#media maison

[mediamaison]

SM Intern Diaries :: Michelle

This week was less learning, and more doing. It felt great being trusted to my own thing, but still have my questions answered whenever I asked them. I really like the laidback yet professional vibe this office gives off. Although sometimes frustrating, I’ve come to value any critique I receive. I’m extremely grateful that the busy staff at Media Maison take the time to help me out.

It was yet another challenging week in public relations, but fun one for social media. But at the end of the day, I realize that doing both public relations and social media teaches me so much more about marketing and branding. I think if I was just doing one without the other, I wouldn’t completely understand media relations and its significance.

Also, what I’ve recently noticed is how much of what I’m learning at Media Maison has affected me personally. Pitch writing and media relations has definitely pushed me to think more creatively yet stay focused. I think after my internship here, I will be able to write with much more influence and clear purpose. Also, I’ve been witnessing firsthand the growth of brand communities since we started working on new clients. Delving into the process of nurturing this social media community has been an exciting learning experience so far. 

[mediamaison]

PR Intern Diaries :: Laura

After being an intern for almost a month, one thing that is very clear is that blindly pitching does not work. Instead, tailoring pitches to specific outlets or editors is a much better way. I have heard plenty of first hand accounts from colleagues, family, and friends of being frustrated with inboxes littered with pitches that have nothing to do with their publication. I want to avoid being one of those PR people on the spam list, so this week I have been working to learn more about pitching more precisely.

First, I watched a tutorial on CisionPoint regarding advanced searches. I already know the basics of running Cision searches, but this gave me an insight into how to better navigate the system. I now know how use the advanced search features and what I can use to better find the editors, writers, outlets, etc. that I am looking for. I also feel like I know more about Cision in general, which is making using the program a much better experience. 

                                Also, I have been working on looking through magazines and finding articles, columns, and sections that fit our clients. By knowing more about each publication and what they look for, I can tailor pitches to specific outlets. This might make more work, but I think it will lead to more results in the end. I also think that this will help me build relationships with these contacts, which is of utmost importance in the PR world. I know I have a lot more to learn, but I feel confident that I am making strides in the right direction. I look forward to learning more about pitching and creating relationships with the media outlets I read everyday.

-Laura

[mediamaison]

SM Intern Diaries :: Michelle

I can’t believe it’s the first day of August! Summer whizzed past me, and I have one month before I return back to school. This week I got a lot of help on crafting pitches from the Media Maison PR staff. Drafting pitches this week just reinforced how much more practice I need do, even on my non-PR days. Also, in order for me to get more creative with my pitches, I need to do some independent research by scouring through the sites and publications I pitch to.

During my social media days, I learned about crucial ways to avoid a social media crisis. It’s scary to think that making one big social media mistake has the power to tarnish your brand. I also learned about being proactive with fans and followers by reaching out to them and creating connections with them.

Through reading various blogs and practicing follower strategy, I’m gaining a lot of information about the industries of our clients. I really hope that I’ll be able to direct this knowledge to my work in PR. I only have a month left here at Media Maison, and I plan on maximizing what I get done here and utilizing the resources I can only find here. Well, here I go!

-Michelle

[mediamaison]

SM Intern Diaries :: Michelle

                               I’m three weeks in, and I’m really learning valuable lessons here at Media Maison! On Monday, I got to venture out into the city to deliver samples for our clients. Even though this just a menial task, it was exciting delivering samples to big brand companies like Vanity Fair and Seventeen, and really seeing the places where our pitches are being sent out to. Twas a cool experience! 

It was yet another week of replies and...lack of responses in the email marketing world, the latter much more frequent. This has just pushed me to think even further out of the box. Even if my ideas seem ridiculous at first, I learned how much more productive it is to work with those rather than try to stretch something that is very basic and overused. I have yet to really dive into the “building relationships” aspect of public relations, but with a little more training and creativity, hopefully I’ll get there!

Although I have had more practice time with pitching and using social media, it is still tough to follow the fast-paced rate the PR/social media world moves! It’s all about being relevant, but standing out over everyone else. Sometimes I get easily frustrated when I am dry on fresh ideas. But hopefully over time, my mind will be able to absorb and react much quicker. I’ve reached the halfway mark in the summer, and I’m planning to make the most out of the rest of my time here.

-Michelle

[mediamaison]

SM Intern Diaries :: Michelle

Today marks the first day as a social media intern at Media Maison. I was extremely lucky enough to land this internship considering I’m still in high school. I am about to go into my senior year, but I wanted to spend my summer in the working world for a change. Media Maison definitely provided me with that environment, which was, at first, nerve-wracking! But everyone here is super cordial and welcoming, which has alleviated any first-day pressures. I like how everyone gets their work done, while still maintaining a conversational and cheery setting; this has certainly helped me get comfortable quickly.

What drove me towards social media was my initial interest in journalism and communications. And I realized recently that although Media Maison is a public relations firm, I would be able to nurture many other necessary skills, such as communications and marketing. Since social media is relatively new, and yet expanding at such a rapid pace, I wanted to be able to become an expert at using it. I believe that the tasks that Media Maison has me doing will shape me into an effective communicator and innovative strategist.

What I did today was just an introductory look and feel into the colorful field of public relations and communications, and I’m already excited by it all. It was a bit hectic trying to navigate through all the social media outlets and learning about new tools like SugarSync. It’s a lot of information to take in, but it’s refreshing to know how much I’ve already learned in one day. I can’t wait to start honing my social media skills and putting them to action!

-Michelle

[mediamaison]

Bring Your Dog to Work Day!

We're celebrating Bring Your Dog to Work Day today at the Media Maison office! Let me introduce you to Scooter and Prince! 

Is your office celebrating as well?

Cheers! -- Anna

[mediamaison]

A Touch of Paint and Pattern

Our CEO decided that it was time to do a little refreshing of our office. Come a week later and we have new carpet, paint, saloon doors on the kitchen, and a great stenciled wall in our CEO's office. We know how to work, and work fast ;-)

Here's a peak inside our office's new look!

Two views of the hall and new framed art.

Now you see the kitchen, now you don't!

A look inside our CEO's office. 

Doesn't it look great? It's amazing what a little paint and a good eye can do! What would you do to create your ideal office?

Cheers! -- Anna

[mediamaison]

Social Media and the Traditional Resume

Social media and the job search have quickly become one in the same over the last couple of years. These days, most employers are going to check out your online profiles anyway, so why wouldn’t they make it a one stop shop?  

CNN recently reported that many hiring agents are skipping the traditional resume for Facebook and LinkedIn profiles. We’ve all seen the “Apply with Facebook or LinkedIn” buttons when filling out online applications, but what we thought was an easy way to automatically fill out our previous employment is slowly becoming a default way for potential employers to check out your online presence.

Social media has become a staple of most everyone’s daily lives, and over time certain rules have come into play with etiquette and how you present yourself online. What was mostly done to prevent potential employers from perceiving a negative image of you is now being looked at as a way to attract positive attention.

So how should you better manage your “social resume”?

Keep it classy: It almost goes without saying; don’t post anything you wouldn’t want a potential employer to see. Also make sure your friends aren’t posting any inappropriate content on your personal page either.

Nothing wrong with separating personal and professional: Many people maintain both a personal and a professional Twitter or Facebook page as a way to keep personal content just for them while also maintaining a separate professional brand. This doesn’t mean that the internet is a free-for-all though. You should still keep it clean. But sometimes it is preferable to make sure current and future employers only interact with an account used for professional networking purposes.  

So with all of this priming your online presence for a potential employer, you should throw your paper resume out the window, right? Not quite. While the simplicity and ease of social media profiles may make the traditional resume take a backseat, no one sees it going away anytime soon. Your profiles are a good judge of your online brand but your resume gives a better history of your experience, and will most likely be here to stay and exist in some digital format that won’t get lost or crumpled up in someone’s file folder. 

Until next time! -Anna C