Pick Your Poison: SEO vs. SEM

SEM and SEO are probably acronyms you’ve never heard before, but you should know what they are in order to grow your brand. SEM (Search Engine Marketing) and SEO (Search Engine Optimization) both attempt to expand the amount of people your website is reaching, and drive traffic to your cite. However, even though their tactics sound similar to achieve this goal, they are very different approaches.

Why does this affect your brand? Well, it allows more people to see your publications during a search on the internet. Do you want to be on the second, third, or fourth page of Google? Of course not, you want to be on the first page.

According to Alexa Blog, SEM, “uses PAID strategies to appear in search,” while SEO used, “ORGANIC strategies to appear in search”. SEM includes creating a budget for your marketing plan that includes the ads which will be featured to draw in new publics. In the field, this is also known as “pay-per-click”. For example, the most used search provider is Google Ads which helps brands use keyword word campaigns that targets what users are searching, as well as key words that are being used in that specific industry.

SEO is a completely organic search. This type of search allows the engine to understand the content and keywords in your page, and will then target and audience searching for similar topics. However, this can depend on various elements such as “site speed, mobile friendliness, indexing, crawlability, site architecture, structured data, and security,” (Alex Blog).

Moreover, its important to remember that growing your brand awareness comes from an increase in engagement, not fan base growth. Engagement effects a brand’s visibility, which is way more important than reach. “One of the most important types of engagement is shares. Shares influence how many people see your posts,” (Forbes). The more shares and engagement, the more you build your credibility. Credibility is important to gain customer confidence. Engagement also tell you how your product or service is appearing to the consumer. Therefore, you get feedback to see how you can tweak what you are selling and understand the audience you are trying to market.

In conclusion, you’d be a fool not to use SEM or SEO to help grow your brand. These services were created in order to help you achieve your goal and succeed. There are many ways to go about learning what SEO and SEM are, as well as various services to help in this area.

https://www.searchenginejournal.com/google-revamps-seo-starter-guide-heres-whats-new/227557/

What in Curation?

What is content curation, and how can it be used as an effective journalism tool? These are the questions I will be tackling in today’s blog post.

Curation is by no means a new concept. Mashable neatly describes it as a supply-chain of how information gets passed through an organization to find its way into bite-size pieces of information for readers. It’s a way to organize information to be able to pass the story along. In between the “information gatherer and information seeker” (Mashable), a.k.a. the reporter and the reader, is the middle man –the curator. Their job is to hunt down these files, via social media platforms, outlets, you name it, and make the information easier to access. An NPR strategist, Andy Carvin, says of the new wave of social media curation, “It means being in the middle –in this case, between sources and the public. So curating…really isn’t that different than what reporters have always done; it’s just in real time and a hell of a lot more transparent,” (Mashable). Much like the standard of journalists, curators should be held credible for their sourcing, and need to build trust with viewers. This includes being held to ethical standards of correctly citing and sourcing (as any good journalist knows).

According to Hootsuite there are 6 key benefits of curating content. First, you can be recognized as an expert in your particular field. This can help you build a brand image and credibility. Second, marketing already made content is much easier than creating your own blog post (tell me about it). Curating content also allows you to network by creating conversation amongst your community and other influencers/leaders in your field. Next, you can use this content as an eye-catcher to draw people to your cite or page, in order to grow your business. Finally, its forces you to stay informed!

That brings us to our finale question: what tools can public relations professionals and marketers use to curate? Well, I’m glad you asked. There are so many tips and tricks out there, but many of them can be found right in your pocket, or, more specifically, on your phone. Use twitter lists! It’s a great way to organize accounts you follow without having a million new notifications on your timeline. Subscribing to email newsletters help you catch up on anything you may have missed or scrolled passed on that timeline of yours! Certain websites like Scoop.it will help you sift through all the stories you are trying to find. Just click a few buttons to narrow down what you’re looking for, and Scoop.it will instantly generate the most relevant articles. However, there are many other websites that have similar objectives, with your brand in mind.

I suggest clicking through the hyperlinked articles and researching how you can curate content in order to market and publicize!

https://www.getrevue.co/profile/simpletiger/issues/what-in-curation-70458

Social Media Task #9

April 9^,2019

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact: Kelly Carr (973-309-2013)

ALPHA GAMMA DELTA KICKS OUT HUNGER

This Friday, April 10^th, Alpha Gamma Delta will be hosting a philanthropic kick-ball event on Seton Hall University’s campus green, from 12-3.

The event is open to any and all organizations around campus, which will help boast Seton Hall University’s Greek Unity. Organizations which choose to join can create a team of at least 10 members for $30 per team. Food and cheerful competition banter will be provided, and the winning team will receive a gift card to a local South Orange restaurant.

Alpha Gamma Delta’s philanthropic purpose is fighting hunger. They promote the philanthropic motto “Full Plates. Hearts. Minds.”

Alpha Gamma Delta National Head Quarters recently changed their philanthropic purpose in 2016 from fighting diabetes. Since then, the sorority has held various philanthropy events around campus such as cupcake wars, which raised over $1,000 and saw teams from each Greek organization, as well as (human) Hungry-Hungry-Hippo.

Vice President of Philanthropy, Ashley Stepper, has worked hard to promote the sorority’s events. “I’ve always loved helping my community,” Stepper continued, “and I think Alpha Gamma Delta has given me the platform to create fun ways to get people involved in an issue that seriously effects people not only internationally but right in our backyard.”

In the United States of America, nearly 48 million citizens suffer from hunger and 1 in 5 children are at risk of hunger.

Senior Christine Panella, previous Vice President of Philanthropy for Alpha Gamma Delta, exclaims, “Our sisters in AGD love volunteering as much as possible,” she continues, “with the switch from our previous philanthropy, it’s been amazing to see the work and enthusiasm our sisters have put in to creating fun events!”

On the organizations website, total service hours logged from all members is nearly 54,000.

For more information about the Kick Out Hunger event this Friday, visit the organizations Instagram page at AlphaGammaDelta_SHU.

Alpha Gamma Delta’s national motto is Live with Purpose. According to their website, Alpha Gamma Delta challenges their members to lead lives of significance that positively impact their communities.

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Fake News! And How To Find It.

Fake News. You’ve probably heard this term blow up in the last year. While yes, it started out as President Trump overusing the term, and relating it to articles written about him he didn’t particularly like, it is a very real thing.

Have you ever been searching social media platforms, let’s use Twitter and Facebook as an example here, and come across an article that peaked your interest? So, you click on this catchy article and begin reading about something you probably never knew happened and, you being a wise person with common sense, do more digging into this topic. Turns out that article wasn’t true, nor were its contents or what it was based on. Fake News. It’s a real thing, and it’s a problem. It’s a way to lure an audience into believing something that is entirely, or partially fabricated. Concern about the bogus story epidemic has led Facebook and Google to crack down on these sites.

In Macedonia, they were creating fake news by posting articles about the election happening in the United States. Things they knew nothing about and things they were making up were gaining traction and online hits because it was aa hot topic online for Americans. Simply put, they were posting these fake articles for money. According to NPR, if these sites sign up, “for Google AdSense an ad program, they can get money as people visit their sites.” Moreover, Facebook is the biggest driver of traffic, and a perfect website to target impressionable people. They aren’t doing anything illegal, but rather looking at content and traffic patterns on Facebook. Paired with their algorithm, Facebook is the perfect place to mislead people. It picks up on what you are constantly looking up/at, it is programed to send news to your feed that you want to see and that align with your beliefs and views, whether or not the article is real or not. Therefore, Mark Zuckerberg announced there are several things the company will be doing to rid the site of this issue. They are going to create a feature that allows users to flag content as not real, which will ultimately stop the spread of that fake news. They are also looking to fix their algorithm to pick up and article or site that maybe misleading information.

What are ways you can spot fake news? Factcheck says some websites do, in fact, provide a “warning” that they are fantasy news, but you need to be on the lookout for it. Other signs may be that the site doesn’t offer an information about the mission, contact, or journalists which can be an indication of a phony news organization. Simply reading further into the article will reveal clear signs (whether it be goofy quotes or clearly untrue plots) of fabrication. Also, it never hurts to research the author of an article, and see if they are a credible source of information.

https://www.legalzoom.com/articles/fake-news-what-laws-are-designed-to-protect

The Art of Press Releases

What’s one way PR and journalism come together? One way is through press releases. Press releases are not only sent to media outlets, including newspaper publications, but they are a work of journalism themselves. They can help make or break a product, and can give a brand or company image a boost in the news!

However, there is a difference between traditional press releases, and social media press releases. As we have learned throughout this course, instantaneous communication has changed the way we receive and publish stories and information. So, it’s only obvious that it would change the way press releases are created, as well!

According to PR News Online, online news releases are a way to “cut through the clutter” of sending a message. Traditionally, press releases would be sent out to media and those publication bosses would decide if it fit their audience wants/needs and whether or not to run it. But that’s the way of the past. Now, online news releases are an essential tool, especially for marketing. For example, several rules have changed when creating a press release. Because access to social media platforms is so readily accessible, it is important to constantly be sending out information, not just big news. Another change is that these releases are no longer targeted to journalists for them to decide if the story will be run. Rather, they are targeted and tailored directly toward the buyers. Another way it is helpful for marketing is using SEO statistics for website traffic analysis. You can see right in front of you if your tactics are working. Not to mention, its more cost effective to create and publish the release yourself and put it on a free platform.

That all being said, it’s important not to forget the art of writing a well formatted and informed press release. Just because the internet is on the rise does not mean we should abandon our journalistic roots! Craft the message carefully, and take your ego out of it – at least that’s what Inc. suggests when writing a press release. Understand what the audience would find as newsworthy. Some tips to make sure your press release stands out among a crowd are sticking to writing one page or less. Maybe most importantly, neatly summarize the news within the first paragraph. Imagine the reader won’t read past the first paragraph. Finally, don’t forget to add quotes to back up your information and add some personality to your press release.

In an ever-changing world, it only makes sense that this shift occurred, and truthfully it was only a matter of time. As stated by PR News Online, there is a decline in readership of newspaper and viewership or TV news, but 80 million citizens reach for the internet for their daily news digest. However, we should still practice the art of traditional press release writing, as it is unlikely it will completely die off.

Need an example of a press release? Click the link below!

https://expresswriters.com/writing-a-press-release-sample/

https://developmentconnection.net/apply-for-the-united-nations-journalism-fellowships-for-young-journalists-interested-in-reporting-on-international-affairs-fully-funded/

Welcoming the Bender Group!

Today we have a brand set of guest speakers gracing our classroom! The Bender Group Public Relations Firm will be joining us to discuss their take on using news stories and trends in their industry. I am particularly excited for this discussion as I am a Public Relations major, about to graduate, and need all the insight I can get!

Now let’s get back to what’s really important here. Essentially, the Bender Group offers their services to various companies from household brand names to star-up companies. Their services for their clients include, creating a brand-image, event planning, crisis management, engagement on social media and much more.

They have clients both national and international, which makes their firm much more exciting! According to their website, the Bender Group is proud to continue representing some brands and clients for over 20 years. This is a great accomplishment to achieve since their inception in 1995. Their brands span from food and beverage, technology, lifestyle, travel, and service companies. This means they have experience and knowledge in various industries.

Because the agency dips its toes into several areas, it is important that they keep themselves updated on hot topics, breaking stories, and trends in their clients’ respective industries.

CEO Stacy Bender is an expert in public relations and marketing, and has over 30 years of experience under her belt. Before the Bender Group, she started off working her way up the ladder as an Account Executive (eventually Vice President), at food and beverage companies like Crystal Light, Maxwell House, Kool-Aid, etc. She has won awards and travelled to universities as a guest speaker, so this discussion isn’t one to miss!

She runs the agency alongside CFO Barry Bender, who has an equally impressive background. He has over 30 years of experience as a Certified Public Accountant to the firm and worked for eight years as the Director of Internal Audit at Tropicana. I think it’s safe to say that these two know what they’re doing!

I’m excited to learn from the Bender Group and what insights they have to the public relations industry. That being said, I have a few questions to ask!

How did you get started in public relations?
What is the greatest tool or skill you can have in marketing or public relations?
As a soon-to-be graduate, what is some advice you have for networking?
What is the best thing someone can do to standout in their resume or interview.

http://www.thebendergrouppr.com/barry-bender

INSTA-ntaneous Journalism

Social Media can be one of the best tools to not only gather, but spread information about any topic instantaneously. Celebrities use their profiles to update their fans on upcoming events, their lives, their endorsements, etc. Moreover, journalists and photojournalists can use social media platforms, such as Instagram and Pinterest to display breaking pictures and stories in real time. For example, Nicola Dowling was able to get to a local crime scene, gather information, and snap pictures with her phone quicker than any other news station was able to send someone down for coverage (Briggs ch. 5). She was able to do this thanks to mobile technology and was able to break national news from her phone, “Mobile reporters can report in any medium, from anywhere, anytime,” (Briggs ch. 5). Now imagine the power professional photographers, brands, and others can do at the tip of their fingers.

As Briggs describes, mobile phones are the equivalent to a Swiss army knife due to how much they are capable of (Briggs ch. 6). The benefits of social media include, but are in no way limited to, capturing broadcasting, viewing, sharing etc. any and all information. Platforms and profiles are great ways to stay connected to existing followers and well as network and reach potential new followers in similar fields. As the mode of access and viewing information changes, so should the way it’s being shared. As we have learned, and our class has been completing, live blogging is a new wave of updating a crowd and reporting in real time. That being said, mobile reporting will not be replacing in depth journalism stories in the near future.

A con to this type of communication is that information that is shared in small chunks or on location may be more efficient and beneficial to the audience if the information is first gathered, sifted through, and then released (Briggs ch. 6). Sometimes, this line can become confusing. Original content and plagiarism becomes another major issue when dealing with mass communication. One reason is because it can be taken and “reposted” by another person who claims ownership, another is that objects can be easily, and convincingly, added or removed. These images have just as high a chance to go viral as the original image, so which do you trust?

That being said, social media platforms are overall a great innovation. Users of Instagram and Pinterest, Twitter, Facebook, etc. know the distinct difference between all those listed. While they seem similar in function, their purposes are entirely different, at least if you know how to properly use the cites. For example, Facebook is mainly targeted at older generations, and is used for sharing articles as well as a place to upload mass pictures and albums – a place to store your photographs, interests, etc. Instagram is an artistic platform where people can discover new interests with ease, as well as others with the same interest. It is mostly targeted toward younger generations –essentially a highlight reel. Pinterest can be summed up into an online dream board, if you will. In the future, there is bound to be more apps and websites created with their individual purposes that will further fuel journalisms need to adapt.

https://www.adcheck.co.za/the-rise-of-social-media-advertising-prominence/

Reuters: Behind the Screen

Reuters. Never heard of them? Well this post is about to give you the rundown you want to know about this 21^st Century news room.

Gina Cherelus and Barbara Goldberg will be speaking on Seton Hall University. They’ll be discussing what they’ve learned from working in the journalism industry.

*Shameless plug: if you are currently studying journalism, public relations or communications feel free to stop by Room 105 nursing*

They use Reuters NY and social media, such as Twitter, to promote new stories and information to their audience.

What is Reuters you may ask? Reuters was established in 1851 by founder Paul Julius Reuter. The news organization is a division of Thomas Reuters, and was acquired by the Thomas Corporation in 2008. They are an international organization, which receives and delivers top information and news around the world. News topics span across various subjects like business, politics, sports, entertainment, technology and much more.

You may be wondering who our speakers are? We have that answer too!

Gina Cherelus is a Reuters reporter, who specializes in U.S. General News. Her work and articles have been printed in very well credited publications such as ELLE Magazine, The Miami Herald, Forbes, etc. She received her degree at Florida A&M University for broadcast journalism. She has put this degree to great use by reporting on the #MeToo movement and Parkland, Fla. shooting.

Barbara Goldberg is currently a National Correspondent at Reuters. Before writing for Thomas Reuters she was a freelance writer at ABC News and Slate. She attended St. Lawrence University where she received her B.A. in English.

More than their columns, our speakers will be discussing how they use their Twitter board for different functions and how it can help you!

There will be time to ask questions you are dying to have answered. These will be mine – don’t steal them though!

What has been the most difficult part about using Reuters social media to promote stories?
How often do you use social media to crowdsource for stories, and how do you decide what material/content is useable?
How does using Twitter for PR differ from using social media for journalism? Are there any differences?
What has been your favorite personal experience while chasing a story, whether it was part of the job or an interesting memory?
Have you ever found yourself in legal issues regarding a story or tweet? How was the situation handled?

https://agency.reuters.com/en/platforms-delivery/reuters-brand-attribution-guidelines/online-usage.html

How Microblogging is Changing the Game

This social media in journalism course has taught our class how to professional, appropriately, and efficiently connect with an audience, as well as tell a story. This week’s reading/online article dives deeper into the “how” aspect of blogging. Meaning, how has the industry changed, how can journalists stay up to date with trends, and much more.

In Chapter 4 of Mark Briggs’ Journalism Next, he mentions that microblogging, such as Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn (or really anywhere you can update a crowd on events or what happening with/ around you) had become a helpful tool in the world of journalism. It gives writers a face and a profile so they no longer have to hide behind their byline. It is also a quick way to update your audience because social media can be accessed via a desktop, laptop, or mobile device. Briggs says that, “It’s the ability to maintain a constant connection with others without a direct communication tool like a phone or email, which is one-to-one. Ambient awareness allows for one-to-many communication,” (Briggs 95).

Now that we know microblogging is fantastic to crowdsource, connecting, and sharing work, let’s dive into how algorithms play a part. Algorithms help microblogs along, and in the shortened version of the article’s explanation, algorithms are a code, or advanced math problem, which sorts through what social media users will enjoy most, how long they look at and read a post, and whether or not they are likely to repost it. This can be helpful if your content is being seen. However, this article emphasizes that newspapers and marketing strategies are becoming washed out by the Facebook algorithm, and why it’s a con rather than a pro.

Imagine going onto a random website and seeing an ad for the shoes you were just looking at on a different web browser. Have you ever been totally freaked out in a “someone is watching me” kinda way? Welp, that the algorithms hard are work. They gather information about you based on where you clicked and what you look at. From there, these websites can filter through content and push the ones they think you’ll most likely enjoy. They also sell this information, otherwise known as “cookies” to other websites.

So, here’s how to keep the algorithms working in your favor. Keep your content user-friendly. Forge and Smith says you should keep in mind that if you want to reach a bigger, or more specific crowd, create valuable content that your reader will use. Also, the power of the hashtag should never be underestimated! Finally, share your profiles across all social media platforms you have.

I hope this article was of help in your next blogging or microblogging experience!

https://c3metrics.com/micro-blogging-new-influencers/

Twitter. Terrible or Terrific?

Twitter is an amazing tool for journalists and PR professionals, whether it is networking with other people in the same field, pitching a campaign, or scoping out the latest news. However, is Twitter REALLY needed or even used correctly by professionals?

Forbes makes a compelling argument that, while Twitter is helpful in a multitude of situations, such as polling, interaction with publics and all the previous points made before, people can be focused on the wrong things. Let me explain, Forbes uses the example that, sure, Kim Kardashian has 18.4 million followers but only 29% of her audience was active and authentic accounts. Therefore, the quality of your followers is even more important than the quantity. Also, if you are looking for information from your audience quality is even more important as it pertains to a targeted market, not just anyone. Gaining followers is still important nonetheless. Great tips the article gives are to advertise, run contests, guest blogging, video tutorials and add widgets to your LinkedIn page.

CBC writes an article more strongly opinionated than Forbes fact v. fantasy. It’s important to note that Twitter is not the voice of the people, as the headline reads. It describes journalists becoming blindly. To be fair, this isn’t always a bad thing as journalist look into the thoughts of ordinary people in order to write their stories in a more approachable, relatable style. But as the article points out, it becomes dangerous when tweets become the story, instead of aiding it. Heidi Tworek, a history professor at the University of British Colombia, says that this is getting, “into dangerous territory, because there are so many users who are not ‘real’ people at all. Flashback to Kim Kardashian and her fake account followers.

Columbia Journalism Review takes it a step further by asking, “Can you still be an effective journalist if you ignore Twitter?” Well, that depends. Do you write about the media? Is your target audience found on Twitter? Are you writing about pop culture? If so, then Twitter can be one of the most useful tools for you when fishing for information or trends. It also allows your followers to contact and give you feedback directly. But this isn’t necessary for all journalists, and that’s up for you to decide.

In my personal opinion, Twitter should not be trusted for hard-hitting information, and should never be the core of a story. However, using Twitter to gauge a target audience or shape your story wouldn’t hurt anyone. That being said, Twitter will not end a journalist’s career if they’re profile picture is still an egg and they have never actually logged into their account!