Posted by: Nick McDonald | February 16, 2011

Seattle Seahawks SEO

 

During our exercise in class I found that the best way to find results was to include Seattle in the search. Whether it was “Seattle Football” or “NFL Seattle,” it seemed that the best way to find good results about the team without actually entering “Seahawks” specifically was to mention the industry (Football, NFL, etc.) and the location (Seattle, Washington State, Northwest) where it is located. The key words I found to be most helpful though were “NFL,” “Football,” and “Seattle”, when using these key words the Seattle Seahawks organization came up as a top 3 result every time.

They’ve done a good job of using key words in their search engine optimization, but I feel like they good do more to fully optimized. The search terms “Sports” and “Professional sports” associated with the region and city don’t turn in the best results. The organization could improve their search engine results on the internet if they included these two more categories or tags to drive more traffic to their webpage.

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Posted in Google, Tips | Tags: , , , ,

Posted by: kelseyhelgeson | February 16, 2011

SEO for Rogue Federal Credit Union

Searching for Rogue Federal Credit Union using key words on Google brought mixed results.

Using “Credit Unions in Medford, Oregon” Rogue Federal is the first, sixth and seventh result. Rogue is dominating that search. However, using other key words didn’t get the same results. When searching for “Credit Union Blogs,” Rogue Federal’s was no where to be found, however, a local competitor’s blog is the forth result. I couldn’t find Rogue Federal using any other search terms. I tried “financial institutions in Medford, OR,” and even “personal finance classes in Medford, OR,” because Rogue Federal offers many free financial classes for the local community. If you’re searching specifically for a credit union in Medford, you’re going to find Rogue Federal, but if you are using more general terms or looking for free classes, Rogue Federal is nowhere to be found, which is not good. Rogue needs to work on it’s SEO to drive traffic to its site, and in turn increase membership.

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Posted by: SorryCantHaveThat | February 16, 2011

It’s All About the Benjamin’s.

In Allen Hall Public Relations last night, we had a fabulous guest speaker who came in to talk to us about resume and interview tips. Many questions were asked, but one that really stood out to me was whether or not you should ask about salary in an interview. Her response was “Not until they have offered you the job,” but what if, then, they offer you the job for a salary less than you feel is deserved? She told us a story of her friend who had researched the job she was applying for prior to being hired who, through discussion, raised her offering salary by $5,000. Salary.com offers graphs and charts to show you what your job pays on average for where you are working and for how long you have been doing so. I thought it was so helpful, considering the starting salary I was expecting was about $8,000 lower than what was being offered in certain cities. I think $8,000 is worth a little time and it will also show that you know how to do your research!

Here’s the site, do your research!

http://salary.com/mysalary.asp

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Posted in PR Fututre, Tips, Uncategorized

Posted by: Tyson Winter | February 15, 2011

Using Social Media as a Marketing Channel? New Study Reveals Consumers’ Social Media Break-up Habits

According to bulldogreporter, a study co-lead by ExactTarget and Cotweet has found that consumers often “break-up” with brands that reach out to them via social media to the tune of 91%. While consumers are willing to open their twitterfeeds, newsfeeds, and inboxes to marketing (and certainly PR) campaigns, the new data makes it clear that the messages should be concise, substantive, and purposeful. “Consumers will punish irrelevant, voluminous, or boring messages by cutting off marketers’ means of direct communication,” says researcher Jeff Rohrs of ExactTarget. The hypothesis is that consumers are more aware now than ever, in the digital age of communication, of the power they have over marketing messages. Read the short article along with key statistics from the study by clicking the link below:

http://bulldogreporter.com/ME2/Audiences/dirmod.asp?sid=8DDA9EA3260B4C43A5D8841269C50306&nm=&type=Publishing&mod=Publications::Article&mid=53D88D74A99849C185183B336A3F3B02&AudID=213D92F8BE0D4A1BB62EB3DF18FCCC68&tier=4&id=A64F8EE3384341E0A60E5F8E8E24EFC0

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Posted by: sytsma6 | February 12, 2011

Social Media Sobriety Test

Here’s a really useful tool for some people. All you have to do is download and install it onto your desktop. http://www.socialmediasobrietytest.com/ The idea behind the tool, as the website claims, is to keep drunk people from writing stupid or regrettable posts after a fruitful night. I feel that this is pretty relevant to our class because we’re all college students that are required to maintain a professional blog. Check out the video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uy1PIgjCqRM

The folks at Webroot were nice enough to offer this tool as a free download on their website. Be warned, however, if you do fail one of the five sobriety tests that the program administers to you, a post will be provided on your account, announcing that you are too intoxicated to post. So use your best judgement. If you are a lush, you are probably better off seeking counseling.

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Posted by: kgraven | February 12, 2011

Future Looks Bright for PR Grads

It’s finally your senior year and you are closing in on the last few months of school, what’s next? The questions keep circling around, what company is going to hire me, will I have to move far away, or will their even be a job in my major? Graduating can be scary, especially with the economy’s high unemployment rates. Luckily for the public relations field, the future looks bright. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics public relations specialists jobs are expected to grow 24% from 2008 to 2018, which is much faster than the average profession.  But as job growth increases it will also bring more competition to the field. Make sure to get as much experience while in school, so after graduating and starting your job search, you stand out among the crowd. To see more information on the nature of the work, earning, projection data and job outlook visit Bureau of Labor.

Here is a quote that I hope makes you think about stepping outside of your comfort zone and take on challenges that might lie ahead.

“He who is not courageous enough to take risks will accomplish nothing in life.”– Muhammad Ali

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Posted in PR Fututre

Posted by: Technology is changing us | February 12, 2011

Internal Communications

As we discussed internal communications and investor relations in class this week I found myself looking into it a bit more and more throughout the week because it is one of the areas of PR I am not that knowledgeable in. Sure I know what they both are and the surface of what they entail, but I had never really gone any further than the surface. I found this video via PRCoach.com on how NOT to do things…

and it got me thinking, how exactly are we supposed handle the internal and investor stuff? There are many great articles out there on it, here are some tactics from BDC–

  • Company newsletter that provides and allows for employee input
  • Intranet site
  • Small group meetings (face-to-face communication) – A fellow student and I were just talking about how the Internet is a great tool, but that it should not replace face-to-face communication in companies. E-mail and chat is great, but I am all about face-to-face communication.
  • Suggestion boxes where employees can submit questions or concerns anonymously
  • Posters in high traffic areas that announces changes, events, etc.
  • Crisis communication tools in place and ready to go
  • Be able to manage change — if top management can’t handle it, employees won’t feel very confident in the change and might be more resistant

I learned a lot this past week on investor relations and internal communication. In one of my other PR classes we are learning that employees are almost like a trial period — if you can’t get your employees/stakeholders on board with a change or new idea, how are you going to get the customers on board?

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Posted by: Hana Katen | February 11, 2011

Volkswagen Crowned AdBowl Champ

I can’t seem to stop talking (or blogging) about the Super Bowl ads–which is probably really annoying for all of my friends–but some commercials surfaced this weekend that absolutely deserve our attention.

In my personal blog, Brand Evolution, I recently discussed Audi’s passive aggressive digs at Mercedes in its aesthetically pleasing Super Bowl spots. These beautiful commercials made for great entertainment, but (understandably) didn’t come out on top in Sunday’s much-anticipated AdBowl.

In fact, it was Volkswagen (the company that actually owns Audi) that reigned supreme last weekend with two lovely, and honestly really cool, commercials.

Coming in at number five in the AdBowl was “Black Beetle,” promoting its 21st Century Beetle, which will be released this coming fall. I personally loved this commercial, and am still in utter awe as to how VW got me to think that a big nasty beetle was actually cute.

Black Beetle

The crown jewel of the AdBowl, however, was VW’s almost sentimental, “The Force.” In the Super Bowl, a culture where beer and Dorito advertisements generally come out victorious, this is a huge moment for VW.

The Force

Congrats, Volkswagen. You deserve this one.

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Posted in Blogs | Tags: , , , , , , , ,

Posted by: hatool | February 11, 2011

Desktop Applications for Social Media

I recently joined Twitter. Before I joined I had no need for a social media desktop application; I used Facebook and LinkedIn and found their browser interface easy to use, quick, and inviting. I don’t feel the same way about Twitter’s browser interface; I find it limiting. My main issue is that I want to view all my activities– my updates, my posts, my mentions and so on – in one place; I cannot. I want to customize views – for example, I want to keep specific searches open; nope.

I started looking for a solution and it occurred to me that email is another example of a web application lacking a rich and inviting browser interface. I use Gmail, but find it limiting, even confusing at times. I solved this problem by using a desktop application (Microsoft Outlook) which collects emails from all my accounts and allows me to edit them with the functionality of a Word document. Plus, I can organize my emails in whichever way I want. I now rarely visit my Gmail account through a browser.

So, I thought – if a desktop application solved the problem for emails why not try it again – for Twitter.

I used this post in Mashable to choose a desktop application for Twitter. I tried the top two mentioned: Seesmic and TweetDeck and chose Seesmic. It’s not that these two applications are so different; in fact, they seem pretty close. But TweetDeck asked for permission to access my Facebook data even when I’m not using TweetDeck. Since I’m concerned about unauthorized use of my personal information and since Seesmic does not ask for that I ruled out TweetDeck.

So – what does Seesmic do for me?

It puts all my social media on one screen. I can view a news feed with entries from all my social media connections, no matter what Social Media application they were posted on. I can also see them separately based on application. I can track all my Twitter mentions, updates, and so on. I can also post to all my Social Media accounts at once and manage multiple accounts per Social Media  application (for example I can now easily manage more than one Twitter account).

I am very happy with Seesmic and use it often.

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Posted in Social media, Tips, Twitter

Posted by: SorryCantHaveThat | February 11, 2011

Resume Workshop

Yesterday in PRSSA, University of Oregon grad student Erica Penner came in to teach us of the marketing and then help us out with a bit of a resume workshop. We only got through two of her slides before the questions started flooding the floor. After a few questions were asked, I began to feel a bit discouraged. Although Erica didn’t directly state, she implied that a professional looking resume was a key way to land a job (amongst a million other things). I agree entirely with this statement, however I am not professional in my entirety as a person. I am a million other things and black and white is not one of them. I stumbled across the Internet and I found a few examples that allow for some breathing room on your resume. Nothing too intense but just a little something for employers to remember you by:

36 Beautiful Resume Ideas That Work

I found that although a few of these were a little obscure, some of them found a nice balance between professionalism and personality. And thank you Erica Penner for all of your priceless advice, it was great to have you!

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Posted in PR Fututre, Social media, Tips, Uncategorized

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