NOW HIRING

We're hiring! CPC is seeking an Account Executive and Account Coordinator to join our team. For more information regarding the open positions, see below:

C. Pharr & Company is looking for a talented and energetic Account Executive to join its Dallas team in an Uptown location. Ideal candidates will have solid media relations, social media and client management experience, as well as strong verbal, interpersonal and written communication skills. They will also have an interest in working with business-to-business clients and be self-starters with the ability to confidently interact with media, clients and account teams. Send cover letter, resume and writing samples to info@pharrpr.com.

Responsibilities:

·         Support Senior Account Executives (SAE) and other senior leadership in fulfilling client PR programs

• Actively contribute to account plan development and develop new, strategic ideas for clients
• Develop written materials, including press releases, byline articles, speeches, client correspondence
• Learn clients’ businesses and business goals, gain understanding of their competitive environments
• Participate in client and new business presentations
• Maintain regular client contact, proactively devising new ways to meet client strategic needs
• Assist SAEs with implementation of press conferences/briefings, media events and tours, etc.
• Leverage existing media/editorial/journalistic/media contacts; readily develop new relationships
• Conduct social media activities as part of client programs; continuously learning new methods and technologies
• Assist SAEs with project management for marketing materials, such as websites, brochures, newsletters, award submissions, videos, etc.
• Maintain careful attention to detail, ensuring accuracy of materials, contacts, schedules, etc.
• Promote teamwork by teaching junior staff and interns, delegating as possible
• Work with SAEs to manage Account Coordinator as part of client team
• Create and assist SAEs with overseeing reports, managing budgets and providing other account and financial management
• Develop an understanding of various research methods; coordinate internal and external resources in implementing research projects
• Actively participate in ongoing professional development, learning new skills and expanding personal capabilities

Job Requirements:

• Minimum B.A/B.S. in public relations, journalism, marketing or related field.
• Two to three years experience in public relations; agency experience required
• Aptitude to learn quickly and thrive in fast-paced environment
• Demonstrated writing ability in AP style
• Successful track record of working with traditional and social media
• Professional and media references

C. Pharr & Company Offers:

• A positive, professional and collegial environment for work and career development
• Competitive salary
• Flexibility, team building volunteer opportunities, 4 pm Fridays, professional development

*Send resume to info@pharrpr.com, learn more about us at www.pharrpr.com or check us out on LinkedIn or Google+

EOE/AA M/F/V/D

C. Pharr & Company is looking for an entry-level Account Coordinator to join its Dallas team in an Uptown location. The ideal candidate will have had one or more PR agency internships, a beginning understanding of research, media relations, social media and account reporting responsibilities. Ideal candidates must also be highly motivated and able to meet deadlines while multi-tasking. This position requires strong written and verbal communication skills and the ability to interact with clients, media and account teams. Send cover letter, resume and writing samples to info@pharrpr.com.

Responsibilities:

·         Support Account Executives (AE) and Senior Account Executives (SAE) in fulfilling client PR programs

·         Learn clients’ businesses and their competitive environments 

·         Demonstrate ability to draft full range of written materials under AE’s supervision – such as press releases, media alerts, social media content, client correspondence and reports

·         Assist AEs and SAEs with social media activities as part of client programs; continuously learning new methods and technologies

·         Assist with implementation of events

·         Fully participate as part of team working together to create results

·         Create budget status reports and review job status reports

·         Research and develop editorial calendars and media lists, and keep them current

·         Develop an understanding of various research methods; conduct internal and external resources as directed and write reports of findings

·         Assist in developing proposals and gathering information for new business opportunities

·         Assist with management and overall direction for C. Pharr intern

Minimum Qualifications:

·         Bachelor’s degree in communications, journalism, public relations, English, marketing or a related field. 

·         One or more internships in PR agency or similar position in a non-agency setting.

·         Demonstrated writing ability in AP style

·         Professional references

C. Pharr & Company Offers:

·         A positive, professional and collegial environment for work and career development

·         Competitive salary

·         Flexibility, team building volunteer opportunities, 4 pm Fridays, professional development

Send resume to info@pharrpr.com, learn more about us at www.pharrpr.com or check us out on LinkedIn or Google+

EOE/AA M/F/V/D

NOW HIRING

C. Pharr Celebrates 2015

C. Pharr had a wonderful 2015 and we hope you did too! We want to thank all of our clients and colleagues for their trust and partnership this year - we understand that our success is dependent upon their continued support. We had a busy, fun-filled year and we look forward to what 2016 has in store! We hit numerous client milestones this year, celebrated a few "firsts" of our own as an agency and even hired a few new team members this year. We also took time out as a team to support various causes and organizations including: 

·         American Heart Association – helping build healthier lives, advocating for key health issues

·         Big Brothers Big Sisters of North Texas – Volunteer youth mentoring organization

·         C.C. Young – retirement/senior living community in East Dallas

·        Citizens Development Center – work training center for adults with disabilities

·         Habitat for Humanity – affordable home ownership for low-income families

·         On the Road Lending – fighting poverty with car loans to those in need

·         The New Room – empowering urban youth through education

·         Visiting Nurses Association – provides nursing/health services for elderly

·         Vogel Alcove – early childhood education program for homeless children

·        Woodrow Wilson High School Academy of Finance – students on business track at Woodrow

C. Pharr team celebrating 2015

Here is the C. Pharr team at our Christmas lunch, celebrating our many client successes as well as our agency and community accomplishments in 2015. We wish you great success, peace, joy and good health in 2016!

Cynthia, Leah, Kathrine, Krystal, Laura, Nikki, Katie, Debbie & our support team

C. Pharr Celebrates 2015

“Do or do not, there is no try” – Master Yoda

Finding your ability to "do" is in the basics. 

You certainly don’t know it all; that’s the sentence I’m reminded of every single day in the public relations industry.

I was once told, “It’s never okay to say you can’t do something and simply end the sentence there. You’re allowed to say you can’t, as long as it is followed with, ”but I can learn.” This ambitious spirit can travel with you even in the humble journey it takes to climb the public relations ladder.

Here are 5 basic “must do’s” to get ahead of the curve in the PR world:

1.      Once in the professional world, never stop asking questions.
This lesson is a work in progress for me, especially with new clients. Doing your research and writing down questions or any ideas you may have is key to understanding both your strategy and your client.

2.     Get involved
Whether it’s joining a professional group like PRSA or attending online webinars, there are resources all around you to get connected and motivated. You never know the people you can meet or what you can learn from them.

3.      Don’t be afraid to make mistakes and own up
Mistakes will happen, and when they do, honesty is the best policy. Step up and recognize the mistake as another area you can grow. It’s never a failure if you persevere and find a solution.

4.      Share, share, share

Speak up when you learn something new or that can aid your client’s success. New ideas are crucial, and can set you apart in the industry. Not only will sharing allow for bouncing around the best ideas with others, but it’s a confidence boost when you can bring something new to the table.

5.      Take your time

Because we are in such a fast paced profession, it’s easy to get lost in it. Take your time to truly understand the clients and strategies around you before moving on to the next big thing. That’s where you’ll have the most success.

Yes, you can have all the jobs, internships, study abroad and university accreditations, but there is always so much more to learn and ways to grow, whether you’re a newbie or tenured pro.

Happy Holidays from all of us at C. Pharr & Company!

“Do or do not, there is no try” – Master Yoda

Social Media Strategy for Your Next Event - #CCBAleads

Yesterday was one of our biggest client events of the year, the Collin County Business Alliance (CCBA) 4th Anniversary Luncheon featuring Gen. Colin Powell. We had lots of media in attendance and secured great coverage in numerous outlets including CBS 11, Dallas Business Journal, Dallas Morning News, Fort Worth Business Press and Community Impact.

In addition to traditional media relations work, we would be remiss if we didn't mention that it is also important to strategize about the "digital story telling" opportunities when thinking about event PR - empower your attendees to be "roving reporters" and content creators at your event. We utilized social media throughout the day to expand coverage beyond the "traditional" media networks in attendance. We empowered all attendees to join the conversation and live tweet/post during the day with their own newsworthy commentary, photos and quotes using #CCBAleads and/or by following the CCBA Twitter handle, @CCBATexas. We had 400+ attendees at the event and had the social chatter to match with nearly 1,200 impressions. This number is still growing as we are continuing to see lunch attendees post their luncheon commentary and pics on various social sites from Twitter and Facebook to LinkedIn and Instagram. 

To follow our up-to-the-minute social activity during the day search #CCBAleads. Or, check out the social story below that we created on Storify. Realizing the power of social media and having a strategy in place was key to the success of the digital storytelling component of our event; and, it was a great way to close out 2015. 

This post was contributed by Leah Ekmark Williams, APR, @leahcpc

Social Media Strategy for Your Next Event - #CCBAleads

PR Produced Great Content Before “Content Was Cool”

C. Pharr's Cynthia Pharr-Lee (middle) and Krystal Morris (far right) speaking to healthcare executives about PR strategies,techniques and case studies of effective and appropriate communication
integration with social media.

In the daily scramble to learn about the new, new digital thing, marketers sometimes overlook the powerful, but NOT new communications methods that can be invaluable contributors to an overall marketing strategy.

Specifically, I’m talking about traditional, B2B public relations and the powerful “earned content” that well executed PR programs can produce.

Long before digital marketers began to trumpet “content is everything,” effective PR campaigns have created the interesting and user-focused content that helps build brands and thought leadership. Such content can also empower marketing programs.

Today’s conversations about digital marketing stress the importance of credibility and transparency in connecting with customers. For many years, PR professionals have helped clients achieve well-placed publicity, speeches at respected conferences, and events that showcase expertise. These PR activities produce believable and impactful content that can be shared throughout a digital marketing program.

One of the strongest arguments for the power of earned content (especially publicity and speaking engagements) is that it yields de facto “third party endorsement” because the coverage isn’t bought and controlled by the subject. Rather, reporters or conference planners independently filter the information before deeming it credible and timely.  As a result, audiences have a higher degree of trust for earned content than paid advertising. Digital marketers who don’t consider “earned content” in their programs are failing to harness opportunities to connect with key audiences.

Current digital marketing practices also recommend omni-channel messaging, i.e., giving customers useful content, how and where they want it. For decades, PR professionals have been doing this by promoting strategic topics and selecting which speaker platform, event, publication and broadcast opportunities to pursue for clients. These standard planks in PR platforms have long provided a means of targeting audiences to give them content that interests them in the channel they prefer.

If anything is the “holy grail” in today’s successful digital marketing, it is the belief that “customer engagement” is the basis for measuring success. Indeed, digital consultancy Rosetta writes that “engaged customers are the best customers – they purchase 90 percent more frequently, spend 60 percent more per transaction, and deliver three times the annual value each year.”

A key strategy to achieve engagement is providing compelling information or experiences without asking for a sale. These approaches have been embraced by PR for decades. Editorial coverage of PR clients never includes call-to-action sales messages. Instead, it builds engagement by providing useful information and boosting awareness of expertise.  PR events, especially those that are cause-based or showcases of expertise, build relationships with targeted audiences through subjects of mutual interest, rather than hard-selling products.

Digital marketing strategists also recommend omni-channel communications, or consistency of messaging across all channels. If the PR team is involved in marketing strategy and aware of the marketing calendar, the credible content produced by PR can easily reflect the marketing messages used on other channels. Usually, the PR team will be responsible for coordinating executive speaking engagements, working with journalists in targeted media, planning events with key communities and helping plan and execute social media while scripting blogs, webinars and podcasts. With forethought, these activities can become integral parts of digital campaigns.

The meaty content produced by traditional PR programs and extended into social media can add real substance to digital campaigns. For example, including social share buttons/plug-ins when emailing content can drive readers to a landing page that offers interesting news articles. For speaking engagements, providing hashtags for the audience can encourage content sharing and assist in measurement.  Building tweets into presentations makes it more likely the speaker’s comments will be shared on social media…the possibilities are limitless.

In summary, there are powerful arguments for blending tried and true, traditional PR into newer digital marketing plans. Marketers who ignore opportunities to harness the power of PR’s earned content risk missing fuel which could fire up their campaigns.

This post was contributed by Cynthia Pharr-Lee, APR, Fellow PRSA. Connect with Cynthia on LinkedIn.

PR Produced Great Content Before “Content Was Cool”

Five Simple Tools to Organization On the Job

I wish I was the person who could recall every detail of every account at the drop of a hat, but God kept me humble. I quickly learned in the agency setting that if I didn’t start getting organized and writing things down, client work would quickly fall through the cracks. Over the years and a number of failures along the way, I’ve come up with a few organization tips and tools that I hope will excite the type-A personalities of the world and help out a few of my type-B buds. Here are my top five:

1.  Notebook and Pen

There’s nothing high-tech or cutting edge about it, but keeping a notebook and pen on hand can make all of the difference. Whether it’s at a meeting or having it on your desk in case your boss stops by and adds a few more to-dos to your plate, you can write down everything before it goes in one ear and out the other. I can’t tell you how many times I thought I would easily remember something that was spoken to me in the kitchen and by the time I got back to my desk, I was stopped by three other people and the information was gone. WRITE DOWN EVERYTHING!

2.  Desktop Notes and Post-Its

If you’re old school, paper sticky notes work too, but I’ve found the digital ones that come on most computers work wonders. They’re easily accessible on your desktop to keep a running to-do list for all accounts. You can copy and paste, add or delete. Plus you can customize the colors – who doesn’t love color coding?

3.  Calendar Requests

They’re not just for meetings and client calls. They can also serve as reminders for deadlines or to-dos. If I know a client story is supposed to run in a week, I’ll go ahead and set a calendar reminder to scan first thing that day. If you don’t check your calendar regularly, most have a setting that allows you to set a pop-up reminder on your screen.

4.  Email Folders

My inbox used to be cluttered and nearly impossible to find the emails I was looking for, so I started making folders for every client. Emails that I’ve responded to or don’t require action, I quickly move to the proper folder. I leave emails that require an action or response in my inbox until I take care of it. I’m also quick to delete newsletters and other junk from my email to clear storage space. Don’t forget to empty the trash at least once a month.

5.  Weekly Task Lists

Lastly, when you’re working with a team and there are a lot of moving parts, I’ve found it’s helpful to create weekly task lists for members of the team. This helps you divide and conquer the work, know who is responsible for what and have it in writing. This is also a good touch point during the week, whether it’s at the beginning, end or after a status meeting. 

Those are just a few of my favorite things that keep me sane, efficient and organized. What other tools and tricks do you utilize at the office?

This post was contributed by Katie Venhaus. @Katie_Venhaus

Five Simple Tools to Organization On the Job

In The Pink Luncheon through the Eyes of an Intern

To kick off Breast Cancer Awareness Month, the C. Pharr team attended the In The Pink Luncheon hosted by one of our clients, Lake Pointe Health Network (LPHN), at the Hilton Dallas/Rockwall Lakefront. The event was a charity fundraiser to benefit community outreach, education and enhanced coverage for the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of cancer in the communities served by the LPHN.

Instead of spending the day at the office, I was able to attend the In The Pink luncheon with the team, where I got to play dress-up and take pictures at the photo booth. The photo booth was by far my favorite part, but it wasn't just me, the photo booth was a hit with everyone at the event! Then again, who doesn't enjoy bringing out their inner child?

As we ate the delicious, never-ending food, one woman took the stage to share her heartwarming story of breast cancer survival. It was powerful and spoke to every person in the room. After, a panel of medical professionals took the stage and answered questions about breast cancer screening, diagnosis and treatment from attendees. I can personally say that at this event, I learned more than I have in my whole life about breast cancer.

At the end of the event, they honored all of the breast cancer survivors and those currently fighting the disease with pink roses. All in all, we had a great time at the event and I was thrilled to be included in the experience.  

If you are interested in scheduling a mammogram in the Rockwall/Rowlett area, please visit http://www.lakepointemedical.com.   

This post was contributed by C. Pharr Intern Elizabeth LaMonte.

In The Pink Luncheon through the Eyes of an Intern

Summer Service

To end the summer, the CPC team spent its Q3 volunteer day at Vogel Alcove, an early childhood education center for homeless children ages 6 weeks to 12 years old, in Dallas. Vogel Alcove is the only comprehensive early childhood education program in the city of Dallas whose primary focus is to provide free childcare and case management for children and their families referred by 21 local emergency shelters, domestic violence shelters, housing programs and organizations that serve homeless families.

We spent the first half of the day sorting clothes in the resource center, which teachers utilize when a child has an accident during the day. Most children are sent to school with an extra pair of clothes, but unfortunately, the kids attending Vogel Alcove don’t have that small luxury. The resource center organizes clothing by gender and age, making it easy for teachers to pick out a clean outfit.

The second half of our day, and my favorite part, was spent in the classrooms interacting with the children. My particular classroom had a birthday that day. Companies or individuals sign up as “Birthday Buddies” and donate cupcakes and a few toys for a child to open on their birthday. Most of the kids have never had a birthday celebration before, so this is a special treat that Vogel Alcove provides.

 

Watching the kids eat cupcakes, sing “Happy Birthday” and dance to music, you would never know that they are different from other children their age. Even though they don’t have homes or may be recovering from a traumatic life experience, they still deserve every opportunity that children growing up in traditional homes receive. Vogel Alcove works to give them those opportunities by ensuring they are up-to-speed with children their age when entering kindergarten and giving them a safe haven away from the homeless shelters, while their parents obtain resources or look for jobs.

Volunteering with Vogel Alcove was a wonderful experience for our team and we hope to go back soon!

Showing off our hair accessories found in the Vogel Alcove Resource Center. 

This post was contributed by Kathrine Brody. @kabrody

Summer Service

Professor for a Day

I recently had the opportunity to speak with students in a social media class at the University of Texas at Arlington about finding and engaging your audience using social media. The class was attentive (they live-tweeted! Check out #PREL3320) and asked some great questions about responding to negative posts, what to post, when to post, and they even had some good questions about internships/resumes.

Whether you’re still a student or a seasoned PR pro, we could all use a little social media advice. Here are a few points I made to the class.      

Know your audience. Before you dive-in and adopt every social media tool out there, know who it is you’re trying to reach and adopt one or two platforms that your audience uses most. For example, B2B clients are likely to find their audience and influencers on LinkedIn and Google+, whereas B2C clients might find their audience on Facebook and Instagram.

Set a goal. When launching a client’s social media page, set clear goals and objectives before you make the page “live.” By having clear and measurable goals, you’ll know if you’re on the right track with your messaging and if you are effectively reaching your audience.

Use social media to tell your story. Whether you want to spotlight your corporate culture, recruit new employees, share product news and/or engage in thought leadership, social media can be a great channel to share your message. Just remember the social media “rule of thirds.” One-third of your content should focus on self-promotion, one-third should be spent commenting on trends/news/thought leadership and one-third should be personal interactions online and building your company’s brand. 

Focus on what works best. Visual content is typically the most engaging, so if your audience isn’t resonating with text-heavy messaging or links to events/articles, consider reducing your frequency of those types of posts.

For more on what we discussed, check out the #PREL3320 hashtag on Twitter.

This post was contributed by Krystal Morris. @KrystalNMorris.

Professor for a Day

and the New PR Girl said, "...newspaper?!"

Fresh from graduating with an advertising and public relations degree, my mind was ready and focused on approaching my new position here at C. Pharr & Company. If we are being honest, my professors would warn, “While print is important, it is also dying” and “Our class will focus on digital, since that is where advertising and public relations is headed.” With these things in mind, I whole heartedly believed that as I moved into my first job, my focus should be on improving digital strategies more than solely focusing on traditional approaches to PR.

Hear me new public relations professionals:
 PRINT AND TRADITIONAL PR STRATEGIES ARE NOT DEAD. 

Within my first month here, my eyes were opened to the reality that there is no separation between “traditional PR strategies” and “digital strategies.” Rather, the combination of the two working hand in hand is vital to a successful campaign. Several industries, particularly those with business-to-business communications strategies, heavily rely on the press coverage that print publications allow as well as online coverage. This may seem like common sense, but after speaking with communications students who graduated with me, they all related to my new found epiphany.

That being said, I feel the need to share four basic things new PR professionals should know:

       1.  Read the news, but don’t rely solely on Twitter. Knowing what’s being reported in local publications is important to your clients! 

 2.  Learn to clip articles. Clipping coverage for clients shows them the results of your hard work, lets them know that you’re reaching their target audience with their message and shows that their communications strategy is being effectively executed. Plus it just makes you feel good to know how many pubs ran your story. 

       3.  Media lists, people. Extensive and accurate research of print and online contacts when building the list is key.  PS - color coding is your friend!

       4.  Know your local reporters better than anyone else should. Building relationships with these professionals will help you as you pitch in the future.

Moving forward, it is clear that my goal will be to become an expert on combining both traditional and digital PR strategies – using them both harmoniously. Understanding that print is equally as vital as digital or social platforms will not only make me more knowledgeable as a professional, but will allow my clients to be well-rounded and assure that they are reaching their audience. PR is always evolving, but some things will always be the same. 

and the New PR Girl said, "...newspaper?!"

Lessons Learned From a C. Pharr & Co. Internship

Stepping foot into any office on the first day of work is always intimidating; first impressions are crucial and the night before my first day as the summer intern at C. Pharr & Co. consisted of me scrambling around my room until late, flinging clothes out of my closet in exasperation because nothing was "right." I wanted to make the best first impression possible because this was my first public relations internship and I knew it could lead to many opened doors for me in the future. Leaving the next morning with ample time to get there, a packed lunch and hopeful attitude, I embarked on the commute from Fort Worth to Dallas.

Arriving without any time to spare and I was welcomed into the cozy office with wide smiles and cheery hellos, I received a quick round of introductions and was led to my desk for the summer. I went over terms, phrases and example documents of what I would be doing and was shown how to media clip, an action I would become overly familiar with early on into the summer. Possessing a practically nonexistent knowledge of public relations besides a few terms remembered from the one class taken at SMU, I eagerly soaked in the new concepts and worked hard to strengthen these new skills. I grew comfortable entering the quiet office, sitting at my desk and working diligently all day until my time came to leave. At first, I was perplexed by how silent the office was all day; I'd imagined an office where people were constantly chattering. However, the silence suits the work attitude they all possess: efficient, time aware and hard working.

As I wrap up my last day at my first PR internship, I am so thankful I was given the opportunity to engage with such a knowledgeable team. I'd heard so many horror internship stories where all anyone did was scan, fax, and file papers, and I feared I too would be doing the same, but it couldn't have been more opposite. The hands on opportunities pushed me so far out of my comfort zone at the beginning, but I grew to love coming to work to see what I would learn. This internship has not only taught me about the many different aspects of a PR firm and how to do the behind-the-scenes work, but also countless important career advice. I sat down with all the women who work here and compiled a list of the most significant words of wisdom they had to share:

• Be resourceful always
• Never be above anything
• Take an intro to business class so that you can understand their perspective
• Learn about particular industries and become a "surface level expert"
• Absorb as much as possible
• Always keep up with the news
• Be proactive
• Keep in touch

Hearing advice from professionals who have been in my same position of "What am I going to do in one year?" is comforting. Their tidbits were beyond useful because they not only motivate me to keep working hard throughout my senior year, but also push me to strive for excellence in my work.

The next time I'm freaking out about my "first day" outfit and stressing about what everyone will think of me, I just need to remember that everyone has been there before. The women at C. Pharr & Co. have been supportive and eager to help me grow, and I know they wanted to provide me with an internship that would teach me lessons I would utilize later on, which I know I certainly will. 

This post was contributed by Molly O'Connor, CPC Summer Intern.

Lessons Learned From a C. Pharr & Co. Internship

Public Relations Fall Internship

Company Overview

C. Pharr & Company Ink is known for generating meaningful results for its clients through creative public relations and marketing. Focusing on business-to-business communications, the agency specializes in media relations, social media, crisis communications, marketing, advertising coordination, planning and research.

We devise communication strategies that help clients achieve their goals through communications, increased business opportunities, higher brand awareness, changed attitudes and greater stakeholder support. Doing so, we build strong and trusting relationships with clients, communities and the media. Our clients value our counsel and support in meeting daily communication challenges as much as our help with long-term communication strategies.

C. Pharr & Company is built upon more than two decades of public relations and marketing communications leadership – a Texas leader known nationally for its business insight, strategic counsel and creative work with the highest of integrity. To learn more, visit www.PharrPR.com.

Internship Opportunity

Dallas-based C. Pharr & Company Ink is seeking a dynamic intern for Fall 2015 to assist with a variety of accounts ranging from real estate and construction services, to retail and healthcare. Junior and senior-level students studying journalism, public relations or marketing communications are encouraged to apply.

Candidate must be a resourceful self-starter with an understanding of media relations and AP style. Outstanding written and verbal communication skills, along with an eye for details and the ability to thrive in a fast-paced environment are musts. This is a great opportunity to work in a client-focused team setting, interacting with all disciplines within the agency to gain real-world experience and view the collaborative nature of the agency environment.

Intern Responsibilities

• Manage clip tracking and updating clip logs
• Create/update media lists
• Gather and organize editorial calendars
• Draft media materials including pitches, media alerts, news releases, backgrounders, fact sheets and media briefing materials for clients
• Review newspapers/industry publications for mention of clients and become familiar with industries of clients
• Assist in the development and execution of plans, events and activities that support client communication goals and objectives
• Distribute articles, media advisories, news releases, photos or other documents deemed necessary for the successful completion of client communication objectives
• Contact media to follow up on news releases or other media contacts in an effort to secure coverage of a client news item, activity, event, etc.
• Perform research on agency prospects, clients, client competitors or other subjects requested by team; this includes web research, in-person, telephone calls or other methods
• Assist with the coordination and development of databases, along with periodic updating
• Assist in social media planning and account maintenance for clients
• Contribute to agency blog
• Attend occasional PR industry events and participate in seminars, webinars and other professional training
• Work within a client-focused team setting, interacting with all disciplines within the agency to get real-world experience and views of the collaborative nature of the agency environment
• Other duties as assigned 

If interested, please send a cover letter and resume with current GPA to Laura@PharrPR.com.

Public Relations Fall Internship

#EastDallasIs a Social Media Success! Six Tips to Increase Social Media Engagement

I recently had the chance to help plan and execute a social media strategy for a community project in East Dallas. The goal of the project was to build awareness and support for a new co-brand for East Dallas – “Lake & Garden District” – while rallying the entire community around enhancing the value of living in, doing business in, spending money in and playing in the East Dallas community. This viral campaign was a huge success and it all started with creating a Facebook and Instagram page to reach the large community of East Dallas. Additionally, we engaged with traditional media, hosted and attended community events and used yard signs as a way to create buzz.

The social media outreach for this community project was well received and gained attention from the community and the media almost immediately. In fact, the Facebook page went from zero to 935 fans in one week! The Lake & Garden District’s social media pages have been steadily growing since they launched on Feb. 6, 2015. To make your social media strategy a success, I've outlined a few tips below to grow your online engagement.  

       
1. Get Visual – The reach and impressions for the Lake & Garden District Facebook page were highest when we posted fun visual content. Posts that had videos, photos and links to community news content were viewed and shared the most. Here are the top five posts from the Lake & Garden District Facebook page:

Our number one post to date with a reach of 7.2K+.

2. Sharing is Caring – Share posts, photos and videos from your followers. Social media is a way to have a conversation with your fans and followers. By liking and sharing content from others, you’re building a relationship and humanizing your organization. A few well-known and not-so-well- known organizations that are masters at this include @AnniesHomeGrown, @Netflix, @PizzaHut and @TacoBell.

3. Be Strategic – There are a myriad of ways to gather data about your posts and your fans to maximize the impact of your posts. Learn when your users are on social media and plan your posts around this schedule, posting on the most “popular” days and times when your fans are more likely to see and engage with your content.

4. Go Offline – This may sound counter-intuitive for a social media strategy, but engaging with your audience face-to-face is a great way to strengthen your relationships and build a fan base outside of social media. Whether you plan an event or simply encourage shoppers at your store to use a hashtag, having that positive in-person rapport translates to more fans online. 

5. Be Selective – It’s a rarity that a single company or organization needs to be on every social media channel. Consider your audience before you create a Twitter, LinkedIn, Pinterest, Instagram and Facebook page.  For the visually-heavy Lake & Garden District, we recommended starting with a Facebook and Instagram page because we knew we’d be creating photo contests, sharing hashtags and asking our audience to share images and stories of East Dallas.  Facebook and Instagram were the perfect tools for us and they continue to be the social media sites we utilize to reach our diverse audience. 

6. Create a Dialogue – As a way to not only reach, but engage our audience we encouraged fans to participate in the community project by sharing an #EastDallasSelfie or filling in the blank to this simple phrase: “East Dallas Is…” We encouraged our fans to share and post their “East Dallas stories” on our social media pages and on yard signs. The result was an overwhelmingly positive outpouring of support and community pride as our fans shared countless photos out and about in East Dallas along with numerous messages of what East Dallas means to them.

This post was contributed by Krystal Morris. @KrystalNMorris

#EastDallasIs a Social Media Success! Six Tips to Increase Social Media Engagement