Postal System Blues

Hello Friends,


I'm sorry for another color in the tittle of my blog post, but it describes the way I'm feeling right now. Lately I have lost all faith in the U.S Postal System. I don't normally choose to use the snail mail, but I have a "pen-pal" for the first time in my life. We have sent a few letters back and forth, and I have even sent him a package. Did I mention that my pen-pal is from Scotland?

My problem with the postal system started about two weeks ago. I was supposed to receive a package for my birthday. My pen-pal told me he sent the package before my birthday so I was extremely excited. Normally it takes about a week to send something overseas, so I knew I was going to have to be patient.

Today is October 29. My birthday was October 16. I have been waiting patiently for almost two weeks and I'm starting to get really mad. Every day I come home from class and run to the door to check and see if my package has arrived. Each time I'm met with disappointment. My pen-pal is calling this week to track where my present is. He knows that it is currently in the U.S, but where at in this country is a mystery.

I'm going to continue to stay patient and hope that it shows up eventually. When it does, I will be the happiest girl in the world. The U.S Postal System is not my favorite right now, but if I want to continue to be an active pen-pal, I'm going to have to continue to use the snail mail.

Until next time,

Katie

Taylor Swift's media tour is "Red" hot!

Hello friends,

I hope that everyone had a great week and is looking forward to a fun Halloweekend. It's been a long busy  week, but I am more excited to go out and purchase Taylor Swift's new album "Red" than dressing up for Halloween.

"Red" was released on October 22, 2012, but Swift has been on a whirlwind media tour to promote her anticipated new album. She has been all over the place promoting her new album doing appearances on shows and performing for live audiences. I don't know when she has had time to sleep. This was her schedule for the week the album dropped:

October 22 (album release date)
- ABC'S "Good Morning America" 7:00 a.m.
October 23:
-ABC's "Good Morning America" 7:00 a.m. (performance in Time Square)
-"The Late Show with David Letterman" (live performance)
October 24:
- ABC's "The View" 11:00 a.m.
October 25:
-"The Ellen DeGeneres Show" (special concert performance)
October 26
- ABC's "Katie" with Katie Couric
-ABC's "All Access Nashville"
 
In addition to the daytime programs, Taylor Swift has also been on "Taylor Swift Week" on Entertainment Tonight, Access Hollywood, E!News and Extra. She has also currently featured on the cover of Rolling Stone Magazine and will also be featured in the November issues of Glamour and Marie Claire UK. Can you say busy?

I think that Taylor Swift and her team have done an excellent job promoting her new album. It was impossible to miss her this week or not hear about the album "Red." She was also very smart to promote her album across several different channels. Through the use of daytime television, late night televisions, publications and live performances, Taylor was able to reach her wide range of fans. What I also loved about the media tour was her wardrobe coordination. Being the fashionista that I am, I definitely picked up on all of the red she was wearing at each appearance. From red dresses, lipstick, nail polish and guitars, Taylor reinforced "Red." She looked amazing and I can not wait to go and purchase her new album.

Taylor Swift looking fabulous in red for her new album "Red"

Until next time,

Katie

p.s. I love the cheesy title of this blog post.... don't hate :)

Levels of Engagement

Mike Wazowski is lurking my blog

Hello friends,                                            

It's another week and another chapter of Measure What Matters by Katie Paine.This week we moved on to chapter five and six and discussed how to measure the world of social media. One of the most important themes Paine focused on was measuring what you can't control.

Engagement is one of those factors that you just can't control, but it's so critical to the success of a company. There are five levels of engagement.
1. Lurking
2. Casual
3. Active
4. Committed
5. Loyalist

Lurking could be explained as "liking" something on Facebook, but never really looking at it again. There is no loyalty involved and

Casual engagement would be like following someone on Twitter or downloading a YouTube video. This is typically where a relationship ends, so you need to examine the ratio between new and repeat visitors.

Active engagement is when a person is actively participating. For example, commenting on Facebook or retweeting news or sending linking for YouTube videos. It is important to understand why they are being active and what could be done to take them to the next level.

      Committed engagement is when satisfaction is the extent to which each party feels favorable toward one another because of positive expectations about the relationship are reinforced.. The way this is measured is through the number of new registration. 

         

      A loyalist is someone who visits a site daily and I actively involved. For me this would be like Pinterest. I go to that site at least three times a day and actively pin new content. It is important to really understand what people think about the organization. This information can be aquired through the use of surveys.

      Engagement is to important to measure because it helps to build relationships, promote and protect your brand and can help make your products better.

      If you are in my social media class you understand why the Monsters Inc character Mike Wazowski is at the top of this post. For those of you who aren't, he is lurking with his one eyeball!! Ha ha get it?

      Until next time,

       Katie

      

·       

·        

Familiar Territory

Hello friends,


We are getting towards the end of the semester and I have still managed to continue reading for my classes. My social media class is still reading Measure What Matters by Katie Delahaye Paine. This week we discussed seven steps to perfect measurement.

Step seven was, "Turn data into action: analyze data, draw actionable conclusions and make recommendations." One of the most important questions to answer when trying to measure the effectiveness of social media is, what is the return on investment (ROI)? As a business major I was like, "Yes!" "Some familiar territory."  Katie Paine breaks ROI down so most people can understand. "R" stands for the return you expect and "I" stands for the investment you have made. There is more to determining a companies ROI than crunching numbers and costs.

In the book, Katie Paine explains five ways to determine the return.

1. Sales or Revenue: The most obvious definition of the term ROI. If you increased sales or made money, you have a positive return on investment.

2. Cost savings: Many companies are moving towards a social media strategy for recruitment, marketing or customer services. This process can drastically cut down on costs.

3. Paid versus Earned Search Rankings: Companies can either spend significant funds on services to ensure that a companies name or brand shows up high in the search results, or they can earn high rankings through hard work. A company that has an active social media campaign can cut out paid search ads and still receive high rankings in search.

4. Cost Avoidance: All companies have the potential for crisis. Good relationships can help mitigate the extent or duration of a crisis.
      example from Katie Paine: Compare the money spent on legal fees for a crisis that was mitigated with the help of an active social media presence to one handled without the benefit of social media.

5. Social Capital: If a social media campaign is generating favorable comments, engaging employees or customers in the business of the organization, and presenting information quickly and accurately, then it is contributing to the social capital of an organization.

I really enjoyed this section of the chapter because I understand ROI and the the importance it serves for a business. You have to understand what worked and what didn't work in order to improve and function more efficiently.

Until next time,

Katie

Random Tweets from Dead Presidents... Say What?

Hello friends,

Random question, but does anyone follow a dead president on Twitter? I know that this is a strange question for more than one reason, but I found an article about this subject on the PR Daily website.

The article discussed ten random tweets from dead U.S presidents. Obviously I was intrigued, so I read the the article. Apparently there are some people that have enough time to post hilarious tweets from the perspective of previous U.S presidents. At first, I thought that this idea was a little disrespectful, but after reading some of the tweets, I was laughing out loud! I'll give you a sample of some of the Twitter handles and tweets.

George Washington@Pres_Washington

So hungover. I don't know how @PresidentAdams can cope with so much drink.

John Adams@PresidentAdams

I often wished for a Mitt Romney type hairline. That would have assured me a second term.

Millard Fillmore@fillmoremillard

I've been thinking, the Binder Full of Women probably needs an anatomy lesson in there somewhere.

Rutherford B Hayes@PresRBHayes

Tried to vote in Ohio. They asked to see my drivers license.#ninteenthcenturyproblems

I'm not sure who updates these Twitter accounts, but I'm glad they do. With the 2012 election coming to an end and the candidates make a finally push to gain voters, U.S citizens are starting to get overwhelmed with all of the media. Tweets from dead presidents brings a few laughs to a situation that has been stressful and intense. I don't care who you are, that's funny!

Until next time,

Katie

My Emma Lou is growing up!

Hello friends,

As promised last week, I'm blogging about my baby sister Emma. There is no way she would let me get away with posting a blog about my brother Logan and leave her out.

Emma and I have a very close bond despite the eight years between us. There is no doubt that she is my mini me. I can't tell you how many people tell us we look alike. People that knew me when I was younger that also know Emma, say that she acts just like me. We are both very mature but we can be extremely silly. When we are together we are always laughing, singing and having a great time.

My baby sister is no longer the little Emma Lou that used to only wear basketball shorts and Under Armour shirts. She has grown into a beautiful young woman and I can't stand it. Emma now cares about her appearance,wears make up and likes boys. We have even had a few arguments over "borrowing" each others clothes. She just turned 14 this month and it dawned on me that she is no longer a little girl. Every time I see a new picture of her I cringe because she looks so old. My poor dad is going to have to find a way to keep the boys away from her.

This year has been an adjustment for Emma because she is now the only Jones kid left at our house. My brother lives in Ada with me, so she is like an only child now. I hate how little I get to see her, but she just recently joined the world of Facebook so I can keep in touch with her much easier. My mom wouldn't let her have a Facebook account for the longest time, but she finally broke down and gave her the go ahead. I love that she chose a picture of us to be her profile picture.

I am so proud of the person Emma has turned into and I never hesitate to brag to my friends about what a great athlete she is. Basketball has always been my sport, but Emma is the volleyball player in the family. Emma grew up in the gym, always following Logan and me to games and practices. She is creating her own path now and has become a beast on the volleyball court. She just recently won her second championship as a Gibsonburg Golden Bear, which has even more meaningful for me because I also won back to back volleyball championships in middle school. I could not have been more proud of her!

I love my baby sister and I cannot wait to watch her grow and succeed at whatever she chooses to do.

Until next time,

Katie

Emma and I celebrating our 14th and 22nd birthdays 

My Freshman year for Lil' Sibs Weekend
(she looks like a baby!)

Katie Bug & Emma Lou

Try and tell me we don't look alike

Brother Sister Time

Hello friends,

Logan and I at his high school graduation

Last night I was sitting with my brother Logan doing homework and watching Netflix. This doesn't sound like a thrilling evening, but it meant a lot to me.

My brother is a Freshman in college this year at the Ohio State Lima branch. Instead of living in Lima, he decided to live in Ada and commute. Now I know that Ada Ohio is not a thriving metropolis and he may not love it the way that I do, but I absolutely love having him here.

Logan and I have always been very close and I was so excited that he was going to be living in the same town as me. Not only does he live in Ada, but he also happens to be my neighbor. We live just down the street from one another. He had been home for the weekend, so my mom sent down my favorite Chinese food for my birthday.

We sat in his living room and ate while we watched the show Blue Mountain State on Netflix. I enjoy the little moments like that because even though we live down the street, we don't always see each other as much as I would like. Last night we made a pact to make an effort to spend more time together because there is no reason why we should go a week without seeing each other.

I am so thankful that I get to spend more time with Logan my senior year of college because after this year, I'm not sure where I will end up. Most siblings don't get the opportunity go to school in the same town at the same time. We are half way through the first semester and we will definitely make the most of the rest of the year together.

In order to prevent sibling jealousy or hurt feelings, I want to give a shout out to I my baby sister Emma. I absolutely adore her and I will blog about her another time.

Until next time,

Katie

Beware of what you post...they are watching!

Hello friends,


I was surfing the world wide web today and I stumbled across a wonderful article on Ragan's PR Daily that I thought would be perfect to share with everyone. The title of the article was "5 Types of Social Media Posts that Recruiters Hate."

The article discussed how recruiters do use social media to research prospective candidates. A Jobvite survey was conducted to determine the top five types of content shared on social networks that created negative reactions among hiring managers. I will share the results, but while you read them, try and think if any apply to you.

References to doing illegal drugs- 78 percent of recruiters reacted negatively.

Posts/tweets of a sexual nature- 66 percent reacted negatively.

Profanity in posts/tweets- 61 percent of recruiters reacted negatively.

Spelling/grammar errors in posts/tweets- 54 percent reacted negatively.

Pictures of consumption of alcohol- 47 percent reacted negatively.

As a college student about to graduate in May, this article really resonated with me. Some times I don't think about the impact my social media activity can have on my future. I don't normally post super inappropriate things on my Facebook, Twitter or Instagram, but they are not bullet proof. My mom has been after me for a while to take down some pictures that I have up on Facebook, and I think that it's probably time to do a clean sweep. I don't know why the thought of this makes me sad. I think it is because that cleaning up my social media means that I'm officially a grown up and can no longer afford to literally be "young, wild and free." (I will always be at heart though).

So next time you go to post pictures from your crazy weekend or rant about something that made you mad, think about if it is worth losing a job opportunity over.

Thankfully I don't have to worry about poor spelling or grammar because my grandmas are always looking out for me :)

Until next time,

Katie

Myth Busters

Hello friends,

My social media class has now moved on to the most important book of the semester. Everything we have read up until this point has stressed the importance of social media and how to successfully utilize the tools. "Measure What Matters" by Katie Delahaye Paine teaches us how to measure the effectiveness of social media. What we learn from this book will help us to determine if any of the social media tools and tricks we use actually worked for a particular project.

Katie Paine hits home her point of the importance of measuring your social media efforts in the first  two chapters. Chapter one highlights reasons why companies shy away from measurement. She claims that most of the so-called reasons people give stem from common myths about measurement. So Paine precedes to debunkify some of these myths. I'm only going to talk about a few of them for my readers sake.

Myth #1: Measurement = Punishment
Professionals associate measurement as a way to check on what they are doing and potentially pick out their flaws. I think that this is ridiculous. God forbid you are accountable for your work. Isn't that what having a job is all about? People are also afraid that measurement will conclude with bad news, resulting in cancelling projects that aren't working.

Truth: If something isn't working, you shouldn't continue to pump time and money into it. Measurement can help prevent the waste of money and resources for a business.

Myth # 3: Measurement is too expensive
This may be one of the biggest reasons why people ignore measurement.

Truth: Paine says you cannot afford not to implement (duh!) If you don't measure what you have done, how do you know what is working, what is not and what needs to be changed.Your company could be spending the budget ineffectively, but measurement allows for increased efficiency.

Myth #5: Measurement is something you do when a program is over.
Many people make the mistake of thinking you can only gauge the effectiveness of a program after it is complete. Therefore, measurement is deemed unnecessary.

Truth: Silly people, measurement should be implemented at the very beginning of a program. Checkpoints should be in place throughout the life of a program to measure what has worked up until that point. If you only measure the effectiveness at the end of a program, you eliminate any opportunity to make changes to improve the outcome.

I really like this book so far. We have only read two chapters, but I think that the information provided is probably the most useful to my career after college. Hopefully I will retain what I learn from this book and use it in the future.

   

Until next time,

Katie

I'm Trying!!

Hello friends,


This week we stayed away from our normal text book and read a small section of PR 2.0: New Media,New Tools, New Technologies by Deirdre K. Breakenridge and Brian Solis. I really enjoyed this change of pace because the topics discussed by Breakenridge and Solis were extremely relevant to the ever changing world of PR. They really emphasized communicating with the target audience and engaging in conversation through several different mediums.

An excerpt from the chapter stated,

Solis stressed the importance of how PR professionals need to embrace social media- including blogs, podacsts, livestreaming, livecasts, social networking, social bookmarking and several other social tools to join the conversation- not as marketers, but as people. It all starts with listening and reading. You need to hear what's going on out there before you can participate.

It's week eight of my social media class and my professor has beat into my brain the importance of    using different mediums to communicate with your target audience. Thank God for this class, because prior to this semester, I was behind in the social media category. I'm still trying to keep up with all of the new social tools, but I'm beginning to feel more up to speed. 

I completely agree with what Solis had to say about listening. Sometimes professionals are too quick to push information. You have to know what your customers are saying and what they want before you can participate. Listening and reading is just as important as your message.

I'm learning so much about all the different social tools and how to effectively utilize them. I feel like I am embracing social media, and eventually it will all just become second nature to me.

Until next time,

Katie