It’s been a little over one month since my first day working at TFC, and so I thought it would be a great chance to reflect on my impression of agency life so far.

I was pleasantly surprised (and a bit overwhelmed) at how fast I was thrown into working on projects. My first day felt like; here is your office, here is the kitchen, here are your supplies and this is how we track time (that’s another matter in itself). And then, I basically got straight to work! This past month I have had the opportunity to do a number of different tasks;

• Writing pitches
• Doing research into locations for upcoming venues
• Working on media lists
• Media monitoring

Since I work on consumer, health and food clients there has been a fairly good variety and I’m really enjoying it.

I don’t think I would be able to manage all of the different tasks and files on my desk if I wasn’t an organized and structured person who loves a bit of chaos thrown into her life. I stay organized by keeping a spreadsheet where I list tasks that need to be done, and the deadline I need to have it completed by. This way I can start my morning by planning my day based on what deadlines are quickly creeping up on me. (And trust me, they can creep up quickly!)

In all, I’m very happy with my experience so far. I think the best part is that I feel like I’m a part of a great team, and am really looking forward to continuing to learn and grow in my role here.

Any advice on what I should look out for in the coming months?

(…Or in my case, just reading and writing.)

I thought that I would make my first official post about education, since I have just finished my degree at York University.  Just remember, this is only my experience and there are lots of different ways to get where you want in PR.

My degree was in Communications Studies, and I took English as a minor. I think that writing, close reading and research skills are very important to a job in PR and that taking English classes was a great way to practice and develop these abilities. (Especially when you are writing a few 15-25 page research papers in your final year.)

But before that I took a year off from school to work abroad, which was great experience and a chance to meet people while working in another country (England). I did a number of general office tasks, but also worked specifically on proposals for new business as a part of a marketing team. This is where my research, writing and computer formatting skills came into play.

Near the end of my degree I volunteered with Walk Now for Autism, and it was another great experience. Some of the responsibilities I had were helping with donation mail out letters, and assisting with fundraising events. I had never realized before how much attention to detail and organization went into planning one event! Organization was very important to keep track of large lists of contacts and people who had previously donated. Then there was around this time a brief stint as a freelance fashion writer, where I did store reviews and spotlights. My passion for writing was a great asset, and I was able to add to my portfolio this way at my own pace.

During my first actual PR job, I worked to promote baseball clinics on behalf of Kelly Gruber. The clinics were being held in St. John’s Newfoundland, but I was working out of Toronto. So the time difference and making contacts over there was a challenge, but I learnt a lot and had a great mentor throughout the entire process. I think with any learning experience, having great people to support and teach you are invaluable.

When I graduated I looked into the course offered by Seneca and considered it, but for me personally I felt fairly prepared by my course work and experience to date to try working firsthand in an agency. Of course, internships and specialized courses are a great way to gain experience and I think they are worth exploring. And that’s about sums up how I came to work with Thornley Fallis!

So, what are your plans for a future in PR?

Or, if you currently work in PR, how did you get into the field?

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?

My First Impressions of PR and Social Media

Many of you have asked me some really great questions on Public Relations and social media from the perspective of a new PR practitioner. I will try and answer them now as best I can and give some insight into my first impressions of the PR world.

The transition from school to the workforce

I totally understand the fear of leaving school and entering the PR workforce. I was especially nervous making this transition because my background wasn’t even in PR and I had not had any experience with social media. The biggest thing I found was that there is truly nothing more valuable than actual hands-on experience. Even though you may have a degree, that doesn’t mean that you have learned everything there is to know about working in PR, or any field for that matter. I also found that people are always willing to help, which makes the transition a lot easier. And it doesn’t hurt that I work with some of the most creative and intelligent people in the industry! Yes, being a psychology student and then transitioning to working as an Account Coordinator at a PR firm was a little tricky. But I wouldn’t worry too much about the transition because I think you’ll find that if you have the right attitude and are willing to dive in head-first and learn everything there is to know, the transition will be a much easier one.

What I’ve found the toughest so far and how I’ve overcome it

Throughout the learning process that was starting this job, I have found a couple things to be a bit challenging. But I think the biggest thing that I struggled with and still struggle with is media pitching. This was something I didn’t start until recently because it honestly made me a little nervous! Even after my first couple attempts I still felt pretty lost. Right now I am actually in the process of resolving this issue. I decided to talk to someone about it. I asked if maybe I could sit in with someone and watch them pitch or perhaps have a colleague set up a work shop on the subject. There are a lot of things you might find difficult in your first PR job and the point is to ALWAYS ask questions and think of ways to make things easier on yourself. I’m sure that by having a workshop on pitching and seeing how another person does it, I will improve my skills and I’ll feel a lot more comfortable.

My thoughts on all this social media stuff

Social media was something that I never thought I would be interested in. However, a couple weeks into my job when I found myself passionately discussing it while out for dinner one night, I realized I might be slightly fascinated by it. It may seem overwhelming because there are so many ways to engage in the social media world… maybe too many! For some people, they are able to participate in many forms of social media easily and effectively. For me, I have chosen a couple tools to focus on. Social media started out as something I participated in as a job requirement but then quickly grew into a major part of my daily life. Reading and commenting on blogs and podcasts that you find interesting is a great way to start interacting with others in the PR and social media worlds (if you’d like some suggestions let me know).  Also, you don’t have to have your own blog, LinkedIn and Twitter accounts are a good step in creating your online presence, not to mention they are easy to create and maintain. In terms of staying engaged with twitter, I post things about my daily life, PR specific stuff or simply things I find interesting. The point of social media is to share and discuss, so find the tools you like best and contribute as much as you can to them.  And if you really feel like you don’t know anything about social media, I suggest going over to Common Craft and watching their videos .They discuss everything from Wiki’s to RSS to Twitter, all “in plain English”.

So those are my first impressions of PR and social media. I’d love to hear your thoughts! And for any other newcomers to PR and social media, what have your first impressions been?

Welcome to the first instalment of Thursday’s From the Front Desk.

Please note! Due to the unpredictable nature of the PR world From the Front desk may occasionally be posted on a Friday, after-hours, from my father’s computer. Like today, for instance.

From the Front Desk is Samantha Lovelace’s spin on the PR world from a entry-level perspective.

As an entry-level PR-erson and, indeed, office worker, Samantha sits at the front desk of TFC.

During an average day she doesn’t just answer phones and fix printers; Samantha’s front desk experiences are just short of a full degree’s worth of education in PR, computers and people. This, along with general office antics keep her, and she hopes will keep you, entertained all workday long (and sometimes longer).

Now that being said, and with out further ado, Here’s Sammy!

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Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls – Welcome to the first ever post From the Front Desk!

I thought I’d take this opportunity to introduce myself:
My name is Samantha Lovelace and I work at the front desk at Thornley Fallis Communications.

I was lucky to have been introduced to the job, Alex Milroy, Sandra Cruickshanks and Michael O’Connor Clarke by my most fabulous friend, Ms. Lauren Saliba.

Lauren was “the front desk” at TFC in Ottawa and knew they were looking for “Lauren” in Toronto. After great consideration, she declined the offer to transfer herself and passed on the opportunity to me; a quickly tiring, server/bartender/manager of 8 odd years.

Lauren and I have been faithful friends for close to 14 years. We met, one fine evening, in the yard behind Muchmore public school in Ottawa’s “the Glebe”. I believe it was a Friday.

With a fresh squeezed BBA and a desire for something new I was eager to take on the new challenge and marched in to the Ottawa office for my first “career” interview.

I got the job!

With in the month I left the famed Royal Oak in the Glebe of Ottawa, trained a couple of days in Ottawa and packed up my things, my loving partner-in-crime and our cat. Off to Toronto we went.

It was three days before I experienced my first printer malfunction, learned how to do a mail merge, met my first client and worked past five in a 9-5 job. Lets just say I didn’t find my admin skills they were violently thrust upon me with the fury of one incredibly angry volcano.

I like to think, though I’ve hit many a nasty pot hole along the way, I’ve fared relatively well. Not only have I learned how to take care of normally adminy duties, but I took on some new roles too. Media monitoring, event support, ideation, podcast production and some fundamental accounting tasks are just a few of my weekly activities.

And now I can ad one more notch to my PR agency belt:
Almost a year later, well versed in computer malfunction, telephone manner, morning scans, excel spreadsheets, and with a couple of events under my belt, I am writing my first official post on PR Girlz. I can say, as I sit faithfully at the front desk of Thornley Fallis Communications, I finally feel like I am an official PR Grrril.

Thanks for stopping by. I look forward to sharing some front desk antics with you next week.

Until then, take care.

Samantha Lovelace

We have our very own special correspondent at the Mesh Conference. Communications enthusiast, Kyra Aylsworth will be reporting on Canada’s premiere Web and social media event.

We look forward to her account of the proceedings!

-ETA-
Here is a brief bio for Kyra:

Kyra Aylsworth is an aspiring communicator with a background in merchandising and promotions. She is a graduate of Seneca’s Corporate Communications program and recently completed her Masters in Communications at the University of Western Sydney. Her undergraduate degree is from the University of Toronto. A self-described ‘geek cheerleader’, she hopes to find extremely rewarding work in the field of public relations.

Geek Cheerleader. One who admires and encourages the development of computing technologies without fully understanding those technologies oneself.

Well, dear readers (all four of you, at TFC domains), I admit I’ve become a bit bored with this blogging malarkey. I haven’t been reading the digital tomes of public relations and I have become woefully immersed in nonsense, such as my own life. It’s guilt which chides me to check out the ’sphere in order to read beyond my usual online destinations – Go Fug Yourself and The Superficial – and actually look at something work-related.

Sooooo, here’s one… While I’m late to the party (as per usual), seems there’s been a ripple of disagreement between some bloggies about whether or not some sort of PR accreditation is worthwhile. It kicked off, I think, between Todd Defren, who says nope, and Kami Huyse, who’s in the pro-accreditation camp (and has an APR to prove it, obviously). Kami thinks that the accreditation process creates better PR pros and this might help improve our lousy image.

While I’m in no position to dump on people chasing some letters to add to their name – I’ve got a bloody M.A. in PR, for crying out loud - I don’t see how it would make you a better, more ethical, or even a more employable PR type. If accreditation was able to weed out the baddies and the dim, there would be no sleazy or incompetent lawyers, doctors or engineers. Granted, PR is naturally going to attract more people who are a few sandwiches short of a picnic. Call it the Sex in the City effect. (The glamour! The clothes! The cosmopolitans at Nobu! The opportunity to stand on the door with a clipboard and a headset!)

In my own humble opinion, if someone in PR wants to go far, to do serious work and be taken seriously by serious business people, they’d be better off spending some time outside PR to see how business really works. Practitioners who have never been outside the PR department or the agency sometimes seem to think that the business world does, and should, revolve on a PR axis. They can get annoyed, testy or confused when their client – be it someone higher up at their company or a client in the true sense of the word – rejects their idea because it doesn’t fit the business realities. For all our bellyaching about the “C suite” and their lack of understanding about PR, I’ve been in meetings where PR people have demonstrated a shocking lack of knowledge about business fundamentals.

Maybe we’re getting the credibility we deserve? We can’t be credible if we aren’t credible, know what I mean?