From an intern to a renowned PRP

Wow! I'm actually embarrassed at when last I did this but to those who missed me I'm back! I have been so busy these last 4 months with my Public Relations Internship at SBPR Communications. Whoever introduced the WIL module should be praised because I believe it is the most important part of this course. What I have learned in this Internship these past 4 months has put everything that I have learned in class into perspective. Although it can be challenging to be a student and a full time intern it is very exciting. This may sound silly but when I first saw the article I had worked on being published I was over the moon! That is when I realised that I was going to enjoy this profession, I cannot wait until I am a thought leader and work on opinion pieces that will add value to this dynamic industry. 

I cannot wait to be a junior account executive, just the thought of having my own client makes my heart explode with excitement. It's funny how we all thought we were good writers until we had to draft a media release in the work place and it came back with so many edits and changes but it is a learning process afterall. My parting advice for those studying Public Relations is it is not about how much you earn because at the end of the day knowledge cannot be bought and the best time to learn is when you are young and fresh so that you can use this knowledge all the way to your older age. Do not worry about anybody else just focus on perfecting your craft. I will leave you all with this quote, "It is great to dream but a dream will remain a dream if it is not followed by hard work".

TIPS TO CONSIDER IF YOU WANT TO STUDY PR

Greetings from PR planet. I have selected 5 tips for anyone who wishes to study PR. These are just 5 useful tips I hope can point you in the right direction. 

                                                    

      source: http://goo.gl/5Raep4

BE A GOOD COMMUNICATOR

Public relations deals mostly with communication, building relationships and networking with different types of people in everyday life. If you are a quiet person I suggest you re-think your future career. Public Relations requires somebody with good written skills because as a Public Relations Practitioner you will be responsible to write up blogs, newsletter and press releases.  

                                              

KNOW WHAT YOU WANT TO STUDY

                                               source: http://goo.gl/jgfbWw

Do some research on the actual field of study which in this case is Public Relations. From my experiences I have met quite a number of people in first year who did not know anything about PR yet they were studying it. One thing you can do is ask somebody who has studied PR and find out what it is about, this will help you get an overview of what will be expected of you. Although there are lots of theories when studying PR you should also prepare yourself for the practicals that will give you an indication as to what you will be doing in the workplace. http://goo.gl/BOM8ZF

KEEP UP WITH THE NEWS

In high school I used to hate watching the news and the only time me and my friends spoke about it was if something big happened kind of like the Tsunami. Knowing what happens around you is a good thing to have in any career but it is crucial in Public Relations. Keeping up with the news can help you relate your studies to practice and examples for your assignments come from this content. Most of the things you read about in the news often can assist you in this field of study because you can also see what industry professionals are doing and you can learn a lot from them.

BE A PART OF THE ONLINE PR COMMUNITY

This is by far what I regard as the most important tip because this is where you get to network and actually follow industry professionals. These professionals do not only share the ins and outs of the profession but they also tell of their struggles as well as what you can do to be where they are. You should not only follow these professionals but also comment on what they have to say as well as ask questions that may be troubling you. Build a professional online profile because in Public Relations your online profile is what speaks for you. Start practicing on social networks such as LinkedIn because these are the social networks that will get you employed after studying. 

START YOUR OWN BLOG

Before you study Public Relations I would advice you to start your own blog. There are various mediums that teach you how to blog because as we know it digital media is taking over so don't get left behind. What many people do not know about blogging is that if you are really good at it and generate lots of subscribers and followers brands can actually advertise on your blog and that's how you make money. Below is a YouTube video that teaches you how to create your very own blog 

http://goo.gl/II7if8

                                              
    Please let me know your thoughts and views I would love to hear from you.

                                        

BLOGGING: 5 TIPS FOR EVERY PR STUDENT BLOGGER

Greetings from the other side of the screen. As a Public Relations student I have learned quite a few things about blogging and these are just 5 tips from me to you. 

                                                            Source: http://goo.gl/tnPWF3
GET IDEAS FROM YOUR AUDIENCE

The best way I believe this can be achieved is by asking readers on social media sites such as Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn. If they respond well to the topic you have inquired about then you know that this is the right topic for you to blog about. This can also help in building or growing your blog as everybody will want to have their say on the topic at hand. 

RESPOND TO YOUR COMMENTS AS SOON AS POSSIBLE

Interaction between you and your readers is very crucial in blogging. Readers want to feel as if their say is being taken into consideration and they love it when you reply to them. In doing so do not be rude in answering them because that takes away all your credibility because remember you are still a Public Relations Practitioner at the end of the day. You do not have to agree to everything that is commented but if you disagree you should do it in a manner which sparks conversation and not conflict.

BE CONSISTENT

Many bloggers often forget consistency forgetting that losing your traffic is easier than building it up.A study by Hubspot showed that higher subscriber growth rates are due to consistent blogging. The tip here is not to leave your readers wondering where you are kind of like a one-hit-wonder in this case one-blog-wonder. http://goo.gl/kuI02I 

KEEP IT SHORT  

The shorter your posts the more readers and comments it generates. Nobody wants to read an essay in a blog so shy away from lengthy posts. Remember it is not a book but a post so the length is for me the most important part. Get it right by keeping it short and sweet.

INCLUDE MULTIMEDIA 

source: http://goo.gl/bWkqwB    

Multimedia are your images, videos and music. It is important to have theses as part of your blog because it makes the blog come alive. Blogs with multimedia are often more interesting and more eye-catching then those which do not. Making it look like it blends in with our design is the tricky part of knowing how to use multimedia. Some of you may question that multimedia makes the visitor wait long as it used to take time for everything to load, but with the fast internet we have nowadays it is no longer a risk. What most blogs need to keep visitors coming back is provided by multimedia. http://goo.gl/qcdFRB