Posted by Janna on June 19th, 2009 
5 Comments
On behalf of PR Girlz I’d like to apologize for our month-long absence. Things have been quite busy around the TFC office and busy unfortunately turned into no time for PR Girlz posts. But PR Girlz is important and we’re going to make an effort to post even when we are busy. And busy is ultimately good since we have more experiences we can share with you!!
I decided for today’s post, as it is Friday, that I would go ahead and bring back “Casual Friday’s“. They used to be a more frequent occurrence on PR Girlz as way to ease into the weekend on a more lighthearted and not necessarily PR related way. On that note I bring you, Casual Friday!
I’m going to play devil’s advocate and talk about the potential downsides to social networking sites. So, I saw the e-card above a little while back and besides making me chuckle, it actually got me thinking. Now I love Facebook and Twitter as much as the next 20-something who lives at their computer. I love the fact that I can keep in touch with my friends and family through pictures, wall posts, and 140 character messages. It’s awesome. But, after seeing this e-card, I asked myself ”Could Facebook and Twitter actually be doing friendships and relationships more harm than good ?”
Facebook and Twitter give you the ability to see basically everything about what is going on in your friends lives without ever talking to them. Sometimes it’s easier to look at someone’s Facebook profile every now and then instead of actually keeping in touch. Sometimes it’s just easier to write your friend a quick wall-post instead of giving them a call.
Have you ever felt awkward seeing someone after a while and asking what they’ve been up to even though you already knew full well what they’d been up to because you have them on facebook and have obviously seen every single one of their status updates and photos? I have! Even with my closest friends, we are so connected online that when I actually see them in person I sometimes feel like we have nothing to talk about because we’ve already said it all!
Is it just me, or have we somewhat lost the ability to communicate in more traditional ways? Sometimes I find myself just looking at my own brothers facebook profiles or sending them a quick wall-post and convincing myself that I’m “keeping in touch” with them. And that sort of makes me sad. Communicating solely through a computer can only get you so far. It erases the human factor of communication. There are no expressions, emotions… no human voice.
At this point I think it’s important that I reiterate that I love Facebook and I love Twitter. I think they are excellent communication tools, especially if you are unable to see people face-to-face and I can’t really remember life before them. But I think it’s important, especially for us folks who spend 99% of our time “connected” to realize that communication through social networks is only one part of communication. It shouldn’t replace the face-to-face communication in our lives, it should be an addition to it. It’s easy to get excited and constantly post everything we’re doing or thinking while at the same time forgetting to actually step away for a little bit and live!
Do you think we’ve lost the ability to communicate in traditional ways? Do you feel like you spend too much time on social networking sites? Or am I way off base?
Posted by Kerri on May 15th, 2009 Leave a Comment
After an interesting discussion during this morning’s weekly planning meeting, the PRGirlz have come to the conclusion that we’d like to add a little more life to the blog. As a result, we’d like to start a vidcast series to profile some of the great Geek Girlz in our community! Keep an eye out in the coming weeks for our first clip.
In the meantime, we’d like to know who you want to hear from – tell us your favorite Geek Girlz and we’ll see what we can do!
Posted by Janna on April 20th, 2009 17 Comments
As you may have noticed, Twitter is VERY “twendy” right now. If you don’t know what I’m talking about, Twitter (the micro-blogging site where users can send and read other users 140 character updates known as tweets) has been ALL over the media lately. This was due in large part to the fact that Ashton Kutcher (@aplusk) was the first Twitter account to reach 1 million followers. If you want to learn more, my colleague Dave Fleet did an interview with CityOnline on the subject and also wrote a blog post about it.
Twitter has been around since 2006, but only in the past couple months has it really reached its tipping point. I started on Twitter last September when it was still in its growth stage, and it has been very interesting to watch it develop into what it is today.
I like Twitter. I get a little sneak peak into the lives of the people I am interested in. I follow everyone from friends, to coworkers, to news sources, to people who tweet about subjects I’m interested in, to celebrities. And people even follow me too! There are a lot of great things about Twitter, but many people seem to think it’s just a fad.
I think the future of Twitter really depends on how people continue to use it. There are a lot of people who use it to foster an instantaneous and mass-audience type of communication that can’t be achieved elsewhere and also those who simply post really neat information and tidbits about their lives. However, there are others who unfortunately use it to spam or try to get the most followers.
Personally, I think Twitter is an amazing tool for communication and I can’t wait to see where we take it.
What is your opinion on Twitter? A useful tool for communication or just a fad?
Happy Tweeting 
Posted by Kerri on April 16th, 2009 Leave a Comment
Things are kicking into high gear here at TFC (even more so than usual) so I don’t have time to offer my usual thought-provoking insights on women and PR (*wink*wink*). Instead I thought I’d share a video that is making huge waves across the internet and serves as a reminder to everyone that there is often more than meets the eye.
Meet Susan Boyle and watch her ‘Britain’s Got Talent’ performance. Wow, just wow!
Posted by Kerri on April 8th, 2009 Leave a Comment
Thornley Fallis Communications is growing, and not just in its health care team!
We’re looking for a social media-savvy consultant to join our Toronto team.
For more details and contact information, check out Dave Fleet’s post.
Posted by Kerri on April 6th, 2009 1 Comment
On behalf of our General Manager, Jennifer Nebesky:
To all our fellow colleagues in Toronto Health PR we are looking for you! TFC is busy working on and developing interesting projects for our health clients every day and are looking for another senior person to join the team and help work and develop new business. The TFC health care team stands out in the crowded market – we are creative and continue to demonstrate our expertise to our long standing clients. We deliver targeted, creative, thought-provoking and comprehensive communications programs and counsel to our clients. From product launch to stakeholder relations and effective long-term post-launch public relations we work with our clients to develop unique plans that meet their communications and business goals and to top it off – we have lots of fun! We truly do enjoy working together and we believe we have some of the best clients an agency person could ask for!! If you are interested in joining a smart, fun, strategic team please email me at nebesky@thornleyfallis.com.
I look forward to hearing from you!
Posted by Janna on April 1st, 2009 2 Comments
As Kerri mentioned in her latest post, last week was Third Tuesday Toronto. For those of you who don’t know, Third Tuesday is a free monthly meetup for people interested in new trends in and applications of social media in business. It usually includes a guest speaker who comes and talks about their experiences with social media and communications in their business. At each Third Tuesday I have attended I have certainly learned a lot from each of these speakers.
Beyond the speakers, there is another element to theses meetups — a HUGE opportunity to connect and network with the other attendees. Joscelyn, a former PR Girl, wrote a post about networking 2 years ago, and I think it is about time this topic was brought to the forefront again.
Networking has always been a bit of a scary word for me. Like Jos, most people who meet me would consider me to be a shy person (but change their mind after they get to know me ). That said, being on the more timid side, I find it a lot easier to stick with the people I know rather than make the effort to meet new people. It’s not that I don’t want to network and meet new people, I do! It’s just that I find it incredibly intimidating; especially in a “work” type setting.
Something that really got me thinking was Alex Milroy’s comment on Jos’s post. She made a couple suggestions, one of which was to approach the person who is standing alone.
My first instinct was to think “I would be too nervous to do that!” But on the same note, it made me realize that I am always hoping someone will approach me!
So, what are your thoughts on networking? I for one, am determined to get out there and start to meet all the interesting people at these events! Any tips for a shy gal such as myself?
Posted by Kerri on March 26th, 2009 8 Comments
Sometimes we social media geeks forget that not everyone ‘gets it’ yet.
I can’t count the number of times I’ve said the words ‘social media’ and gotten blank stares. Or the times when I’ve made a comment about online engagement or relationship building and heard “Huh?”
One key point that I think we often forget when we spend so much time in this space, it that not everyone spends the same amount of time here. I realized this at Third Tuesday the other night when I was listening to Mathew Ingram speak about his role as the Communities Editor for the Globe and Mail. I looked around the room and saw a number of unfamiliar faces. Translation: Some of them were newbies! This excites me, because it means that more and more people are sitting up and taking notice of this new form of communication.
My hope is that we, as current participants, welcome them with open arms and educate as best possible. If people fail to see the value of social media, or understand the principles behind it, then we fail as a community and it stunts our growth. It should be our job as participants to encourage engagement and try as best we can to educate others in a way that they understand what’s going on.
One of the ways I often explain social media to others is by linking it to real world examples. I was asked at Third Tuesday about what exactly a Communities Editor would do. “He can’t control the discussions that are happening, so what’s the point?” My thoughts were to liken him to a workshop facilitator. My feeling is that it would their job encourage discussion, moderate the commentary and try to keep discussion on the right track so that everyone feels comfortable contributing and feels they are getting value from the conversation. The response: “Hmm…that makes sense.”
Another example I’ve used to describe social media in general is using the example of a community. You have a school (Facebook), a gas station (Twitter), a corner store (Flickr), a coffee shop (Third Tuesday), etc. and you have neighbours (other users). They all interact with each other, provide support and contribute to the overall development of the community.
Linking the online world to real life examples can help people to better understand this space and hopefully, with encouragement and support, the space will continue to grow. And growth IS what we want – this is not an exclusive space for early adopters. So next time that you start into geek-speak, consider who you’re chatting with – they may be smiling and nodding, but do they really ‘get it’?
How do you explain social media? Do you think you ‘get it’ yet?
Posted by Janna on March 19th, 2009 11 Comments
A Day In the Life…
Okay, so I know the title of this post is “A day in the life”… but honestly each day here can be so different. In PR you have to expect the unexpected. Working on the agency side, you have to do some serious juggling because different clients want different things…usually all at the same time!
But wait, there’s good news! Because before you know it you can go from an inexperienced graduate… to balancing the demands of the job…to showing someone else the ropes!
And with that as a lead-in, here is a quick rundown of some of the things I have done in my first 8 months as a PR Account Coordinator.
Media Monitoring: Something that is a constant in my day. I use things like FPInfomart, Cision and Google News to see if there were mentions of our clients, and sometimes their competitors, in the media.
Media Lists: Another staple in my Account Coordinator life. Oh media lists! Having a running list of targeted journalists, editors and reporters is a necessity for pitching. That said, creating a media list is not the most exciting of tasks, and sometimes they can take a while, but they are definitely important.
Podcast Production: Once a week, I get to do my own little project. I produce a podcast and vidcast for one of our clients. I take an audio or video file, add in music to the right places, edit it, cut out the mistakes, adjust the audio levels and just make it sound great. I then upload it online and enter in all the important information and finally, publish it. I really look forward to this because I get to pop on my headphones and create something, all on my own, from start to finish.
Pitching: Pitching, for those who don’t know, is basically calling up a news publication and (gently) persuading them to run a story on one of our clients. This is something I have mentioned in previous entries and it is something that I have just started to get comfortable with. I don’t do it very often, but when I do, even though it can be nerve-wracking, it can also be very rewarding. It’s a great feeling knowing you were the one who got a client in the paper.
Brainstorming Sessions: I really like these sessions because 1) You get to see how creative and intelligent the people you work with are and 2) You get to contribute ideas of your own to new projects. As an account coordinator, a lot of time is spent working at a computer, so this is a time when you really get to let loose, bond with coworkers and express your opinions….even if you’re the smallest one on the company totem pole!
There are, of course, other things I have gotten to do, like participate in a video shoot and help out with a contest, but generally, the things I mentioned above are what my days usually consist of.
As a student and job-seeker my main goal was to find out what a typical day looked like working at an agency. But the answers I always got were “PR is not a 9-5 job” and “There is no typical day in PR”.
I could not agree more.
I think a lot of people see PR as something that is exciting and non-stop 24/7. It’s not, but really, what is? In the end though, it’s the less exciting periods that help you realize how lucky you are when you do finally get to do the exciting stuff that’s worth writing home (or…just blogging) about. When you win a new client, get a story in the paper, when your event comes to fruition or when that small contribution you made to a project you thought didn’t matter at all gained you so much appreciation from your coworkers, that’s when you know it’s worth it.
Posted by Kerri on March 13th, 2009 1 Comment
Yesterday I took advantage of a great opportunity to hear from a group of people who not only know social media, but use it well. The folks at Molson (with the help of GasPedal) hosted an open conference call to recap their Blog Well Chicago presentation: “Molson & Social Media: Exploring, Innovating, Communicating”.
The call was hosted by Ferg Devins, Vice-President, Government and Public Affairs; Adam Moffat, Manager, Marketing & Brand Public Relations; and Tonia Hammer, Communications Assistant. Molson has been participating in the social media space for a few years now and has been quite successful with many of its initiatives including the Molson in the Community blog, the Brew 2.0 blogger outreach events, and its newest project, the Molson Canadian 2010 Mural Project. And while many interesting points were discussed on the call, one that really stuck out to me was Ferg’s observation that Molson tries not to get stuck in “paralysis by analysis”.
After working with a variety of clients now, and starting to see differing views on the use of social media in public relations, I have found it very interesting to see how many companies are reluctant to get involved in this space. When we pitch the idea of engaging in social media, we’re often asked to draw up a proposal to discuss at a later time. So we go away, do our research, provide measurement options and outline a budget. We’ll also look for examples of why they should be in this space – provide Twitter rants by their consumers, an interesting idea for a Facebook app, or maybe a blog post that they could have responded to. Then we’ll compile a proposal based on these factors.
Once submitted, sometimes the proposal is met with great enthusiasm, a thumb up and full steam ahead. But other times we’re met with some resistance. Clients want more information, or they want to think about it more, or they aren’t quite ready. All of this is perfectly reasonable; however, there is a trap that can occur if this goes on for too long. The situation can only be analyzed for so before a decision just has to be made. Jump in head first? Dip a toe in and see how it goes? Or just going to curl up on a beach chair watch everyone else play in the pool?
When you’re proposing a social media component to a client, it’s important to be sure of what their objectives are and how social media will help them achieve the results they’re looking for. And of course be respectful that the client will likely require clearance from a legal team as well as a protocol outline to show them the steps you would take in various situations.
But it’s important to keep in mind that every day the process gets delayed, more and more of their consumers are making waves as they cannon ball into the social media pool.
What you do to encourage companies to jump in and join the fun?
