Author: lucillewalsh17

3 Things I Have Learned Working as a Social Media Assistant

By Olivia Blumb

If you find yourself in a similar situation as me, you may have found yourself working as a social media assistant, without much experience in social media. For the last five months, I have had to revive a company’s social media platforms. Though our main focus is Instagram, we have also had to plan for other platforms such as Facebook, since one of our largest target audience’s is known to use Facebook more. 

Throughout the last few months, I have learned what to do and what not to do on social media through trial and error. Trial and error taught me things that I couldn’t have learned in a textbook, I had to experience it for myself. The following points are things I would recommend to a social media newbie, like myself, who is managing someone else’s socials. 

  1. Know which platforms your audience uses. It is key to know where your audience will find your content. If they are in a younger generation, Instagram is probably where you should post. If they are an older generation, I recommend using Facebook. That said, use multiple platforms to reach more people! When creating your content, plan for it to be used on multiple platforms, and choose a design that can be formatted to fit on each one. 
  2. Plan your content ahead of time! Before, managing a company’s social media, I never really put in any thought about planning content weeks in advance. As I manage this social media account with two others, it is important for us to plan ahead. I write copy and create graphics so each post can be approved prior to when it needs to be posted. Since I work in collaboration with 2 others, we use a Google Sheets, where each block is a post and is color coded.
  3. Be consistent. Being consistent doesn’t mean you have to post 24/7. To me, it means keep your messaging consistent in all of your posts. In my company, we are always trying to initiate bookings, so every post has call to action line that says, “DM us or visit our website to book now.” Even if your post doesn’t have a call to action, incorporate your brand’s message into the copy. 

All that said, I still learn new things each day while I manage this company’s social media. My main advice is to keep experimenting – try different tactics, learn from others, research. Each of these things will be helpful in learning how to effectively manage a social media platform. 

Olivia Blumb, a Green Bay, Wisconsin native, is a public relations major and corporate communications minor in Belmont University’s Class of 2022. Blumb is involved on campus in her sorority Alpha Sigma Tau and PRSSA. Blumb has been a PRSSA member since her freshman year and now serves as the Chapter President for the 2020-21 academic year. This post was originally published on her personal blog.

4 Things to Consider When Going “From Here to Anywhere”

By Lucy Walsh and Marisa Davis

While the beloved Belmont adage of “from here to anywhere” inspires adventure and curiosity of post-grad life, sometimes this message can seem easier said than done. Logistics can be tricky, sometimes the stars don’t align and adulting can be hard. However, with enough confidence and planning, Belmont PR grads can successfully make the leap from being a student of the classroom to a student of the world. To learn more about a recent alum who did just this, the PR at Belmont blog interviewed Marisa Davis, a 2020 public relations alumna who recently relocated to New York City.

What are some professional considerations to take into place when considering a cross country move? How do you think about making the jump?

I know something that people had told me was that “It’s harder to get a job somewhere else if you’re not living there, since companies don’t want to wait for you to relocate.” I’ve heard that it’s easier to at least have an address of where you’re wanting to move so you have an address for your resume. It can play a big part in  getting considered for new jobs.

Also for me, the dance industry specifically is small in a lot of cities with only one or two companies that would have a PR or communications employee. New York definitely has the most opportunity and arts organizations that would have a big enough team and budget. So, even though my post-grad internship isn’t in performing arts right now, I’m still gaining the skills to get to do that and apply them eventually to my industry, and I’m here in case anything in my area pops up. It would give me a leg up on people located in other parts of the country.

From a social standpoint both personally and professionally, what should people know about branching out to a new city where they might not know as many people?

I moved here with people from Belmont, and one of which I have been friends with since freshman year! That was a pretty easy built in friendship base. I think that I also have enough acquaintances from past experiences that I can hopefully form friendships, which is a good skill wherever you go. With a city like New York, it can be a hard city to meet people since a lot of people are doing their own thing and have a mindset of minding their own business. But, I do think that a lot of offices have a good culture of being open to having relationships and friendships forming within and anywhere they can. You just have to be open to that.

What were logistical things that people might not take into consideration until they’re in the midst of their move? How can people make something as daunting as packing up their entire life as easy as possible?

I feel like my experience was so different since it happened so quickly. I got an apartment and an internship and moved up here within two weeks, and COVID-19 precautions on top of that was interesting as well. Because I did Belmont East I had flown up here with only the essentials, and that was helpful in knowing what I absolutely needed and what could wait for now. Living pretty minimally and knowing what you want takes care of all of the big stuff. Having your own frame of reference is so helpful in any context. Even though it did happen so quickly, I knew that it was something that I wanted to happen and that I could reasonably do.

What would you say to someone who has a dream location but is afraid to take the next step? How can you take some of the anxiety out of this life change?

It was definitely scary for sure. COVID-19 made it more scary, but it was less scary for me since I had already lived in New York through Belmont East. Having friends and people behind you who support you definitely helps! There are so many Belmont connections, and I feel like alumni are all over. They can be so helpful as both friends and colleagues, but you have to do the work to reach out. I know that Belmont alumni have Facebook pages and mixers, so taking the time to go to those is definitely important as well!

Marisa Davis is a 2020 graduate of Belmont University, where she studied both public relations and dance. After completing two internships in New York City as a member of the fall 2019 Belmont East cohort, she has recently moved back to the city that never sleeps. She loves the performing arts, University of Tennessee football and chai tea.

Debate 2020: Bringing Current Events into the Classroom

By Lucy Walsh

Belmont University announced their plans to host a 2020 presidential debate in November of 2019, and students have been clambering to get involved from the get go. While hosting an event of this stature is always an honor and a marker of a successful institution, in some ways this privilege is old hat for Belmont, as they first hosted a town hall style debate in the Curb Event Center between then Sen. Barack Obama and Sen. John McCain in 2008. However, reprising this unique opportunity 12 years later continues to usher in new opportunities for current students to volunteer at the nationally broadcasted event, civically engage and and experience their own piece of history. 

 

While Debate 2020 will only physically impact Belmont’s campus during the week of October 22nd, semester-long activities allow both the student body and Nashville community the opportunity to gear up for the 2020 election cycle through Well Core programming and an altered course catalogue that includes three presidential debate related courses. Belmont’s Department of Public Relations is offering an elective course entitled “PR in Action: Debate 2020,” while the neighboring Department of Media Studies is sponsoring both a “Watergate and All the President’s Men” and “Democracy and Media” courses. As a senior public relations major with a minor in publishing, I have had the opportunity to take two out of three of this semester’s “Debate 2020” related classes, and it has completely opened my eyes to the extent communicators of all disciplines relate to both presidential debates and the presidency as a whole! 

 

“PR in Action: Debate 2020” is taught by associate professor Dr. Sharee Broussard, who formulated the course as an opportunity for undergraduate public relations students to formulate academic research papers and public relations case studies surrounding Belmont University’s involvement with the debate. Taking a unique perspective as the host university has been an unusual view, as compared to the typical scrutiny of the candidates and participating political parties. However, taking the time to view an event like this at a community and institutional level allows for a greater and more focused look at how the RPIE methodology can apply to public relations activities in all stages of debate preparation. Professionals from Belmont’s Office of Communications, Campus Sonar and FleishmanHillard’s New York and Washington D.C. offices have served as guest speakers to provide supplemental commentary on the “Debate 2020” season, which has made all the difference in helping us look at the debate from an outside perspective. 

 

Meanwhile, I’m dually enrolled in the “Watergate and All the President’s Men” elective, which I was inspired to take after seeing Bob Woodward speak at the 2019 Public Relations Society of America conference! Taught by Professor Sara Wigal, a public relations professional and Director of Publishing within the Curb College of Entertainment and Music Business, this course takes a detailed view of how the Watergate scandal role in shaping precedent of  executive privilege, investigative journalism and America’s understanding of the news media. 

Belmont’s debate theme “Ideas of America” comes to life through these unique classroom experiences and the full lineup of educational events open to students and the public. From curriculum changes to student volunteer opportunities, public relations students at Belmont truly have the opportunity of a lifetime to experience a “from here to anywhere” style event right on our own campus. For more information on the Belmont 2020 presidential debate, visit https://belmontdebate2020.com.

 

Lucy Walsh is a senior public relations and publishing student from Evansville, Indiana. Alongside her duties as the editor of the PR at Belmont blog, she is an active executive board member of Belmont PRSSA and Belmont Ambassadors. She can typically be found listening to the full discography of Taylor Swift, walking Belmont Blvd. or writing snail mail to her friends and family.

Belmont Students Win Big at Parthenon Awards

By Dr. Bonnie Riechert

Five Belmont students were among honorees at the 2020 Parthenon Awards event sponsored by the Public Relations Society of America Nashville Chapter. The event was held virtually, as a Facebook live event Aug. 31 on https://www.facebook.com/prsanashville.

A team of four students from Public Relations Campaigns service-learning class in fall 2019 received a Parthenon Award, student category. Honored for their campaign, “Unlocked: Jewelry with a Purpose,” were Ladara Lucas (Class of 2019) and seniors Madeline DiMauro, Emily Stembridge and Aliah Tayyun.

Chandi Morar received an Award of Merit for her research project, “Marketing/Communications and Emerging Technologies,” completed in Public Relations Research class.

Area professionals in public relations and communications also were honored by award presentations. PRSA is the nation’s leading professional organization serving the communications community, with more than 30,000 professional and student members. The Nashville Chapter sponsors five student chapters of Public Relations Student Society of America, including Belmont PRSSA.