Promoted Tweets

Twitter announced on April 13 that they will now be launching promoted tweets on Twitter.com. Sponsored advertisements will now be allowed to be displayed on the top of the search result pages. This means that Twitter will now be able to deliver contextually relevant ads to users. Some are skeptical about this because they are afraid Twitter is shying away from their original feel but others see this as an opportunity for advertisers to send a message to a broader more targeted audience. Just as Facebook's side ads appear, you will be able to "X" out ads that you do not like or do not appeal to you. Twitter says the same rule of 140 characters will apply to their advertisers because this is an important part of their site. This will cause those advertising to be very specific and to the point.

I see no harm in adding advertisements. Almost every website now has advertisements on the side and most people do not find them distracting. I have found numerous ads on the side of Facebook that have appealed to me because they take context clues out of your profile to target you. I believe it will be more difficult for Twitter to do this because you do not actually have an information section, just a short about me. This will give advertising one more inside perspective to social media. I think sponsored tweets will eventually become very popular and beneficial to everyone interested in advertising.

"Why Not!?"

In my Advertising Copywriting class we had a potential new public relations professor come speak about "Why people do not do what we want them to do", when you are calling them to action in a form of public relations.

The first reason is because "They Cant". They either do not have the financial resources or the time to do what you are asking them to do. You need to make it simple so many people can react to what you are asking of them, whether that be making it a necessity rather than a want so they can afford it or making it worth their time so they will set aside time to get it done. It is important for people to put what you are asking of them on a high priority and make it necessary for them.

Second, "They Don't Want to". What you are asking of them seems uninteresting and not worth their time or efforts so they will not do it. As I said before, you must make it a priority to them so they will actually want to go out and act on the call to action. You do not want someone to look at your product or event and be uninterested by it. You want your target audience to feel like they MUST act and act now.

Third, "Nobody asked them". Make your call to action fitting for your target audience. Make them feel as it they are wanted and needed. If you appeal to a tiny market, not as many people will feel targeted and not very many will act. You need to make it as broad as possible while still reaching the same target.

I really enjoyed this presentation because usually you only think of how to get people there but you do not really stop and think why they are not actually doing it. These three categories are great things to think about before you plan event or try and sell a product because if you avoid these three, you will most likely have the perfect outcome!

Summer Internship

Well I finally nailed one! After many sent emails and two interviews, I have taken a Summer internship with Ogeechee Technical College in Statesboro, GA. I am really excited about this opportunity because I will be allowed to get my feet wet in many different aspects of public relations and advertising. I am not exactly sure what my specific jobs will be but I do know that I will be writing press releases, photographing events, finding ad placements and working various events. A good thing about this internship is that we do not work on Fridays so I will be working 27 hour weeks which will equal 7 hour days, not bad! One event I am extremely excited about working is the Farmer's Market in Statesboro. It happens every Saturday in the Spring and Summer and is a great time for locals to come shop around and mingle outside. I love this part of Statesboro and it will be great that I get to work it. My boss seems very helpful and will be a great mentor so I am looking forward to working under him. Ogeechee Tech is a great school and I am excited to represent them this summer. I already have purchased some cute internship outfits so now I am really excited! For more information on Ogeechee Technical College click here!

Chick-Fil-A Spirit Day!

The Gamma Sigma Chapter of Phi Mu Fraternity hosted a Chick-Fil-A Spirit Day in Milledgeville, GA to raise money for the Children's Miracle Network. It was a WONDERFUL success bringing in over $700 for CMN! We got to keep 10% of all receipts collected at Chick-Fil-A that day. Our girls worked shifts from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. and collected receipts, bussed tables, refilled drinks, opened doors and danced by the road to generate traffic. We had a table in the corner of the restaurant where people could drop their receipts or give a donation, we also had glass jars at the registers, and we also had girls by the drive-thru window grabbing receipts from those people. We had so many generous people visit our table and we also collected donations. To promote this event we made a Facebook group and I designed this lovely picture shown as the promotion picture. We all changed our default pictures to this picture on Monday. We made flyers and 1/4 sheets to pass out at a table by the A & S Fountain on Monday. We also stuck flyers on cars (not a good idea GCSU was not happy). We personally invited each member of Panhellenic to come as a Greek Sisterhood Night between 6:30 and 8:30. We had many girls from other sororities come and support us and we are so thankful for that! The Marketing Director of Chick-Fil-A was very proud of us and wants us to do another Spirit Day in the future. CMN is such a wonderful organization so it was easy to get people excited about giving to it. Thank you to everyone who came out and supported Phi Mu and the

Children's Miracle Network!

ShopLocalMilledgeville.com

On Saturday, March 13th my public relations group consisting of me, Courtney and Cara, set up a booth in the Milledgeville Mall to promote Digital Bridges' new venture, www.shoplocalmilledgeville.com. We arrived at 9 a.m. and set up a very professional looking table that enticed others to come and see what was going on. The event ended around 5 p.m.. We made promotional material to distribute such as flyers and posters and also had an interactive game for people to play. We filled a glass jar with pennies that represented the number of local businesses in Milledgeville and had people guess how many local businesses they thought were in Milledgeville. We had a little over 20 people play the game and in return they received a Chick-fil-a coupon. We also had the people fill out a survey of what they did and did not like about shopping in Milledgeville. Of course we had candy on our table which helped entice people in and keep them there. Over all I believe it was a very successful event. We talked to many people and really promoted the new website. Everyone seemed interested and I think that once the website gets up and going it will be very beneficial to everyone in the Milledgeville-Baldwin County area. Digital Bridges has a lot to work with from our group and will be able to keep this project successful. Our group did an awesome job and achieved our goal.

Phi Mu Fraternity Celebrates 158 years of sisterhood

The ladies of Phi Mu Fraternity at Georgia College and State University celebrated their National Founders Day on March 4, 2010.

The Gamma Sigma Chapter of Phi Mu began the celebration by supporting National Badge Day on Monday and wearing pink to campus followed by a Founders Day Ceremony, "Pink & Pearls", with the local Milledgeville Alumnae Chapter. With old stories and dessert, these women were able to bond over many generations of sisterhood. Phi Mu is the oldest sorority at GCSU and has been on campus for 36 years.

"It was really interesting to hear what Phi Mu at GCSU was like in the past and it makes me excited for so many more memories we will get to share together," said Brenda Bryant, an active member in Phi Mu Fraternity.

On Thursday, March 4, Phi Mu hosted a Rock-A-Thon on the GCSU campus and collected spare change for their national philanthropy, The Children's Miracle Network.

Gamma Sigma President, Brooke Brookins said, "Rock-A-Thon is a creative way to benefit CMN and get the students at GCSU involved. This is our second year hosting a Rock-A-Thon and all the Phi Mu's love participating."

Phi Mu Fraternity is the second oldest secret society for women, and was founded at Wesleyan College in Macon, Ga by Mary Dupont Lines, Mary Myrick Daniel and Martha Hardaway Redding in 1852. Phi Mu has chapters across the United States and nearly 150,000 collegiate and alumnae members. Phi Mu provides personal academic development, service to others, commitment to excellence and lifelong friendships through a shared tradition. Phi Mu encourages our members to imagine, believe and achieve their aspirations.

The Founders' Day Challenge

In honor of Mary, Mary and Martha, Phi Mu Foundation is launching its first ever chapter challenge virtual campaign. Their goal is to raise $18,520 in the month of March in honor of our Founder's Day on March 4th. The Foundation asked every Phi Mu to give up one dinner out to eat and donate it Phi Mu Foundation. They made it very simple by going to www.phimufoundation.org or Phi Mu Foundation's Facebook page and click the GIVE NOW button. Phi Mu Foundation supports leadership, scholarship and philanthropy. Their slogan is Women Helping Women...Sisters Helping Sisters. I personally thought this challenge was unattainable and did not believe it could be made in one month but boy was I proven wrong. Today is March 7th and we have already surpassed our goal! I attended Phi Mu Leadership Academy this weekend in Peachtree City where all current chapter presidents, one emerging leader and chapter advisor attended a leadership seminar. Before we arrived in PTC the Foundation had already raised $6,000. They made a presentation and asked us to give that day and boy did we! Three leaders from each Phi Mu chapter together raised $13,134.98 making the current total $18,670.50! We passed the goal within 30 minutes. Of course Phi Mu Foundation does not want to stop there and will continue to ask our chapters to give because they give back so much to the collegiate chapters but it is amazing to me that that much was raised in so little time. This challenge was great PR for Phi Mu Foundation because many collegiate members did not know what the money they give to the Foundation goes toward and now that all chapter presidents are fully informed they will take the information back to their chapter and ask them to give. A part of this challenge is that National Headquarters is bringing in a trained Foundation member to speak to every collegiate chapter across the US and better inform them. This will take a lot of money and time planning this travel but they believe it will be worth while to be personal with the girls. I love everything Phi Mu Foundation stands for and I am happy to donate my money to help my sisters today as well as tomorrow.