Three Tips to Building Your Twitter Followers

Twitter is an overlooked amazing tool to connect with your target audiences without having to spend a dime on advertising. Through using the following steps consistently, within three months I went from 1,017 followers 2,045 followers. Due to the nature of Twitter, it is easy to build a following by branding your accounts, providing relevant content, and following active users. 

1. Branding Your Account - When building your personal brand to market either yourself or your company it is important to answer the following questions?

• What information do you want to share with followers?
• What information do you want to follow?
• How do you want others to perceive you? 
• Who is your target audience? 
• Define hashtags you plan to use regularly. 

These questions should make it easy to identify the foundation of your Twitter experience. Through actively using the answers from this plan, I was able to grow one of my clients accounts to 1,000 followers in our target demographic within one months time.

2. Providing Relevant Content - Content is a great way to connect with your audience and share with them the information that is most important to you.

• Create google alerts for relevant key words in your industry. This will keep you on top of relevant, timely news that your audience is interested to know about. Use these alerts to develop content for your followers.

• Use applications to stay up to date with national/international news. Use this as an opportunity to adapt the current news cycle to information relevant for your industry.

• Respond to others tweets. I see so many people on Twitter who, 'Tweet, Tweet, Tweet' but never respond to any of their followers. Engage in a conversation with your audience and those in your industry.

3. Follow Active Users - Did you know that as of April of this year there are over 550 million users who have never sent a tweet, this is over 44% of Twitter users. It is important to carefully follow others on twitter who are actively using Twitter. If you go after the active users this means you are more likely to receive interactions, re-tweets, and follow-backs with your account. 

• Use monitoring tools to follow those in your industry who are active on Twitter. You can do this by using tools such as Tweetdeck to see who is active and running on social media.

• Follow people in similar demographics as yourself, age, religion, ethnicity, interests, education, location, the list goes on and one. 

• How do you find them? The best tips is to follow the followers from accounts of those who are in your industry. For example, when I worked at the Utah Senate, to reach our audience in the Utah Region we would target followers from lists of local news outlets, city/public organizations, and local politicians. This helped us know we were following people in our demographic who also had an interest in Utah Politics due to the other accounts they were already following. 

Through actively applying these steps to your account you will see that you more than capable of building a following on Twitter. I know you can do it, social media is all about engagement--get out there and start engaging! 

Dueling Cats: A Social Media Analysis

Meow Mix vs. Friskies Case Study

Twitter

Meow Mix has nearly 9K tweets on Twitter with 4K followers, this equals out to 0.46 followers per/tweet. Friskies on the other hand has 6.4K Tweets and 14.9K followers, equaling to 2.3 followers per/tweet. Friskies has a 200% gain of followers per tweet in comparison to Meow Mix. The difference? Friskies is much more authentic, personable, and follows cat social media trends and implements them into campaigns.

Facebook

Another interesting thing about the two companies, Meow Mix has 180K Likes on Facebook and most of their engagement on their page comes from San Antonio, TX. Friskies statistics are 837K likes, most of their social media engagement emerging Bangkok, Thailand. Although, Friskies has 657K more likes than Meow Mix on Facebook, it appears that Meow Mix might be more genuine in marketing their FB Page to their U.S. Customer base. Lastly, Friskies has a page specifically for Thailand customers, however their page for U.S. customers has higher interactions from Thailand.

 

Instagram

Instagram is great way to show the behind the scenes of your company and your customers photos as well. Friskies utilizes their instagram by using it as a primary platform to showcase their campaigns. Their most recent campaign was #GrumpyBirthday, celebrating the @realgrumpcat's second birthday. This campaign resulted in numerous media impressions and excited fans anticipating the celebration.

Friskies has 162 instagram posts, 8K followers, resulting in an average gain of 49.5 followers per/post. Meow mix on the other hand has 342 posts, 1.9K followers, resulting an average of 5.5 followers per/post. This means that Friskies has a 900% gain of followers per/post in comparison to Meow Mix.

The difference? Meow Mix has their logo branded on all of their instagram photos, they also do not appear to currently be featuring customer photos, and are not promoting any particular campaign through their instagram account. Friskies demonstrates a clear, concise, interactive platform to ignite passion amongst customers.

Conclusion

First of all, I'd like to reiterate, these statistics are true. I'm actually a cat lady (IG:4lilkittens). I use Friskies wet food and Meow Mix's dry food for my cats.

What can be learned about social media from these dueling companies?

1. Have a concrete driving force and objective.
2. Implement creative ideas to interact and build trust with customers.
3. Avoid looking too crisp and picture perfect. Ads are for beautiful, precise photos. Social media channels are for #selfies

I could go on and on. I am fascinated analyzing how brands compete and represent themselves through social media. I just find this all fascinating, food for thought. There is much to be learned from social media, from better connecting to customers to keeping an eye on competitors.

What social media brands do you keep an eye on?

Developing the Crucial Keys to Your Success

I wanted to expound more upon my writings from earlier this week, Real People Inspire. I prefer to write with a stream of consciousness and believe I left some loose ends. Let me give you some background as to what lead to my unusual train of thought.

Discovering the Hunger Within.

I am officially hungry to find outlets for my creativity, for a long time I have been debating, sketching ideas, and developing a plan to launch my own personal consulting firm for communications. However, one of the key components missing was a firm foundation of understanding the roots of my future aspirations.

Last night, I climbed out of bed, approached my stack of communication books, and pulled one of my most beloved pr books. I told myself, you cannot consult for pr if you do not really understand the basic history and founding fathers of pr. I decided I needed to pick a target. I was going to find the father of public relations and study him like the back of my hand. I then came across who I wanted to study, Edward L. Bernays.

Ground Yourself by Understanding the Past.

As I read through my book about the works of the founding father of public relations, I could not help but feel excitement within me. We had covered the basics of this within my previous classes. Yet, I lacked a true connection and appreciation for this iconic historic figure.

How was I supposed to stand on my own to feet and defend myself, let alone my knowledge for what I'm trying to do if I had not taken the time to learn the simple basics of my field.

Within our educations systems we use many formulas, theories, case studies, etc. How often do we take the time to genuinely study people? I can't speak on behalf of every educational system in America, but I am displeased with the lack of appreciation for the masterminds behind the formulas, theories, and case studies.. why did their names become forgotten?

Imagine how much more we could learn and develop as people if we set aside the time to learn from each other. Before you can progress forward it's important to understand the history that has lead to where you are today.

Identify Your Inspirational Influencers.

Now, this principle can apply to anyone. Each day I challenge you to seek out your own inspirational influencers. You can identify them by one of two ways. 1. Meditate and identify iconic leaders that you respect, connect, and look up to. 2. List out qualities of yourself that you either possess or seek to possess, then research iconic figures who are known for those qualities.

Inspiration is Contagious.

I wish I could map out a genealogy-like-chart to trace back the line of inspirational influencers through the past centuries. If you take the time to study out your inspirational influencers, I guarantee you will discover that they too were impacted by inspirational influencers.

Explore your key influencers of your inspirations, learn of them, study them out, and share that knowledge with others. Stay strong and continue to develop that inspiration within you to contribute to your success. Others are aware of your good doings, you might just become someone else inspiration to help them move forward.

As people learn how to inspire one another other, society progresses forward.

Real People Inspire.

Hello PR friends. A short simple thought for you today, who are the top people in your life who inspire you? I'm not sure everyone can immediately recall their roots and foundation for inspiration. Yes, I know you will spout off the typical answers of your inner roots for inspiration.. your mom and dad, 1st grade teacher, baseball coach, lifelong friend, etc. etc. However, I would like to know of public figures who have influenced you.

Do you think, those who cannot immediately recall roots of inspiration, have inspiration themselves?

Obviously, this question is rhetorical. I honestly, CANNOT answer this myself... which is a major reason of why I'm writing this post. I haven't taken the time to research what iconic public figures and heros inspire me

I recently started working as a temporary employee at Overstock.com, my past week of working there reignited my search to find my 'influencers.' During our new hire training they mentioned that the company lives and breathes by the philosophy of Warren Buffett. They further mentioned that when the company first started, new hires were required to read the works of Warren Buffett.

Start Tracking Your Influencers.

1. Make a list of qualities that represent you, or qualities you admire.
I will do my best to keep this short. 1. Compassion 2. Competition 3. Networking/Relationship Building 4. Public Relations

2. Identify past public figures who were praised for the specified quality/attributes.

Compassion - Mother Teresa

Competition - John Wooden

Networking/Relationship Building - Dale Carnegie

Public Relations - Edward L. Bernays

 

3. Research, study, identify.
To be determined. I'm going to start ordering some books and get to it.

Good luck to you with further discovering your inspirational foundation. I encourage you to ponder who your influencers are. What qualities do you admire? Name the influencer with those qualities. What have you learned from them? Leave me a comment, I'd love to hear your thoughts.

Dressing Your Best

Understanding how to dress your best and mold to company culture has been something I've unfortunately struggled with. Just once I start catching onto what is most appropriate attire for the position--I move onto another job. See the dress above? This is the dress I've chosen to wear to my first day tomorrow. Not only am I wearing this dress, the dress will be accompanied with tights, a black cardigan, and headband.

Deciding What to Wear For Your First Day

1. Observe: When you go to the interview, what are others wearing? What colors, patterns, and designs are prominent. Also, take note of the hairstyles women where in the office (I'm a women.. so vice versa to you men out there reading this.)

2. Ask: When I first started working at the Utah Senate, it was a hard culture to grasp onto. One of the best things I did that helped was asked the girls in the office what stores they shopped at. Then, I would check out the stores and have a better feel for the company culture. For my new job I'm starting tomorrow, I asked the recruitment director what was expected of me and preferred.

3. Don't Be Distracting: I read this surprising fact the other day.. women in the workplace who dress immodestly are less likely to receive raises or promotions. When I started working at the senate I was unaware that my dress that went down to an inch above the knee was distracting to Senators. Blending with the work environment is key, try your best to not stick out like a sore thumb.

4. Dress for the Job You Want: Easier said then done. However, this is a good goal to set and work towards. What I tend to do is to pick someone in the company who is in upper management and to mimic their fashion style. 

5. Still Attempt to Be Yourself: A new job can be overwhelming, just remember to find small ways to encapsulate your personality with small accessories with your outfit. Make it your own. 

I've Accepted a Job, Guess Where

Give it Your Best Shot

Well, after six business days of being laid off, I am proud to say I have accepted a position with an amazing company. I have invited my friends to view this blog to guess which company I'll be working for. I will release the details on Monday. 

Here are some hints as to where I'll be working.

• Ranked in Top 10 of Best Places to Work in Corporate America, Glassdoor
• Ranked in Top 5 for Employee Satisfaction, Forbes
• Gold Stevie® Award for Company of the Year
• Ranked in Top 5 in Customers' Choice Awards,  National Retail Federation Foundation and American Express
• Ranked in America's 100 Most Trustworthy Companies , Forbes

You can also view photos from their Instagram by clicking here. 

The Story of How This Came to Be

I attribute getting this position through, 1. Linkedin, 2. Linkedin, 3. Linkedin, and 4. Networking. I try to stay active on my Linkedin account and nearly four months ago a recruiter reached out to me for a position with their company as an executive assistant. The company had changes in management and the position was pending. I kept in touch with this recruiter throughout this time, and was planning on reaching out to her after my layoff.

Sharing information on Linkedin is a great option for job seekers. Like Facebook, Linkedin has a timeline of activity where you can not only publish, but write updates, post photos, and more. I shared my blog post, "A Cup of Compassion," on my feed.

Within less then 24-hours, this recruiter not only reached out to me but invited me to interview at her company. The catch was, since I had met her, she had moved on to a much larger, established organization and is now the head director of recruitment. I was speechless when I saw what company she worked for and was flattered she wanted to get me in the door. 

The Interview

The best way to describe the interview is that I didn't feel like I had to put on a show, be fake, or tell them what they wanted to hear--I could be me. Not only that, but I enjoy talking which each of the staff members and the four different decision makers whom I spoke with during my interview. 

As I left the building from my interview, they said I would be told very shortly whether or not I was selected for the position, I joked with them that they could feel free to give me a ring as soon as I was in the parking lot. Less then thirty minutes after the interview, I received a phone call with an offer for the position. It made me smile because she said, "I wanted to call you as you entered the parking lot, but I had to talk to the three others you spoke with beforehand."

I'm excited for this new opportunity and to get on board with a well known company with phenomenal credentials. Thank heaven for Linkedin, networking skills, and the kind people who believe in me and continue to do so. Happy Hump Day everyone.

Establishing Your Digital Footprint

I am NOT a job snob.
I repeat, I am NOT A job snob.
I AM NOT A JOB SNOB.

You know that feeling where you first start dating or talking to someone? Nowadays when we are excited and getting to know someone--we do our research. When I am trying to decide whether or not I want to further pursue a relationship with this person, I really try to understand their reputation online.

The way someone represents themselves online with their digital footprint gives you a good taste of who they are. Whether they are on the America's Most Wanted list, blogging about political issues you could care less about, or even nothing at all. Aren't you curious to know where they place themselves on the map? What tracks are you looking for when searching someones footprints across the digital world?

This moral compass also stands true with my job search. When considering a company to work with, I am extremely interested in reviewing their digital footprint. Today, I received an interview request for an office assistant position. Upon my google search of the company I found lots of things that IMMEDIATELY rubbed my 'PR SELF' the wrong way.

• Their website is completely outdated: the formatting errors are horrific, the font is hard to read and inconsistent, the website lacks any significant call to action and looks like it stepped out of a '2002 I don't understand promoting my business horror film.' Their contact us page bland, as if it only pulled text from a phonebook. The images across the website are stretched and not sized correctly, making their company office look like a stretched out strand of silly putty.

• No footprint on social media: Where are you? I googled and googled, digging for any trace of a social media presence-- nothing. I sat at my computer in awe. Shall I say more? Who are we kidding, this really rubbed me the wrong way.

I re-read the job description. Office management, cold calling, and B2B sales. Why, Why, Why does this business think they can't get sales without any type of PR/Social Media presence on the web and within the community? I don't care WHAT TYPE of work it is or WHAT TYPE of excuse they had. You must remember, there is no excuse. 

If you or your business have yet to create your own online footprint, my one word of advice for you is...Get to it!

Obviously don't just take a stab in the wind, make a plan. Think over some of the following thoughts:

• Define your target audience.
• Plan on how to develop a relationship with them.
• Disseminate what you want your audience to know about you.
• Rediscover and ponder, what issues matters for you or your business. Think Values.
• Lastly, remember to meditate on the moments that make you human and puts you on the same level.

I could go on and on in regards to developing a plan, executing, and sticking to it... however, I'd like to jump back as to why I am a job snob.

At the end of the day, I think it would drive me absolutely bonkers trying to assist a company's betterment if they have not tackled the internet and all of the beauties it has to offer them and their business. In good conscience, I could not accept a job with a company who did not have a good online presence unless they were willing to work on it or let me help them. Inhibit, Don't Prohibit. 

OH YEAH. Did I mention how much I love Public Relations, Social Media, and Communications? E-Commerce & Social Media baby! That's where we are headed. Embrace it, live it, love it, and challenge yourself to grow from it.

What's important to you about your digital footprint? Leave your thoughts in the comment section below.

Defining Your Job Legacy.

It's amazing how the people you work with make all the difference. Unfortunately, my colleague and I were laid off together-- however I believe it has made us stronger. Although we've lost ours jobs, I continue to have my invaluable friendship to help me pull through it. This post is dedicated to my close friend and mentor: Karen Tapahe  (she's great, single, and looking! For a job that is.) 

This was taken day one of my job, Karen and I recognized each other and
she immediately jumped up and gave me a hug.

Karen and I have a unique friendship, we actually met while I was working a night job for fun at a local gas station. Karen and I always would chat it up and discovered our shared passion--Communication, PR, Social Media, and Non-Profits. Karen and I exchanged business cards, connected on Linkedin, and would chat whenever she came into the gas station.

When I started working at my last job, Karen remembered me and greeted me with open arms. She took me under her wing and patiently worked with me until I perfected the comfort-ability of performing my job. Karen and I had many talks, I referred to her as my office momma--because she let me confide and trust in her. She also always would go out of her way to do her job to the best of her abilities and make everyone around her feel loved and comfortable.

Upon being let go, I was told I wasn't the only one being let go from my company. A pit grew in my stomach wondering which employee in my group would be leaving. I went back to my desk and immediately texted Karen I was let go, I heard her phone ding--she was still in the office and nowhere to be found. As I drove home in tears, my phone received a text. Karen was let go as well.

I was in panic that her and I were let go. However, I believe it would've been much worse if they would have selected only one of us to be left go. Surprisingly, I am happy to admit--with how hard this has been, I am so grateful to have Karen by my side. Karen has been a great support to me through the entire process and I hope I can do the same for her.

 I am beyond grateful to have had such great luck with meeting phenomenal people. I'm grateful for all of the friends I've made from my past work experiences. I feel that we also take, give, and learn from those that we work with. So in conclusion, I'd like to point out--although the work experience you obtain from jobs is great, the relationships you can maintain afterwards are what matter. Who will you keep in touch with when you move on from your job, how will you be remembered?  

Cinderella is Back to Online Dating

Don't you miss the good 'ol days where you could go out and get a date? Where you could meet someone in person, hit it off, and ask to see them again? Go to a ball, leave a slipper, and have some burly man come running after you trying to return it? With modern day society, the chances of this happening are slim. Nowadays, we've taken our realities of true love in the "real world" and pushed it to the online realm, in return for more time and convenience. Who wants to drink to that?

Here are some current statistics about online dating, take a gander. A few of these statements are false, can you spot the fakes?

• 94% of those actively looking for a relationship use, or plan to use social media to find their next relationship.
• Millenials are changing the dating scene. An Aberdeen study found that 73% of 18-34 year olds found their last relationship through a social network.
• 89% of all relationship seekers report having seriously dated someone found through eHarmony.
• 51% of individuals in relationships are either actively seeking, or open to a new relationship. This means fully 71% of all people in the U.S. are “on the dating market” (meaning single and looking, dating and looking, or dating and open).

Oh wait, did you know those were actually job searching statistics--and I lied, these statistics are all true. Take a look at the original statistics below.

• 94% of recruiters use, or plan to use social media for recruiting.
• Millenials are changing the recruiting industry. An Aberdeen study found that 73% of 18-34 year olds found their last job through a social network.
• 89% of all recruiters report having hired someone through LinkedIn.
• 51% of workers who currently have a job are either actively seeking, or open to a new job. This means fully 71% of all workers in the U.S. are “on the job market” (meaning unemployed and looking, employed and looking, or employed and open).

Online dating as well as online job searching are a beast of their own. So get cozy, grab a drink, and start getting those online profiles ready, unfortunately now--it's one of the best shots you've got.

A Cup of Compassion

Today I was laid off from my first salary job. As I returned home today, I stopped by a bakery. As I entered the shop the boy behind the counter asked me what I was in the mood for. I openly shared my misery as to why I sought out their sugary sweets. "Hmm, I'm in the mood to have whatever tastes good to someone who was just laid off." Everyone in the shop heard me and muttered their condolences. I felt a bit selfish admitting to my self misery, but I gave myself a rule to only have this self pity behavior for the next 24 hour--nothing more, nothing less.

Standing next to me was a young girl about half my height. She immediately told me she was sorry and asked if she could give me a hug. I nodded my head yes. She immediately wrapped her arms around me. As my eyes grew swollen, I tried to hold back my tears. I softly thanked her for her kindness. She told me after I had finished my purchase to come across the street and she would give me a free glass of lemonade.

After squandering $10 on a select number of vegan sweets. I head out to my car--As I glance across the street, I see the girl and a young boy stationed outside of what appeared to be an office building. The bakery was located in a rundown segment of downtown. Locking up my car, I decide to head across the street for my free glass of lemonade.

The girl was happy to see me again, she immediately asked me what lemonade I wanted. As her punch stained fingers filled up my plastic Subway cup she had handed me, my curiosity wondered as to why they were selling the lemonade. I asked her my question, she said they wanted to start a babysitting service and then use their money to save for college. The girl nicknamed, Phoebe explained to me how she wanted to be a biologist and her friend boasted with a smile as he said he wanted to be a game designer.

She elaborated on the money they had made the following days, $32 total. "We have issues, so we need to start saving," she said. I asked her what issues she had, she explained her and her friend both suffered from a variety of mental issues and that she had multiple personalities. "My dad took all of our money and left," she said. The office building, was actually their home--government assisted housing.

"We want to save our money to help increase our chances of being able to go to college and we also want to donate part of our money towards breast cancer research," she said. My heart immediately melted into a pile of butter. She pointed towards their pink cooler and items they had. I thanked her for the lemonade and she gave me another hug and asked me to come visit her again. As I crossed the street, she yelled to cars passing by, asking them to buy her .50 cent lemonade.

Once I met up with my boyfriend, I literally had a break down about my encounter with this girl. Here I was being selfish and having a pity party--where this beautiful, sweet, caring girl is working so hard in hopes to someday afford a college education. She had compassion on me, she hugged me. she held me in her little arms-- she truly gave me insight into a problem I often overlook.

It infuriated me to know that not only this girl, but many children across the United States futures are impacted upon which economic class they are born into. Sure, she will have scholarships opportunities, however, by the time she is eligible, who knows how many others she will compete against. This girl is fighting against the odds that are not in her favor.

Although I don't have a lump-some of money to help her, I hope that having compassion on her like she did with me can make all the difference. I encourage you to share what Phoebe reminded me of today, compassion. Give someone that extra support they need to push onward.

Mckayla Maroney is Not Impressed With United Airlines

Overview of United Airlines Public Relations

United Airlines, PR Crisis

Trying to Cut $2 Billion Annual Costs: Facing investor frustration over its lagging financial performance, United Airlines laid out new goals to cut costs and increase revenue with the aim of at least doubling profit by 2017. United Airlines announced plans to reduce costs by $2 billion annually and increase ancillary revenues by $750 million. The ultimate goal is to increase pre-tax earnings by two to four times the current level over the next four years. The company even hopes to begin allocating capital to shareholders by 2015.

United Airlines Current Headlines News

After looking through these headlines, it seems like it would be a challenge with the diverse problems United Airline PR must endure 24/7--they must all have gray hair, kudos to them for sticking to it.

1.) Redefining Premium Flights: This includes, flat-beds to sleep in, Wi-Fi, on demand entertainment, USB ports, power outlets along with multi-course meals for its BusinessFirst customers.

2.) Mechanic accused in 2000 Concorde crash sues airline: How ironic is it, that they release the news of premium seating on the same day this article is released? 

3.) United Airlines nearly killed my dog:  I was quite horrified after reading this.. this article got my blood boiling.. due to the treatment of animals for customers with pets, according to this article the airline contributed to the death of a pet (read here) I myself am an animal lover, this article was a hard read. 

You can read an article here of United Airlines Refusing to Pay Veterinarian Bill Without a Non-Disclosure Agreement..  

4. United Airlines suffering due to China Airlines: Chinese airlines seem to have come out of nowhere to steal market share on lucrative flights between here and there.

5. United Airlines mechanics picket at Denver airport: The United Airlines professional aviation mechanics represented by the Teamsters Union escalated their actions to pressure the company “to live up to its promises” by hand-billing customers inside and outside 12 major airports around the country this week.

6. United Airlines Launches Redesigned iOS App with Travel Cards, Multi-Location Booking: United Airlines has launched a redesigned app for iOS 7, with features focused on delivering glance-able information and easier access to flight-related details. 

Stock

Their stock has dropped several dollars in the past few days, however their stocks have grown in the past year.

United Airlines: A Quick Overview of Linkedin, Twitter, and Facebook.

Linkedin: I think their marketing efforts on Linkedin have backfired.. Linkedin is a hard audience to tackle. 61 percent of 26 comments left on this sponsored post were either negative towards the company or suggest that customers go elsewhere. It appears so far that most customers on Linkedin are not receptive to their message. 

Twitter: Want to know why United Airline's Twitter is impressive! They have it down to a science that when they respond to negative feedback it does not show on their timeline.. Lots of companies issue apologies via social media and constant responses to criticisms can crowd a timeline and impacts the reputation of a company to customers.

Wow, I actually just learned about Twitter replies because I did not even know this was an option. Read more here.

When looking at their page, it may not look like they post more then on average, 3-5 times per day, when in reality, they are responding to tweets by the minute.

Facebook: At a glance, their facebook page is well designed, has thousands of likes, and strong engagements on posts. However, there was one thing I noticed that I wasn't so sure about. 

I was shocked by this.. it looks like United Airlines is paying someone by the name of Nycsubway Tse to pretend to be a Mileage Plus Customer to talk to and answer questions with customers. They will actually engage with customers along with United to defuse angry customers and situations. 

You look at the posts and their profile... what do you think??

Your Turn, What Do You Think?

What do you think of United Airlines Public Relations? Comment here or tweet @Emilynicoline.

Emily Nicoline is a Junior Public Relations Utah Valley University. She is 22 years old and has lived in Wichita, KS, Albuquerque, New Mexico, and currently resides in Provo, Utah. Emily has been working in the communications industry since she was 17 and has proven capable to do whatever it takes to continue to learn, grow, and experience new opportunities. Her blog is not perfect, it's human. If you would like her portfolio or have further questions, please email her at Emilynicoline@gmail.com

Go Big or Go Unknown | Networking w/Ketchum Using a Pokeball

Gotta Ketchum All

Before traveling to PRSSANC in Philadelphia, I was studying for the conference, and came across these articles about how Nicole Spears got the attention of Ketchum's CEO through Twitter and by carrying a legal pad that read, "Ketchum?"

I wanted to follow Nicole's advice for reaching out with networking - Go Bold or Go Unknown.

Devising a Plan

I wanted to come up with a unique idea to meet a representative from Ketchum and leave a lasting impression.

Pokemon was an amazing phenomenon that swept us off of our feet in the 2000's. The main characters name is Ash Ketchum. What are the odds.. I then thought of networking, ... Gotta Ketch'um All. My mind was shooting ideas back and forth like lit up roman candles in a sardines can. I then decided to order one of my favorite memorabilia from Pokemon, the Burger King Pokeballs. 

I didn't tell anyone about my idea because I didn't want people to.. 

a) change my mind

b) tell me I'm an idiot and it would never work 

c) steal it the idea 

d) make fun of me if it failed

The plan was to find someone from Ketchum, introduce myself, chat about themselves, the internal culture of the company, and then give the pokeball to them as a peculiar gift.

Designing Perfection

Upon arriving at the Marriott Hotel for PRSSANC, I approached the lobby desk and felt like I was in elementary school all over again as the employee brought out a medium size package with the Pokeball.

I was so excited! The plan was to perfectly fit my business card inside of the Pokeball with the gold plated Pikachu card.. unfortunately, my card did not fit.

PLAN B: I immediately devised a plan to design a custom fit business card to fit perfectly into the pokeball. I met with John, an amazing Kinko employee who was working graveyard and saved my life. John said if I got him a design he could help me out. I ran up to my hotel room and designed a custom made card that fit the Pokemon branding, but had my contact information. John was able to work with it and this was our final product. 

Emailing & Tweeting

Nicole was lucky, when she tweeted Ketchum in her attempts to network she got a response.. I got nothing. I then decided I would email the employees at Ketchum to find out who would be at the conference for me to meet with and give the "gift" to.

What I emailed to the leadership board at Ketchum:
"I wanted to know if you were in Philadelphia right now? I'm at the PRSSA National Conference and have a small fun gift that I wanted to give to you to share with Ketchum's agency leadership. Please get in touch with me.

Within sending these personalized emails, I received two responses. 

One from Rob Flaherty, Chief Executive Officer and a Senior Partner of Ketchum responded to me within a matter of minutes. I was flabbergasted. 

"I'm sorry that I'm not there. Thanks for thinking of us and have a great conference."

The other, Barri Rafferty, Senior Partner, Chief Executive Officer North America responded within two hours of my email.

"I am not there but several Ketchum representatives will be in and out. All the best."

Back to the drawing board to find another way to find someone from Ketchum at the conference.

Feeling Like a Journalist

I used my resilient journalism abilities and worked for four hours straight to find someone from Ketchum.

My professor advised I find someone from Ketchum by going to the career & exhibits at PRSAIC. Upon arriving at PRSAIC, I searched and they were not there. I was also told by various people that they were not going to be there that day and to come back tomorrow. Instead of giving up, I pushed forward.

While hoping to run into someone from Ketchum, I used the opportunity at the career & exhibits to walk around and talk to other PRSA professionals. I actually LOVED IT--it was great practice for gearing me up to talk to Ketchum. Upon making friends and contacts, I started talking to and making friends with the officials of PRSA conducting the conference, manning the exhibits, and ultimately the registration tables.

Within several hours I was able to get the following:

1. The name of the representative for Ketchum 

2. Confirmation they had not been to the registration table

Thank Heavens for Linkedin

I looked up the name that was given to me, low and behold I was able to pull up Linkedin Profile--I was able to read, study, learn about the representative, I knew what she looked like, and I was able to send her a message.

My heart was beating out of my chest! I couldn't believe it that she was on her way. By the time my phone had updated and I read her message, I heard someone say at the registration table, "Are you Emily?" I approached the representative for Ketchum and told her I was Emily.

Talking with Ketchum

The representative's name was Devon Conley, Sr. HR Manager at Ketchum. I introduced myself and told her I wanted to hear her thoughts on Ketchum and the internal culture of the firm. She asked me some questions, we spoke briefly about their office in D.C., how I had liked the work they had done in the past, and I discussed my views on them in comparison to other competing firms. 

I felt really good about our conversation, I knew she didn't have much time. I told her I had a small gift for her and she gave me a confused look. I explained briefly about the success of Pokemon and the characters name being Ash Ketchum. I pulled the Pokeball out of my purse and explained it was a limited edition, over a decade old item. 

She opened it and saw my card inside and smiled. "Our branding team is going to LOVE this," she said. "You want me to keep this? I can just take the card.." "No, I got it for you. Keep it, please I insist. Maybe someone will want to keep it and put it on their desk or something."She thanked me, and put the Pokeball into her purse. 

Gotta Ketchum All

All in all, I think my strange idea went over well. I wasn't looking for a job, I just wanted to meet her and make an impression. I have no idea what will come of it, however the whole experience was well worth the ride.

Update

Mission accomplished. This morning I received this email from Rob Flaherty, Senior Partner, Chief Executive Officer of Ketchum.

Rob Flaherty & Ray Kotcher of Ketchum

Wow, Rob is such an early bird! It's in our PR Blood. #mindblown #reallyhappy #respect #kudostoketchum

Emily Nicoline is a Junior Public Relations Utah Valley University. She is 22 years old and has lived in Wichita, KS, Albuquerque, New Mexico, and currently resides in Provo, Utah. Emily has been working in the communications industry since she was 17 and has proven capable to do whatever it takes to continue to learn, grow, and experience new opportunities. Her blog is not perfect, it's human. If you would like her portfolio or have further questions, please email her at Emilynicoline@gmail.com