HISTORY OF PR: JOHN HILL

I've been reading about the history of public relations and the people who've influenced the industry. I've been doing a lot of research on different professionals and someone I found really interested is John W. Hill.

After doing all the research, this is what I learned about John W. Hill.

He is the founder of the world's largest public relations firm. 

• Hill & Knowlton holds 2,000 employees in 80 offices in more than 40 countries
• The firm includes a long list of corporations including Texaco Inc., Warner-Lambert, Procter & Gamble, Gillette, Swiss Banks, the American Petroleum Institute and the Business Roundtable
• John Hill was the reason for the firm moving into European countries

He started Hill & Knowlton in an amazing city, CLEVELAND. 

• He was a former financial news reporter
• One of the first firms to give public relation guidance to businesses 
• Moved to New York to partner up with Don Knowlton and to open the headquarters 

Obviously, he was successful.

• He wrote two books about the business, "Corporate Public Relations" and "The Making of a Public Relations Man"
• He got his honors from public relations associations and a honorary degree from Boston University 
• Admirably skills, dignity and steadfast attachment to personal and professional standards 
• He was associated with the Tobacco Industry Research Committee (TIRC) and the Tobacco Institute 

John W. Hill was a pioneer in the public relations industry. He had a two-sided goal for public relations of providing information in non-controversial situations and providing advocacy and persuasion when controversy exists. 

For more information, please use the links below.

https://www.nytimes.com/1977/03/18/archives/john-w-hill-86-dies-led-hill-knowlton-founder-of-the-worlds-largest.html

https://networks.h-net.org/node/24846/reviews/25642/laird-miller-voice-business-hill-knowlton-and-postwar-public-relations

https://www.hkstrategies.com/

http://facstaff.buffalostate.edu/smithrd/PR/pioneers.htm

4 REASONS TO CREATE SOCIAL MEDIA CONTENT

The overall goal for individuals in the social media industry is to create great content. But you don't want to create content to just create content, you want to create content to make a connection, dialogue and promote your brand or product.

Content marketing is used to promote content to the masses and it is not new to the social media industry. Content marketing has become an integrated tool for helping individuals in the professional world determine what to create, spread and share with others to accomplish goals. 

When a company or brand creates original content, they're promoting their brand voice and perspectives on social media. Social media is an excellent way to show off and get their voice out for everyone to see. 

There are multiple reasons to create content on social media. According to Karen Freburg, there are four reasons for content marketing on social media. 

Reason #1: Having strong brand awareness 

• Companies are trying to find a way to be different than their competitors. Everything you post on your platform should be yours but you can research what others are doing to expand your reach. When you post similar content to others, it's important to have a strong brand image to attract new communities and industries so they can follow your original content. 

Reason #2: Gaining respect and reputation in the industry as a trusted resource. 

• When your posts are personal and consistent, the more you are looked at as a trusted resource. This means posting often about information relevant and useful to members. When a company or brand continues to be consistent and valuable, the more respect and trust will be gained from the audiences, which could lead to new opportunities. 

Reason #3: Tying into the search engine optimization capabilities. 

• Whenever you post content, it is important to do your research on your topic in the terms of key words. Data insights and valuable content is the key aspect needed to maintain a loyal community base. When someone searches key words about a topic and your content pops up, you want it to be helpful and allow individuals to follow you. 

Reason #4: Providing assets to a social media campaign. 

• Content equals assets. Assets are used for strategic messages and campaigns and without them, the overall message might not be presented the best way and force the audience to lose attention on social media. 

SO MUCH LOVE FOR A LITTLE VILLAGE

The small village of Ada, Ohio will forever have a piece of my heart. As mentioned in previous blogs, I go to Ohio Northern University located in a very small town called Ada. I'm not a small-town girl but Ada is home and I love this village so much.

Just recently, our school went under quarantine due to the Coronavirus so all on-campus housing had to evacuate and head home to their families. A lot of emotions were happening for me because I was already stressed with online classes, I had to pack up all my stuff and say bye to some of the most important people in my life. To say the least, it was EXTREMELY overwhelming.

There were some complications trying to get home to Akron but thankfully, my sister lives in an off-campus house in Ada and I get to stay at her house for a few weeks. I am very excited about this but if you ask the other four girls living in the house, I think they have mix feelings because I'm pretty loud and ask a lot of questions.

While being at the house, I am "learning" new skills. I put quotations around learning because the struggle is real with cooking and French braiding hair. My sister, Abby, thinks it's a smart time to learn how to cook. It's going well but again, I ask a lot of questions so sometimes I get put in timeout and can't talk until the food is out of the oven. Although cooking is a process, I'm succeeding in French braiding. Growing up, I had Abby do my hair all the time so she told me to learn myself. Her roommate is in education so she was patient enough to teach me how to do it.

Other than cooking and doing hair, I exercise A LOT. I go on runs and I head to the park to get some shots up. Throughout all these runs, I find something new about Ada and it's not as small as I thought it was! Believe it or not, I got lost running around the Wilson Football Factory. It might have been because I'm Emily and get lost a lot but I was honestly really confused. Ada is no ghost town to me anymore.

I'm very thankful to be staying in the village for a few more weeks. I wasn't ready to leave the windmills and I wasn't ready to say goodbye to my junior year. Ada may be small but I'm very lucky to have a place that makes saying goodbye so hard.

HISTORY OF PR: DANIEL EDELMAN SR.

Daniel Edelman Sr. was known for his work ethic, charm and humility. Dan Edelman was an entrepreneur and iconoclast and helped develop the public relations industry. He started his firms in Chicago and created the television media tour, while taking modern public relations to China and the rest of Asia. Edelman focused on relationships and his mindset was always in it to win it.

While reading "Edelman and the Rise of Public Relations," I learned Edelman believe public relations was a huge part of communications because you would be able to participate in dialogue and build connections with opinion leaders. He engaged in the importance of two-way communications and a signature Edelman campaign has an interactive public service element.

Daniel Edelman built the largest independent public relations firm in the country and took pride in his clients including Toni Twins, Morris the Cat and the Butterball Turkey Talk-Line. He represented prominent brand names such as Walmart, Starbucks, Burger King, Microsoft and Pfizer and owned firms ranging in a bunch of different industries.

Daniel Edelman was a huge family man and focused on holding his children to high personal and professional standards. He built his success with his son, Richard Edelman. "They shared a belief that ethics, respect, passion, innovation and breakthrough ideas, as well as consistency of thought and leadership, bring success."

Daniel Edelman had a significant influence on the methodology of public relations. He passed away from a heart attack in 2013 and he will forever be known as one the pioneer to public relations.

For more information about Daniel Edelman Sr. and the rise of public relations, please click here.

SOCIAL MEDIA COMMUNITY

In Chapter 8 of "Social Media for Strategic Communications," the author explains audience segmentation. When it comes to audience segmentation, there are several components and different audiences. In order to create a key audience, a company or brand has to have other sources to consider.

One of those other sources is a community. Social media communities include a group of people who are interested in a specific brand or area of expertise. Some examples of online communities include Nike Run and any Facebook group. Brands create communities, so it is important companies have common features.

There are four common features every audiences looks for in a community. 

1. Exclusivity. Everyone wants to be the first person to know something. It's powerful knowing information and being the first to get updates is one of the main reasons social media communities exist. So companies need to make sure the information getting posted is true and valuable.

2. Tone. Remember all the policies and terms of agreement we are supposed to read before signing up for something? We just click the box saying we agree with the terms and conditions even though most people don't read it. Well those policies set the tone. Direction on what is right and wrong will be and should be emphasized on all platforms.

3. Consistency. Think of this as a mission statement. People don't want to be a part of an unorganized culture or community. Make sure there is purpose behind the community and goals set in place for individuals to follow.

4. Sustainability. Communities are constantly updated and maintained by their hosts. When a vlogger uploads new content to a social platform, loyal followers are going to change their schedule and behavior to see it. 

People will come together to support a cause, brand or idea. Being together in a community allows individuals to feel a sense of belongingness. They can all come together to brainstorm, engage and share ideas and information in a specific space.

"Communities host a variety of different individuals, who in their own right have created their own brand and media outlet to the point where they are deemed powerful and persuasive in nature."

INSTAGRAM STORIES

Instagram stories have been blowing up this week with hashtag challenges to lift up some positivity in the world today. I believe these challenges are a way for individuals to get their minds off something other than the coronavirus. I love seeing everyone participate and nominate their friends. Challenges like this show how social media can be used for good uses and promote happiness.

The first challenge I got nominated for was the #postabucketchallenge. This one was fun because I got to post a little highlight of me doing something well in basketball. I learned so much from my junior year of basketball and struggled a lot so in a way I was sending myself some confidence. And with myself accepting the challenge, I was able to nominate others and let them post confidence! This one starting to spread fast. I only saw ONU basketball players post and then it went to other schools. This hashtag was really successful in my opinion.

Another challenge was the #positivitychallenge. This is a 30-day challenge where individuals are invited to post a nice gesture they have done on their Instagram story. The goal of this challenge is to spread positivity during times of anxiety, worries and uncertainty.

Along with the positivity challenge is a #beautifulwomenchallenge. This challenge you tag all the women who have helped shape you into the women you are today. Again, it's a way to spread positivity and light during difficult times.

Lastly, the #24hourchallenge is trending and I think this is my favorite. You post a selfie of yourself and tag 10 gorgeous women to do the same. The goal of this is to build yourself up instead of tearing yourself down. You try to go 24 hours without complaining to make an impact on your life and others.

I love the idea of social media promoting positivity and uplifting each other. During the times of worry, I think it's important to think of happiness and spread it across the world. These hashtags really contribute to the world and are trending like no other.

TOP 3 FAVORITE PLACES

While the whole coronavirus is taking over the world, I try to think about being somewhere else and the places which make me the happiest. I haven't traveled much in my life but all of these places hold a special place in my heart.

These places make me feel the most at home because of all the memories I have made, the people who came with me and the atmosphere matches my lifestyle.

#3 ISLAMORADA, FLORIDA 
I have been to Islamorada around nine times in my life. This has been our family vacation spot ever since I was little. We went to the same hotel every time, The Islander. We spent birthdays, Easters and celebrations of life here. My favorite thing to do here is fish. We always go on charters to catch the fish and we bring it back, cook it and eat it. From beautiful sunsets to family photos, Islamorada will never disappoint.



#2 ABINGDON, VIRGINIA
If you can't tell by now, I am a very big family girl. Family means everything to me and I love how close everyone is to each other. Most of my family is from Akron but my mom's younger sister lives in Abingdon, Virginia. There is my Aunt Deb, Uncle Eric and two cousins Maggie and Annie. We are always doing something in Abingdon. Whether it is going to the lake or climbing mountains, we never sit still. I love traveling there because I get to see my family I don't see all the time and I get to experience something new.


#1 MARBLEHEAD, OHIO 
My favorite place in this whole world though is Marblehead, Ohio. My grandma lives in Marblehead and she lives directly on Lake Erie. So a lot of weekends in the summer are spent at the lake with my family. I am instantly attracted to the water so we paddle board, jet ski, boat, fish and swim. Around here, we get to go to Put-In-Bay, Kelly's Island, Cedar Point and other attractions. We have had the lake house around 15 years and we love having family and friends come with us so they can experience it. I am very blessed to call this place my second home.

CONTENT CALENDAR TRICKS

Reading the same textbook as previous blog posts, this chapter talked about the importance of strategic planning for social media platforms. The author mentioned components of a strategic plan and one of those components is a content calendar. 

A social media content calendar aligns all of the pieces of content at the same time on a platform and this process is sometimes referred to as the customer journey landscape view. A social media calendar will save a company time and money and allow to track and test different strategies to be the most successful. It also creates a consistent brand voice and style because it is planned and organized. 

Here are some tricks to know about creating a content calendar! 

One of the hardest parts about a social media content calendar is knowing what to post. It's hard to come up with enough ideas but if you plan it out in the long run, it will help set goals and make the process more manageable. Posts have to be appealing to the people who follow your brand and promotional content allow for sales and boost your products. Your content needs to help your audience. 

Next trick is organizing and managing a posting schedule. Once you post for a while, you will be able to figure out trends and each social platform has recommendations on how often you post a day. Along with the amount of posts, there are the best times to post on each app. Staying to a schedule helps you grow an understanding of your audience. 

When you plan out your calendar, you will be able to track and analyze campaigns and information. Collect data from other posts, which will continue to grow your content calendar in the future. You always want to increase your reach on all the platforms. 

Social media is an important aspect to a company's strategy. In order to be successful, it requires teamwork from all the departments. It's a social media team who is reliable and easy to involve with the right tools. 

A ready-to-go and planned out social media content calendar allows you to plan for the future and focus on other important areas of your strategic plan. 

WHAT CORONAVIRUS ISN'T SAYING ON SOCIAL MEDIA

As we all know, the coronavirus has taken over almost every aspect of social media. Tweets, Instagram posts, Snapchats, Facebook posts and other platforms have been talking about this virus. It is crazy and I have contemplated deleting my social media because it can get overwhelming at times.

But because of this happening in the world and because social media can impact our lives, I have looked at the coronavirus in a new perspective and I believe a lot of people can agree with this perspective.

With schools transferring to online and even some universities shutting down dorms and campus, I learned college is a gift and we can't take the things we do and love for granted. I have stopped looking at things as a burden and turned them into an opportunity. I don't HAVE to go to class, I GET to go to class. I don't HAVE to go to basketball, I GET to go to basketball.

It is crazy how one disease can change someone's life. Being an athlete, my heart goes out to those athletes who had a season to play. But it is really cool to see athletes supporting each other and helping during a hard time. I have one season left and I feel guilty for complaining during my previous seasons when it can get taken away so fast.

I believe social media is causing a lot of panic. Yes, I believe this a horrible thing happening but I wish people would stop being so loud on social media. We can learn so much through this problem and I just hope we can slow down the spread.

I'm thankful I still have one more year left at school and I feel bad for those whose school year is ending. I am optimistic about everything happening and I know it will work itself out. So my tip for you is stay positive and be thankful for your opportunities.

BIRTHDAY'S AND ST. PATRICK'S DAY

Let me tell you guys about this weekend. I was able to celebrate my sister's 22nd birthday and St. Patrick's Day with all my friends! It was a GRAND time. I had a blast and made some of the best memories.

So my sister's birthday was on March 12 and she had a whole party and theme for it. Abby's theme was formal attire so girls went in cocktail dresses and guys went in button ups and nice pants. We celebrated Friday night with dinner and games and dancing! We took so many pictures and I couldn't remember the last time I got extremely dressed up for a party. Abby had an awesome time and it was so great being able to celebrate her!

The next day was Saturday, which meant St. Patrick's Day celebration! This was a really fun day and I was able to celebrate with all my friends. My roommate, Sydney, invited her brother and friend from home to come up to Ada and join in on all the fun. College is great and I really do love St. Patrick's Day. Most importantly, everyone stayed safe and celebrated a great holiday.

With everything going on in the world with the coronavirus, I am happy this weekend didn't get canceled and we were still able to give Abby her party. I'm upset because I think my sister won't be in Ada next year for her birthday and I only have one more Patty's day in school. I'm extremely thankful for all my friends and family who make college a blast and I can't wait to make more memories with these amazing people.

4 TIPS FOR SOCIAL MEDIA RESEARCH AND ANALYSIS

After reading Chapter 5 of "Social Media for Strategic Communication," the author highlights the research and analysis side of social media. By knowing the research and analysis side of social media, companies will be able to tell a story of where they are, where they are going, what to look for and how to get there.

"Social media measurement and analytics make up one of the fastest-growing specialization within the field." This means companies should follow the best practices when it comes to social media research and analysis.

Tip #1: 
Designate a person or team for monitoring and listening to the conversation on social media. 

• When you assign a person or team to take on this task, they can focus solely the key metrics and how to understand and apply the findings. With the information and proper training, senior management can conduct a strategy to produce the best results. 

Tip #2: 

Invest in the right tools. 

• When you invest in the right social media managements tools, the better off the company will be in filtering and reporting measures. Social media resources come in different sizes, focus areas, data collection and prices. 

Tip #3:

Apply the insights to strategies. 

• When you complete tip one and two, you will be able to gain insight. Once you get the insight, you need to be able to do more than just collecting data in spreadsheets. Take the insights and create a strategic. This could lead to more content focusing on themes and trends. 

Tip #4:

Engage and talk with your audience. 

• In order to achieve goals for the company or organization, you have to figure out what the audience wants. Creating relationships allows you to evaluate the behaviors and actions of your audience. You set a policy to best represent your brand voice and community. 

AND JUST LIKE THAT ... I'M A SENIOR AGAIN.

Junior season of basketball ended when we lost in the OAC quarterfinals against John Caroll. Emotions were high because I didn't want basketball to be over. I didn't want to lose what this team had going for the program. I didn't want to stop practicing. And I didn't want to lose the senior class.

This year of basketball has been the most challenging season of my life. I experienced trials, frustrations, tears, laughs, wins and memories. This season had the most highs and lows of my life with a sport and I wouldn't change any second of it because of the lesson I learned about myself.

I never realized a sport can be such a mental game. It goes way past dribbling or shooting the ball.  I'm not going to lie, I struggled a lot this season. My performance on the court wasn't the greatest I wanted it to be and I was extremely hard on myself. I lacked a lot of confidence but in the end, the lessons I learned made the roller coaster worth it.

Go into my senior season I need to remember I have only one season left to play the game I love. I don't want to have any regrets and I don't want to throw away time complaining and being too hard on myself. I love basketball and the bottom line is to have fun. So here are some note worthy lesson I took away this season.

Lesson #1 - Be a team Player 
Know your role. Accept your role. Be the best you can be in your role. Whether you are the best player or all the way on the left bench, you are an aspect to the team. Be humble and know you are important.

Lesson #2 - Adversity is ok 
When something isn't going ok, don't panic. Recognize it, evaluate it, understand it and figure out how to fix it or move on. Game plans don't always go as plan. The ball doesn't always go in. Figure out and make the adjustments. Never give up.

Lesson #3 - Smile and have fun 
At the end of the day, basketball is fun. I GET to wake up and play basketball. I GET to practice. The tears and frustration is not worth it. The best part about basketball is the fact I get to laugh, smile and make memories with my best friends. I'm not going to remember the wins and loses (well, hopefully), I'm going to remember the times with my teammates.

And just like that, I'm a senior in basketball again. It's bittersweet but I am ready to take on the challenges and moments with my teammates. BALL IS LIFE (and fun).

BACHELOR SEASON 24 EPISODE 9

In my social media principles class, we were given an assignment to live tweet an event. I forget we had to do this so I got stuck live tweeting the fantasy suites of the bachelor. If you watch bachelor or not, everyone knows this show is always dramatic. 

However, I'm not sure how much I would call this episode dramatic as much as I would call it awkward. They put all three girls in the same hotel for the fantasy suite and each one would come back from their date and talk about it with the other girls. One great went perfectly, another went ok with some miscommunication and the third went poorly.

The three girls and Peter went to Gold Coast, Australia to fall in love. Hannah Ann received the first date, where they spent the day on the water jet skiing and ended with the couple in the fantasy suite. Victoria was next and spent the day with Peter in a helicopter. The two of them experienced some tough conversations but talked through it and decided to forego their individual rooms.

It was finally time for Madison's date. Peter and Madi climbed the tallest building and the view was beautiful. But when they got to dinner, the two had talk about a lot. Madi told Peter she was saving herself for marriage and gave him a "ultimatum" at the last rose ceremony. After talking and being honest with each other, Madi excused herself from dinner and Peter followed her outside. However, we are left on a cliffhanger and we don't know if Madi decides to leaves or stay.

After live tweeting this whole episode, I learned being a part of a Twitter chat is difficult and you have to be ready at all times. I would be watching the show and then I would tweet about it, all while trying to respond to people commenting. My promotional tweet gained more likes than I thought it would but overall the chat was hard to do.

For more information about this episode or to check out my live tweet, feel free to look at my Twitter account. You can find me at @em_brock_.