2018 PRSA Conference Recap
Attending a professional conference was something I had never done before. So the PRSA Tri-State Conference was my first experience—and let me just say that it will most definitely not be my last! Just the simple fact that I was surrounded by people whom all have the same interest as me was a separate wonderful experience in itself. The talks covered everything that was public relations, marketing and communications. Unlike any other time before in my life I was able to have access to advice from experts in my fields of interest in different companies and freelancers.
Lisa Moehlenkamp, CTOof Fleishman Hillard, said something that stuck with me, when asked, “How do you balance work life and personal life?” she simply answered, “I don’t believe in the balance of the two. But I do believe in integration.” This really stuck to me as a working student, because it gave me a more optimistic outlook into what I am currently living. Instead of focusing on complaining, I know focus on how I can integrate work into my personal life. “Know when to leverage technology for efficiency” Lisa mentioned. As a millennial, technology is a very big part of my every day life, so I think that technology will also allow me to integrate my work into my personal life. And I learned that I shouldn’t look at that as being invasive, but as a luxury. Lisa made me realize the power I hold and how I can use the resources I have to take advantage in growing in the professional world.
During the conference the one thing I learned was the importance of common sense when it came to the communications industry. Unlike a finance job, in the communications industry you have to be able to follow certain social norms to succeed. When comparing, two companies such as Goldman Sachs and Etsy, you are able to see how different the roles of communications are played out depending on the company. Here you have two jobs that are in the same field, your goal is the same, yet how you go about it is different. What this made me realize was the importance of the brand identity. Once you know what your brand stands for, you’ll know how to manage your role.
“Always write the headline you want to read back” Becky Auslander, head of Consumer Communications at Etsy said while speaking about how to increase publicity within the company. I thought this was smart considering the fact that Etsy makes does most of their editorials as blog post to make it easier for media to quote them, where as Andrew Williams, the Managing Director of Corp Communications at Goldman Sachs, takes a different approach. “You have to take advantage of the different sources” he said, referring to the different apps we have. He mentioned how every company worked better with a different app—he preferred LinkedIn. Becky on the other hand relied more on apps like Pintrest and Instagram. She referred to as her brand to be more fun, which is why she focused on the more fun apps.
Although it seems like common sense, taking advantage of the different sort of medias (specifically the ones that match the brand identity) is something that can really give you company leverage.
“If you’re starting your follow-up calls to journalists with 'hey, just wanted to see if you got my email' stop. It's 2018, they got it." Katie Coleman, a freelance PR consultant, told the audience when asked about what advice to give. The last thing you want to do is to tire out our clients and reporters by harassing them. If they are not answering you emails you have to understand that they are not interested. By trying very hard to contact them, not only will you annoy them but you also risk getting a bad reputation.
Overall the conference experience was really fun for me. I learned various things that I can apply to my day to day living in personal, academic, and professional life. This conference inspired me to now be more interested in talks. I now listen to TED talks instead of music while on my way to work or school, and I think that that is a very valuable change that this one conference PRSA made in my life. I think I walked out of this conference with a lot more than just listening to these talks. I walked out with inspiration, eagerness to learn, and a more open mind.
