Diving Into The World of Advertising and Public Relations
The link below contains the campaign booklet I created for The Warrior Movement, a group at Grand Valley State University advocating for mental health. They were lacking a social media presence and asked for guidance on how to grow their organization.
https://docs.google.com/document/d/13vA8al1h7ejrvb-OlTDnv2WUQnF6inU9OElK4RpXlXY/edit
I am a senior at Grand Valley State University and I am studying advertising and public relations, and minoring in marketing. My goal is to share my advertising strategies, along with social media skills. I have a passion for athletic wear, lifestyle and health, and clean eating. I am exploring the Ad world while utilizing my social media skills.
I have a passion for advertising and want to help brands create the best image to their audience. I am Google Ad certified and have social media experience. I am driven and creative, and look creating engaging posts to interact with an audience.
I love Nike shoes and my favorite are the Air Max 97’s. Kickin’ it in the Ad world is better with Nike.
By: Lauren Druskinis
Covid 19 has impacted tourism tremendously in 2020, and it is becoming harder for companies to stay afloat and maintain a steady stream of tourists.
It’s no secret that crises can be a difficult time for companies and their brand. Handling crises is a crucial job in the public relations field that is not taken lightly. Keeping a brand’s reputation above water is far from easy, but there are some key points to keep in mind in order to come out of a crisis with success in today’s world. The 2020 election is coming up and there is a need for crisis PR more than ever. Crisis communication is needed in order to offer brands and businesses suitable and reliable solutions. Most of the time when a crisis is in full gear, the employees are the last people to be addressed. When a crisis is taking place, it is important for the employees to be aware of the situation because they are the internal stakeholders, and they may be going through a difficult time while trying to figure out what the issue is. Crises are known to trigger several emotions such as insecurity and fear, which means the employees may not know what the future holds for their jobs. Not only is it important to acknowledge the employees, it is also crucial to monitor social media, and this is an external factor that can make or break a company. Social media can spread information to millions of people in a matter or seconds, so keeping an eye on these platforms will help control the damage of the situation. Sites such as Reddit can help organizations become aware of information being spread about their company, and this is a helpful tool to keep in mind.
While keeping employees and social media in mind, it is also important to also emphasize the importance of diverse representations when handling a crisis. While a crisis is occurring, it is beneficial to ask who is at the table, and then think about who is not being represented in this situation what so ever. Groups of people who are all alike, have like minded thoughts and ideas which can lead to mistakes and close minded decisions. When groups come together who have different minds and backgrounds, mistakes can be avoided a lot easier. Crises need to be approached from all different angles and perspectives, and solving the issue needs to be an inclusive process and not an exclusive process. Another important aspect of handling crises in today’s world is coming up with a response to the crisis, but on several different platforms. It used to be acceptable to post a response to an issue on one platform, but today that is just not enough. Going as far as video responses, and opening websites to answer questions and have discussions can be very beneficial. While handling a crisis, it can be hard to remember what the company brings to the table in a positive way, so capitalizing all the company’s strengths can help smooth the process of a crisis. Bringing the best to the table means finding the right people who have the proper skills to handle a stressful situation. People in the company that have a good social presence and can show sympathy and empathy are key. Having someone represent a brand who is unapologetic and defensive can lead to even bigger issues, which can crumble a brand very quickly. The public needs to be talked to in a way that makes them feel comfortable and listened to.
Today’s world is changing so quickly, and crises have become so much more “normal” in a way. While handling a crisis, being able to identify the new normal in today’s society can lead to a better outcome for a brand. After a crisis, communication is still important, and things don’t just go back to normal all of a sudden, and that needs to be kept in mind. The reputation of a business or brand will never be exactly the same as before the crisis happened. Understanding what was learned during the crisis process and how these things will affect the business moving forward will lead to a successful journey of re building the reputation of the business and brand.
By: Lauren Druskinis
There is no doubt that the coronavirus has impacted several fields of work; on the other hand, public relations in many aspects has been on the incline. Although the pandemic has made it difficult for the public relations field to host events and talk to clients face to face, there has been a desperate need for crisis PR. When the world is dealing with a pandemic, crises can create opportunity. Luckily companies that are capable of being decimated by the pandemic can be brought back to life through crisis and internal communications. The future to many seems very unclear in a time like this, but according to The Business Insider several industries “can count on crisis PR and internal comms for the foreseeable future.” With the coronavirus impacting jobs, healthcare, and the future of our generation, public relations is crucial in voicing organizations goals and visions moving forward.
It is important during crisis management to listen, measure, engage, and talk.
There is no question that working during a pandemic is nothing short of frightening, and several organizations are putting their health on the line to serve millions of americans. One of the biggest companies to stay up and running during the coronavirus is Amazon. Several strikes occurred over coronavirus related health issues, and workers felt unsafe during this time while handling thousands of packages. With this taking place, Amazon used crisis PR to help workers feel safe and cared for while also addressing to the public all the procedures taking place in order to enforce a safe working environment. It is important for the public to know how employees are being treated and this can damage the ability for a company like Amazon to attract new staff and keep them around long term. Amazon is one of the top growing companies in the world, and the public relations staff was put under complete fire in order to deal with the pandemic and the changing working conditions. During the pandemic, the need for Amazon continued to grow, meaning the need for workers grew as well. This dilemma was one of the biggest PR dilemmas to date, because the pandemic hit so fast and there was little time to come to conclusions on what was going to happen in order to keep Amazon running smoothly. According to the global media journal, “In a rapidly changing world, information and communications technology, and knowledge economy, organization face two issues: keeping pace with rapid social change and adapting to it or facing extinction and a slow death.” The public relations field prior to the pandemic was given time to analyze, study, and make conclusions from public opinion, and then able to make rational decisions on what to tell the organization. Now, the public relations field is asked to urgently make decisions and try to come to conclusions more quickly due to the sense of panic. PR is still asked to understand all communication processes, but it is important to stay effective and successful during the process.
The Global Media Journal also touched upon the key aspects of public relations in the 21st century along with the coronavirus. “A deep understanding of the environment of the organization, its philosophy, and its privacy are among the most important requirements and conditions for effective and successful public relations.” Although the coronavirus impacted public safety and health, the public relations field is still considered to be one of the most important and widespread fields in the world. Crisis PR and management is needed to keep organizations up and running during this unpredictable time. Workers need safe conditions, the public needs to be updated on these conditions, and the organizations need to be aware of these issues. Public relations is centered around the truth, and not lies, and that is even more prevalent during a world crisis.
Kamil, Amed. (2020, July 13). Role of Public Relations in Crisis Management with the Coronavirus Crisis as an Example: A Case Study on The UAE. Retrieved September 15, 2020, from http://www.globalmediajournal.com/open-access/role-of-public-relations-in-crisis-management-with-the-coronavirus-crisis-as-an-example-a-case-study-on-the-uae.pdf
Moses, L. (2020, April 07). The Coronavirus Crisis is Propping up the Public Relations Industry. Retrieved September 15, 2020, from https://www.businessinsider.com/coronavirus-crisis-is-propping-up-the-pr-industry-newsletter-2020-4
First Position
Position: Social Media Specialist
Company: Lake Michigan Credit Union
Software/technology/digital skills required: I will need to know how to work with Adobe Creative Suit, Hubspot, Hootsuite, and Microsoft Office.
Gaining experience in order to qualify: This position requires you to have a college degree in advertising and public relations. It also requires you to have 3+ years experience in the field. I will need to complete college and gain experience through internships before applying for this position. I will gain experience alongside others who have worked in advertising and know basic skills on how to advertise for a company, and what kind of social media tactics help this kind of business. I will need to be able to understand social media strategy and manage social media communications. I will also need to opperate social media platforms for LMCU in an effective way and create social media advertising campaigns.
Second Position
Position: Social Media & Marketing Intern
Company: Family Futures
Software/technology/digital skills required: Know how to use Google Antalytics, Facebook advertising, Adobe, Canva, and WordPress. Have at least one years experience on these platforms.
Gaining experience in order to qualify: In order to apply for this position it requires you to be a current college student, which I am. I will still need to gain more experience with WordPress because I have only used it for a month. I will also need to practice using google analytics and facebook advertising because that is crucial for this position and I need to understand how these platforms work. The more I use these platforms the better I will understand social media.
Third Position
Position: Social Media Specialist
Company: NHA Service Center
Software/technology/digital skills required: Experience using Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, Twitter, and the software SproutSocial.
Gaining experience in order to qualify: In order to apply for this position it requires 3-5 years of social media experience, and knowledge of online marketing. I will need to gain more experience using SproutSocial and understand the software so I can do my job correctly. I will also become more familiar with pinterest and facebook because I do not use these platforms often.
Fourth Position
Position: Social Media Specialist
Company: Grand Valley State University
Software/technology/digital skills required: Social media experience on all platforms.
Gaining experience in order to qualify: This position requires a bachelor’s degree, and three years of experience with setting strategies. I will need to get my degree and focus on understanding how social media affects our campus life. I will need to understand how to grow followers and I will research data about GVSU to help me gain knowledge on the types of students and staff we attract.
Fifth Position
Position: Advertising Sales Representative
Company: Michigan Home and Lifestyle Magazine
Software/technology/digital skills required: B2B sales experience,
Gaining experience in order to qualify: For this position you need a high school diploma, and experience in sales. I will need to gain knowledge in sales when I take my marketing courses and apply that knowledge to this position. I will need to understand this business and their clientele and how to gain clients trust by forming relationships.
Sixth Position
Position: Campus Marketing Representative
Company: Insomnia Cookies
Software/technology/digital skills required: knowledge about Insomnia Cookies and be able to use social media platforms such as twitter.
Gaining experience in order to qualify: For this position you need to be a full or part time college student, and have a passion for insomnia cookies. I will need to research more about their business and what they have to offer. I will look into their social media pages to learn how they advertise and interact with their customers.
Seventh Position
Position: Public Relations Coordinator
Company: Project S Music
Software/technology/digital skills required: Be able to use different social media outlets, and know how to interview others.
Gaining experience in order to qualify: For this position they prefer a bachelor’s degree which I will need to obtain and I will also need to understand how to interview others and gather information. I will also need to research the company and understand how to interact with their audience.
Eighth Position
Position: Social Media & Events Coordinator
Company: Fox Ford Mazda
Software/technology/digital skills required: Knowledge in Adobe Creative Suite, InDesign, Illustrator, Photoshop, Microsoft Office.
Gaining experience in order to qualify: This company prefers a bachelor’s degree and experience in several platforms so I will need to complete college and learn more about Photoshop and InDesign. I will also understand social media and how it affects Fox Ford Mazda and their business.
Ninth Position
Position: Digital Marketing-Internship 2020
Company: Deksia
Software/technology/digital skills required: Google Ads certification, Google Analytics certification, and proficiency in Excel and Word.
Gaining experience in order to qualify: In order to qualify for this position I will need to work with Google Ads and Analytics, so that I can get certified. I will also learn more about Excel because I have only used it a few times. I am very comfortable with Word, so I will not have to focus on that as in depth.
Tenth Position
Position: Marketing/Advertising Manager
Company: Liquid Asset Partners
Software/technology/digital skills required: Marketing communications 2 years, and Adobe Creative Suite 3 years
Gaining experience in order to qualify: In order to qualify for this position I will need to finish my communication and marketing classes. I will also need to become an expert at using Adobe Creative Suite, so I will use Adobe heavily in order to prepare for the position.
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A Look Into PR Daily and Their Social Media Platforms:
Introduction: PR Daily is a top public relations blog that focuses on advertising, marketing, and social media. They have several accounts on different platforms to inform their audience about important topics in this field. I have researched PR Daily’s twitter and facebook account in order to conduct a social media audit to give insight into their pages performance, how they interact with their followers, and how successful their accounts are at reaching an audience.
Audit report for Facebook
URL link of the social media account of the blog: https://www.facebook.com/prdaily/
Facebook handle: @prdaily
Number of posts posted in the last two months: 112
Key Performance Indicators:
Total likes in two months: 176
Total comments in two months: 7
Total shares in two months: 80
URL links of top 10 posts in terms of Key Performance Indicators:
Target demographic: PR Daily’s target demographic are people who are interested in public relations and marketing, along with social media and writing. This is a news site to inform people who are interested in these topics about relevant information on social media. PR Daily also likes to keep things light at times and has some humor on their page as well. The demographic doesn’t seem to be a specific age, but it targets users who are generally in their early twenties to mid 40’s.
Number of Profile Followers/Likes:
Profile Followers: 108,763
Profile Likes: 106,337;
Evaluate performance: PR Daily’s Facebook page overall could improve it’s performance in several ways. It is clear that this page reaches a large audience of 108,763 people, but the interactions with the posts are lacking slighly. This makes me question whether or not people are enjoying their posts, or if all of the followers are not able to see these posts regularly due to Facebook having an algorithm of it’s own. Most of PR Daily’s posts on average get 3 likes, and 1 share, and these numbers are very small compared to the audience that follows the page. I believe PR Daily posts great content on their facebook page, but they could try to be more interactive with the audience to gain more attention from followers.
Audit report for Twitter
URL link of the social media account of the blog: https://twitter.com/PRDaily
Twitter handle: @PRDaily
Number of posts posted in the last two months: 465 posts
Key Performance Indicators:
Total likes in two months: 1,350 likes
Total comments in two months: 37 comments
Total shares in two months: 604 shares
URL links of top 10 posts in terms of Key Performance Indicators:
Forecasting 10 hot marketing fads for 2020 https://t.co/QzVm0iIUKR pic.twitter.com/84oqvF0M6n
— PR Daily (@PRDaily) January 21, 2020
Public speaking lessons from Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. https://t.co/n5oEiffVG2 pic.twitter.com/RSzVejq58R
— PR Daily (@PRDaily) January 20, 2020
5 marketing and PR campaigns that wowed us in 2019 https://t.co/gVLddr48QS pic.twitter.com/ZohKq6uNeL
— PR Daily (@PRDaily) January 13, 2020
Top opportunities and challenges for PR pros in 2020 https://t.co/0ev7CZ9002 pic.twitter.com/ga0NRzigyt
— PR Daily (@PRDaily) January 8, 2020
10 tips to improve your writing and ignite creativity https://t.co/j6TtgRdvru pic.twitter.com/QPBSHw6ZUs
— PR Daily (@PRDaily) January 6, 2020
10 social media scheduling blunders to avoid https://t.co/aGwi3moEFv pic.twitter.com/g4luvK68a7
— PR Daily (@PRDaily) January 3, 2020
10 books every PR pro should read https://t.co/pbybeLeIwm pic.twitter.com/gwGdkeZpvX
— PR Daily (@PRDaily) December 30, 2019
Infographic: Why social media marketing is essential https://t.co/OcxO7uXKqk pic.twitter.com/MWx7jSrDzq
— PR Daily (@PRDaily) December 27, 2019
Words and phrases PR spokespeople should avoid https://t.co/VKh1EuxWac pic.twitter.com/C3NcrCi97z
— PR Daily (@PRDaily) December 26, 2019
Great infographics are:
— PR Daily (@PRDaily) December 10, 2019
-Understandable
-Memorable
-Actionable#raganwriting #infographics #datavisualization
Target demographic: PR Daily’s target demographic are people who are interested in public relations and marketing, along with social media and writing. This is a news site to inform people who are interested in these topics about relevant information on social media. PR Daily also likes to keep things light at times and has some humor on their page as well. The demographic doesn’t seem to be a specific age, but it targets users who are generally in their early twenties to mid 40’s.
Number of Profile Followers/Likes:
Profile Followers: 115,800 followers
Evaluate performance: PR Daily’s twitter performance is overall pretty successful. Several of their tweets have high interactions and they post polls for their followers to respond to. PR Daily’s twitter performance is much better than their facebook page. I think the twitter page has a better performance because the tweets are more interactive.
Conclusion: Overall, PR Daily has great social media presence. I do believe they have the capability of becoming even bigger. As I researched their posts and took a look at their demographic, I think they can be interacting with their followers in a better way. Several of their posts do not relate to a large group of people, and tend to be very specific. I think PR Daily does a great job on twitter interacting with its audience, and it can be a bit more challenging on facebook which is why I beleive PR Daily’s twitter has better key performance indicators.
A little bit about me.
Hello, my name is Lauren Druskinis and I am studying advertising and public relations at Grand Valley State University. I am originally from Plymouth Mi, so I chose to leave behind everything; in a way, to be apart of the west side of Michigan. I have always been outgoing, and I realized moving two and a half hours from home would push me to expand my horizons and branch out in more ways than I thought was possible. In high school I was always exploring my creativity and tried to be as outgoing as possible. I took several art classes, a tv production class, and my senior year of high school I took yearbook. Yearbook taught me so much about design and helped me interact with all different kinds of people at school. I was able to walk around for an hour a day and capture moments that people could hold onto forever. I was able to interview teachers and students, and that helped me learn how to communicate better with others. My tv production class allowed me to speak in front of the entire school and helped me prove to myself that I can get over any fear I have if I put my mind to it. Besides these classes, one of the most memorable parts of high school was working with my schools PEER program which helps students who have any type of learning disability. This class was so rewarding and I made connections with students of all different ages. I was able to sit with students in their classes and help them be the best student they could be, and they did just as much for me as I did for them. These students in the program gave me a purpose the last year of my high school career. As high school came to a close I truly thought I had a plan but I didn’t. Grand Valley State University was never a thought in my mind until one day I received a packet in the mail, and I saw a tiny look into the campus life here. Within days I set up a date to visit here, and rest was history. Well, not actually. My dream school was always Michigan State University because my dad is an alumni, so I decided to visit there as well. I always had this picture in my mind that I would “bleed green,” but the more I thought about it, I had to make the right decision for myself. Although it was close to home, Michigan State was too big of a school for me. After a lot of thinking I knew Grand Valley State University was the perfect fit. Growing up, I moved several times but always stayed in the same area. The east side of Michigan was the only thing I truly knew. I love the east side of Michigan but I felt the urge to explore and grow. At first I was scared because I didn’t know anyone coming to this school, but the more I thought about it this was an opportunity of a lifetime. If I would of stayed home and went to school somewhere close, I would not be here today typing this blog. I wanted to know what this school had to offer, and what opportunities could be available to me. The creative side of me was drawn to advertising and public relations within the first months of moving to school, but I started off with a business major. All the jobs I have had in the past allowed me to use my creativity and I wanted to find that in college. I worked at a small ice cream shop in my hometown as my first job, and later got a job at a salon in the town of Novi, Michigan. I got to express myself with makeup and managed the social media page for the salon. I always found social media exciting because it is growing and changing everyday, and it gives people a platform to express themselves however they want. I also learned that social media is not just for individuals, but companies as well. It can transform businesses and connect people from all over the world, which is amazing and crazy at the same time. I feel as if these experiences shaped me into who I am today and what I believe in. I love working with others and collaborating, and I also love making other people feel good. When I originally picked business as my major, I didn’t know the classes I needed to take but I just knew that business was interesting to me and I wanted to learn more about it. As I dove into my business courses, I found myself less interested than I expected. Learning about economics is great, but I knew it wasn’t my passion. The more I looked into other majors, I knew advertising and public relations was for me. The opportunities are endless with this major, and I still decided to minor in marketing. As I was taking courses and working hard in school I have made some lifelong friends who support me, and I am able to share my thoughts and feelings openly. I am also able to communicate clearly and openly with professors and advisors, which is one of the greatest feelings. When you are surrounded by people like this, it is easy to make Allendale and Grand Rapids feel like home. I believe that connecting with people is one of the most important things in life. At this current moment, I have fallen in love with my major and the opportunities that lie ahead. As for the future, I plan to push myself everyday to reach my goals, do well in all of my upcoming courses here at Grand Valley, graduate with an amazing degree, and eventually help advertise for a major corporation. I would love to advertise for a beauty company or even something sports related. I have a wide variety or interests and I am excited to see what I become more interested in as my time in college goes by. I love the life that I have started to create at Grand Valley State University, and I am proud to be apart of this campus. I stand for acceptance, self expression, and equal opportunity for all, and that is exactly why I am continuing my education at this beautiful school that I can confidentely call home .
Life With Lo