Public Relations | Beyond Social | Dix & Eaton

Social networking opportunities for students & job seekers

As a college student, I benefitted quite a bit from professionals who took the time to network with me and share insights on their career paths, so I always enjoy participating in student events. A couple weeks ago, I attended the Greater Cleveland PRSA’s Student Day, an event I used to co-chair, and tonight I’ll be speaking to the PRSA chapter of John Carroll University about how social media is impacting media relations.

Today’s students have a huge opportunity to connect with and make an impression on professionals via social networking tools. With the job market more competitive than ever, here are a few tips for how to stand out among your peers and make a connection:

• Follow professionals you admire (or those working at an organization you’re interested in) on Twitter, but avoid making connections on Facebook or LinkedIn unless you’ve had an extensive conversation
• Post thoughtful comments on industry blogs and consider penning your own blog about something you’re passionate about (your topic doesn’t need to focus on your industry)
• Share interesting posts, articles and events with your network on Twitter, LinkedIn or your blog
• Consider asking a professional you admire to guest post on your blog (if the topic is relevant)
• Tweet with a hashtag at industry events and write a post about your impressions or a follow-up topic
• Share your Twitter handle and blog domain on your business card (make your own with perforated cardstock and an ink jet printer)

I’d love to hear what techniques have worked for you and any tips I left out!

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Blogger outreach 2.0

About a month ago, well-known blogger Danny Brown wrote about growing tensions between mommy bloggers and PR pros, better known as the PR Blackout Challenge. Over the coming weeks, my colleague and fellow Dix & Eaton blogger Chuck Hemann and I shared our POV with Danny about transparent blogger relations. Danny invited me to submit a guest post, so I wrote about the differences between pitching media bloggers vs. outreach to indie/mommy bloggers. Check out my post and let me know your thoughts on how you approach blogger relations.

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