I ‘ve had the chance to be public relations chair for my sorority twice, in 2009 and this semester again.
In 2009, I actually had to make flyers to promote an event, send out mass emails to alumni, remind people with a text or two, and get the school approval to post it on the event board.
Now, almost 2012, all of that work has been reduced to one-two-three clicks here and there, thanks to facebook, twitter, and kean’s university new system cougarlink.
I saved a lot of time when it came to advertising bake sales, fundraisings, events, etc.
All I did was go to facebook upload an image or two, write a short description of the event, invite ALL of my friends & link it to cougar link and weekly alumni emails.
Sisters got the invitation and invited their friends. And the results of money-making were better this year.
The constant use of networking sites has made marketing and public relations a lot simpler and cheaper. Not only to promote a business, or an event but yourself also.
I know that if I want my co-workers or boss to see me as an upbeat and hard-working employee, I cant post any “ I am bored at work ” or negative statuses because it can affect my image.
Social media, marketing and PR have a greater impact on someone’s professional image today than it did on 2000 or even 2009.
If advertising my sorority worked for me, “Selling myself or a business” through Facebook, twitter, linkedIn can also give me good results.
It would save me the time of trying to get people to notice me or a business through flyers, telemarketing, business cards, weekly mail coupons, promotions or etc. But most importantly, it would save money!
Why? Because technology has better itself, people don’t really see the flyers you hand them out, or care to listen when you call them at home, or lose the business cards, or only read the important mail- not weekly promotions or etc.
I know I don’t. I spend more time checking my email, facebook, twitter, yelp, zumeo, foursquare etc than my actual home mail. My personal brand will reach more people through these social media sites.
PR and Marketing is cheap today, there are millions ways to get people to hear about a product/business/ or even your skills if trying to find a job. The only thing needed to invest is time and dedication to be creative.
Sure, there are other ways to advertise and these old-fashioned tactics will probably still work, but if I want to save money, time and suceed, my best bet is to have a clean network profile. And update my co-workers, employers, and friends with statuses that will benefit me & not make me or my job look bad.
Millie A.
aguinami@kean.edu