by matching new and experienced people in PR together. Regardless of stature (or lack thereof) in the valley, we can all learn from each other!

If you are interested in signing up for PRSA Phoenix Mentor program please check out this blog entry from the Valley PR Blog. The program is a 4 month time commitment, starting in February. This program was not widely announced so be prepared to submit your paperwork to Sommer Caraway (sommer.caraway@smithgroup.com), the deadline is January 27th, 2010.

Sarah Geiger

Today Maggie and I attended Social Media AZ and saw many familiar faces.  The raw materials, organic conversation and slate of industry professionals created quite the impact on our young minds. I am sure you were all affected in some way or another, it might have been the delicious Quiznos cookies or the unlimited Einstein’s coffee, whatever flighted your fancy is all that matters.

If you were unable to make this event today, here are a few tips and tricks we learned. I for one, learned the most from the “Social Media for Small Business” panel featuring @jaybaer @kinchie @joemanna and moderated by @kathysacks. The panelists covered a variety of topics from what social media tools they find most useful to blogging tips. I value their opinions and realize that a lot of their suggestions are meant for each individual to interpret.

• Trial and error –  take into account what someone else says and apply it to your own knowledge. We should take advantage of social media and the endless possibilities. Try things on your own, find out when your messaging is most effective (8am, noon, 2pm, 9pm?). It is not just what you say, but when you say it!
• There are definitely faux paus of social media (i.e. -not tweeting the same thing 40 times), but who says you cannot bounce back? We are all in this together. Try rewording your message, instead of re-tweeting the same thing,
• Simply put, “You need to care about what your audience thinks, and if you don’t then you’re an “ass”  - Jay Baer
• Utilize tools like Seesmic, HootSuite, Tweetdeck - for multiple accounts. And while your at it, check out  phone apps too, they can make your social media presence known from anywhere!

I could rant for hours about my interpretation of that session, but instead I encourage you to check it out yourself!

I unfortunately missed the entire Jay Baer blogger session after this panel. If you are not already following his blog (which I highly suggest you should) check it out! Also, a complimentary post written about the event by @LindaVandaVrede on ValleyPrBlog today! Remember, know your audience (and hopefully they have a sense of humor).

Sarah Geiger

Since June of last year I have been carrying a fortune cookie note in my wallet that says “If you put up with small annoyances, you will gain great results.”  For quite some time now this has really rung true to me. I haven’t looked at the fortune for sometime now and it really hit me tonight on how important it is to put up with the small annoyances. As easy as it is to look at the glass half empty and pout about the, for lack of a better word: crappy economy, its better to look at this as a time to prepare  to launch yourself out of this recession.

Network with professionals, follow up on any job lead you can get, even if it is for a job you are under qualified for. You never know when a job that you are qualified for will open up and the person hiring will remember who you are. Attempt to meet the people who are hiring for the job you DREAM of having. Talk to them about the industry, the job they are hiring for and how you can get it or something like it. Pick their brain on how they broke into their industry and make sure they know you are interested in whatever they might have available, even if it is part-time, unpaid or contract.

Get over the unpaid part Generation Y, Z, P, whatever we are, this is the new world we live in. Prove yourself first, then get the pay check.  And I’m realizing: the ones who work hard now and don’t whine about it, will get a pay off later in life.

And yeah I’ll stop the whining

Maggie Stearns

Sarah Geiger

Hello all,

We hope you all had a Happy New Year and are sticking to your new year’s resolutions so far! We have a lot of events coming up in the next few months and we are looking forward to sharing them with you! I personally am looking forward to starting this year off right with networking and gaining more members and contacts for our group!

Don’t forget the next AZPRC meeting is coming up this Tuesday, January 12th, 6:30pm at Hob Nobs Coffee House near downtown. Aly Saxe will be our guest speaker and we will be planning out the next few months of networking events. You don’t want to miss all of this information!

Please email if you have any questions.

See you Tuesday!

Sarah Geiger

We are in the age of social media, it is sink or swim. A few months ago I found myself debating the purpose of Twitter, I had to jump on the bandwagon or forever get lost in the gap of technology. I chose to create a Twitter, tried a few tweets and then didn’t log back on for a few weeks. This sounds pretty typical of 90% of Twitter users, you know the saying “10% of Twitter users produce 90% of the content”.  I decided to give it another try after seeing other professionals finding usage of the tool.

Nowadays, I am on Twitter everyday, attend “Twitter” events around town and have increased my personal network both online and in person. This tool might suck up some of my time online, however the benefits have been astounding.

One thing I have noticed is how people utilize Twitter to brand themselves. This micro-blogging tool encourages brevity and personality to show. I have seen some good examples and some absolutely terrible examples of how people portray themselves. Perception is reality, right? One thing people need to learn is to keep personal and professional at a balance (we could all benefit from these tips).

After some research around the web from resources like Media Bistro and Mashable, I found some need to know tips to positively brand yourself.

1. Discover your brand and then create it: Your self-impression = How people perceive you
2. Claim YOUR Profiles: create a Google, Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook and any other social media tools. This will promote consistency and increase your SEO.
3. Personal Hub: Make sure you have a blog or personal website to link back to. This will align your brand with other outlets (social media profiles) and will show your expertise overtime if maintained consistently.
4. Consistency is Key: Update your social media profiles on a regular basis – engage your audience, post interesting content, show personality.
5. Build Credibility: It takes time, but if you follow the basic rules of social media and personal branding you will build up your own credibility. This does not happen overnight.

Building your personal brand takes time, actively engaging your local community and following these tips can help. One thing to remember is to be yourself. Surround yourself with the right people and you can learn a ton. Set-up that coffee date with someone interesting, go to that Twitter event, be ACTIVE!

Referenced: Mashable “Personal Branding 101: How to Discover and Create Your Brand” by Dan Schawbel

Sarah Geiger

According to the Council of Public Relations firms, PR is on the rise this year. This leaves more room for growth in 2010. It is more important than ever for our bread and butter of the nation (small businesses) to keep their budgets in tact for marketing and public relations costs. Staying visible to consumers is key to maintaining a strong business.

Using social media is a free option to help your company stay visible. Although not everyone has an account, there are still ways to reach your target audience.

Using tools like Squidoo, Digg, and Twitter  allow many small business owners to promote their brand. Some users claim to be “social media experts”, however the truth is, anyone can utilize social media to promote themselves or business. In my opinion, social media is not rocket science. If you make enough time and effort, you can easily brand yourself!

Do not get me wrong, anyone can sign-up for a Twitter account, however it takes skill and strategy implemented by PR teams to help their clients. Working together, getting to know your client/product can prove to be successful with many of the free social media tools available.

With PR on the rise, it is great news for those of us investing our time building our careers in this field. The future seems bright for us young professionals, keep up the good work!

Sarah Geiger