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Public Relations Final Project & Thesis Course

Reaching the end of this master’s degree program and finishing my capstone project thesis paper, I reflect back on my journey at Full Sail University that has spanned over a decade starting in 2003. When I started out at the school doing my associates in Show Production little did I know that almost a decade later I would be finishing my second masters at the school.

So looking specifically at this final class, my expectations getting in were to be able to conclude all the aspects necessary to complete my thesis. My two other expectations were to avoid the mistakes I did during my Internet Marketing masters thesis paper and to pay attention to detail. The last one being something that cost me a perfect score in my reputation management class.

What I gained from the class was the additional knowledge I required to improve on my blog analytics and content distribution by tagging and categorizing my blogs the correct way. The class also made me aware of the impact of optimizations for personal websites build on the Wordpress platform, learning the difference between Wordpress and Squarespace is vital as some of the job offers I have seen so far require some knowledge of Wordpress.

Lastly, everything boils down to the final thesis paper and of all my time at Full Sail University this has been one of the most pleasant educational journeys I have ever had. For this class brought all the elements from the previous classes together and facilitated me in successfully completing my paper.

My thoughts on finishing this degree program are best captured by the quote from Josh Waitzkin, "The key to pursuing excellence is to embrace an organic, long-term learning process, and not to live in a shell of static, safe mediocrity. Usually, growth comes at the expense of previous comfort or safety."

Reference:

Dash Thomson (2014). 35 Inspiring Quotes About Learning. Retrieved 30 June 2017, from http://www.dashe.com/blog/motivation/inspiring-learning-quotes/

http://successfulstudent.org/full-sail-university/

#Mastery Journey #thesis #journal #public relations #publicist

@carnavaldelsolyvr in case you missed the biggest Latin Festival on the Western Coast of 🇨🇦Canada. Here are some special moments (at Vancouver, British Columbia)

2008-2017 career #usa #usnavy #usn #usnavysailor (at Vancouver, British Columbia)

#usa #usnavy #usnavysailor #usn

Not so long ago I served under this flag #usa #usnavy #usn #usnavysailor (at Vancouver, British Columbia)

#usnavysailor #usn #usa #usnavy

Online Media Room

Going into this class my expectations were to come out of it having learned all the elements of having an excellent media room.

Online media room best practices i.e. design of the page. This means the colors and placement of content are vital. Also, another element that I learned in class is the importance of paying close attention to the placement of hyper content to boost the prospects of the search engine algorithms. Well-placed hyper content means more visibility for the media room, something that a company like Google has done with its media room.

Other things that make a media room efficient according to Tara Geissinger (Media Friendly, 2011), includes creating a needs analysis identifying and defining your specific target audience. One also has to make sure the style, tone, and voice are representative of the organization. Lastly making sure that all information on the media page is useful information.

According to Danielle Capriato (8 Features, 2015), It goes without saying that all content on the Web today should be optimized for all platforms. If your website design isn’t responsive, your room won’t be—nor should it, as that would create an inconsistent user experience. All is not lost! Ask your vendor if your content is optimized for mobile, even if you don’t have a responsive design. She goes on to say that the story is usually incomplete without a multimedia component, be it a picture or video.

In the era of social media, all the elements mentioned above play a huge role in creating viral stories that can be vital to a company especially in a time of a crisis. You want people to share your content and engage with you during the good times and be strategic allies when a crisis hits; because you want your side of the story to be out there too.

Reference

Capriato, Danielle (2015). 8 Features Your Media or IR Room Needs Right Now. Retrieved 24 June 2017, from http://www.prnewswire.com/blog/author/dcapriato-8601498/

Geissinger, Tara (2011). Business 101: Are You Media-Friendly? How to Build an Online Media Room. Retrieved 24 June 2017, from http://www.momeomagazine.com/business-101-are-you-media-friendly-how-to-build-an-online-media-room/

#mastery journal #masteryjourney

Enjoying a sunny day at today's Aboriginal Day celebration in downtown Vancouver,BC #aboriginalday (at Vancouver, British Columbia)

#aboriginalday

Aboriginal Day celebrations in Vancouver,BC #aboriginalday (at Vancouver, British Columbia)

#aboriginalday

Hanging out with my wife @priscillaomulo who is Coast Salish Aboriginal from Victoria,BC at the Aboriginal Day celebration in Vancouver #aboriginal #aboriginalday (at Vancouver, British Columbia)

#aboriginalday #aboriginal

Reputation Management Strategies

Initially, I thought I had an advantage getting into this class because of my master’s degree in Internet Marketing and my first-hand experience in dealing with reputation management in politics and in the entertainment industry. What I have discovered though is having knowledge is one thing but being able to convey your knowledge is another whole issue. So the most important lesson I get from this class is always paying close attention to detail especially when you think you know a lot.

Other elements of this class that will prove vital as I continue in my mastery of public relations are the creation of a crisis communications plan that encompasses a crisis management team and a crisis communications team. This is essential in creating a protocol or structure that can be followed before and after an incident becomes a crisis.

This class helped me develop my thoughts on what structure works best for my client as not all plans fit all. In my case my company is too small, insignificant, but as they say start small but think big. So the plan I have for my client is small enough in scope, but if it happens, the crisis is colossal, and then it can be expanded as needed.

When it all said and done though, nothing matters if you have negative press and no way countering the bad press with your own positive spin or your side of the story to soften the public relations blow. In this class, I learned about the effectiveness of blogs and how if my client could have an internal and external one, it would be helpful in the event a crisis occurs. The idea of having blogs that can be intertwined with my client’s social media platforms for maximum impact is fascinating and something I intend to implement for my client.

Reference

Nevada Small Business (2017). CREATING A CRISIS COMMUNICATIONS PLAN. Retrieved 26 May 2017 from https://nevadasmallbusiness.com/the-importance-of-crisis-management/

Rachel Meranus (2007). Managing Bad Press. Retrieved 26 May 2017 from https://www.entrepreneur.com/article/182286

B. Jonathan and Erik B. (2013). Crisis Management for Negative Online Reviews. Retrieved 16 May 2017, from http://managementhelp.org/blogs/crisis-management/2013/01/06/crisis-management-negative-online-reviews/

Del Vecchio, P., Ndou, V., & Passiante, G. (2011) Managing corporate reputation in the blogosphere: The case of Dell Computer. Corporate Reputation Review, (14)2, pages 133-144.

#mastery journal #mastery journey

Events Marketing and Production

John Horgan leader of the BC New Democrats

Photo by NDP

This is a class that has proved to be vital especially now that I am volunteering full time for the opposition party in British Columbia. With the provincial elections coming up next month, a lot of lessons learned in this class like event planning have been very helpful especial as campaign debates take shape and the candidates get on the road to meet the voters.

Some of the vital lessons in event planning according to Seattle Stylista are

· No matter how much meticulous planning you invest, something unexpected will always happen.

· There will always be somebody with something negative to say. No matter how much audience research you have conducted and how much time you have put in to accommodating everybody’s needs, there will always be somebody.

· You should always have a plan for what will happen if more or less people than expected attend the event.

· If your event is outside definitely have a back-up plan for rain. Whether it is an indoor venue or tents, you need to prepare for the unexpected.

· You need to prepare yourself to quickly adapt to change.

My recording studio (Swahili Studios), in Nairobi,Kenya

Photo by Denver Karubiu

Another vital lesson that has moved me into action is crowdfunding. I had set up a recording and film company in Kenya years ago, and now I am considering turning it into a small media school. With the crowdfunding lesson, my eyes were open to how I could source for funding through IndieGoGo or Kickstarter.

According to Tanya Prive, capital doesn’t come so easy to entrepreneurs these days. In 2012, the total number of loans and money distributed in the U.S. via the Small Business Administration had dropped as much as 20 percent! Also, nearly 98%of the business plans received by accredited investors, and VC’s are rejected. The amount of money raised by crowdfunding platforms is more than $2.8 billion, up 91% since 2011.

This avenue of funding creates an opportunity for entrepreneurs like myself; do be able to execute community development projects, in my case a media school in Kenya.

Reference

Wilson,Madeleine (2015).8 IMPORTANT EVENT-PLANNING LESSONS. Retrieved 23 April 2017 from http://www.seattlestylista.com/8-important-event-planning-lessons/

Prive,Tanya (2012).Top 10 Benefits Of Crowdfunding.Retrieved 23 April 2017 from https://www.forbes.com/sites/tanyaprive/2012/10/12/top-10-benefits-of-crowdfunding-2/#714f7682c5e6

#MasteryJournal #crowdfunding #event planning

NDP Outgoing Member of the Legislative Assembly - Surrey-Green Timbers Sue Hammell and Delta North NDP Candidate Ravi Kahlon .

Media Relations

Something I have learned from this class is the need to always be meticulous in how you articulate yourself to get the message across to the audience. The course has proved handy especially as I embark on working with the communications team for British Columbia’s opposition New Democrats during this campaign.

Simple things as a proper media list on Twitter, to networking after the creation of the list, have become a critical tool for me as I learn about the Canadian political communications mechanics. This theory of connecting with the media by starting off with a media list is something also back up by LinkedIn PR professionals who state that media acts as an intermediary between an organization and it's target audience in creating awareness for the organization with an ability to create a positive impact for the chosen audience. In this way, organizations build public support, as they can reach out to their audience.

This brings me to the most vital part of this class, which in my opinion is crisis management. As I write this United Airlines just got hit with a backlash for a leggings controversy, according to Business Insider United Airlines refused to let two women board a flight on Sunday because they were wearing leggings, and people on Twitter are outraged. The gate agent on Flight 215 from Denver to Minneapolis initially refused to let three women in leggings on the plane. One of them, a 10-year-old girl, was reportedly allowed to board after putting on a dress over the leggings. The public relations department currently instead of killing the story by saying they will look at the issue, they came out throwing the rulebook on Twitter, and the criticism has just become the leading trending story.

One thing I have learned from this class is that perception is everything when it comes to public relations.

Reference

Race For Excellence (2015). Importance of Media Relations for PR Professionals. Retrieved 26 March 2017, from https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/importance-media-relations-pr-professionals-pr-professionals

#Master Journal #politics #communications #NDP BC

According to Zillow there are five types of people who attend open houses in British Columbia, they include; the real buyer, a nearby neighbor, Agents scoping out the place for clients, the agent who lost the listing and lastly the previous owner who lost the listing. As the seller you focu

Marketing and Consumer Research Analysis

According to Rick Suttle (The Consumer, 2017), companies conduct marketing research with consumers to better understand their needs and determine customer satisfaction levels. Consumer research is particularly crucial when a company decides to market a new product. The company must determine the potential success of the product by asking customers for their opinions. After conducting focus groups and surveys, marketing managers must analyze the consumer data and make recommendations based on the study results.

In this class, I learned the methods of conducting consumer research and how that can affect a public relations campaign. The information proved to be vital as it connected to the sentiments put forth by Rick Suttle, which defines consumer research. Most importantly the information gathered helped me redefine my campaign to be in line with the much narrowed down target market and geographical demographic. Given that the client is entering a new country, the information gathered had to be very clear for the client to comprehend and enable them understand the direction of the public relations campaign.

Another thing I found vital and scary to do was the statistical analysis of the report findings. The study helped me define the income variations by age and geographical location. With this information, I was able to develop a well-targeted online advert campaign, which contributed to the curbing of the cost, for the client.

To me, the best thing out of all this process was the ability to create a very narrow niche for my client As Nathalie Lussier, world-class digital strategist and email building expert states, “go narrow in the beginning. Establish yourself as an authority in one very specific area, build a small but mighty email list, then unfold into new products and new ideas when you’ve built the relationship with those clients”.

Reference:

Porterfield, Army (2015). #67: Should You Narrow Your Niche? Retrieved 25 February 2017, from http://www.amyporterfield.com/2015/07/67-should-you-narrow-your-niche/

Suttle, Rick (2017). The Consumer Research Process. Retrieved 25 February 2017, from http://smallbusiness.chron.com/consumer-research-process-3363.html

#mastery journal #marketing #market research #analysis #consumer data #british columbia #vancouver

Social Media Metrics and ROI

At the start of this class, America was going through a transition from a president who had utilized social media effectively to get communities organized and won tow elections, passing the power to a new president who effectively was able to use social media in a slightly different way enabling him to win the election.

These two scenarios go to show the effectiveness of social media metrics and what it means to have goals and return on investment. The two elements are crucial, something I have learned from this class. To me though what I find most important is a sentiment expressed by Luke Chitwood (2013, 5 Social), in which he says that the trick is to identify specifically what social data is relevant – and to analyze just exactly what that data means.

I always say that data is essential, but it can only be helpful when you know what it means, regarding your brand or business. Then adjust your goals to match what your data is telling you. In this class, My primary take away included analytics and reading Deirdre Breakenridge (Social), where she states that, “public relations will continue to transform, and the changes you see are monumental. For better or for worse, a career in PR means handling communications in the public spotlight because of the increasing use of social media. In the wake of democratized content and businesses satisfying the needs of the digitally connected consumer, PR had to evolve with a new approach. This approach required a shift in thinking, from strategy and planning all the way through to implementation and measurement. Professionals must discover new research methods, develop specific policies to guide employee and public participation, experiment with content through a variety of social media channels, and learn to connect and build relationships with stakeholders through new technologies”.

Reference:

Chitwood, Luke (2013). 5 social media metrics that your business should be tracking. Retrieved 27 January 2017, from https://thenextweb.com/socialmedia/2013/10/29/5-social-media-metrics-business-tracking/

Breakenridge, D. (2012). Social media and public relations: eight new practices for the PR professional. Upper Saddle River, NJ: FT Press.

#social media #mastery journal #marketing #data science

Happy New Year (at Top of Vancouver Revolving Restaurant)

Innovative Public Relations Tools and Resources

“Peace of mind always comes with knowing who you truly are, where you currently stand, where you positively need to be, and strongly believing in its possibility.”

― Edmond Mbiaka

For close to 18 years I have worked on other people’s brands and careers. For the first time, I have been forced to take an in-depth look at what my brand is and how best to shape it on social media and the Internet as a whole. This class has helped me put a lot of things into perspective. The best example being choosing a resonating user name on all my social media pages, and being able to bring together all the aspects of what I have done over the last decade under public relations as opposed to being split up into photography, cinematography, branding consulting and talent management. All the four elements that have played a huge role in making me who I am right now, and it has been challenging and till this point to narrow down how to effectively brand myself.

Looking specifically at the class material, I can say I walked in with about 40% knowledge, and I am walking out better placed regarding understanding the resources one has to have and know as a public relations professional. The most important thing for me now is being able to keep up with the constantly changing tools and being able to utilize things like Flipboard, Hootsuite, and Tweetdeck effectively. Most importantly, though, above it all is being able to transfer what works on my personal brand to clients who hire me to either manage their brand direction as a whole or just their online presence. Further more I will have to remain curious and continuously look for innovative ways to get the job done for clients as well as grow my personal brand.

#mastery journal #mastery journey #public relations

The view to work today #seattle #snow❄️ #wintertime (at Silverdale, Washington)

#wintertime #seattle #snow❄️

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Philip ║█║▌ Roy