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As SXSW Interactive starts to wind down, I want to leave you with a couple of pointers from one of the big guys in social media, Peter Shankman. This is by no means the end of my posts about my time here at SX, but I felt this was of the utmost importance.
1. Take as many journalism classes as you can. If you understand journalism, deadlines, how to write for a particular beat, what the newsroom is like, AP style, etc, you will succeed at a rapid pace as a PR professional. If you can pitch to the appropriate people, and understand what a journalist considers a good pitch - you are set. For life.
2. Talk to as many people as you can. I know I’ve been harping on this for several months now, but networking is huge. Anyone who follows Peter on Twitter can see that he’s got it down. Anyone that’s ever had the pleasure of meeting him in person can see that he’s as passionate offline as he is online, if not more so. Having the opportunity to interact with Peter at SXSW on multiple occasions was amazing. I was able to see him both as a panelist and as a rocker. “Rocker?” you say? Yes. Which leads me to number three…
3. Learn one song that you can rock at karaoke. Okay so this wasn’t actual advice that he gave me, but damn, this guy can rock the Bon Jovi. Seriously. Don’t believe me? Check it out.
Thank you Peter for your amazing input and fantastic rendition of “You Give Love A Bad Name”. I look forward to working with you in the future.
I definitely agree with the journalism classes part. I actually had a journalism degree and changed to PR near the end of college. I also worked for a local and our college newspaper, so you learn a lot from the inside about how a beat is really covered. And it's all about relationships and good ideas!
Another thing journalism classes gave me was a keen ability to craft a story.The focus on storytelling is a critical transferrable skill I use every day.
I'm not in PR, but I wrote for my school's newspaper for a while and it's definitely true that seeing the journalist's side of things can help you with PR. You know exactly who you are talking to and how to make a story appealing to them. It's a great tip!
And networking is something I feel that students often lack, or realize too late that it's important and so necessary. I count myself as one of these students. I've always known that networking is important, but I've never been too good at it. It's important to start this early on as it will always be helpful.
Stop using your companies pre-printed thank you notes. Hand write a thank you note! Hand writing is much more personal and it shows you care. More...
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