The Mastery Journal of Ashley Adler Coro

Co-Founder of "Can You Hear Me?", East Coast Representative for Music Saves Lives, Master's Student

[ashleycoro]

Final Project and Thesis

This month has been incredible and my entire Master’s journey has been incredibly informative and motivating. At the beginning of my degree program I listed off three things that I wanted to accomplish this month and I truly believe I was able to accomplish all three. The first thing that I wanted was to look back at all the things I have learned along my entire master’s journey. This month I was able to really take a look at my work from beginning to end and see how much I have improved over the course of twelve months. I wanted to talk with other people in my field to figure out my next steps on my journey to my career. I have been doing this constantly and have now figured out a clear path to where I want to be in my career. The final thing that I wanted to accomplish this month was to remind myself daily to remain confident and not be afraid to ask for help. If it is one thing that I have learned during my time at Full Sail University and this class in general is that it is okay to ask for help and that true knowledge is knowing that there is always more to learn. This class has taught me how to formulate my thoughts into a well written thesis paper and also what goes into creating visuals that tell a story. I believe that I have gained the knowledge necessary to continue learning and pushing myself to achieve even more in my career path. I am so grateful that I was able to take this journey and I am so incredibly thankful to all of my professors this year and my family for putting up with all the long nights and longer days of working. This has been an incredible life lesson and I couldn’t be prouder of what I have done this month and the previous eleven months.  

[ashleycoro]

The Online Media Room

This month has flown by and it has been nothing less than amazing and incredibly informative. I have learned so much about the online media room and know more now than I ever did before about what information should be included on my website in order to give the best information for investors and journalists. My goals for this month were to utilize the tools Buffer and Cloze and to look for new social media outlets to market my brand. I learned that there is so much more to media than just social media outlets and it takes a lot of work and research in order to understand what makes a target market become engaged with a brand.

 I started and run my own non-profit organization called Can You Hear Me?, and this month has taught me so much about what I need to do, not only on my organization’s website, but within our marketing tactics. I have learned what I need to incorporate within my own online media room and have began creating the content necessary to increase brand awareness and engage potential investors. I recommend taking a course such as this one to anyone who is looking to get into the marketing or public relations field.

 Having taken this course I feel far more comfortable in my field and know now a little more where I want my career path to go. Before this class I was unsure if I had the skills necessary to be in the public relations field or if I could learn how to effectively convey my brand through media and written press releases. I have gained a whole new understanding of what it takes to be in the public relations field and I believe that I will be able to take these skill with me into my future.

[ashleycoro]

Reputation Management Strategies

Please include the answers to the following questions in your journal post:

•   What was your favorite assignment in this course? Please explain.

•   Of the course topics covered this month, which one(s) do you think will be most helpful to you as a public relations professional?

•   How will the knowledge you acquired this month prepare you to work with professionals in the public relations industry?

 This month’s course, Reputation Management Strategies, has taught me so much about what to do in the case of a crisis and how to maintain a good reputation for my company or organization. Specifically, I was able to learn how to approach my capstone client about possible crisis situations and how to handle them when presenting my proposal to them.

 My favorite assignment from this course was definitely the constituent group assignment. I learned how to identify which groups mean the most to my client and how to figure out who they are specifically. This assignment definitely spills over into my own life due to the fact that I run my own non-profit organization and am constantly trying to learn how to grow and reach my target audience.

 The crisis communication plan and strategies definitely, in my opinion, will be the most helpful to me as a public relations specialist. These are vital when dealing with any company or organization because there will inevitably be a crisis at some point and it could make or break the company depending on how it is dealt with. I learned how to put together an extremely effective and useful crisis communication plan that can be utilized by my capstone client in the case of a crisis. 

 The knowledge I learned this month will put me on an even playing field with other professionals in my industry. I am much more confident in my ability to put together communications plans and identify important constituent groups. All of these things are extremely important in the public relations industry. I will able to effectively convey the different things I have learned this month and do my job in the most educated manner. Everything I learned are tools that I now have in my back pocket when dealing with pr for companies or organizations.

[ashleycoro]

Event Marketing

This month has definitely opened my eyes to the world of event planning and marketing. I learned so much about what it takes to put on an effective event and all the various things that go into a successful event. I have learned so much from this class and look forward to using all that I have learned in the real world. I own a non-profit with my mother and we recently decided that we are going to throw a fundraising event like the one I have been working on for my assignment this month. Through the assignments that we have done this month I definitely learned a lot about what I need to do for my own fundraiser and how to plan and market it.

 Another thing that I believe this class taught me was how to create a good budget and what a client’s needs may be for a large event. Creating budgets is always a useful skill to have in any business or when planning any type of event or campaign. When I was prepping to bring my non-profit out on the Vans Warped Tour, we needed to create a budget. Until this class I didn’t have the resources or the knowledge to know what a good budget and a practical budget actually looked like. I now have a better understanding of how to fix our budget and what I need to look into and assess more. When we created our summer budget I was way off when predicting our numbers. I realize now that a good budget and a good event plan requires a lot of research before putting anything into words. Overall this class was incredibly amazing and helped me to learn more about event planning and marketing. It taught me a lot about how to implement these skills into my work and everyday life.

 I recommend taking a class like this to anyone who is in business.

[ashleycoro]

Market and Consumer Research Analysis

After going back and rereading my journal entry that listed my goals for the class and what I hoped to accomplish I quickly realized just how much I learned this month. Market and Consumer Research Analysis taught me how to really look at my target market and then do the necessary research to figure out their needs and how to market to them. Seeing as I run a non-profit all of the things I learned this month are being put to great use every single day in our organization. The course met and exceeded my expectations. My main goal was to learn the various ways of marketing to my audience and research who exactly my target market is along with their patterns and needs. Not only did I learn how to effectively research my target market, but I was able to really manifest that research into actual thoughts and ideas. Personally I have increased my research skills tenfold and learned where to find the best resources for research papers. I have also learned a great deal about different markets and generations. This rolls over into my professional life as well and is helping me to be a more effective non-profit owner. Overall this course was extremely helpful and useful for even my day to day activities. It is incredibly important to know your market when you are in any business and it is equally as important to be able to research exactly who your market is. All of these points were discussed at length this month and I can’t wait to see what I do with all of the knowledge learned. I would definitely recommend taking a class such as this one to anyone trying to make it in the business world whether that be in a company, brand, or non-profit. This course was great.

[ashleycoro]

Social Media Metrics and ROI

My goals for this class were to learn how to truly read social media metrics and how to increase my ability to market to my target audience. This class have definitely met my expectations and I have learned so much. I have been able to actually increase my brand awareness on social media and effectively track my goals and progress. Before taking this class I had no idea how add goals in Google analytics or really read the progress of my brand. I have applied all the things I have learned on numerous occasions and I know that I will continue to use this knowledge in the future to increase my numbers. I have a non-profit and this class has definitely helped to increase our numbers and raise awareness. I really enjoyed taking this class and I highly suggest anyone who is working to increase awareness of their brand to take some form of a metrics and ROI class.

 In the field that I work in these numbers are really important and in order for us to get funding or show progress we have to be able to actually analyze our sites and read the metrics. It is also incredibly important to set goals that are realistic and stick to them. These are all the things that I have learned this month and I know there is probably so much more to learn however this has been an excellent start. I felt that the projects and readings assigned were extremely informative and allowed me to learn easily. I really liked that this class had a lot of videos to learn from and we really got our hands into the business. I have actually installed all the plugins that we used this month onto my brand’s website and set goals for myself in Google Analytics.

[ashleycoro]

Innovative Public Relations Tools and Resources

This month’s course has been extremely informative and eye opening. My goals and objectives were definitely met through the course materials and assignments that were given. I learned about all the different social media sites out there and the different ways of utilizing them to market my brand. I also learned a great deal about creating an effective brand video and the different tools associated with distributing posts to social media sites. Hootsuite has been a key component to my everyday life because of this course and I have been able to apply all the things I have learned this month to my personal brand and my non-profit that I have.

 I was able to attend Full Sail Hall of Fame week this month and brought a lot of the knowledge that I learned in this course to my daily conversations on campus. I attended the Future of Media panel and was really able to engage with what the panelists were saying and bring that back to my coursework. I’d have to say that my favorite part of this class has been really working on my website and learning how to really use social media. The Gary Vee talks were absolutely incredible and I definitely will continue to watch them in the future. I learned a lot from his lecture and love seeing his Snapchat stories.

 I am already applying what I have learned to marketing my non-profit and have been able to increase my numbers on social media due to the ability to schedule posts and use dark posts on Facebook as per Gary Vee’s suggestion. I definitely recommend this course to anyone who has a business or a brand that they are wanting to get out there and market effectively. I will continue to use what I learned this month throughout my entire professional life and I am so happy to have had the opportunity to learn so much.

[ashleycoro]

Legal Aspects of Media

This month’s class has been such an interesting and exciting one. My mother is an attorney so I grew up hearing legal terms and case law almost daily. My favorite assignment of this course was Research Case Study Presentation. I really liked breaking down the different cases and learning new things about the law. The New York Times v. Sullivan case was so incredibly interesting. It goes to show how sometimes people will say just about anything to bring someone to court no matter how broad statements may actually be. The fact that Sullivan tried to say that he had been hurt by defamatory statements that weren’t even geared towards him and never mentioned his name or even implied that he was being talked about was so crazy to me. I also happen to really like putting together Keynote presentations so this assignment was a lot of fun for me.

 I think the topic of copyright will be the most helpful to me because I am currently in the process of starting my own non-profit and copyright comes up in almost everything that I am working with. I definitely think all the topics covered will help me in the future. I have already learned so much about how to register my copyright for my non-profit logo and also what is allowed as far as commercial free speech is concerned. This course definitely met and then exceeded my expectations. I definitely think that this is a vital part of the public relations industry and it would do anyone good to learn these things no matter what industry or field of work you are going into. I thought that this course would be a basic overview of the legal parts of media however it dove right into specific things that I had no idea about and now have a very good understanding of. Overall this course was incredible and all of the work was necessary and important.

 I give this class a 10 out of 10!

[ashleycoro]

Writing For Interactive Media

My initial goals for this course were to write as much as possible and learn how to effectively write for interactive media. I initially didn’t really understand what that meant but as the course became more clear, even with just the first assignment, I had a much better understanding for what it meant to write for interactive media. I have always wanted to learn how to write a really good press release and this course definitely did a great job at teaching me exactly how to do that.

 As far as writing that wasn’t covered, I think that this course touched on a very broad array of writing styles. I do not not think that there were any that I could think of that weren’t covered in this our lessons. In the future this type of writing will absolutely help me in my career and in my life in general. I own a non-profit organization and will always be needing to write for our releases and for our website.

 This course definitely met my expectations. I learned so many new ways of writing and got to read some really interesting stories. I really value the ability to attend a school that teaches in such a hands on way and truly sets us up for the real world.

[ashleycoro]

Digital PR

Public Relations in a Digital World seemed like such a daunting and scary course for me because up until now I had no idea exactly what it meant or what it entailed. As this course is coming to an end, I am more confident now than I ever was about my ability to work in the digital world and effectively promote and appeal to my target audience through digital media. My goal for this month was to take as much in as possible about the digital world and how public relations plays a part. Through our various assignments I have learned the art of creating an effective PSA and how to build a website.

 Due to my lack of knowledge of the digital world and how PR plays a role in it, I took the time to reach out to some PR professionals that I know personally for guidance. These connections with people who actually work in the business were vital to my understanding of the course materials and how to create meaningful content.  This course has also taught me that there is so much I still need to learn in order to become a master of this field.

 Personally I can apply this course to every day life. Knowledge of how present myself online is key in this world. Almost everything is done solely online now and it is important to be able to present one’s self in a mature and professional manner. Professionally, what I have learned, has already proven to be incredibly useful and helpful at growing my campaign, “Can You Hear Me?”. The PSA that we created in this course is now being used as our promo video for our campaign and has over one thousand views on Facebook. I can not even measure the amount of incredible knowledge I have learned this month and this course was everything I hoped it would be and more.

 Looking forward to the months to come.

-Ashley Adler Coro

[motivateyourselfeachandeveryday]

I’ve missed more than 9,000 shots in my career. I’ve lost almost 300 games. 26 times, I’ve been trusted to take the game winning shot and missed. I’ve failed over and over and over again in my life. And that is why I succeed.

Michael Jordan (via motivateyourselfeachandeveryday)

Michael Jordan is one of the most influential and inspirational people to me. He is part of the reason why I strive to do big things. I watch his movie Michael Jordan To The Max any time I need a little strength or inspiration. 

[ashleycoro]

Mastery Journey Timeline

Mastery: Personal Development and Leadership

Goal: To effectively be able to organize my thoughts and pinpoint exactly what I want to do and what my journey to mastery looks like.

1. Write in my Mastery Journal weekly.

2. Reach out to other people in my industry for advice.

3.Keep the book Mastery by Robert Greene close so I can reference it at any time.

Public Relations in a Digital World

Goal: To take as much in as possible about the digital world and how public relations plays a part

1. Research the digital world and define what it actually is.

2. Use lynda.com multi-media resources to learn more about digital PR.

3. Contact people I know in the PR industry and ask them how the digital world plays a part. 

Writing for Interactive Media

Goal: To become a stronger writer and feel more secure in my writing by the time the course is finished.

1. Practice writing as much as possible.

2. Ask for help from my professor on the best ways of writing. 

3. Watch tutorials on writing for interactive media.

Legal Aspects of Media

Goal: To learn the legalities of media in order to help myself on my path to mastery.

1. Utilize the people I know in the law profession such as my mother and my grandfather. 

2. The Full Sail library is full of resources that I can use to research the legalities of media and publicity. 

3. I will utilize the book and resources given to me for the course.

Innovative Public Relations Tools and Resources

Goal: To truly understand the tools and resources available to me in the Public Relations industry.

1. Download all the resources available for my course. 

2. Research the various tools in the public relations industry.

3. Keep an open mind about new ways of doing things and explore multiple options before doing anything.

Social Media Metrics and ROI

Goal: To learn how to truly read social media metrics and how to increase my ability to market to my target audience.

1. There are tons of youtube videos and resources on the internet about how to read metrics but just doing it over and over may be what it takes.

2. I have been reading various blogs and write-ups about metrics and how to best market your audience. I will spend time on social media tracking trends and what is popular.

3. I think that working with other classmates will prove to be one of the most effective things in this course and to achieve my goal. 

Market and Consumer Research Analysis

Goal: To learn the various ways of marketing to my audience and research who exactly my target market is along with their patterns and needs.

1. I will research my target market and find out exactly what they like and don’t like.

2. I will make sure to stay up to date on the latest trends as well as what is coming next.

3. It will be important to actually reach out to my audience to hear what they have to say.

Media Relations

Goal: To gain the skills it takes to understand journalism and the various ways of portraying a brand in the media.

1. First thing I will do is to find a journalist and talk to them about how they usually like to portray brands in media.

2. I think it would be a good idea to try and do something small in journalism to get a feel for what it’s like.

3. I will read the various magazines and online publications about brands. 

Events Marketing and Production

Goal: To gain some insight into how these events are held and what a good event looks like. 

1. I will talk with my boss about how he holds his big events for his non-profit.

2. I will be holding my own big event or my company so I will get to work hands on.

3. I have connections at Alternative Press and will be reaching out to them to talk about how they put on the APMAs.

Reputation Management Strategies

Goal: To learn a new and better way of handling my reputation and my brand reputation which is so important to my journey.

1. I will contact people in my industry who have maintained a good reputation and ask them their advice.

2. I will make sure to not post anything that could harm my reputation and to always ask the opinions of others.

3. I will join clubs at Full Sail that are focused on brands and ask for help with keeping my brand reputation up.

The Online Media Room

Goal: To become a master at managing all of the various media outlets surrounding my brand after taking this course.

1. There is this app called Cloze that I downloaded manages almost all social media in one place. 

2. The app Buffer allows you to schedule posts on social media. This would also cut down on time spent having to go into every social media outlet.

3. I will continue to look for new social media outlets to market my brand on and ask people in my target market what they are using.

Public Relations Final Project and Thesis

Goal: To be a lot closer to becoming a master of my field. 

1. I will look back at all the things I have learned and go over all my writings and research.

2. I will talk with other people in my field to figure out my next steps on my journey to my career.

3. I will remind myself daily to remain confident and not be afraid to ask for help. Also, there will always be something new to learn.

[ashleycoro]

I absolutely love Ted talks and this is an amazing one!

[publicrelationsby]

A brand is what a business does, reputation is what people remember.

[ashleycoro]

This is so important to remember on the path to mastery and building any type of business.

[ashleycoro]

My Mastery Journey logo.

[ashleycoro]

www.linkedin.com/in/ashleyadlercoro

[ashleycoro]

My Feedly!